Bobby Bassilotta
“I feel like a butler,” Doc growls from the driver’s seat.
“Chauffeur,” I correct.
“Whatever. You ready to stop sobbing, Tits?”
January doesn’t answer, at least not in words. She gasps, fresh tears running down her face. Her eyes are already puffy from crying. I squeeze her as tightly as I dare. “Are you hungry, Jay? Do you want to lie down and get some sleep?”
She shakes her head, staring without seeing. “What… what’s happening to me?”
“You’re in shock,” Doc says. “Grit your teeth and let it pass.”
But January just sobs all the louder.
“We should stop,” I tell Doc. “Get her some food.”
“No fucking way. Parker could have tortured that idiot’s clone. He could already be coming after us.”
January shifts against me.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
“Bill wouldn’t tell,” she says in her sweet voice. “He and Archie want to leave Mr. Parker more than anything.”
Doc finds her gaze in the rearview mirror. “Parker’s planted subdermal trackers in his guys before. He could have turned Archie’s on and traced you.”
January moans.
“Jesus, Valente,” I say. “Is now the time to be telling her shit like that?”
Doc has the decency to look away. “Go to sleep, Tits. Let us deal with everything.”
But January doesn’t go to sleep, as the miles pass she starts shaking and her skin goes icy-cold.
“Turn up the heat,” I tell Doc, but even once the car’s a sweatbox, January’s teeth still rattle. Eventually, I can’t take it anymore. “Doc. We need to pull over.”
“Fuck,” Doc hisses, but does what I ask.
The second the car stops, Doc is outside, pulling a pack of Marlboros from his pocket. I stay in the back seat, cradling January. She’s still crying, the big sobs racking her body. I think of my sisters and how when they’d get like this, my dad would bring them warm cups of milk and honey. I wish I could do that for her.
Doc pounds on the roof. “Basher, we need to talk.”
“Give me a bit.”
“No. We need to talk.”
January wipes under her eyes. “Go. I’m fine.”
“No chance,” I say, holding her tighter.
“Seriously,” she says in a watery voice. “You know how Doc gets when you make him wait.”
I do, but it’s funny that she does too. I get out and see Doc smoking by the side of the road, a second cigarette waiting in his free hand.
“What’s up?”
“We can’t stay pulled over like this. Even if Parker’s not on us, cops could come past. Anyone could call us in.”
“What are you saying?”
Doc points his cigarette at the back seat. “I can sedate her. Knock her out.”
He tries to say it lightly, but I hear the twist in his voice. What he means is he can’t handle hearing her cry and it would be easier for him if she was unconscious. But fuck what’s easier for him. I move, blocking his path to the car. “January’s already at her limits. She doesn’t need drugs.”
“So, what do we—”
“Call it and get a motel.”
Doc groans. “You’re such a pussy.”
“Fine, I’m a fucking pussy, but you’re not taking January any further. And if I see you come at her with a needle I will put you in the ground.”
“Jesus, fine.” Doc clamps his cigarette between his teeth and pulls out his phone. “I’ll ring Mother Morelli and let him know.”
Eli’s voice is sharp when he picks up. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Doc says. “We’ve got January but she’s freaking out. Bobby thinks we should get a room for the night.”
“I want her back.”
The possessiveness in his tone makes my stomach knot. When we knew January had been abducted by Parker, Doc, Eli, and I were a united front. But already it feels like we’re back in competition.
“Yeah, well I wanna see the Stones play in 1974. Shit happens.” Doc takes a last drag on his cigarette and tosses the end to the ground. “How’s Adriano?”
“Fine. Text me when you know where you’re staying.”
“Will do.”
“Wait.” Eli hesitates. “You and Bobby aren’t going to sleep, are you? You’ll keep watch over her?”
“I don’t know, Morelli. Do you think we’re fucking stupid?”
Eli hangs up. Doc lights his second cigarette and draws on it so hard, half turns to ash. “Sanctimonious prick.”
I ignore him. I’m not giving Doc an excuse to vent his anger. Archie Baskerville did me a huge favor taking that beating at Dreams. If he hadn’t, I’m sure Doc would be insulting my dead mom right now.
“Fucking twins,” Doc mutters. “You really think Eli’ll want to hire them?”
“Dunno.”
“He can’t. Not once he knows that gangly fuck was all over her.”
