The Hustler's Daughter {DC Bookdiva Publications} (21 page)

I’ll Be Missing You

Mercedes
lay sound asleep in her bed. Her sleep was disturbed by her ringing phone. 

   “Ugh!”
Mercedes begrudgingly grabbed her phone to answer it.

   “Hello?”
Mercedes whispered into the phone.

   “Mercedes?”  

“Mom?”

   “Yes
Baby it’s me.” She could tell from the sound of her mother’s voice that she had
been crying.

   “What’s
wrong Ma?” Mercedes fretfully asked.

   “It’s
your father…” The words exploded out of her mouth like fireworks.

   “What?
Is he okay? Is he home? What happened?” Mercedes began to panic and paced back
and forth trying to figure out what was wrong with her father.

   “He’s
been shot!” She screamed. “He’s in the hospital!”

“Calm
down Ma.” Mercedes heart was beating faster than a cheetah could run. Her head
started to spin.

“I’m
on my way over there now.” Mercedes hung up the phone and quickly got dressed
to go to her mother’s house. Tears filled her eyes and blurred her vision as
she sped to her parent’s home. She wiped them away with the back of her hand
and arrived at her mother’s house within minutes. She saw her mother sitting on
the steps sobbing uncontrollably. Mercedes quickly got out of the car and raced
over to her. They both embraced as Maria released her bottled up feelings into
her daughter’s arms.

 “Ma,
he’ll be okay.” Mercedes assured her as she rubbed her mother’s back. “Let’s
go.” Mercedes pulled back from the embrace and rushed to the car.

“What
hospital is he in?”

   “He’s
in the New York Downtown Hospital.” Maria sniffled as she wiped away her tears
with the Kleenex tissues.

   As
soon as they arrived at the hospital, they parked and rushed from the car. They
set their sights on the receptionist’s desk. They needed answers about Don
Carter.

   “I…I’m
looking for my husband D-Don Carter.” Maria stuttered. She had tears streaming
down her face. Her demeanor, much like her clothing, was disheveled.            “He’s
in surgery right now Ma’am. You can’t go back there right now.” The
receptionist advised, “You can take a seat in the waiting room.”

“FUCK
THAT!” Maria barked, “I need to see my husband.” She startled everyone in the
waiting room and they suspiciously eyed her. Mercedes tried to calm her mother
down and spoke to the receptionist on her behalf.

 “I’m
sorry ma’am, but my father has been shot and we need to see him.”

 They
eyed the double doors for patients and doctors only and took off to sneak in.

“I’m
sorry, but you can’t go back there.” The receptionist said as they dodged
doctors and searched the rooms for Don. 

“DON
CARTER!” Maria cried out as she rushed down the hall looking in every room. A
doctor rushed over to them and told them that they needed to leave.

“Doctor
please, my father has been shot and we need to know if he’s okay.” Mercedes’
voice cracked as the tears began to fall.

   “Are
you Mrs. Carter, the woman I called just a little while ago?”

   “Yes,
I’m Mrs. Carter. Is my husband okay?” Maria searched the doctor’s face for a glimmer
of hope.

   “Well,
he’s in critical condition and he has almost a dozen gunshot wounds. It’s a
miracle he’s still alive, but he’s a fighter.” Mercedes and Maria both covered
their mouths in horror. He was just fine the last time they saw him.

“Oh
my God!” Maria cried. “How could someone do such a thing?”

“I
know Mrs. Carter, I’m terribly sorry.” The doctor sincerely replied. “He’s
undergoing surgery as of right now.”

“Thank
you Doc.” Maria said. The doctor smiled and turned to walk away. He stopped in
his tracks and said, “Is Roy Carter related to you in any way?”

“Yes
he is.” Maria said, “That’s my brother-in-law.”

“He
was also shot several times including the head. He’s currently in a coma.”

