I was cleaning up torn paper towel with the vacuum cleaner. I’d gotten it away from Marley pretty quickly but not before he’d sat down and attempted to make a chew toy of it.
I saw motion from the corner of my eye so turned and saw Tommy dragging someone in a brown shirt in by their brown collar.
A UPS delivery guy?
Nick?
Holy shit.
I turned the vacuum cleaner off.
“Oh my God. What the heck?” I asked.
“You tell me!” Tommy demanded, his eyes on fire.
Nick struggled, holding an envelope in his hand, “I already said; it’s a delivery. From her Dad.”
He was trying to struggle away from Tommy but he didn’t have the strength. Tommy was bigger, stronger, crazier, and angrier.
“Fuckin’ punk,” Tommy spat, and dragged him into his office, “Tia, now.”
I followed.
Tommy threw Nick against the wall in his office, “You little fuckin’ punk. What the fuck? You have the nerve to step foot on my property? To get to Tia? What did you think you were gonna do?” Tommy folded his arms across his chest and leveled a killer dirty look on Nick.
“I just have a letter for her, from her Dad. It’s my job, man.” He held the envelope out. Tommy snatched it from his hand and threw it in the direction of the desk. It landed on the floor. Nick was slumped against the wall. He reached to his utility belt for the signature thingamajig. As if one of us was gonna stop right now and sign for the envelope.
Nick looked up at me. His lip was bleeding.
“Did you hit him, Tommy?”
“Did I?” Tommy looked incensed and glared at me like I was stupid, “You keepin’ shit from me, Tia?”
I did a double take, “Huh?”
He stormed toward me, “How many other packages has this little fuck delivered?”
“Wh-what?” I was shocked at the accusation in his words, his tone, his eyes.
His eyes were scary. I backed up and my back hit the wall.
He eyed me warily and then spun and picked Nick up off the floor by clenching his shirt at his chest and threw him against the wall again. And then he punched Nick in the face.
I screeched.
Marley started barking.
“Get him outta here!” Tommy hollered.
I grabbed my puppy’s collar and pulled him out of the room and shut the door behind him.
Marley kept barking from the other side of the door.
Tommy kept punching. He was punching Nick like he was a heavy bag. Over and over and over.
“Tommy! Stop it!”
He ignored me.
“What the fuck, man? How many times you been here?”
“This is the s-second time.”
Tommy glared at me, lip curled, like I was a piece of dirt.
I jolted back, my blood running cold.
“She didn’t see me,” Nick said quickly, swaying like he was dazed, “I was just casing the place. Figuring shit out. I delivered something. Your guard signed for it and I left.”
“You didn’t get the message last time, you stupid little shit?” Tommy pulled a gun from his back and put it against Nick’s cheek.
“Talk,” he said.
I fell to my knees on the floor, “Tommy!”
“Shut it, Athena,” He glared at me and then looked back to Nick.
“I got this route so that I could make sure she’s okay. Her father asked me to deliver a letter. He mailed it to me and I re-packaged it. I was just gonna try to talk to her when I delivered it.”
Oh God, Nick.
Tommy let go of him and got the letter from the floor and tore the envelope open. His eyes skimmed it and tossed it on the desk.
I got up. “Tommy, let him go.”
“I’m sick of his shit, Athena.”
“Nick, you have to stop,” I pleaded.
Nick wiped his lip, “Look at this guy, Tia. Look at what you married! You okay with this? The stuff you used to feed me about being an upstanding citizen? Volunteering, making a difference in the world, and this is who you marry? Someone who pulls a gun on me for tryin’ to just talk to you? Ruby told me you’re carrying his baby, Tia? Seriously?” Nick scrunched his face up in disgust.
“Shut your mouth,” I demanded, “That’s my husband and the father of my child you’re talking shit about. Get the fuck outta here and don’t come back!”
“Nice try, Tia. He’s not walking outta here,” Tommy said, emotionless.
Nick and I both gawked at Tommy. Tommy standing there with a gun in his hand.
“Let him go, Tommy. He’s not coming back. Right Nick?”
Nick shook his head, his eyes on Tommy’s gun.
Tommy cocked the gun.
I gasped and threw myself at Tommy, “Let him go. Don’t do this.”
He glared at me, “I’m sick and fuckin’ tired of people trying to fuckin’ take you from me, Athena.”
“Nick can’t take me from you, baby.”
