Page 9 of Forgetting the Enemy
He rattles off his number and then says, “And you will keep this phone so I can contact you?”
“Yes,” I reply.
“Michael, thank you. You won’t be sorry. We’re all about to live in a better world,” he says and then disconnects the line.
After we hang up, I think about what he is asking me to do. I can’t imagine hating my father so much that I would actually order his premature death. But then again, if Alberto was my father, I would probably do exactly what Vince is doing. The only difference is I would have done it a long time ago.
A few minutes later, Ricco walks into the gym. “Ah, Michael, Jude just radioed me. Serena is here.”
Aw, fuck. The last thing I want to deal with today is Serena. “What does she want?” I ask. I made the mistake a while ago of going out with Serena more than a couple of times, and she became clingy and possessive. I don’t do either and ended things rather abruptly. She’s laid low for the most part, only texting me a time or two about how much she missed me, to which I never replied. I thought she had finally gotten the hint.So why the fuck is she here?
“To see you, of course,” he replies.
“I don’t want to see her, Ricco. I told her months ago that whatever she thought we had was over. Get rid of her.” I know it’s a total dick move, but I don’t have time for her bullshit.
“Will do.” He turns to leave, and I go back to my workout.
***
Zaira
It’s only been two weeks, and already the happy bride-to-be act is getting old. I’m drowning in an ocean of unhappiness and fear. I can run away?Foolish girl!That will never work! My father will hunt me down, and there is no doubt he’ll find me. It wouldn’t matter where I went or what I did, he has connections everywhere. I wouldn’t run very far before he found me, and the consequences of that make me shudder.
“I can’t believe you’re getting married!” Mia exclaims. “Aren’t you excited?” Mia is my younger sister; she’s seventeen and has no idea of the hell I am about to face with this marriage. And she will never know. Of all my siblings, Mia is the bubbly one. Perhaps it’s her age, but she can walk into a room and make it brighter just by her presence. Hopefully she will have the option to marry for love, unlike me. Being the oldest requires me to make sacrifices for the family, and marriage to Victor is one of them. You would think that in this day and age I would be able to choose my own husband, but Father does not follow the practices of the twenty-first century. He is completely old school. Hell, I’m lucky he finally agreed to allow me to go to college. I guess that is something.
This engagement party has gone on forever, and I just want it to end and go back to the solitude of my room, alone. I should be mingling, but it is taking all my willpower to smile and look happy.
Mia gives me a hug. “Oh, look, your handsome fiancé is coming.” She pauses and then says, “I’ll give you some privacy.” When she walks off, I silently scream,Wait, Mia, don’t go!
I look up and see Victor walking toward us. As I watch him approach, I agree he is handsome. Actually, he’s downright beautiful. It’s a shame his inner self doesn’t mirror his outer appearance. Victor is tall, roughly six feet. He has broad shoulders and scruffy blond hair. His eyes are green. Unfortunately, they have a glint to them that makes my skin crawl. And, he’s old. Well, not really, but he’s twelve years older than me.
He comes around and stands behind me and leans in to whisper in my ear, “I hope you know how happy I am that you’ll be my wife in five and a half months.”
I shudder, which he seems to take as arousal.
“And soon, you’ll be in my bed,” he says.
My stomach churns at his words, and I begin to struggle to breathe.
“You should mingle more, Zaira. At least pretend you are happy about marrying me,” he says and walks away.
Bastard!He’s on to me, and he knows I’m acting.My life is over.Him knowing I am not happy about marrying him will only make my married life with him even worse.
Oh, God! I can’t marry him! I can’t. I pray Vince comes through for me and makes this nightmare go away.
I plead to nobody but the Almighty himself ’cause he is the only one who can help me. Being the good Catholic girl I am, I would be encouraged to pray to one of the saints, but that never worked for me. Hell, I can’t even remember what saint to pray to who will keep me from an awful marriage if there even is one. No, I’m the kind of girl to go straight to the top.
I’m lost in thought and silent prayer, for God to intervene and change the outcome of this horrid affair, when I’m awakened from my thoughts by a loud bang. Actually, several loud bangs, and while I am quickly getting my wits about me, I realize what I’m hearing is gunfire.Gunfire!
I look around me, and everyone is screaming and running in all directions. It’s chaos. I quickly scan the room and see my father and Victor leaving. I’m appalled. They are not doing anything to help anyone, and it’s obvious they only care about saving themselves. I don’t know why I would expect anything different. As I watch them head for cover, I realize the gunfire is meant for them. My father gets hit in the back of the head, and I watch his brains explode all over Victor.Oh my God!Victor turns, and a bullet gets him right between the eyes, then another one in the chest. If I’m lucky, it will hit his black heart. I know without a doubt they are dead.
I’m in shock by what is happening all around me. I hear someone calling my name, but I can’t find them or the source of the guns. I have no idea which direction to run without getting hit. It’s pandemonium.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Michael Vitali.Why are the Vitalis here?I think to myself.
As if jolted from my thoughts by a bullet, I realize I have not seen my brother or Mia. Suddenly, I begin to panic and run from the solarium toward another part of the house. I am too busy looking for them when I trip over something in my path. I fall hard and bang my head on something.
Lying on the ground disoriented, my last thought is to never underestimate the power of prayer. Watching my father and Victor get shot, I would say it is fair to assume my prayers have just been answered.
And then everything goes black and silent.