“Oh
Lord!” Mercedes cried out. She couldn’t believe it. It seemed as if everyone in
her family was going through something and she had no way to help.

Mercedes
saw her mother slowly losing control. Her leg trembled as she cried and rocked
back and forth. She intently prayed for Don and Roy. Forty-five minutes passed
and the doctor came back with an update.

   “Is
my husband going to be alright?” Maria asked, while still hoping for the best.

   “I’m
sorry; Mr. Carter didn’t make it.” The doctor’s eyes said it all. Maria wailed
and collapsed to the ground in sorrow. She had just lost the love of her life.        

“Mercedes
stood still in utter disbelief. It felt as if someone just sucked all of air
out of her. She cried and fell to her knees. She looked at the ceiling and
asked God why. She cried until her tears abandoned her. Maria tried to comfort
her daughter, even in her own time of sorrow. She knew Mercedes loved her
father dearly. After several minutes passed, they finally calmed down and dried
their eyes enough for them to see where they were walking. They noticed the
doctor approaching them to talk.

“You
know, we usually don’t do this…but do you want to see him?” He asked.

“Yes
please.” Maria said in a hushed tone. They followed the doctor and entered the
room where Don’s body lie. She stopped in her tracks and began sobbing once
more. Seeing her husband in that condition was surreal. Mercedes tightly
grabbed her mother’s hand. They both stared as they touched his lifeless body,
praying that it was all a dream.

“I
love you Daddy.” Mercedes turned and ran from the room. She couldn’t believe
her father was gone. She kept wishing it was a dream and when she woke up
things would be normal.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t a dream-it was reality.

“Don,
Babe I will always love you.  Why did you have to leave me so soon? I promise
to look after our daughter and keep her safe.  We’ll find out who did this and
they will pay.  Goodbye my love, see you on the other side.”

Maria
slowly walked out of the room while wiping her tears away. They checked on Roy
once again and he was still in a coma. They decided to go home and check on him
tomorrow.

They
drove in silence back to the home that Maria and Don once shared.  When they
arrived, they noticed the lights were on.  Mercedes thought she switched them
off before they left. Maria wondered the same and she grew tense. She knew
Claudia wasn’t back from Puerto Rico yet. She went to care for her sick mother.

“Keep
driving Mercedes.” Maria told her while looking out the window.

“Why
Ma?” She was puzzled by her mother’s request.

“Just
drive Mercedes! Please!” Maria raised her voice and turned toward her.

Mercedes
did as she was told and kept going. She was concerned to see her mother scared.
She didn’t know what to make of Maria’s actions.

“I
didn’t mean to yell Sweetie, but please just let me spend the night with you.”
Mercedes kept driving and without asking any further questions. She noticed her
mother turned and suspiciously looked as she passed their house. She wondered
what could be happening.

Mercedes
pulled up in front of her condo and parked. They held hands and entered the
house together. They went directly upstairs into Mercedes’ bedroom. She grabbed
a set of pajamas for her mother to sleep in and got some night clothes for
herself. They turned off the light and climbed into bed lying next to each
other.

“I
love you Mercedes.”

“I
love you too Ma.”

“Mercedes?”
Maria called out her name barely above a whisper causing her voice to crack.

“Yes
Ma?”

“Can
you hold me?” Maria sniffled.

Mercedes
moved in closer to her mother and held her as they cried themselves to sleep in
each other’s arms.

xxxxxxxxxx

Claudia
sat in the yellow taxi clutching her purse. She pressed it against her abdomen.
She was due back from Puerto Rico early this morning and already had confirmed
with Maria that she would be home. She stared from the window as the taxi drove
up the path to the Carter’s mansion. Claudia opened her purse and pulled out a
fifty dollar bill and handed it to the driver to pay the fare. The trunk was
popped and Claudia got out and grabbed her Louis Vuitton luggage from the
trunk. She closed it and walked up to the door. She looked at her watch and
noticed the time was eleven-thirty. She saw that the lights were on, so someone
was awake. She didn’t like having to disturb them. Claudia proceeded up the
stairs with her bags and rang the doorbell. The door opened and she picked up
her bag to carry it inside when she was grabbed at the neck and pulled in. She
didn’t know who it was but they were strong and her breath was slowly leaving
her body.

