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Welcome Back to the Family
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As the days began passed, Jenna and Henri both started to relax a little. It had been over two weeks since their trip to Chicago, and nothing out of the ordinary had occurred in Pella or any of the other towns nearby. Henri had put his force and the police departments in other towns on alert for suspicious activity based on an “anonymous tip” of possible mob activity in the area. All patrols in the area were on the lookout for a black Cadillac with blacked out windows, which was illegal in the state, or any other vehicle with the license plate removed and dark tinted windows.
Slowly Jenna got back into her routine, enjoying her quiet life and her time with Henri. They were even talking about moving in together, considering they were practically living together now anyhow. It was quick, but things were just right between them. Jenna knew she loved him. Henri was a good, kind man who just happened to look like a Greek god. She could see herself settling down with him and having the life she always dreamed of. She even sometimes daydreamed of children running around the house, the perfect mix of her and Henri.
Of course, she hadn’t brought any of this up to Henri yet. She was still afraid of spooking him. He had his own wounds to heal, and she wasn’t sure if he was in the same place yet. He still hadn’t talked about his heartbreak from the past, though she had heard enough versions from others in town to know it had nearly destroyed him as a young man. Until she heard from his own lips that he was over his past and loved her and only her, she would wait to tell him the extent of her feelings.
Almost three weeks after Chicago, everything went to hell. Jenna was about to wrap up her Thursday lunch shift at the diner when she glanced out the window and felt her stomach drop. A black, nondescript car was parked across the street, its tinted windows and clear luxury out of place in Pella. The door opened, and someone she recognized got out. Manny, Vic’s right-hand man, stood out like a sore thumb in his suit and shades. Panicking, she ran to the back office.
“Anna, I have to call Henri! I can’t go out front. If someone in a suit comes in looking for me, please, please, don’t tell him I’m here,” she begged, hoping her boss wouldn’t ask too many questions.
Anna looked startled. “Of course, my dear. Call Henri. I’ll watch the front.” She looked a little shaken but walked out front while Jenna dialed Henri.
Before Henri even finished saying hello, Jenna interrupted. “They’re here. I just saw one of Vic’s right-hand men get out of a car like the one that followed us from Chicago. Someone did see me, and now they’re looking for me. What am I going to do?” Jenna cried.
Henri tried to keep his voice calm and professional, but she could hear the worry in it. “Okay, where are you now?”
“I’m in the back office here at the diner. I saw Manny get out of the car across the street. I think he must be walking up and down the street looking for some sign of me, since I haven’t heard anyone come in yet. But it’s only a matter of time. I panicked and ran back here before he saw me, I think. I begged Anna to go out front and not tell anyone I was here.” A new, terrible thought entered her head. “Oh my God, what if I’m putting Anna in danger?”
“Jenna, I need you to calm down and be quiet. I’m sure Anna is fine. If you stay out of sight you will all be safe. I am going to head that way now. Remember, don’t panic, and don’t make any noise. Anna is a tough lady. She will be her sweet self, and this man will leave never knowing you’re in the back. Just stay calm.” Henri had turned into the deputy, and she found that somewhat calming. She took a few deep breaths as she hung up the phone. Henri would be there in a matter of minutes, probably with backup. Everything was going to be okay. She continued to breathe deeply, trying to calm the fear threatening to take over her entire being. All her hard work had been for nothing.
Just then she heard the bell above the door jingle. “Welcome to the Pella Pizzeria and Ice Cream shop! Would you like a booth or a table, sir?” Anna said, not a hint of anything in her voice. She sounded like she always did, and Jenna sighed a little.
Then Jenna heard a voice from her past, and chills ran down her spine. “I’m not here to eat. I want to know if you’ve seen this young woman. She’s been missing for a couple of months, and her fiancé is sick with worry. We heard reports she was seen here in these parts, a long way from home. She has some mental issues, and without the proper treatment is likely delusional and confused.”