I say nothing. I didn’t like finding Archie Baskerville touching the love of my life any more than Doc did. But I wasn’t gonna hurt the guy who brought us our girl back. I’ll put in a good word with Eli about the twins, and we’ll see what happens.
“Dirty fucking rat,” Doc says. “And that fucking haircut. He looks like an anime girl.”
I roll my eyes. Archie Baskerville looks exactly like Doc, but again, I’m not dumb enough to point that out. “Can we get going?”
“After I finish this,” Doc says, inhaling.
As Doc smokes, I stare at the night sky, my mouth dry and my eyes heavy. I’m exhausted. When Gretzky called to say January escaped, I felt like I’d been pin-dropped into the ocean. Every time I fought my way to the surface another wave took me under. Adriano was with January. Adriano was taking January to see her Zia. Her Zia was dead. Adriano was shot. January had been abducted by Parker. Whenever I snatched a breath, I was sucked underwater again.
I can only remember flashes of it now, sitting in the car with Eli, typing so fast my fingers hurt. Tracking Parker’s limo while Doc screamed insults in Italian. My abdomen tight from clenching it as I worked to bring January home. Wishing that I’d done what I’d planned to do and bought plane tickets for her and I to fly to Montana. Rented a car to drive us across the Canadian border. Rescued her then used all my money and power to cast a digital net over both of us, and take her away.
I could still do it.
“Basher,” Doc says, interrupting my thoughts. “That’s enough.”
“What?” I say trying to sound bored but innocent.
Doc gives me a hard look. “Take her from me and I’ll kill you.”
I don’t bother denying my thoughts. “You haven’t killed Adriano.”
“Yet. And that motherfucker failed on all accounts. I’m giving you more credit.”
“Thanks.” I jerk my head at the car. “Let’s find a motel.”
Doc tosses his second cigarette and crushes the end under his sneaker. “Take her from me—”
“I heard you the first time. Let’s just fucking go.”
I hoped January had fallen asleep but she’s still sitting bolt upright and stiff as a board. I wrap my arms around her again. “We’re gonna get you some food and somewhere to stay, okay?”
She makes a noncommittal noise.
“There’s a motel twenty miles away,” Doc says, looking at his phone. “We should be able to get some drive-thru first.”
I force my shoulders to relax. There’s no bigger jackass than Doc, but he gets shit done. “Sounds good.”
Fifteen minutes later, we’re pulling into a Wendy’s.
“What do you want, baby?” I ask January. “Is there something you usually get?”
She looks blankly back at me. “I’m not allowed fast food.”
“Then this is your lucky day. Want me to order for you?”
She says something that could be a yes or a no so I get her a cheeseburger combo and a strawberry shake and a veggie stack combo for myself. Doc orders two Baconators and tears into the bag as soon as it’s passed through the window. Neither of us have eaten all day and I’m starving, but I hold off on my order and hand-feed January fries instead. She chews methodically, her pretty green eyes unfocused.
“Do you like your food?” I ask.
She swallows. “Yes, but I can, you know, feed myself.”
“And will you?”
She gives a small smile and lets me keep feeding her. When we get to the motel, Doc gets out and deals with the manager. Since he and I won’t be sleeping, we get a single room. It’s cramped and musty, but the bed is big, and the sheets look clean enough.
“This place is nice,” January says quietly, putting her combo down on the small Formica table.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” I say, plunking my Wendy’s bag beside hers. “Sit down and eat.”
January rubs a thumb over her lower lip. “Can I have a shower?”
I look her up and down and somewhere in trying to assess how dirty she is I wind up staring at her breasts. God she’s fucking stunning. I’ve tried to avoid thinking about it, but now, looking at her pouty lips and long legs, I’m all too aware we’re in a motel room with a bed. Just the three of us. And this time there’s no Betty to walk in.
“Eat first,” Doc says, possibly oblivious and possibly intervening on my behalf. “You need the energy and your food will go cold otherwise.”
January tilts her head at me, asking if she should obey and all I can think about is how her pussy tasted when she ground herself against my face, having the first partnered orgasm of her life. Doc was there too, kissing her as I gave her head…
“Basher,” Doc snarls. “Quit daydreaming about her cunt and sit down.”
I feel my face burn, but I take a seat at the table. January hesitates and then follows suit. I chew without tasting as January nibbles her burger and drinks her shake in tiny sips. She’s barely halfway done when she gets up again.
“You’re not finished,” Doc barks.
