Page 81 of Tony

He charged her, knocking her out of the way. She fell back, hitting her head against the doorframe. Slumping to the floor, tears streamed from her face as she saw him run out of the house.What have I done?

24

It had been a long evening and Tony was anxious to get home. The group was moving toward the back door of the offices leading to the parking garage when Doug leaned his head out of the security monitor door.

“Tony, wait,” he yelled. “Looks like movement outside of Sherrie’s house on the back side. Can’t pick it up very well, but it appears to be a?—”

Just then the sound of an alarm went off inside the room, causing Tony, Gabe, Vinny, and Jobe to hustle inside.

Fuck – someone’s broken in! And they’re there with Sherrie.

* * *

Sinking into the hot bubbles had been the perfect way to end her day. Sherrie grinned, thinking back to when Tony surprised her at the cabin when she had been soaking in the tub.Hmmm, I wish he could come home now.

Deciding she had become a wrinkled prune, she rose from the tub and donned her flannel pajamasbottoms and one of Tony’s t-shirts. Sliding her feet into socks, she padded back into the bathroom. After brushing out her hair, she went downstairs to her kitchen.What was it Tony suggested next? Wine? Oh, yeah.

Pouring a glass of wine, she made her way toward the living room. A loud crash from her sliding-glass door triggered the alarm and as she whirled around, tossing the glass, she saw Hernando stalking toward her. Her feet rooted to the floor, she watched as he moved closer. As her eyes dropped from his angry face, she saw what was in his hand. A gun.

“You bitch,” he shouted over the screaming of the alarm.

Jolted out of her surprise, she darted toward the front door, only to find her escape thwarted as he clamped her arm in his vise grip.

“Where is she?” he growled, squeezing her arm. “Give her up and I’ll leave.”

“Go to hell,” she said, gritting her teeth at the pain in her arm. “She’s where you’ll never find her.” Her head jerked to the side as his free hand slapped her face. Stars danced behind her eyes as she tried to regain her balance.

“Then you’re coming with me, bitch,” he yelled, backhanding her on the other side of her face. He started dragging her through the house toward the shattered door.

Her feet hit the broken glass and she screamed as she began to fall. Still dragging her behind him, her legs and knees went through the glass. The sound of sirens filled the night air, even interrupting the sounds of her alarms.

“Goddamnit,” he screamed again, dragging her backward. Shoving her toward the sofa, he growled, “You’re gonna be my ticket outta here.”

The piercing alarm continued to shatter what was left of Sherrie’s nerves and one look at Hernando showed the same. “Let me shut off the alarm. Please,” she begged, watching him pace waving the gun wildly.

His eyes landed back on her and he lifted his hand with the gun pointing straight to her, saying, “Do it. But one step outta line, bitch, and you won’t make it outta here alive.”

Her rubbery legs and cut feet barely held her as she made her way over to the panel by the front door.Can I make it? Can I get outside?A cold metallic object pressed into her side.

“Don’t even think about it,” he said as though reading her mind.

Her hands shaking, she quickly pressed the code into the panel, silencing the alarm. The sudden quiet was as jarring as the alarm. Only now she could hear her heart beat erratically inside her chest.

By now, the flashing lights of the police were illuminating through her blinds. Keeping her head still, she glanced upwards at the security camera. Tony’s words ran through her mind.I have this placed watched. A live feed goes into my place. I employ several people who monitor the video feeds.

Hernando threw open the front door, holding Sherrie in front of him, the tip of the gun pressed to her head. “Back off,” he shouted. “You get any closer and she’s dead.”

With his arm around her in a vise, her gaze darted out of the door trying to see in the dark. Movement. Police cars. Flashing lights.Tony? Are you there too?

“Mr. Velasquez, this is the Richmond Police. You need to lay down your weapon and let Ms. Mullins go. Once she is free?—”

Hernando’s answer was to slam the door, dragging Sherrie behind him as he moved away from the windows in the front of her house. Sweat pouring off of his face, he pushed her down on the floor in the hallway between the kitchen and the stairs. “Sit there bitch and don’t move. I know how this’ll work. They’ll call and talk, wanting me to give up. But I’ll outsmart them all. You’ll be my ticket outta here.”

Sitting on the floor with her knees pulled up to her chin, she looked up, her heart pounding in her chest.Tony’ll come, I just know it.Staring at the man in front of her, fear still kept her immobilized.Hernando’s crazy. How will Tony fight crazy?

A slight movement to her left caught her eye.Tony?she hoped. A face moved slightly from the laundry room giving her a glimpse of…Bernard? Holy shit, what is he doing here? And in his hand…a gun?Seeing a barely perceptible shake of his head, she quickly looked back in the opposite direction, not wanting to give away his location.

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