Before Anna had a chance to answer, the bell rang again. “Hi, Anna.” Henri’s voice was casual, and Jenna felt some of the tension leave her body. “The guys and I are here for a late lunch.” Good, he’d brought other officers with him, as she had hoped. Manny would never start anything when he was outnumbered by the police, especially if he hadn’t completed his task of finding her. “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“I’m just getting ready to leave,” Manny said, his voice strained with fake politeness. “I’m just asking if anyone has seen this woman. She’s been missing for months and was spotted near here. As I was telling this lady, she’s in need of some psychiatric help. Her fiancé and friends are frantic to find her.”
He must have shown the picture to Henri, because he answered, “She looks like a grown woman. Is she missing or did she simply move? Who reported her missing? Nothing has come across our wires at the precinct about any missing person, especially not one in need of medical care. What kind of illness did you say she had?”
“Some mental issues I’d rather not discuss. Her fiancé is trying to keep this quiet at the moment, but she was supposed to be married later this year. There’s no way she simply moved from the life she had built. If you haven’t seen her, I’ll be on my way. Have a good day.”
Jenna heard the door open and close once more, and immediately wanted to rush out and wrap herself in Henri’s protective arms, but she knew Manny could still be watching the diner. She heard Anna taking some orders, even though she knew the officers had eaten earlier in the day. They were putting on a show, and thankfully Anna was helping them. But would it be enough? What if someone else in town had identified her to Manny? He had been walking up and down the street, and Pella being such a small place everyone knew her and where she worked and lived. Her stomach lurched, and she thanked God she hadn’t eaten yet.
After Anna put in the order, she came back to the office quickly. “Henri wants you to stay out of sight for a while. The car is still parked across the street. We’ll let you know when you can come out. Then you and Henri are going to have to explain some things to me.” With that, she hustled back out of the office as if she did this sort of thing on a regular basis. Anna was quite the woman, Jenna decided. Not for the first time she wished Anna had been her mother, or that her mother had had at least a little Anna in her.
The minutes dragged on; five minutes felt like four hours. All Jenna could do was worry. Finally, after twenty minutes Henri appeared in the office doorway. She threw herself into his arms, crying and trying to choke out her words. “I’m so scared! What if someone else told him I’m here? Then he’ll be back with Vic and all their men. Oh God, what have I done? What if others here in town get hurt because of me? I bring death with me wherever I go!” She cried even harder.
“Shhh. It’s okay for now. He left town. We had someone watching. We’ll have to see who else he visited and if anyone did identify you. If not, then this may be over. If someone did, well, we’ll be prepared for when they come back. But I promise you, I’m not going to let anything happen to you or the people of Pella.” Henri soothed her and led her out to a booth, where Anna had some tea waiting for her.
“So, which one of you is going to tell me what this is all about? I got a bad vibe from that man, and I can understand why you don’t want him to find you, dear, but the question is why is he looking for you in the first place?” Anna looked at them expectantly.
Still shaken, Jenna gave a brief overview of her childhood and teenage years, about what her father had done for a living rather than just running an Italian restaurant. She then got to the part about Vic, and she started to tremble again. “As a teen, I thought he was awesome. He looked good, my father said he was going places, and he always had money and took me to nice places and bought me expensive gifts. I was so naïve. I thought he was my Prince Charming come true. He started to change once my dad arranged my engagement to him.”
“You had an arranged marriage in this day and age?” Anna was taken aback.
“Well, not truly. As dumb as I was, I agreed to it, but the men worked out all the details. Vic started treating me a little more like a possession than a person after that. Once my father died, things got even worse. I basically became a prisoner in my own home. He’d hit me and did whatever he wanted to me whenever he wanted. I had no say in anything. The abuse got pretty bad, so I saved money, including some he never knew my father left me, and when the moment came, I took off. That’s how I ended up in Pella. But someone recognized me when we went to Chicago, so I guess I didn’t run far enough. Now they’re looking for me. They won’t stop looking, either. I need to get out of here. I’m putting you in danger just by being here. I’m so sorry.” She broke down sobbing.