January’s hands jump to her throat but she doesn’t sit. “Please… I need to shower, I feel disgusting. I’ll be back soon.”
I expect Doc to say something about her taking her clothes off, but he glares at her then returns his attention to his burger. By the time we’re done eating, January emerges from the shower, a thin towel wrapped around herself. “I, um, do you guys have any clothes I can change into?”
I almost choke on my own spit. She looks perfect, tousled and fresh-faced and I’m about to take off my shirt and chinos and give them to her when Doc points at the motel mattress. “No. Get into bed.”
Color rises in January’s cheeks. “Do you mean…? Are we going to sleep or…?”
A throb runs down my cock. She’s scared but I hear a hopeful lift in her voice, like maybe she wants us to push for something more. I look at Doc and his jaw is set. “You’re going to sleep. Turn out the lights and shut the fuck up.”
She doesn’t move. “You’re not going to… come into my bed…?”
“No,” Doc says flatly. “You’re exhausted and I don’t know about Basher, but I don’t stick my dick in unconscious pussy.”
“Fuck you,” I say, though I’m taken aback. Doc doesn’t go for anything less than screamingly enthusiastic, but it’s not like him to admit the truth when he could scare January with a lie. And it’s equally not like him to be responsible about sleep, especially when it seems January might want us in her bed. Still, I’m not going to play the asshole while Doc acts like a hero.
“He’s right, JJ. You should get some sleep. We’ll stay up and look after you.”
January rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet. Her face, scrubbed of makeup is petal soft and impossibly pretty. “Do you think Mr. Parker is trying to find me?”
The answer is somewhere along the continuum of ‘yes’ and ‘absolutely’ but she doesn’t need to know that.
“Don’t worry about it, baby. Just get into bed and rest.”
Doc and I sit at the scratched motel table and watch as January walks to the bed, and folds back the covers. My cock thickens as she peels off her towel and I force my gaze away, pulling out my phone to text Eli that we found a motel. His response comes at once.
Good. Parker’s in Vegas. Adriano’s fine. I’ll update soon.
I go to show Doc the screen and see he and January are locked in a wordless conversation. Doc’s expression is murderous, and January—sitting up in the motel bed—is crying again.
“What’s happening?” I ask.
“Doc hates me,” January says in a soft voice. “He’s going to hurt me.”
“That’s not true, baby. Is it, Doc?”
He doesn’t answer.
“I’m sorry for running away,” she whispers, a sparkling tear dripping onto her cheek. “But I needed to see my Zia. I couldn’t just sit in Velvet House and rot.”
Doc glares at her and even I can tell twisted shit is running through his head.
“It’s okay, JJ,” I say roughly. “You don’t have to explain yourself to us. At least not tonight.”
She turns her tearful gaze to me. “But Adriano… what happened? I heard gunshots.”
“He’s fine. He’s got a couple fractured ribs but the shot to the head only grazed his skull and the one in his side missed everything important. He’s had worse.”
January’s face softens. “Okay. That’s good.”
I frown at the thought of the two of them together, Adriano and January. They left for the hospital like Bonnie and an even uglier Clyde. Adriano did what I couldn’t and took her to her Zia. Has that changed her mind about him? Is he the one she prefers?
“Adriano didn’t sleep with me,” January says, misreading my expression.
“I know.”
“Heard you offered though, Tits,” Doc snarls. “Heard you fucking begged.”
“I did not,” January whispers but pink spots rise on her cheeks. And just like that, I’m thinking of sex again. January’s full mouth against mine, her hard nipples pressing against my chest as I slide inside her…
“Lie down and close your fucking eyes,” Doc snarls. “I’m sick of looking at you.”
“Don’t talk to her like that,” I say. “January honey, go to sleep.”
She doesn’t move. “Do you think Mr. Parker killed any of his men because he’s angry at me?”
Yes, definitely. “Don’t think about it,” I say. “Baby, do you want something to help you sleep or—”
“No! I don’t want to stay awake, but every time I shut my eyes it’s all I can think about.” Her eyes fill with tears again. “He killed my Zia.”
The quiet resignation in her voice cuts me like a knife. “I’m so sorry, JJ.”
The motel fills with silence as the three of us sit there and think about Parker and the people he’s killed. I remember my dad, slumped over his tractor steering wheel, never able to get up, to call me ‘kiddo,’ to cook chilli or watch another baseball game.
