Heart of Light (45 page)

Slowing her steps, she halted in her tracks as the sound of punches and gunshots resonated all around her.

“
Enough
!” she shouted, her voice reverberating against the tall buildings on either side of the alley. Everyone stopped to look in her direction.
 

Turning around, her eyes met with those of the man that destroyed her life, his body pinned to the ground by Alexander. Just beyond the scuffle, she saw two of Falconi’s men about to fire their weapons at him.

“Enough,” she said quietly, tossing her gun to the side, nodding at Alexander, telling him with her expression to release his hold on Falconi. He reluctantly let him out of his grasp and Falconi stood up.

Keeping her eyes trained on Falconi’s men who still had their weapons pointed at Alexander, she said, “I’ll make you a deal, Tony.” Slowly walking toward him, she had to play the only card she had left to guarantee that everyone got out safely. “My freedom for everyone else’s. Let everyone go. The girls. Alexander. Rosa.
Everyone
.”

Falconi’s eyes grew wide, completely taken aback by her offer. “Really, princess? You would give yourself to me willingly so that I let everyone else go?”

Her eyes remained stoic, refusing to show him how gutted she felt from the thought of having to do that.

“You know I’ll just bring in a crop of new girls. What does it matter?”

“Rosa’s daughter, Marcie… I’m doing this for her. And for Rosa. And for her husband. And for all the other girls that you killed, like my mother.”

“What about him?” Falconi gestured toward where Cam stood at the end of the loading dock, having bolted out of the van when he realized what Jolene was about to do.

She turned her head, a quiet sob escaping when she met his brilliant silver eyes.

“You’d give up your life with him in exchange for everyone’s safety and freedom?”

Returning her eyes to Falconi, she nodded.

He signaled for his men to lower their weapons and approached Jolene. “That’s a good girl, Jo-Jo Bear,” he soothed, his voice coy. He dragged his finger the length of her torso and it took all of her resolve to not cringe.

Standing on her toes, she leaned in and traced circles across his neck, nibbling on his earlobe, the smell of his cologne making her stomach churn.
 

“I want you to know one thing, Tony,” she whispered into his ear. “After today, after this moment…” She ran one hand up and down his back, using her free hand to discreetly grab on to the knife she stashed in her pocket. “I will never think about you again.”

In the blink of an eye, she removed her hand from his body, the knife firmly in her grasp, and plunged it into his stomach.

He screamed out, his eyes wide as Alexander and his team restrained Falconi’s men, preventing them from going to their boss’ aid.

“That’s for ruining my fucking life and treating me like a piece of property, you disgusting excuse for a human!” she shouted, tears of vindication flowing down her face. “You always made us pray for forgiveness for
our
misgivings! For
our
faults! For
our
sins! Well, I will
never
forgive you for yours!”

Digging the knife further into his abdomen, she pushed him and he fell back onto the loading dock floor.

She took a deep breath and turned around, overwhelmed with emotion at the realization that she was finally free. Running to Cam, she jumped into his arms, never wanting to leave his side for the rest of her life. She was home at last.

He clutched on to her, soothing her sobs, tears streaming down his own face. “I’m so, so sorry, Jolene.” Holding her face between his two hands, he wiped her cheeks. “I’ll never let you down again. I’ll always stand by your side from now on. I love y…”

“Just stop apologizing and kiss me, will you?” she interrupted.

He smiled. “I like you better as a brunette, just for the record.” About to bring his lips to hers, he heard a slight movement. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as he turned in the direction of the sound.

Falconi was lying on the ground, aiming his weapon at Jolene. Instinctively, Cam ran in front of her.

Alexander reacted quickly, firing a shot at Falconi.

A sly grin crossed Falconi’s face and he collapsed on the ground with his gun still raised, the sound of another gunshot echoing through the dark alley.

Jolene held her breath as she watched Cam stand completely still for several excruciatingly long seconds. He took a step back, stumbling, and fell to the ground, clutching his chest.

“
No
!” she screamed out in shock at the red stain soaking his shirt, rushing to him. “No, Cam. Don’t you dare!” She cradled him in her arms as his blood coated her body. “Don’t you dare die on me,” she begged, everyone staring at the heart-wrenching scene in front of them, the only sound that of Jolene’s cries.

“Jolene,” he croaked out, opening his eyes and reaching for her face.

She leaned into his hand, her sobs heavy as her chest heaved. She regretted all those times that she pulled away from his touch. She wanted all those touches back. “I’m here, baby. Please, stay with me.”

“I’m glad I found you,” he said quietly. “I want your breath on my skin to be the last thing I feel. I want your face to be the last face I see. I want your beautiful voice to be the last voice I hear.”