Henri pulled her close to him, trying to comfort her. “You’re not going anywhere. They may move on and decide it wasn’t you. If not, I will personally make sure nothing happens to you. You opened my heart again in a way I thought was impossible. There’s no way I’m losing you, Jenna. I’ll protect you with my life. It’s my job to keep you and everyone in Pella safe, and that’s what I intend to do, but for me, this is more personal. I would be destroyed if I lost you.”
Anna nodded. “Henri’s right. You belong here now, and Pella protects its own. You can’t be on the run your entire life. If they come back, we’ll deal with them, but you are staying put. This is your home now. There are people who love you and will protect you, Jenna. You may not be used to that, from the sounds of it, but it’s the truth.”
Shaking her head, tears still streaming down her face, she said, “But you don’t know what these people are like, what Vic is like. They’re bloodthirsty, have no respect for the lives of others, and will stop at nothing to get what they want. They won’t care about innocent casualties. They will tear this town apart if it means they can get me back and punish me for leaving. I can’t let it happen. I could never live with myself if someone else got hurt because of me and the stupid decisions I made in my past.”
“It won’t come to that. I promise. Trust in me and the police force I work for. We’ll protect you. I will protect you.” Henri tenderly kissed her “I lost what I thought was love once. I’m not losing what I know is love now. We will get through this.”
Still unsure, but not able to find the will to leave Henri, she only nodded. “I love you too. Okay, I’ll trust in you. But we need to tell the rest of the force everything we know, just in case something really does happen. You all need to know Vic and his top men and what they’re capable of. You need to prepare for a confrontation, because that’s what will happen if they truly find me and come back, an all-out war.”
“Let’s head to the station and make the protection of you as official as we can with so little proof.” Henri took her hand and squeezed it. “It’ll be okay. That life is behind you for good, I’ll make sure of it.”
Even making an unofficial police report about Vic and Manny scared Jenna more than she could explain. It made it real. It brought her old life back to the forefront. She once again lived in fear, for herself and for those whom she cared about. Even worse, she felt she was endangering the innocent and unsuspecting residents of a town she had come to love and cherish. People she cared about could be caught in the crossfire. Did darkness and despair follow her everywhere she went? Add to that they didn’t seem to understand how dangerous Vic really was. Sure, he was part of the mob, but most in organized crime were smart and tried to avoid too much attention, especially from law enforcement. That was what Henri and the others were planning for. Vic wasn’t like most people in organized crime though; he was reckless, insane at times, and always out of control. He didn’t care about how much attention he drew to himself. He loved to dare police and taunt them. He had no problem killing more than just his target; collateral damage seemed to excite him. Killing excited him. The only reason he had moved up so far in the organization was because he was ruthless. He would take any job, no matter how dangerous. Plus he’d made arrangements with her father. She was part of what was holding his little part of the empire together, and he would stop at nothing to get her back. Nothing. He needed the stability her name and presence provided to keep moving up, and he would certainly kill anyone to get it back.
So despite her grand plans and her escape, Jenna felt as if she were right back where she’d left off: Under near-constant surveillance, this time by Henri, never allowed a free moment to herself, and living as if violence could erupt at any moment. Would she ever be free of Vic and her past? Despite Henri’s optimism that Manny may be gone for good with no evidence of her, she didn’t believe it. Henri’s license plate would be traceable, and Manny had stopped at more places than the diner. Someone had to have recognized her, and he had to know he’d found the right town. He was probably telling Vic as she sat in the police station making out her report.
