Body Lock: MMA Sports Romance (6 page)

"Isn't Vinnie your dad?"

"Yeah," he says. "We don't have that kind of relationship though."

"Oh, well, he must do very well for himself," I say.

"You know what they say."

"No, what do they say?"

"Crime pays," he says. "Until you get caught."

I laugh unable to stop myself. Jans laughs, too, and I feel the connection between us strengthen. He has a blunt honesty that I appreciate. Most of my life, all the men I've known have lied to me. My dad used to tell me the truth. He was honest with me up until the day he died. Since then I’ve only know whatever random guy my mom decided to hook up with for a while. Usually whoever would pay for a place to live and feed us for a few weeks until they grew bored with her or tired of playing family man.

"Well, I guess that makes sense," I say, still laughing.

"You get used to it," Jans says.

"Did you know about my mom?" I ask. "Is that why you did what you did at school today?"

"No," Jans says shaking his head.

"Then why did you?"

"I hate that fucker," he says shrugging. "And no one should treat a beautiful girl that way."

My stomach tightens into a hard knot crushing the butterflies that are trying to dance there. My heart beats too fast and I can't get a deep breath making me light-headed. He called me beautiful. I've never considered myself to be a beautiful girl.

"Thank you, again," I say, my voice soft.

"It was nothing," he replies.

I resist the urge to tell him that it was so much more than nothing to me. I don't really know him. And it doesn't feel right somehow to bare my soul to him on our first real meeting.

“Was that your brother in the office?” I ask instead.

“Blond? Cocky ass?” he asks.

“Yeah, looks kind of like you,” I say.

“Yeah, that’s Axel. He’s all right. Gives you any shit, tell me first, I’ll handle it.”

“Thanks. Anything else I should know?”

“Yeah, Rule Number One, don’t piss off Vinny.”

“Duly noted.”

“If you need anything, my room is three doors down," he says nodding his head back towards the stairs.

"Thank you," I say.

He turns and saunters out of the room. I watch him leave then return to folding my clothes and putting them away in my dresser. I don't know what my mom has gotten us into but I can only hope it turns out for the best. I do feel better knowing that I have a friend and an ally here.

Screaming wakes me up. It's not the first time I've woken to screams but there's something different about these. This isn’t the sound of two drunk people arguing with each other, this is someone in pain. More than pain, agony maybe, I've never heard a sound like it. My first thought is that mom’s drunk or high again but it doesn't sound like her. The pitch is wrong.

I crawl out of bed, throw a robe around myself, and then walk over to my door. I hesitate as my hand touches the knob. Do I really want to know? This is only my third night living in Vinnie's house and I have to admit I'm scared. Fear sits in my stomach like a cold ball of ice and a chill runs down my spine.

I wish Jans was here. He makes me feel safe. I haven't seen him since the day I moved in. He hasn't been in school either. I know because I look for him every day. I put it off to the fact that he's a senior and I'm only a sophomore, and it's not like our class schedules match up. So it's not surprising I haven’t seen him in school but that doesn’t mean I'm not disappointed.

On the plus side about school, Danny and his cronies have left me alone. Since Jans stood up for me I've heard whispers about him. It seems he's well-known around the school. He has a reputation as somebody not to mess with. He's been suspended more than once is the word in the hallways. The only reason he’s still in school and not expelled is because the superintendent is scared of what his dad will do. This is the life my mom’s gotten us into.

The screams haven't stopped and curiosity gets the best of me. I open my door and walk into the hallway. As I make my way to the stairs I hear another door open. I look over at the sound as mom walks into the hallway. She weaves side to side, her eyes are glassy, and she's barely dressed.

"Hey baby," she says, slurring her words. "Did you hear that sound?"

"Back to bed, mom," I order.

"Hey now, baby, you can't tell me what to do," my mom says and stumbles.

I catch her before she falls to the floor. I can smell alcohol on her breath. As I help her back to her feet I notice that the track marks on her arm are fresh. She's mainlining again. I guess it was only a matter of time.

"Mom, you should go to bed."

"Yeah," she says, almost collapsing again. "Maybe you're right, baby."

"Yeah, mom, I am."

I hook my arms under her and all but carry her back to her bedroom. Vinnie doesn't actually sleep in her room with her which I think is strange. It's a huge room, hell, it’s bigger than our last apartment. In the center is a massive California king bed. I help mom over to it and she crawls partway and then collapses into the fluffy pillows. She rolls onto her back with her legs and arms spread out as I try to work the covers out from underneath her so that I can put them over her.

"Look how good I look, baby," she says.

"I know, mom," I say.

"No, baby, look up there in the mirror," mom says, pointing, then her arm collapses back to the bed with a thump.

I look up and wish I hadn't. The ceiling over the bed is covered with mirrors. I don't know why it turns my stomach but it does. Mom giggles and at last I get the covers pulled down and then bring them up over her. She snuggles up into the sheets and in seconds she’s snoring.

It's been a few minutes since I heard any screams and I wonder if maybe it’s done. I head out into the hallway and as I leave mom’s door there's, another scream. This one is bloodcurdling and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. The most disturbing part comes when it's cut short.

