I barreled out of the cab the second it pulled up curbside in front of Dante's building. I had spent hours walking the waterfront, struggling to make sense of everything. While I should have been celebrating Dante's desire to take the next step, something was holding me back. I worried he was forcing us down a path to appease his insecurities.
We hadn't seen each other much since the awards ceremony. Winning the award, or perhaps the ugly scene with his mother, had propelled him to drive himself even harder at work. Coupled with the fact that I had been spending a ton of time at the mission, we had barely seen each other all week. I had been secretly relieved since I had been able to delay the inevitable a bit longer.
My delaying tactics were only making it harder to broach the subject. I needed to come clean about everything. It had been hanging over my head for weeks. If Dante wanted to take the next step, then he needed to know the truth.
Would it change the way he felt about me? It very well could. Fear that it might had stopped me every time it had come up. But I was done with all that. The only way to move forward was with a clear conscience.
My heart sank when I noticed that Dante's unit was dark. Now that I was ready to spill the truth, waiting even one more minute seemed like a century.
The street was empty, save for the married couple who lived a few houses down. They waved at me as they hopped out of their car, encumbered with bagged takeout. They hurried inside since the sun had almost disappeared and the temperature was dropping.
I took one step forward when the nauseating scent of Brent's cologne hit my senses. It took my brain half a second too long to register his form skulking from the shadows. Instinct kicked in, and I lurched towards the building, dread turning my stomach over. But I was too late.
Brent yanked me back by my hair, dragging me between the two buildings, before my mind could catch up. The acrid scent of garbage filled the air and I had to wait a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the dimness.
"Help! Help!"
"Shut the fuck up," Brent hissed, slapping a hand over my mouth and nose. I couldn't breathe and I bit down until I tasted blood. Brent yowled, releasing his vice-like grip for a split second. I staggered forward, but he tackled me before I could take more than a few steps, my knees scraping hard against the damp asphalt.
"Get off of me," I yelled as I writhed and squirmed, doing my best to buck him off. My efforts were entirely futile and only seemed to annoy him more.
"Stop fighting me or I will have no choice but to hurt you. Do you understand me, you little bitch?"
"Fuck you," I hissed.
The blow to my head dazed me stupid. The salty taste of my tears pooled in my mouth with the metallic tinge of Brent's blood. I had to concentrate on Brent's next words, because my head was spinning.
"Where is the thumb drive, Erica? I need it. There are people involved who will do much worse to me and you if you don't give it to me."
I stopped struggling, letting his words sink in. "Other people?"
His sinister laughter turned my stomach. "God, you're still so fucking naive, Erica. You think this is just about you and me?"
No words came out, because my mind was reeling from his revelation.
Before I could ask him what he was insinuating, he flipped me onto my back and pinned my arms down. Even in the darkness I could see the menacing glow of his green eyes. I needed to vomit and blessed blackness curled around my field of vision.
The slap to my face forced me back to consciousness. "Don't fucking pass out on me now, Erica. Here's what's going to happen. We're going to go upstairs, nice and quiet, and you're going to get the thumb drive."
"Not here. It's not here," I lied. The words were gummy in my mouth and I didn't recognize my own voice.
"Where is it?"
"At my brother's house."
"Fuck!" Brent yelled, letting my hands go to pull at his hair.
All of my self-defense training was in preparation for this one moment. I brought the heel of my hand straight up against his nose, the strike so hard I heard the crunch of crushing cartilage. Blood splattered warm across my face and Brent reared back with a growl.
I used the opportunity to scramble out from under him. I jumped to my feet and tore off down the alleyway, ignoring the pain in my head and the stinging in my knees. I heard Brent closing in, but I focused on the narrow shaft of light coming from the street, pumping my legs as fast as they would go.
I screamed out nonsensical words, hoping that someone, anyone might hear. I glanced over my shoulder and when I turned back around, I ran straight into something that felt like a brick wall. I flew backwards, arms flailing, and landed hard on my ass.
"Shit. Erica? Are you okay?"
I thought I was imagining Dante standing there, face darkened by shadow, but then he helped me to my feet. Brent came to a screeching halt, eyes narrowing as he sized up Dante.
"What the fuck is going on?" Dante asked. I was too shocked and stunned to respond. Dante perused my face and his entire body stiffened with rage.
He lunged at Brent, but Brent sidestepped him, punching him so hard that Dante fell to one knee. With a feral growl, Dante tackled Brent to the ground.
"No," I yelled. Light in the unit above us flicked on. "Help! Please help." I hoped that they would hear me and call the police. My purse was at the opposite end of the alleyway, and there was no way I could chance slipping by Dante and Brent.
The two wrestled with each other, their grunts and groans echoing off the brick walls. Dante landed a blow that stunned Brent momentarily. I screamed again, which distracted Dante long enough for Brent to gain the advantage. They were so evenly matched, I was sure that one of them was going to end up dead.
Soon Dante was back on top, punching a dazed Brent over and over. The sickening scent of blood and sweat mingled in the air, and I clutched my hand over my mouth to keep the contents of my stomach down.
The sound of a police siren in the distance distracted Dante. "Babe, are you okay?" Dante asked over his shoulder, his chest heaving from exertion.
"I'm fine," I lied. My legs trembled and there was a dull pounding in my head.
"She is fine, isn't she?" Brent said, his voice muffled by the blood spilling from his mouth. The slam of Dante's fist echoed off the concrete.
"Stop," I screamed. "Please, stop." I couldn't take the sound of flesh pounding flesh even one more time. No matter how much the asshole deserved it.
"Who is this motherfucker?" Dante yelled.
"Please, calm down," I said.
"I'm surprised Erica hasn't told you about me. We know each other well, don't we?" Brent said. Dante's arm dropped to his side.
Dante looked wildly from Brent to me and back again. He jumped off of Brent, who stayed on the ground, snickering to himself like a lunatic. "What the fuck is he talking about, Erica?"
"Dante, it's not what you think. I, I-" Before I could respond a police cruiser with lights flashing came to a sliding stop at the curb. A second car showed up seconds later.
Dante and I were both so dazed, we didn't even protest when the cops ran towards us with guns drawn. All three of us were forced to the ground while the cops scrambled to figure out what the hell was going on.
It took about thirty minutes to convince the cops that Brent was the perpetrator and that Dante was defending me. Luckily the neighbor in unit 2B had looked out the window, called the police, and corroborated our story.
As the officer pushed Brent into the back of the cruiser, Brent shouted out, "Erica, don't do anything stupid. You hear me?"
I turned so I didn't have to see his leering face as the car pulled away.