“Henri, my gut is telling me things are about to get bad. I know Manny will be back and with reinforcements. Probably even Vic himself, and trust me when I say he is a loose cannon. Are you sure I shouldn’t just get out of Pella? At least for a while? Maybe throw them off my track, let myself be seen elsewhere? At least then I would be putting only myself in danger, and I grew up feeling afraid. I can handle the danger. I don’t want Anna or anyone else hurt on my behalf just because I’m in this town. And if something happened to you because of me, well, I don’t think I could live with that. I care too much about you. There has to be something I can do to get people here out of danger, to keep you out of danger.”
“You’re not running, nor are you going to try to take these guys on by yourself. You’ve told me what your life was like and what your ex is likely to do if he gets hold of you. No. I love you, and you’re staying right here where I can protect you. End of story. We’re not just some small-town yokels who don’t know what we’re doing. We’re all trained law enforcement officers. We can handle this, and we have already put the forces in neighboring communities on alert for possible mob activity, including Des Moines, Kansas City, and Chicago. If these people come for you, we’ll be ready for them. Just trust me,” Henri pleaded with her. Once again she relented and nodded, even though she could sense something terrible coming their way, something she’d brought on them all merely by choosing their quaint town to live in.
Henri drove her home; he would be the one watching over her at night, and patrols were on the lookout for anything suspicious throughout the entire town. Someone would always be watching the restaurant while she worked as the police station was so close, but it didn’t seem enough. Jenna still knew she was putting the entire town in danger, and they expected her to sit around and act like nothing was wrong. She had to do something. She had to. She couldn’t simply sit by and let others risk their lives while she pretended life was great. With her protection team, she couldn’t leave town... but she could make a phone call.
She’d sworn never to contact the people from her past again, but she thought there might be one person still on her side. One person who knew what a monster Vic was and didn’t agree with how he treated others. Her Uncle Michael. He’d always had a soft spot for her and had fought with her father when she’d been promised to Vic. Michael might know more about what was going on and might actually help her. She prayed she was right about him because he was still in the organization, after all. If she were wrong, she could be dooming herself and those around her.
Three days after Manny had visited Pella, Jenna finally got a moment to herself at her house. Henri was still on duty, and patrols were regularly down her street, but she was alone inside and could finally make the call to her uncle. As she dialed the number, she took a deep breath and prayed. This was a huge risk, but something had to be done. As the phone rang she almost let her cowardice get the best of her and hung up, but she was stronger than that.
Someone finally picked up. She heard her uncle’s deep voice. “Hello?”
It’s now or never, she told herself. “Uncle Michael, are you alone?”
“Jenna, is that you? Yes, I’m alone. Are you all right? Vic hasn’t gotten to you, has he? He’s been looking for you for months. They think you’re hiding out in some small town in Iowa.”
“Do they know for sure which town? Has anyone identified me for them?”
“Yes, a mechanic said he recognized you in a town called Pella. Vic had business that’s keeping him here, and he ordered Manny not to move until he got there. You have two days, and then all hell is about to break loose in that town. You need to get out of there, sugar. He’s calling us all in. I’ll do what I can to protect you and others, but....” He trailed off. She knew what he meant. It was as she had feared.
“I can’t leave, Uncle Michael. I can’t. The town will still be in danger if I leave. Manny knows some people lied to him in order to protect me. Plus, I met someone.” She paused, knowing how silly she sounded, but wanting her uncle to understand why she couldn’t run again. “I can’t keep running and looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. I have a real chance at being happy here. I’m not going to let Vic ruin it. I’ll stop him. We will stop him. My boyfriend is a police deputy. The whole town and surrounding precincts are on alert. Henri even notified the FBI that something might go down here based on an anonymous tip. I can end Vic’s reign of terror. With two days’ notice, we should be able to get rid of him once and for all. We might need inside information. Are you willing to help take him down? You know this is not solely about me—he’s a menace out on the streets and needs to be stopped. Not only for the innocents he might kill, but he could bring the whole organization down one of these days with his recklessness. You know it’s true. It’s a miracle he hasn’t already.”