I can't not know what is causing that sound. I know I'm going to regret it. Deep down I know I don't want to know but some part of me has to. I walk down the stairs being very careful to try and avoid making any noise. I have a very strong suspicion of what’s happening. As I go down, there are muffled cries that grow louder. I follow the sound until I come to Vinnie's office. The door is cracked open letting me see inside and my stomach rebels causing bile to rise in my throat. It takes every ounce of willpower I have not to vomit.

Tied to a chair with duct tape is the source of the sounds. I think it's supposed to be a man but it's hard to tell through all the blood. Lou's massive form stands to one side and I see his fist swing then make contact with the man's face. There’s the most sickening dull thud I've ever heard as blood and something white flies out of the man's mouth. I wretch again.

"Who do you think you are?" Vinnie says. I don't see him but I know his voice. The man mumbles something but I can't make out the words. He's crying and shaking his head side to side. "No one steals from me. You want to take food out of my family's mouth? You owe me. You pay."

"What the fuck was that?" Vinnie asks. "Jans, you have any idea what the fuck this loser is saying?"

My heart skips a beat. Jans is in the room? Surely he's not part of this. I know I barely know him but this doesn't make any sense. I just don't feel like he's the kind of man who could do this. He's not his father. He doesn't have the same dead eyes.

"Let him go, Vinnie," Jans says.

Oh my god, it is him. Disbelief wars with sadness. Random waves of nausea pass over me at the sight of the man being beaten. I step back from the door and bump into a table set along the wall. A vase on top of it rattles and my heart goes into overtime. I freeze in place afraid to move.

"Lou, find out what the hell that is," Vinnie says.

Oh my god, this is it. I'm going to be caught. What will they do to me? Lou steps into the hallway. He moves like a mountain come to life, slow, inexorable, like nothing can stop him once he's in motion. His eyes fall on me and a cold sweat breaks out across my skin.

"Hi, Lou," I say softly.

I'm scared, more scared than I've ever been but I've come this far. I don't see any options but forward. Lou actually raises his hand and waves at me. It's oddly reassuring.

"It's just LeAnne, Mr. Manarchy," Lou says over his shoulder.

"Bring her in here," Vinnie says. "She should know what I do to take care of her and her mom."

Lou looks at me and shrugs. I don't have a choice so I follow him into the office. The first thing I notice is that the plush carpet has been covered over with plastic sheets. The chair with the man strapped into it sits in the middle. I don't know why this surprises me. It makes sense they wouldn’t want to get blood all over the carpet.

Lou stops just inside the door so I stop beside him. I glance around the room quickly. Vinnie is leaning against the front of his desk with his arms crossed over his chest. He looks at me with those cold dead eyes. Axel sits in an overstuffed wing back chair rubbing his jaw, he’s nursing a black eye. He glances at me then stares at the ceiling. Jans leans against the wall opposite the door. One leg raised up with his foot pressed back and his arms crossed across his chest. He looks relaxed but I have a feeling that he could burst into motion at any second. There's an air of a coiled spring about him. My eyes lock with his and we stare at each other. I see his jaw tense then relax but he says nothing.

"LeAnne," Vinnie says. "Do I take good care of you and your mom?"

"Yes, sir," I say.
Rule Number One, don’t piss of Vinnie.

The man duct taped to the chair whimpers. It's the only sound in the room besides the drip of blood dropping on plastic. It's very intimidating and I really don't want to piss off Vinnie, especially right now.

"That's right," Vinnie says. "I take good care of my family."

Family?
I think to myself. I'm not really his family, I'm just a stray he picked up because he wants to bang my mom.

"I'm sorry," the man mumbles.

He’s still crying and shaking his head side to side. Vinnie turns his attention to the man and I breathe a sigh of relief. I have to wonder, does it make me a bad person that I'm glad this poor soul strapped to a chair has his attention and not me? I don't have an answer to that. Fear has a cold grip on my nerves, ice water runs through my veins and I'm struggling not to shiver. I lock my eyes on Jans. In return he keeps looking at me. Is that regret I see in his eyes?

"Here's the thing," Vinnie says. "Sorry don't pay my bills. Sorry isn't respect. You respect me, don't you?"

"Oh god, yes," the man in the chair says. "I respect you, I respect you, I'll do whatever you want."

"Anything I want, huh?" Vinnie asks.

"Yes, please, yes, I'll do anything. Just let me go. I've got a family, too."

"I know," Vinnie says, and for some reason it's the most dangerous thing I've ever heard yet.

"Oh god, no," the man whines, apparently feeling it, too.

"You work for me now," Vinnie says. "You do what I say, when I say, without question. You got that?"

"Yes, Vinnie, anything you say, Vinnie," the man says, bobbing his head up and down.

Lou is surprisingly fast. I don't even see his hand move before he's making contact with the man's face again.

"That's Mr. Manarchy to you," Vinnie says. "You and I, we’re not on a first name basis. Only my friends and family call me Vinnie. You're not my friend. You're lower than a piece of shit to me."

"Yes, sir," the man says.

"Get him the fuck out of here," Vinnie orders.

Lou walks behind the man and lifts up the chair, man and all, then carries it out of the room. I stand uncertain what to do. I don't know if I'm supposed to go or stay. Jans doesn't move from his position on the wall, keeping his eyes on me. Axel watches the ceiling, silent. Vinnie stares straight ahead into the fireplace where a small fire crackles. At last Vinnie uncrosses his arms and rests his hands on his desk.

“Sorry you had to see that,” he says. “But we all have grow up some time, huh Jans, Axel?”