Rock Chick Regret (Rock Chick #7)(167)

Cordell shrugged.

It was my turn to stare.

“What do you mean, what am I talking about? Jerry poisoned Harvey Balducci and told me if I didn’t sleep with him, he’d put that same special sauce on my father’s breakfast,” I informed Glover and Cordell.

They both turned to Jerry.

“Jerry?” Cordell called and something in the room made me snap right out of the hissy fit and start to pay attention. “I thought we were runnin’ an errand for Seth. Gettin’ Sadie out of a bad fix, gettin’ her free from Chavez. What the f**k is this?” Cordell asked, turning away from me and toward Jerry.

Jerry was looking pale.

Light, luckily, for me, was beginning to dawn.

“He was working with Donny Balducci,” I told Glover and Cordell.

Jerry’s eyes came to me. “Shut your f**kin’ mouth.”

Oh my.

I decided, since things seemed to be a bit confused and Cordell and Glover weren’t paying much attention to me, that I should start moving slowly toward the door.

So that’s what I did.

But I kept talking.

“The Caymans accounts,” I said to Jerry as it hit me. “The Balduccis wanted the money in those accounts. Revenge against my father. You were going to get your share, weren’t you?”

“Shut the f**k up!” Jerry shouted, starting to come toward me but Cordell and Glover moved, fencing him in, so he stopped.

“Mickey Balducci killed my mother,” I announced to the room. “My father avenged her death. The Balducci Brothers wanted retaliation. Jerry was working with them.”

Cordell and Glover didn’t move but Jerry’s eyes were locked on me and his face twisted with rage.

“You f**kin’ bitch,” he hissed and I kept moving slowly to the door but, for some bizarre reason, Jerry lost it, totally and completely and he kept talking. “I was Seth’s boy. Me. Then f**kin’ Chavez comes along and Seth thinks his shit don’t stink. ‘Hector this…’ and ‘Hector that…’ like he f**kin’ walked on water. Everyone knew, once Bernie left and Seth settled on his new boy, that new boy would get you. Everyone. We all worked on it, we all wanted it. We knew the only one Seth would trust with you, the only one Seth would trust to take care of you, was his boy. The one who’d take his place when he retired. That was me until f**kin’ Chavez came along.”

I couldn’t help myself, his words shook me so much, I’d stopped and was staring at him, mouth open.

“Then Chavez f**ked us,” Jerry snapped, his eyes moving to Cordell and Glover. “He f**ked you too. Made Seth look the fool and he f**ked us all.”

“Don’t know about you but I’m still gettin’ paid,” Glover returned.

“You dumb f**k, Seth isn’t eligible for parole for years, do you think –?” Jerry started but Cordell interrupted him.

“Yeah, and for those years he put you in charge, he made you his boy again and now you’ve f**ked him. So, tell me Jerry, who’s the dumb f**k?”

Then Glover remarked, his voice full of disbelief, “Shit, Jerry, you roofied Sadie? Jeez, Seth’s gonna be pissed.”

“Like I said. Dumb f**k,” Cordell put in.

“Fuck you!” Jerry shouted in Cordell’ face.

“Blow me,” Cordell returned.

Oh my.

This wasn’t going well for Jerry but also (more importantly) I had no idea what it meant for me.

Then everything happened at once.

Jerry charged Cordell, I could tell it was not to fight him but so he could get by him and get to me.

I came unstuck and ran to the door, got my hand on the knob but it flew open when I did. I wheeled backwards, lost balance and landed on my behind.

Marcus and African-American Hottie were in the room, guns up and shouting.

Cordell and Glover twirled, pulled out their guns and started shouting back.

Jerry jumped across the bed, toward me.

I got on my feet, twisted, grabbed the first thing I could find, which was a lamp, and twisted back to see he was nearly on me.

“Stop!” Marcus yelled but Jerry didn’t stop.

I swung the lamp just as a shot was fired. I hit Jerry in the shoulder with the lamp and he went down but his hands went to his thigh where blood was coming from a bullet wound.

“Stay down,” Marcus ordered, advancing, gun on Jerry as African-American Hottie was still in an armed faceoff with Cordell and Glover.

I stood, clutching the lamp and breathing like I’d run a race.

“Sadie, you okay?” Marcus asked.

I slammed the lamp down and then put my hands back to my hips.

“No. I. Am. Not. I’m sick of being kidnapped. Hector’s probably out of his mind!” I screeched.

Marcus kept his eyes and gun on Jerry but I could swear his lips twitched like he was fighting a grin.

Now, really, seriously, by all that was holy, somebody, please tell me, what on earth was funny about this?

I looked at African-American Hottie and he looked like he was amused too.

“What’s f**king funny?” I shouted.

“Maybe you should sit down, love,” Marcus suggested.

“I don’t want to sit down. I want coffee. And brioche with marmalade,” I snapped back then I looked back at African-American Hottie and realized he was still in an armed faceoff and I should probably do something about that. “Um… African-American Hottie?” I called. “They’re good. They’re with me.”