She held her breath as she waited for his answer. She had given it her best shot. Her uncle hated Vic and the way he endangered everyone; hopefully, he hated him enough to rat on him. It was a huge risk for her uncle as well, because if anyone ever found out, he would be a dead man. She still had to ask.
“I’ll do what I can. This can never get out, but I can help you even more. I’ve been informing on Vic myself for some time. He needs to be brought down. I’ll get a message to my contact, and I’m sure he’ll relay pertinent information to the FBI on your end. I haven’t been able to get anything to them to put him away, but if they can catch him in an act of violence, well, then his entire empire’s set to fall. I can vouch that several men, armed men, are planning to come to your town with the goal of removing you, forcibly if necessary, according to Vic. Is this a good number to reach you? I’ll let you know when we get the plan from Vic and what my FBI contact has to say. I know a bunch of us are flying out, me included. Luckily, he only thinks about one kind of family loyalty. I can feed as much info as possible, but if I do this, I need to fade away as the action starts, preserve myself so to speak.” Michael sounded determined.
“I understand. I don’t want you to go down when Vic does. I’m glad you’ve been working to get out from under him on your own. You’re the only family I have left. Plus you’re the only one who tried to stop Vic from getting his claws into me in the first place. I should have listened.” Jenna got choked up.
“Your father was the one who should have listened. He knew Vic was unstable and sadistic, and he let you go with him anyway. That man is a menace to society. I was glad for you when you finally ran. I hoped no one would ever find you. I promise I’ll help you stay safe if I can. Hell, I can help the entire organization stay safe if we can get rid of Vic once and for all.”
“Thank you so much. I don’t even know how to repay you, Uncle Michael.” Tears flowed freely down her face, a mixture of relief because her uncle would try to help her and fear because Vic would be after her in only two days. “I’m going to have to tell everything to my boyfriend and the rest of the police force. I won’t ever give your true name. Though I’m sure your contact at the FBI already knows, I’ll try to protect your anonymity on my side. Are you okay with that? Our family and law enforcement have never mixed well. This is all new to both of us I suppose.”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures. I want you safe because you’re the only family I have left too, you know. I owe you that much. I also want Vic gone from the organization before he gets us all killed or arrested. How he rose so far, I’ll never understand. I’ll be in touch.” She was about to hang up when her uncle spoke again in a somewhat soft voice. “Jenna? I’m glad you found a good man who can accept your past and who will still treat you right. Officer of the law or not, he’s still a good man in my book.” Then the phone went dead.
Jenna sat in silence for a moment. Maybe she wasn’t as alone in the world as she’d thought. Her uncle being ready to help her and giving his blessing for Henri gave her the little bit of hope she needed. Added to that the fact her uncle had been informing on Vic, meant the FBI might take her claims a little more seriously. She picked up the phone again and called Henri. “We have two days to come up with a plan before Vic tries to destroy me and the town too. My uncle is willing to give us inside information on their movements and might be able to get the FBI to cooperate. We can come up with something and end this the right way, can’t we?”
“You didn’t tell me your uncle might be willing to help. And what is this about him and the FBI?” Henri sounded hopeful and a little put off at the same time.
“I didn’t know for sure he would. My family is not known for cooperation with the law. I know he hates Vic, and he warned my father against him, but I still wasn’t sure where his loyalties lay. I know now. He’s been giving up information on Vic for a while. So let’s get a plan together before Vic and his goons get here. Putting them behind bars will help so many people. We need a strategy that will not involve much bloodshed because he is not going to go down without a fight.”
“Okay, I’ll put a call in to the FBI and get the other departments in the area together. We’ll come up with something, Jenna. We will get him. I’ll be home later. Love you.”
“I love you too,” she answered, realizing how true that statement was. Then they hung up, and the countdown began. Jenna only hoped she would be alive when all was said and done, and no one else got hurt in the process.