Breathless (25 page)

dealing with the humiliation."
"Damn you, Francine," James sighed and ran his
fingers through his hair.
"I have to go, James. They want me inside in 15
minutes. I'll see you later," concluded Francine and
then hung up the phone.
Sam watched as James slammed the phone shut
and stomped over to the cruiser, "I need to get
Francine. She's going to have an abortion. Go get
Alex and I'll see you at Hasani in half an hour."
Sam shook his head at James, closed the cruiser
door and headed for Hasani.
Alex was not going to
be any happier to find that James had to leave to
stop Francine from acting like a spoiled child
throwing a tantrum.
James charged to his car and headed for the clinic
on Main Street. He figured with the lights it would
take him five minutes, if he was lucky. He cursed
himself for getting into this situation to begin
with. He should have listened to himself when
Francine first approached him about an affair and
said no. But his baser instincts told him yes and he
had listened and now he and Alex were paying for
it.
James arrived at the clinic office and charged into
the reception area.
Francine sat looking as
demure as she possibly could in a white blouse and
a skirt that actually reached her knees.
"What are you doing here, James," asked Francine.
"Saving my child's life, you heartless bitch," he
responded grabbing Francine's arm and pulling her
from the room towards the door.
"You don't give a damn about this baby, James so
don't pretend that you do," Francine protested
trying to retrieve her arm from his grasp.
"For your information, I really do care, Francine. All
I wanted was to be your friend and you ruined that
by forcing the issue of a relationship between us. "
"You led me on."
"How in the hell did I lead you on?"
"You made me believe there might be a future for
us, James."
"No, Francine. You dreamt that. I never suggested
it.
Now, let's go," finished James as he tugged
Francine towards the door and into the street, "I
parked behind you in the alley, so let's go."
James and Francine walked to the back of the
building to their awaiting cars.
After unlocking
Francine's door, he placed her in the car and moved
to his own.
James had taken no fewer than five
steps when a shadow fell across the car.
As he
turned to see who it was, he briefly wondered if Tad
knew about Dan and Dominic's arrest.
"Hello, lover boy," came a low voice before James
felt the punch to his chin.
Alex saw the sign of Hasani Industries and smiled as
Tad began to sputter next to her, "What the hell
have you done? Get us out of here, right now," he
demanded gesturing wildly with the gun.
"I'm finished taking orders, Tad. You want out of
here so badly, you're going to have to do it without
me," Alex declared continuing her pace down the
driveway.
Tad looked in the mirror and saw the quick
approach of the truck, "Dammit, Alex, turn this car
around," he ordered before turning the gun on her
and pressing it into her ribs.
Alex felt the dig of the gun and sat up straighter in
her seat to alleviate the pressure.
Looking in her
rear-view mirror, she saw Sam's truck getting
nearer and quietly rejoiced at the thought of this
nightmare being over. She glanced at Tad and saw
the panic in his eyes, as he pressed the gun further
into her side.
"Alex, get us out of here now. "
"No, way," Alex argued slowing the car down as
they got closer to the loading dock.
Suddenly, Tad reached out and grabbed the
steering wheel trying to turn the car away from the
building and towards the exit bringing them
dangerously close to the demonstration model
which sat in the yard.
Alex jerked the wheel back
from Tad and slammed on the brakes spinning the
car around in a circle.
She had just about stopped
the car, when Tad made another grasp at the wheel
and put them on collision course for the metal
recycling container.
Alex was thrust against the steering wheel and then
jerked crudely backwards by the retraction of the
seat belt as the car settled to a grinding halt.
She
felt a protruding piece of metal reach out and rip
away the pants and bandages covering the scrapes
on her left leg. Alex moaned and gingerly touched
the already forming bump and cut on her
forehead. Turning her head slowly, she saw Tad
slumped over the dashboard in an unusual
position. Not caring whether he was alive or dead,
Alex unbuckled her seat belt and took the keys out
of the ignition by force of habit. Pushing open her
car door, she fell out of the car and laid down on
the cold concrete, sighing that she was finally free
of Tad Pierce.
"Alex," called Rob from the other side of the parking
lot.
