The Enforcer

Chapter 1 Mary

CHAPTER 1

MARY

The call came in the dead of the night.

Mary’s head almost hit the wall when she reached for her phone on the nightstand. Then she remembered that her bedroom no longer had space for a nightstand, since it was so tiny. Three months in her new home, and she still hadn’t gotten used to the lack of size of the apartment. After having lived in big mansions all her life, it was quite the adjustment.

She reached for the window sill above her to pick up her phone. Britney was calling. Her friend calling this late was never a good sign.

“Britney. Everything okay?”

“I… I’m so sorry, Mary. I couldn’t stop myself.” It was all she croaked out, and then she started sobbing.

Oh, no.

“I tried… I really did…”

Mary pushed her legs over the side of the bed and switched on the lights. “Where are you?”

“I can’t do this anymore,” Britney rambled on. “It’s too much. I’m tired. So tired. Zoe deserves a better sister than me. She deserves someone like you. Can she… can she stay with you for another night?”

“Of course she can.” She grabbed her jeans from the dresser and put them on, which was no feat with one hand. “Please tell me you’re home.” And not in some dirty alley.

Another sob. “I’m home.”

Mary had known that the “Kicking your Addiction” program would be hard on Britney. Though, she hadn’t expected her to take to the needle this quickly again.

“Okay, sit tight, I’m coming over. I just need to find someone to watch over Zoe.” Even though her goddaughter liked to think of herself as all grown up—and part-time superhero—she still was a six-year-old.

She ended the call, finished getting dressed, and went to Zoe’s room. The girl was sleeping in a bed that seemed to disappear between stacks of boxes that cramped up the place. Once again, Mary wished that her sister Gina would pick up her stuff that mostly seemed to consist of apparel and shoes. Gina wouldn’t want to be caught dead in Mary’s apartment, but she sure liked to use it as a storage unit.

She was debating on who to call at this hour. Her cousin Jazzy or her friend Tommie would usually be her first choice, but they were at a convention until tomorrow. Jazzy had given her a number for emergencies, though. Not having another option, she called it.

“Yeah.”

Mary froze and dropped back onto the bed. She would recognize that deep, grouchy voice that sent delicious tingles down her spine any time of the day. What was Hector doing answering Jazzy’s emergency number?

“Um… this is Mary. I’m looking for Jazzy.”

“This is an emergency number that connects to Diaz Security.”

“Oh.” She wasn’t sure how to continue. She knew Hector provided the security for Jazzy’s husband.

“What’s the emergency?”

The sarcasm in his voice couldn’t be missed. The man really didn’t like her and for the love of God, she had no idea why. “I need a sitter.”

Silence. Then, “Excuse me?”

That came out wrong, so she tried again. “I just got a call from a friend. She’s not doing well, so I have to go over there. Her little sister is staying at my place and I can’t take her with me, so I need someone to look after her.”

“Call someone else.”

She silently prayed for patience. “Don’t you think that if that had been an option, I would have done so already?” His attitude was starting to piss her off. He was the only person who could get under her skin so fast.

“s**t. Fine. I’ll be there in fifteen.”

“In fifteen?” she asked, but he’d already hung up. She didn’t know where Hector lived but she didn’t think it was in her part of town.

Still, fifteen minutes later, right when she put on her sneakers, the doorbell rang.

Opening the door, she discovered he wasn’t alone. Next to him stood another behemoth of a man. With his rippling muscles and shoulder-length hair, he was basically a blond, friendlier-looking version of Hector.

“Hi there, I’m Achilles,” the stranger introduced himself.

Hector and Achilles? There must be an interesting story behind that. If only she had the time. “Nice to meet you, Achilles. I’m Mary. Zoe only needs one sitter, really.”

“Achilles is here for the kid, I’m going with you. Jazzy would give me s**t if I let you go alone at night like this.”

Right. Of course he found it necessary to point out that he wasn’t here of his own accord.

His lovely words were followed by a frown. “You gonna let us in?”

“Of course.” She stepped back, and they followed her into her living room. The small place seemed to shrink as the two large men filled the room.

They were sizing up the stacks of boxes covering half the hallway—Gina’s stuff hadn’t fit in just the guest room.

“My sister doesn’t have her own place yet.” She suddenly felt the need to defend herself.

