Tara Sivec - Shame on Me

Kennedy pats Ted on the back and looks at him with respect. “I knew there was a reason why I liked having you as a brother.”

“How can we be sure that Paige isn’t going to be in any danger? I mean, this is the Mob we’re talking about. What if they know she’s been in contact with the police and this whole thing is a setup?” Matt asks worriedly as he wraps his arms around me from behind, resting his chin on top of my head.

“There’s always that risk, Matt. I’m not going to lie. But we have a couple of informants on the inside who swear there hasn’t been any talk about this drop being a setup. They all just assume Paige is a ditsy model coming to bail out her ex,” Ted explains.

“Dammit, now I’m jealous. Paige gets to go in there, act all stupid and giggly, and help take down one of the biggest crime rings in the state, and I have to go back and finish delivering a boring subpoena,” Kennedy says.

“Wanna trade places? I can do your makeup and hair and put you in something really cute. We can practice your giggles,” I tell her with a smile.

“On second thought, Paige is a much better choice for this job. Good luck.” Kennedy gives me a thumbs-up and takes a seat at her desk.

“Don’t be too sad. We can celebrate by getting our hair highlighted next week. I got us a new stylist.”

Kennedy scowls at me and I can’t help but laugh. Laughing feels better than curling up in the fetal position in the corner, rocking back and forth in fear. It’s not like I haven’t been trained for this. Kennedy made Lorelei and me take a private investigator course online so we could get our PI license. But studying and taking tests online is a little easier than walking into a situation I might not be prepared for. I’m pretty sure the course never covered the topic of “Taking Down a Crime Ring without Dying.” If all else fails, though, at least Kennedy made sure these last few months that my self-defense skills are top-notch.

“Paige, can you say a few things so I can test the sound level of your mic?” Ted asks as he walks over to Kennedy’s desk and types a few things into the laptop he placed there earlier.

“I can take down a crime ring without dying.”

Matt’s shoulders slump and he hangs his head. “This really isn’t making me feel better right now.”

I give him a sympathetic smile and I’m overcome with the urge to tell him I love him. I don’t know where that thought comes from, but it’s right there, front and center and on the tip of my tongue. It’s crazy, though. I mean, I just met him. Do I really love him, or am I just scared to death that I’m not going to come out of this alive?

While Kennedy, Ted, and Dallas are busy fiddling with the sound levels with the microphone app on the computer, I take the time to stare at Matt’s profile. He really looks nervous and scared. Nervous and scared for me. He keeps running his hand through his hair and sighing. Even though we haven’t known each other that long, I know it’s a sign that he’s trying to keep it together.

Matt turns his head and catches me looking at him. He comes over to me and pulls me up against him. I breathe in his fresh, clean scent and let the warmth of his body calm me.

“Promise me that you’ll be careful. I need you to come back to me, Paige,” he whispers in my ear.

Shame on me for thinking it was crazy to be already in love with this man.

It’s okay, Giovanni, you can let her in.”

The goon by the front door of an abandoned church steps aside when he receives his orders from across the room. He doesn’t put his gun away as I walk through the doors.

The church looks like it hasn’t been closed for very long; I can still smell incense from Sunday morning church services. It must have soaked into the walls. There are pews scattered throughout the huge, vaulted-ceilinged room, but some have been ripped up from the floorboards and moved around so there’s more of a wide-open space. There’s a large statue of the Virgin Mary staring down at me right next to the door. Even though my mother is the religious one in the family, I still say a quick prayer to her that I make it out of this alive. Hopefully she’s forgiving of the fact that I am not a regular churchgoer. Or a virgin.

I swallow nervously when I see Vinnie DeMarco lounging in a pew across the room, his big, beefy arms resting on the back. I only got a quick glimpse of him the night Matt and I saw him with Melanie at Blake’s Seafood Restaurant, but I’ve seen plenty of pictures. He reminds me of Tony Soprano: receding hairline and a belly that sticks out of his three-piece suit, proving that he has a weakness for pasta and a dislike of anything involving exercise. The butterflies in my stomach calm down when I think about all of the episodes when Tony doted on his kids and kindly gave money to the hookers he screwed. But then I start thinking about the hookers he killed and the butterflies are back in full force, trying to claw their way out of my stomach.

“Come closer. I won’t bite,” Vinnie tells me with a smirk.

Taking a deep breath, I make my way to him, my heels clicking on the hardwood floor, the sound echoing around the room. When I get right up in front of Vinnie, he removes his arms from the back of the pew and folds them in his lap.

“I must say, you are more stunning in person than you are in magazines, Paige McCarty.”

The sound of my name on his lips gives me chills. He practically purrs and it makes me want to vomit.

“Take off your shirt.”

His sudden command catches me off guard and my eyes go wide. “Excuse me?”

Vinnie gets up from the pew; his large body makes the wood creak loudly.

“Forgive me if that seemed a little forward. Sometimes I forget my manners. Would you please remove your shirt?”

I’ve quickly gone from nervous and scared to pissed off. Who the hell does he think he is?

“I’m not having sex with you.”

Vinnie throws back his head and laughs at my statement. “As appealing as that sounds, this isn’t about sex. I need to make sure you aren’t wearing a wire.”

Suddenly, my not-so-bright idea in the car ride over of removing the wire doesn’t seem so stupid anymore. Even though Ted assured me that Vinnie probably wouldn’t check me for a wire, I didn’t want to take that chance. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, I whispered a quick “I’m sorry” into the mic before ripping it out of my bra and tossing it onto the front seat.