Tommy lifted me up and sat me on the edge of his desk and moved back toward Nick, who was sheet white.
“Let him go!” I shouted, desperately, “He won’t come back.”
Tommy moved toward Nick and put the gun in Nick’s mouth. I gasped. Nick’s eyes couldn’t have been any wider.
“Tommy, no. No, nonono.” I put my hands in my hair.
Tommy glared at Nick, a muscle jumping in his jaw.
Nick was crying. And peeing his pants. I saw the wet spot spread on the front of his uniform.
I sobbed. I had to stop this insanity.
“Tommy!” I screamed, “Please.”
I was bawling. I jumped off the desk.
“Get the fuck back up there!” he demanded, his chest was moving up and down rapidly. He was so close to snapping.
I sat back on the desk and thrust my hands through my hair, sending Tommy a pleading look, tears running down my face.
I put my hand on my belly and looked at my hand, my wedding rings, the gravity of this was cutting like a knife. A serrated knife.
Tommy side-eyed me and then his expression changed. He pulled the gun back.
“Last chance, fucker. I see you again?”
“You won’t,” Nick promised. Nick’s face was bleeding.
Tommy stepped back again and with his gun, he waved toward the door, “Leave town. You got twenty four hours. Don’t come back. Before you go, get word to Greg O’Connor that due to that little stunt, he no longer has my protection.” Tommy gestured toward the letter.
Nick looked confused a second and then nodded and left, not looking my way.
I was standing there, tears drying on my face, my whole body shaking.
Tommy put the gun down on his desk and followed Nick out. Marley was barking, sitting outside the door, showing his tiny puppy teeth to Nick.
I stood there, in the foyer, watching Tommy talk to Will outside. Tommy was pointing at Nick and giving Will shit.
Will went and opened the gate, which the UPS truck was directly against. Another car was outside the gate, a guy I recognized as one of our security guys standing on the other side.
Nick reversed the UPS truck out of the driveway and peeled off.
I picked up my puppy.
“It’s okay, Marley.”
He licked a tear off my chin and his tail thumped against me.
Tommy came back inside once the gate was shut.
His face was still like thunder.
I stared at him.
Marley started growling.
Tommy frowned at the dog. Marley was growling at him.
He went into his office and picked his gun up. I went upstairs with my puppy.
Tommy was there, a couple minutes later, standing over the bed, where I sat, holding Marley, who was squirming to get away. I let him go but instead of jumping off the bed, my dog sat on the bed, between me and Tommy, staring at Tommy.
Tommy sat on the edge of the bed.
He patted Marley’s head, “Good boy.”
Marley tilted his head curiously at his master. At any other time, I’d have laughed. My little baby dog was smart. He was trying to figure all this out.
I looked my husband right in the eye.
His chest was still rising and falling. Pissed.
He was staring at me.
I was staring back.
“He never contacted you? Not since that dinner?”
I shook my head.
He narrowed his eyes.
“You don’t believe me?” I accused.
“Didn’t say that.”
“You better not fucking say that!” I yelled.
He gave his head a shake and blew out a breath. He put his palms over his eyes and rubbed.
“I gotta go hit something.”
“You do that,” I snapped.
His hands dropped and he stared at me a minute.
I rolled the other way and got to my feet on the other side of the bed.
I stormed to the bathroom and slammed the door. I washed my face and drank a glass of tap water.
I looked at my reflection.
I shook my head.
I felt the tears threaten but I didn’t let them come. I opened the door. He was standing there, looking down at me. I couldn’t read his expression. My dog was in his doggie bed, chewing on his big red Kong toy.
I tried to walk around him but he stopped me with his hands on my shoulders.
“Get off,” I pushed his chest with both hands, “Don’t fucking touch me.”
His eyebrows rose in challenge.
I glared.
He backed off and looked at the floor.
“Fuck you, Tommy. Just…fuck you.”
I stormed out.
He caught me in the hallway and I was up in his arms.
“Put me down!”
He put me down on the bed and pinned me, his eyes on mine. Remorse in them. Maybe. I didn’t know. I didn’t really care. I needed space.
“Don’t be like this. I need you.”
“I need to not be afraid that you’ll keep killing people.”
“Tia.”
“You’ve gone dark.” My heart hurt.
It hurt so much.
He blew out a resigned breath, “I’ve always been dark, baby girl.”
“No. You used to be dark sometimes but now? It’s like you’re always dark now.”