“How the mighty have fallen,” Gina had scoffed when she’d first entered Mary’s apartment. Unlike her sister, Mary was a ‘glass half full’ kind of person. Yes, she no longer lived in the luxury her late grandfather—banker to the mob—had provided her with, but her new life presented new opportunities. It didn’t have the restrictions it had before, and that was incredibly liberating. She could follow her own path instead of the one her grandfather would have chiseled out for her. There was no reason she couldn’t make it on her own. Millions of women did it every day, under far worse circumstances.

Mary grabbed her bag and keys from the coffee table.

“Thank you so much for coming over. Zoe’s asleep, so she shouldn’t be any trouble. Please, make yourself at home.”

Hector grunted and walked outside.

When she started toward her car, he shook his head. “Not happening.”

She had to give it to him; he would barely fit in her tiny Toyota.

To her surprise, he bypassed the van with the Diaz Security logo on it and stepped onto a Harley. Not wanting to get into a discussion about transportation, she just put on the helmet he gave her.

She told him the address and he took off.

The ride over to Britney’s house was nothing if not amazing. It was the first time she got to ride on a bike and she loved every second of it.

Unfortunately, it ended far too quickly. Britney’s place looked even worse from the outside than Mary’s did.

When Hector made an attempt to dismount, she stopped him.

“Britney gets nervous around big men. Could you please wait here while I check up on her?” She didn’t wait for an answer but dismounted, handing him over the helmet.

“You have fifteen.”

What was it with him and fifteen minutes? She hurried up the stairs to Britney’s apartment while contemplating what to do. They had met at a support group at the women’s shelter. It was the place where Mary had found the courage to speak out. There was great power in confronting your traumas and fears. The alternative was going down a rabbit hole of denial that often resulted in alcohol, drugs, a depression, or a combination of those. She considered herself lucky for finding the right people to support her and not going down that dark road. Britney, unfortunately, hadn’t been that lucky.

Using the spare key, she entered the apartment, unsure of what she would find inside. A lot of times, Britney would just be lying on the couch, staring at a wall.

The only sound coming from the living room was some grunting.

She opened the door to the living room and came face to face with a man just stepping off of Britney.

“I’ll be back for the rest tomorrow, cunt,” he sneered, pulling his zipper up.

Lovely. Mary hadn’t seen him here before. Britney didn’t usually invite men over. Especially not the creepy-looking kind with bloodshot eyes and bad teeth.

She looked past his shoulder. Britney was sprawled over the couch, naked from the waist down. Her eyes were closed, and Mary wasn’t sure if she was even conscious.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I’m Ivan. This slut’s boyfriend.”

Her lips thinned. She really doubted that he was Britney’s anything, apart from her drug supplier, maybe.

“Get out.”

She stepped over Chinese take-out boxes that littered the floor, and knelt next to her friend. She grabbed a blanket off the floor and threw it over Britney’s lower body to cover her nakedness. Britney was in really bad shape. Her eyes were sunken into her pale face and she barely had a pulse.

Suddenly an arm wrapped around her chest.

She yelped when Ivan pushed her onto the ratty carpet. She swung her fists, but to no avail. He straddled her body and grabbed her hands in one fist.

“Get off of me!” she started yelling, which only made him laugh.

“I like ‘em feisty.”

Oh God. His breath smelled like a sewer.

Okay, don’t panic. You know what to do.

When his hands went to her breasts and ripped open her top, she made her move.

Her teeth latched onto his scruffy cheek and she bit. Hard. Not letting go until she tasted blood.

Yuck.

“f*****g b***h!”

She poked him in the eye, followed by a move she’d learned from self-defense class, and got away from under Ivan. Those classes Jazzy had dragged her to were finally paying off.

Stepping behind the coffee table, she put more distance between them, and took a defensive stance.

Adrenaline was coursing through her veins, making her blood sing. Knowing that she could take care of herself was incredibly empowering. Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure as what to do next. Her Krav Maga lessons had been about fending off your attacker and then run the hell away. Well, that last part hadn’t been in the instructions, but she’d filled that in herself. Except, she couldn’t just leave Britney with this creep.

Ivan crawled back on his feet, his eyes blazing fire. “I’m gonna cut you open, bitch.”

She sucked in a breath when he pulled out a knife, her flight instinct almost taking over.

Make a stand!

Do I have to?

Yes, you do!

Following the advice of her inner dialog, she was just channeling her inner sss, when the door was bashed in. Yep, bashed in, because Hector literally broke the door off its hinges when he stormed inside.