“Giovanni, I think our guest needs a little encouragement.”

Giovanni is next to me in an instant with the barrel of his gun pressing into the side of my head.

“Yep, I think that should do it,” I mutter. My hands nervously reach up and begin undoing the first few buttons of my shirt.

Vinnie steps closer and raises his eyebrows. “May I?”

When I don’t immediately reply, Giovanni pushes the gun harder against my temple.

Trying not to wince, I smile. “Oh, by all means.”

Vinnie grabs onto the seam of my shirt and with a flick of his wrists, rips it the rest of the way open, buttons scattering across the floor as he stares lecherously at me.

I’m sure he can feel my heart beating out of my chest as he runs his sweaty palms over my skin and his fingers trace the edge of my bra.

“She’s clean,” Vinnie says to Giovanni.

He finally lowers the gun from my head and I can breathe again.

“What the hell are you doing?! Stop touching her!”

Melanie’s screech from behind me makes me jerk in surprise. Even though I can’t stand her, I’m relieved at her timing.

Vinnie sighs and drops his hands from me. “Kitten, I thought I told you to stay in the back with our friend.”

Melanie stalks over to us, shooting an angry glare in my direction. I really hope this is her being a good actress, and she hasn’t changed her mind about helping us. If Vinnie wasn’t still standing so close to me, I’d whisper, “Don’t drop the soap,” just to remind her.

“I got bored back there, baby. And that guy won’t stop crying. It’s annoying.”

That must be Andy she’s talking about. At least I know he’s still alive.

Melanie sidles up to Vinnie and wraps her arms around his abundant waist.

“I still have a little more business to attend to out here. Go in the back and make sure our friend is comfortable,” Vinnie tells her, never taking his eyes off of me.

Melanie looks back and forth between us, and I can see her anger start to escalate.

“You just want me out of the way so you can make your move on her. You think she’s prettier than me, don’t you?” Melanie complains.

She moves away from Vinnie and crosses her arms in front of her in a huff. Vinnie sighs and finally turns away from me. I take that opportunity to pull my shirt back together to cover myself as best I can now that the buttons are all gone.

“Kitten, you’re being silly. Go in the back like a good girl and I’ll take you shopping later.”

Melanie’s eyes light up at the mention of shopping and now I’m convinced she’s forgotten all about our agreement. She’s going to screw me for a new Coach purse.

“I don’t want to leave you alone with her. I don’t trust her. She’s going to be all over you as soon as I leave.”

Ugh, as if.

“You are trying my patience, Kitten. Get your ass in the back, NOW.”

Gone is the guy with the polite act, and in his place is the Mob boss. His jaw clenches as he glares at Melanie, and I watch him squeeze his hands into fists by his side.

“I don’t have to do what you say! You’re not the boss of me!” Melanie shouts.

Awww, shit. Not a wise move there, Melanie.

Vinnie quickly advances on her and his meaty hand is around her neck in an instant. She lets out a whimper of fear as he drags her face closer to his.

“I kept you around because you give the best head out of all the women I’ve had, but now that mouth is going to get you in trouble,” Vinnie threatens quietly. “Giovanni, get rid of her.”

Vinnie shoves Melanie away and she stumbles, falling to the ground. She tries to scramble away from Giovanni, but he quickly reaches down and yanks her up by her hair.

“NO! Don’t do this! You can’t kill me! If you kill me, the police will be all over your ass!” Melanie screams as Giovanni starts to drag her away.

Vinnie immediately goes from slightly mad to all-out pissed off. His lip curls up menacingly and his face turns beet red.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Vinnie demands as Giovanni clenches Melanie’s hair tighter and she lets out a yelp of pain.

“I overheard all of your conversations when you thought I was sleeping. I took notes. I made lists of all the people’s names that you admitted to killing when they didn’t give you the money you owed them,” Melanie rambles. “If you kill me, those notes go immediately to the police, and you will be ruined!”

I can tell Vinnie doesn’t believe her. His anger slowly disappears and he smiles. “You’re bluffing. Giovanni, I think two bullets to the head will suffice.”

Giovanni starts to drag Melanie away again, but she starts screaming.

“BRIAN CRANDALL, KEVIN BROSKY, ERIC RITCHIE, DAVE KEENER, FRANK ROBERTS!”

Giovanni halts and stares nervously at Vinnie. “What the hell, boss?”

Vinnie laughs and shakes his head at Melanie. “A few notes on a piece of paper from a whore won’t stand up in a court of law. Nice try, Kitten. You have no solid proof that I had those men executed for outstanding IOUs.”

If I was smart, I would turn and run out of here right now as fast as I can. Screw Andy.

“You just gave us all the proof we need. Tell him, Paige.” Melanie nods her head in my direction with a confident smile.

Yep, should have run.

Vinnie whips his head around to me, and he’s no longer staring at me like he wants to bang me. This look is all about murder.

Dammit, Melanie!

I should have told Matt how I felt about him when we said good-bye. I wish I had called my mother and told her that I love her even though she’s a pain in my ass. Before I have time to react, Vinnie’s fist shoots out and connects with my cheek. The force of the blow sends me to the ground and I land hard on my elbow. Pain shoots up my arm and my cheek throbs like it’s on fire.

The sound of a gun discharging echoes through the church and I flinch from the noise.

“You touch my daughter one more time and I will blow out your kneecaps, you good-for-nothing!”