CHAPTER 22: Theo
A few minutes after he’d disappeared with Piper, I heard Vinnie whistling as he returned back up the stairs to the penthouse. I saw Anna shifting uncomfortably on her couch as he approached. I was still on my knees were the shotgun guy had dropped me, so I turned my head to see the big mob boss walk back in through the open door.
His eyes swept across the whole room as he talked. “Thing is, Theo,” he began, heading over to Anna’s small bar, “I’ve never been any good at sharing. I grew up with four brothers and we fought over everything.” He fixed three glasses of scotch and picked them up.
“Must have been tough,” I muttered.
“Thank you,” he smiled, pointing a finger at me. He crossed to the goon nearest him and handed him a glass.
“Thanks, boss,” grinned the mobster.
“See, I knew you’d get where I was coming from, Theo,” Vinnie continued, heading towards me. He handed another glass to the guy with the shotgun.
“Cheers, Vinnie,” he said. They toasted each other and took a sip.
“I feel like we’re a lot alike, Theo,” Vinnie turned back to me. He sat down on the chaise longue facing me, less than two feet away.
“Really?” I turned my head to look at him.
“Yeah. We seem to have similar tastes in certain areas,” he smiled. “And we both seem to have a hard time being told to leave some things alone. You see, now I’m all grown up, I don’t feel like I should have to share anything anymore.”
He drained his glass and, with a speed so shocking even I didn’t see it coming, he slammed the glass into the side of my head, crushing it against my skull with the flat of his palm. I landed hard on the floor. Anna yelped in alarm and even the mobsters jumped.
“Sonofabitch!” hissed Vinnie, cursing at the cuts he got on his hand. The side of my head had gone mostly numb but I could still feel a warm, thick liquid tricking down my face. A lot of it.
“Even keeping in mind how I feel about sharing,” Vinnie carried on in his companionable voice, “I like to think I’m not a jealous man.” I hauled myself back to kneeling upright. “But,” Vinnie landed a punch straight across my jaw, knocking me down again, “when I think about you, Theo, touching Piper,” he said, dragging me back up himself. I could feel the blood running out of my mouth now, as well, but that didn’t stop him punching me to the ground again, “something happens and I just lose control.”
I stayed down, my head throbbing and feeling really fuzzy. Vinnie kicked me in the chest, forcing me to cough out more blood onto Anna’s pristine rug.
I hadn’t had time to be scared yet. I’d taken beatings before, at least as bad as this, if not worse. The thing was, I didn’t know if I was going to survive this one. I was pretty sure Anna would do her best to ensure Vinnie didn’t shoot me in her apartment, purely for her sake rather than mine, but I still didn’t see that as being much of an obstacle, unless he let it.
All I could think of was how I wasn’t sure if I’d get the chance to go and bring Piper back. I’d promised her I’d keep her safe, not let Vinnie have her, and make sure nothing bad happened to her. I really didn’t want to break that promise but I wasn’t sure Vinnie was going to give me much choice.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said, kneeling down by my head. He pulled out a short barreled, chromed revolver. It looked like a .44 magnum, which meant this would be over quickly, at least. “You’re wondering why I don’t just kill you now, aren’t you.” He put the barrel to my temple, right near where he’d hit me with the glass. “In deference to our lovely hostess, I am trying not to shoot you in her living room.”
“And I appreciate that,” I tried to say, but all the blood and my aching jaw made it difficult to talk.
“Don’t test me, Theo,” he jabbed the gun harder into my head. “I haven’t decided what to do with you yet. My gut tells me to take you out somewhere and get rid of you. But my brain tells me you could be more useful later. If I held onto you, Piper might be a little more willing to behave.” He bent right down to whisper something only I could hear, “Or it might be fun to find out what it’s like to kill you while I’m fucking her, to see how that makes her react, after I’ve grown tired of making you watch her pleasuring me.”
I felt the burning heat rising in my chest again. I spat blood into his face and got a heavy boot in the spine from the shotgun guy.
“Whoa!” Vinnie got up and stepped back, laughing as he took out his handkerchief to wipe his face again. “What am I today, a spittoon?” I heard the other wise guys laughing with him. “Keep him entertained, boys,” he told his men. “Relax a bit, I’m going to check Piper made it home okay. I’ll call you when I’ve made up my mind about poor Theo.”
As he turned and headed for the door, Anna finally spoke up, “You’re just going to leave these men her? In my apartment?”
“I’m so sorry, dear madam, but you really have no choice at the moment.” Anna began to say something else, but Vinnie spoke over her. “Now I have Piper; I don’t really need you. Consider that fact if you have any more complaints.”
With that, he left, shutting the door behind him. I managed to crane my head to get a look at Anna. She returned my stare and, I think, I saw real fear in her eyes.