One look at her torn clothes, and his eyes turned into razor sharp shards of green. He didn’t speak when he walked up to Ivan. In the blink of an eye, he disarmed him. Then he just grabbed him by the throat and introduced his face to the wall. Repeatedly.

Mary winced when she heard bones break. She could see Death in Hector’s eyes. Maybe she should stop him. On the other hand, prison had conjugal visits. It might be her only way in with Hector Diaz.

“You have any idea who you’re messing with?” Ivan spewed. “I’m Ivan, and—”

Hector swung him toward the sink. Ivan’s head thudded against the sink mirror and bounced back. Hector kicked his knee, then did a spin to his head until Ivan was knocked out cold.

Mary checked on Britney again. Her not waking up, after all the ruckus around her, was a bad sign.

“Overdose,” Hector said, while pulling out his phone. His eyes went to the needle on the table.

“Oh no, no, no, no.” What would she tell Zoe?

“Mary?”

She blinked up at Hector. Judging by his frown, it wasn’t the first time he called her name.

“Yes?”

“Why don’t you get your friend some clothes? And some other stuff she’s gonna need.”

Right. She got up and busied herself by stuffing some underwear and clothes into a plastic bag she’d found underneath Britney’s bed.

The next few hours passed by in a blur. Britney was loaded into an ambulance and they followed suit. Then there were nurses and doctors to speak to. Nobody could tell her much, except that Britney was in really bad condition. Thankfully, she wasn’t alone; Hector didn’t leave her side once. He didn’t say much—the guy wasn’t a talker—but she drew strength from his presence.

Then, around three a.m., the news came: Britney didn’t make it. Just as Hector had predicted, it had been an overdose that had ended her life.

Mary felt numb while the doctor told her in a clean and medical way what had happened. All the comforting words in the world couldn’t drive away the pain. Britney had only been twenty-five, merely four years older than Mary, and now she was gone. Her life had hardly begun before it ended.

There were forms to be filled out. So many forms. Again, Hector was her rock. He kept her calm and even took care of funeral arrangements.

By the time they returned to her apartment, Mary was exhausted. All she wanted to do was crawl back into bed and think about tomorrow, well, tomorrow.

They were met with Zoe and Achilles sitting on the couch, watching TV. The big man dwarfed Zoe who was plastered to his side.

The little girl jumped up when she saw her.

“Mary! We are watching Wonder Woman.” Then she came to a halt, peeking past Mary. “You’re the Wolfman,” she whispered, looking up at Hector with eyes like saucers.

“I might have told her a tale or two about real heroes,” Achilles said, getting up. “The PG-rated version, of course.”

“It’s late, cupcake. You really have to get back to bed.” Tomorrow wasn’t a school night, but it was still well past her bedtime.

A pout followed. “But the movie’s not finished yet.”

Achilles tousled Zoe’s hair. “Listen to Mary, oh fierce Amazon.”

This earned him a chuckle. Not that the words had any effect. Zoe was practically bouncing on her feet.

Mary groaned when she spotted the crumbs and brown layer around Zoe’s mouth. “You gave her chocolate chip cookies.”

Achilles had the decency to look guilty. “Sorry about that. She woke up and looked frightened when she saw me, so I offered her snacks. It immediately broke the ice.”

Of course it had. Zoe was a cookie monster. “Thank you for watching her.”

She turned to Hector, who was still standing in the doorway. “I want to thank you as well, for—”

“Yeah, it’s fine. Let’s go, Achilles.”

And just like that, without him even letting her finish her sentence, Hector left.

Achilles gave her an apologetic smile. “Don’t mind him. Gratitude makes him uncomfortable. If you need a sitter again, give me a call. I was voted coolest uncle last month.” He sounded proud.

Then he was gone as well, leaving her alone with a little girl who, as of tonight, was practically alone in the world.

Mary crashed next to Zoe on the couch and pulled her close. Zoe was used to Britney being ‘sick’ all the time. Her sister had checked out mentally a long time ago. For the past year, Britney’s depression had gotten so bad, she rarely left the house anymore. Mary was the one to take Zoe to school and pick her up on the days Britney couldn’t leave her bed.

As she hugged Zoe closer, her brain hurt from thinking of the consequences of Britney’s death. There was one dark, prospect looming above all. With Britney out of the picture, Zoe had one living remaining family member left; her uncle. She remembered seeing the scars on Britney’s body, the small dots of cigarette burns covering her arms and chest.

Over her dead body was that monster getting anywhere near Zoe.