Alex opened her eyes, not sure how they got closed
to begin with, and looked for the voice that was
calling her, "Rob," she shouted when she
recognized the cop.
"Hi there; nice driving," he joked kneeling down
next to her and examining her head.
Alex began
to laugh and cry, "Thank God, it's you. "
"Who were you expecting," he asked opening the
first aid kit he had fished out from underneath the
seat in Sam's truck.
"I thought maybe you were Tad. "
"I'm not," he said confidently while opening an
iodine swab and brushing it across the open cut on
her head.
When he finished with that, he applied
a dry swab to her head and taped it there.
Then
he turned his attention to her leg, "I'm going to wait
for the paramedics to take care of that.
I don't
think I have enough bandages for it," Alex nodded,
"I'm going to go check on Tad."
Rob stood up and walked around to the passenger
side of the car and pried the door open with the tire
iron he brought with him. Tad hadn't changed
positions from when he passed the car the first time
on his way to check on Alex. Reaching underneath
him, he gently shoved Tad into an upright position
and looked him over. His face was pretty banged
up and his nose was probably broken, but aside
from that he seemed fine.
"Is he alive," asked Alex.
Rob felt for a pulse on the other man's neck, "Yeah,
he is."
Tad groaned and Rob leaned down to check on him,
"Are you alright," he asked.
"I'm much better now," Tad smiled, bringing the
forgotten pistol up into Rob's stomach and firing.
Chapter 25
James reeled from the punch and backed himself
into the building. He stared hard at the shadow
that had created the punch that left his jaw sore
and his ego even more so. Glancing briefly at
Francine to make sure she was alright, he launched
himself at the other man.
James landed a punch into the firm middle of his
attacker and heard him exhale loudly. Satisfied
with that response, James swung again only to have
his punch blocked and feel a blow to the abdomen.
"Shit," he swore bending over and then receiving a
knee to the face for his troubles.
As James stood
upright, he saw the face of his assailant, "What the
hell?"
"Hi there, lover boy," smiled Dominic, Dan's
one-time partner in crime.
"You're supposed to be in jail."
"It's amazing what bail money can do isn't it," he
joked before backhanding James face first onto the
trunk of Francine's car. Dominic punched at James'
kidneys ruthlessly and without ceasing.
James
grunted and moaned in pain but refused to cry
out.
Francine heard the thud and looked in her rear view
mirror, thinking that James may have hit her
car. She had just started her own and was waiting
for him to start his so he could follow her. She
gasped in horror as she saw the large man beating
on James. Getting out of her car, Francine raced
around to the back and attacked the man with her
feeble blows which only served to enrage him.
"Hello there, little girl," Dominic smiled before
wrapping his meaty paws around her neck and
squeezing.
After the onslaught ceased and unable to stand,
James slid to the ground and landed on his back,
further enraging his already bruised kidneys. He lay
helplessly as he watched Dominic seize Francine's
neck and crush her larynx.
Francine felt the large hands cutting off her oxygen
and she began to struggle. Kicking and scratching at
the beast of a man in front of her, she saw in her
final moments a hint of satisfaction on his face as it
contorted and turned blue. Francine gasped for air
and felt the need to keep fighting, but she wasn't
strong enough. Her last thought was of the unborn
child in her womb.
Francine landed in a heap next to him on the
ground. Her face was ashen and her eyes mirrored
the fear she felt in her final moments. James
turned his face away from the horrific scene and
tried to gather his wits as Dominic lumbered
towards him once again. As soon as the brute was
close enough, James brought his forearm up into
the other man's groin, bringing him eye to eye with
James. Struggling to his feet, James used one of the
cars for balance and landed kicks to the abdomen,
chest and shoulders of their assailant as he slowly
collapsed to the ground. Falling on top of the large
man, he placed several blows to Dominic's face until
he was sure the man was unconscious, then
crawled over to Francine's lifeless form.
James gently lifted Francine's head into his lap and
brushed stray tendrils of hair away from those
haunting eyes, "Oh, Francine," he whispered as
silent tears began to fall down his cheeks and onto
her marred face, "What have I done?"