“I feel like I don’t have a right to be upset,” January says. “Because she wasn’t really my family.”
“That’s not true,” I tell her. “Your Zia loved you and you loved her. It’s fucking awful that she’s gone, baby.”
January nods, tears sliding down her cheeks. “I met Mr. Parker’s girlfriend.”
Doc and I exchange glances. We know all about Emilia Galloway, the twenty-three-year-old art student that’s somehow survived being Parker’s girlfriend. But we didn’t know January met her, or that she now understands she was never Parker’s exclusive partner.
“What do you think of her?” I ask. “She wasn’t mean to you, was she?”
“No.” January’s face falls. “I feel so sorry for her. Her life is awful. That’s how my life would be if I married him.”
“You don’t have to marry him. You never have to see him again,” I say.
January doesn’t seem to hear. “Maybe I should have married him. If I had, Zia would still be alive.”
“JJ, you can’t think that way—”
She furiously shakes her head. “But that’s not right. Parker told me he would have done it anyway, because he didn’t like Zia, and he didn’t want her in his house. So, screw him.”
The fierceness in her voice shocks me.
“I would have done it,” January says, her voice still vibrating with strength. “I would have married him and done whatever he wanted to keep my Zia alive.”
“We know you would have, JJ,” I say. “We know how strong you are.”
“I didn’t.” Doc says, balling up his burger wrapper.
January looks at him and I see surprise mingle with relief on her face.
“You think I’m strong?”
“I think you’re less useless than I thought,” Doc says. “And now you’re in the club.”
“What club?”
I don’t think he’s going to say it, but then he grimaces, and the words come out.
“The ‘Parker killed something I loved’ club. Basher’s a member. Adriano’s a member. Eli’s a member. We all are. And since you just joined, I figured you should know about it.”
January’s face goes ash pale. “Parker killed…”
“My sister,” Doc snarls. “Had her strangled in her hospital bed. After his boys ripped her clothes off and filmed themselves…”
He breaks off, looking like he’s going to be sick.
January gasps. The motel sheet falls to expose her breasts. It’s a testament to how fucked up the situation is that neither she nor Doc seems to notice.
“Why?” she breathes. “Doc… how? I… Doc, I’m so sorry.”
I’m as shocked as she is. Doc doesn’t talk about Alessia unless he’s blackout drunk. And even then, he doesn’t talk specifics.
“Why did Mr. Parker do that?” January presses. “When did this happen?”
“None of your fucking business,” Doc says flatly. “Go to sleep.”
“Oh, Domenico.” January moves as though to go to Doc and comfort him. My chest aches. Even after everything that’s happened today, all the hurt she’s endured, she’s still so pure. So sweet. It’s a goddamn miracle.
Doc not nearly as impressed. “Get out of that bed and I will break every finger you have, Tits.”
For a second she stares at him and then falls back onto the mattress, unravelling the sheets and pulling them over her head.
I look at Doc. “Was that needed?”
He gets to his feet and throws the Wendy’s bags into the kitchenette trash can. “Enough bullshit, we need to do a sweep of the grounds.”
He heads outside, slamming the door. I hesitate, staring at the white lump that is January. I want to climb into bed beside her and hold her close, promise that she’s safe and everything’s all right. But everything’s not alright. Not yet. Possibly not for a long time. Her Zia’s dead, Parker is hunting her, and Eli, Adriano, Doc and I are far from agreement on what to do about her betrayal. Or her virginity.
Doc pounds on the door. “You coming?”
I start to attention. “Sure.”
Doc’s smoking by the ice machine. He hands me a bag of white disks. “We’ve gotta stay awake and I don’t know about you, but I’m fucked.”
I open the bag. “Speed?”
“Caffeine.”
I take a pill and crunch it between my teeth. “January’s asleep. Or close enough.”
“Good.”
“Why were you being such an asshole to her?”
I expect Doc to deny it or make some snide remark, but his mouth goes thin. “I’m gonna destroy her.”
“What?”
He takes a vicious drag of his cigarette. “I’m going to destroy her for what she did to us.”
I stare at my brother, this man that I unwittingly know better than almost anyone. From the very beginning Doc argued in favor of keeping January alive, be it as our house pet or a stripper. How the fuck has he changed his mind now? “You want to kill—”
Doc’s hand shoots out jabbing me in the chest. “Did I say I want to kill her? I want to destroy her.”