“Let
her go.” Vicente said as he calmly sat.

Emilio
released his hand from around her neck. Claudia dropped to the ground. She
coughed loudly and put her hand over her chest. She was desperately trying to
catch her breath.

“Who
is she?” Vicente asked. He was eager to know who this woman was. 

“Claudia.”
Emilio said, as if Vicente knew who she was supposed to be. “She’s the maid.”

“They
have a fucking maid?” Vicente’s eyebrows arched as he looked around, “You got
to be fucking kidding me!” Vicente slapped his knee as he laughed and everyone
in the room laughed as well. They laughed at whatever Vicente laughed at. If
they didn’t, he would take offense. He had that much power over his cronies.

“Really,
he has a fucking maid? This man sure was living it up-but not anymore.” A
devilish smirk appeared across his face. One of his workers came down the
stairs and Vicente looked over his shoulder.

“Did
you find anything?” He asked.

“No,
no money or drugs sir.” The worker informed him, “He must have it somewhere else.”

 Vicente
knew Don was a smart man and wouldn’t keep any of his drugs and money in the
house. The burning question was-where did he hide everything? Vicente walked
over to Claudia who had a look of sheer terror. “Where’s my daughter?” Vicente
bluntly asked.

“Who’s
your daughter?” Claudia pretended to be unaware of the situation; she was
trying to save her life. She knew that Vicente was Maria’s father, but didn’t
want to be involved. She already knew too much. Maria and Claudia grew close
over the years. They were friends, even though Claudia worked for Don and
Maria.  Vicente didn’t like the answer and backhanded her.  Blood began to
trickle from the side of her mouth.

“You
think I’m fucking stupid?” Vicente asked, “Huh?” Claudia still held onto her face
as she looked up and stared into Vicente’s eyes.

“I
don’t know,” Claudia sarcastically said while shrugging her shoulders. When she
spoke, her thick Spanish accent came out. Vicente thought she felt like she had
the upper hand.

“I’m
going to ask you one more time.” Vicente growled. He was getting mad. “Where is
Maria?”

“I
don’t know where she is.”

Vicente
grabbed her hair with a firm grip and balled it up in his fist. He yanked her
head back. He stared into her eyes and didn’t blink.

“I
know you know where the fuck my daughter is!” He let go of her hair and backed
up like he was going to leave her alone. He then balled up his fist and rocked
her jaw several times. Claudia’s head moved back and forth, not once falling to
the ground. She may have seemed like a sweet woman, but she came from a poor
family. Her father always told her to never bow down to no one and to never let
anyone disrespect her. Claudia remembered those words; she kept them in mind as
Vicente kept punching her in the face.

“Where
is she?” Vicente’s voice cracked. “I just want her back.” He softly said.

He
stopped hitting her long enough to get those words out. Finally, he sounded
like a father instead of a gangster. Claudia grabbed her sore jaw and moved it
side to side. She was trying to regain feeling in it. Thick gobs of blood
poured from her mouth and oozed down the side of her lip.

“Why
would I tell you, even if I knew?” Claudia barked. “You’re going to kill me
anyway!”

“Emilio,
kill that bitch!”

“Your
daughter hates you! She hates your fucking guts and she will never be with
you!” Claudia barked. These statements made Vicente enraged. 

“Oh
yeah, we’ll see about that.” Vicente bent down and sat eye level with Claudia.
“No one takes my daughter and gets away with it. As for you…you were just at
the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Vicente
spit on Claudia and got up, “Puta!”

He
turned to Emilio and gave the signal as he walked towards the front door with
his crew.