Alex heard the shot and, despite protests from the
sore muscles in her stomach, sat up and jerked her
head to the car.
She saw Rob sink to his knees and
land in a heap next to the vehicle, "Rob," she
shouted.
Then she saw Tad moving, trying to
extricate himself from the wreckage.
"Alex, run," Rob gasped as the cell phone in his
pocket began to ring.
"Alex, stay where you are or I'll shoot him again,"
Tad ordered reaching down and grabbing the cell
phone.
Alex watched as he limped to the center
of the driveway, where he laid down the phone and
crushed it underneath his heel.
Alex sat frozen with fear. She was on the wrong
side of the vehicle to make it to the office doors,
but she could go into the plant and hide through
the loading dock door. Clutching her keys, Alex
stood up suddenly and felt the warm and sticky
ooze of blood trail down her leg soaking her
shoe. She didn't realize that the piece of metal that
had ripped her bandages and pant leg had also torn
a section of skin away as well. Trying not to attract
Tad's attention as he stood over Rob, Alex darted
behind the recycling container as quickly as possible
and headed for the shaky pile of wood that
comprised the steps to the doorway.
Tad saw Alex from the corner of his eye and kicked
Rob in the head as he moved around the car and
followed Alex. Brushing the blood from the cut in
his forehead away from his eyes, Tad grabbed a
length of metal piping that lay beside the container
and used to balance himself on his swollen and
bruised leg.
Alex reached the steps and glanced behind her. She
heard the crunch of pebbles and saw Tad hobbling
his way towards her.
"Alex, don't make me shoot you," he threatened
bringing the gun to bear on her.
Alex pushed the key into the lock and breathed a
sigh of relief as the lock clicked easily and she slid
inside.
Tad fired a shot at Alex, purposely missing her. He
didn't want to kill her, but he couldn't let her escape
into the offices and call the police. Whoever the
man was from the truck, Tad was sure he was
dead. Fighting his way to the door, Tad found it
locked and he began to curse.
Stepping back from
the door, Tad placed the gun against the lock and
pulled the trigger.
Sam was halfway to Hasani Industries when he tried
to reach Rob. The cell phone rang several times
before the line went dead. Sam panicked; it was
unlikely that Rob would shut off the phone or
disconnect him. Slamming down his phone, he
grabbed the two way radio and changed it from the
police channel to the channel he kept in his truck,
"Rob! Rob, can you hear me," he demanded in to
the mouthpiece.
Rob lay as quiet and as still as possible until Tad was
out of sight, groaning he pushed himself to a
crawling position and edged his way across the lot
to Sam's truck. Halfway there, Rob heard Sam's call
on the CB.
Panting, Rob pulled himself into the
cab and reached for the mike.
"Sam," he wheezed into the receiver.
Sam looked at the CB quickly and responded, "Hey,
bud, it's me. What’s the status?"
"I got shot," Rob explained, "Tad has Alex trapped in
the plant and I don't think I can help anymore.”
"Hang on, partner, I'll be right there," Sam
promised, gunning the engine and flying down the
expressway. Rob never heard him, he had passed
out after telling Sam what was happening.
Sam reached for his cell phone and dialed James, he
needed to know what was going on. James was still
sitting in the alley with Francine cradled in his lap
when he heard the phone ring.
Hoping it was
good news about Alex, he picked up the body and
lay it on the back seat before answering.
"James, it's Sam.
Listen, Tad has shot Rob and has
Alex cornered inside the plant.
Can you get there
ASAP?"
"No, I can't," James declined.
"What?"
"I got a problem here, Sam and I'm going to need
help," declared James, explaining what happened in
the alley and Francine's death.
Sam promised to
send help to him right away.
Alex stumbled through the paint shop and found a
clean pathway to the offices.
She heard the shot
Tad had taken at the door and tried to increase her
speed without further aggravating the injuries on
her leg.
Alex made her way through the various
shops in the dark and cursed loudly as she tripped
and fell over a cord lying across the aisles. Picking
herself back up, Alex fought her way to the back of
the plant and into the weld shop.
Tad pulled the door open and heard Alex
fall. Smiling to himself, he tossed aside the useless
piece of metal he had found and picked his way