“I don’t—”
“I want her chained in my workshop for the rest of the year. I’m gonna whip her ass and electrocute her tits and shove ice dildos up her twat until she screams.” Doc’s eyes burn over the cherry of his cigarette. “I’ll make her cry until her eyes turn blue. I’ll fuck her until there’s a permeant imprint of my dick inside her. I’m gonna pump so much cum inside her it changes her fucking DNA. I will carve my name into her skin and make her drink my blood and then I will breed her. She’ll have my bastards one after a-fucking-nother. And then, when she’s given me ten kids and taken a hundred thousand of my loads, then maybe, just maybe, I’ll think about forgiving her for running away.”
A rushing sound fills my ears. In the distance I hear cars whirring along the interstate, an owl hooting in a tree.
“O-kay,” I say, stepping back. “I can see you feel… strongly about this.”
“It’s what I’m owed.” He points the smouldering end of the cigarette at the motel door. “That girl in chains. Stand in my way I’ll fucking cut you.”
There’s a million things to say but I pick the dumbest one. “You want to get January pregnant?”
He nods grimly. “Tie her to me forever. Show her she can’t get away with making me feel… with fucking betraying me. Betraying us.”
The caffeine pills pick a bad time to kick in, spiking my heart rate.
“Doc,” I say, trying to sound reasonable. “January’s a scared girl who ran away. You can’t be serious about this Machiavellian shit?”
I’m not remotely scared of Doc but the look he gives me makes the hair on my neck stand up.
“I’ll keep her pregnant for years,” he says. “Blonde babies coming out of her every nine months. Then she’ll see. Then she’ll understand.”
The thought of January swollen with Doc’s child is almost as disturbing as the fucked up sex shit he described. “And you think that’s the best way to become a dad? To force someone to have your kid out of revenge?”
“Why the fuck not? My old man was a deadbeat alcoholic and I’m fine.”
“Yeah, everything about you and this plan screams ‘future father of the year.’”
Doc isn’t listening. He’s squinting at the motel door like it fucked his wife. “As soon as we’re back at Velvet House, I’m bending that girl over my rotating bench and—”
“Valente,” I snap. “You’re not getting January pregnant or imprisoning her in your fucked-up sex den or anything else.”
He frowns, seeming to hear me for the first time. “Why?”
“A million fucking reasons. Including the fact I want to marry her.”
Doc’s eyebrows go up. “You?”
“How are you surprised? I spent the last month saying I wanted to marry her.”
“Yeah, but that was before the bitch ran away.”
I throw up my hands. “She ran away from me too, you know! You’re not the only one who was affected by this situation!”
“Whatever.” Doc flicks a lighter in front of a fresh cigarette. “It was more fucked up for me. I’m owed revenge.”
“And what am I owed, Domenico?”
“I dunno. Whatever. Just stay away from January until I’m done with her.”
I stare at my friend and not for the first time I want to choke the life out of him. “Fuck you, asshole. Me and Eli and Adriano aren’t going to dissolve because you don’t know how to have feelings for a girl. Or did you forget this started between all five of us?”
“I mean… sure. But this is now and—”
“And now you want her, it’s suddenly like all you have to do is waltz back into that motel and take her.” I spit on the ground. “After all these years other people still aren’t real to you.”
“Christ, fine other people are real. You and Morelli and Adri are real,” He takes a deep drag on his cigarette. “Look, I get that you’ve got feelings for January. And I’m not saying we’re not gonna do a three-way once I’m done making the bitch pay, but I call dibs. She’s mine.”
I rub my temples, drained to my very limits. “You’re fucking impossible.”
“Thanks.”
“Not a fucking compliment. Why the hell do you always think you should get whatever you want?”
“I don’t. I’ve just never wanted anything before her.” He pauses, seemingly surprised by his own honesty. “Shit.”
“You’re fucking lying,” I say, even though I know he isn’t.
Doc shakes his head. “There’s been nothing until her. No future. But now…”
Now you’re in love, I think numbly. Doc Valente—a man I once saw bite off someone’s ear—is in love with January Whitehall just like I am.
“…Now I’m gonna wring every last drop of blood, sweat and tears out of that little slut’s body,” Doc finishes. He throws his second cigarette end on the ground and grinds it out like he’s stamping a full stop onto a sentence. “Enough talking. Let’s search this place before Parker hits us with a drone strike.”