“Don’t talk like that,” she pleaded, her body trembling. “I will be the last face you ever see, but not now. And not today. And not for a thousand fucking years, Cam!” she shouted. “You’re my light.” Her voice grew soft, unable to come to terms with the fact that she was holding Cam’s dying body in her arms. “It’s not supposed to end like this. You’re my happily ever after. Please. Don’t go.”

“Hey, Jolene?”

“Yeah? I’m here, baby.”

“Can you reach into my pocket? The left one. There’s something shiny in there for you.”

“I don’t care about that right now, Cam.”

“Please,” he begged. “For me.”

She nodded, not wanting to deprive him of his wish. Her fingers fumbled before grabbing on to a small black velvet box. She slowly opened it, her sobs overtaking her body when she saw the beautiful round-cut diamond engagement ring.

“Put it on. I want to see my ring on your finger before…”

Jolene shook her head. “No. Don’t even say it.”

“Please, Jolene.” His voice grew weak.

She took the ring out of the box and slid it on her hand, the diamond sparkling against the blood on her skin.

“I’ll be watching over you. I promise. Just look for the shooting star.”

“No. You can’t… Hang on. Please. For me. I need you…”

A look of serenity crossed his face. “I love you, peaches…”

“I love you, Cam. I choose you. Always.”

A frail smile crossed his face just as she felt his body go limp.

“
No
!” she wailed, frantically trying to find a pulse. “Please, Cam,” she begged softly, pressing her lips against his unmoving mouth. “I choose you.” Jolene rested her head against his chest. “I choose you.” Her sobs were devastating as her world grew dark. Her light was gone.

J
OLENE
SAT
IN
THE
church, listening to people speak. All she heard were words. She had no idea what anyone was saying, the shock of everything she had witnessed and endured over the past few weeks making her mute.

A gentle squeeze on her arm woke her from her thoughts. She turned and met Elsie’s eyes, thankful that she was there for her. “It’s time, Tomorrow.”

Jolene nodded, trying to summon the inner courage she so desperately needed to get through what she wanted to say. What she needed to say.

All eyes were on her as she made her way up to the altar, readjusting the microphone to her height. Sniffles and the occasional sob were heard as she looked over the crowd that had assembled to mourn the man she felt that she barely knew.

“I don’t know what to say,” she began, her voice cutting through the silence. “You all knew him so much better than I did.” She glanced at a large portrait of the caring, compassionate, and gentle man that she had only just begun to learn to love. A tear fell down her cheek as she thought how she would never find out what his favorite color was. Or his favorite football team. Or his favorite childhood memory.

“Regardless, he gave his life for me. He’s dead because of me.” Her voice grew strong and her body began to tremble from her sobs. “And I’ll never get to tell him what he means to me. That I love him. That I’ll never forget all the sacrifices he made for me.”

She paused briefly to get her emotions under control before continuing, “Losing someone always makes us re-evaluate our relationships with people. These past few weeks, all I could think about was everything that I had been through and endured to get me here, wondering if it was all worth it. I’ve finally realized that I’m a stronger person because of what I went through. That I’m worthy of love. That I can have a future. That I hope my story and my experiences will give other people something that I thought I didn’t have for the longest time…hope. He made me feel hopeful for a future, for a family. He taught me the importance of forgiveness. And, for that, he will always have a place in my heart, no matter how short a time I knew him.”

She scanned the audience, her gaze settling on a few pairs of familiar eyes. Looking down, she toyed with the diamond ring on her hand that she knew she would never take off.

“A man recently came into my life and saved me. When I met him, I wasn’t living. I was just existing, the memories of what I had suffered through haunting me every second. And every day was a struggle. The rage I felt was slowly eating me up. I recall leaving work one night and walking along the ocean. It looked so inviting at night, the darkness hiding all manner of sins. I ran in and, as the waves carried me out to sea, I sank lower and lower. I closed my eyes, debating whether to fight when I became short of air. You know what I saw? I saw his sad eyes. I saw the tears that I would cause him if I did what I wanted to do. At that moment, I realized that I had a reason to live.

“Because of him, I’m alive right now. After crossing paths with him, I started to believe that someone had finally answered ten years’ worth of prayers. He saved me, but he also taught me one of the most important lessons I’ve learned. He taught me that you can’t bottle up your emotions and keep your secrets to yourself. He taught me that it’s okay to lean on other people, to let them help you carry that burden. And, from now on, it’s going to be my mission in life to help other people realize that, too. This man bathed my world in light when I thought it was only dark. He was patient even though baby steps really suck.” She laughed through her tears.

“But he taught me that there are too many unexpected things that could happen in this life, and you should tell someone you love them and fuck the consequences.” She visibly cringed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to say fuck in church.”

Everyone laughed quietly in response.

“So please, all of you, hug your husbands or wives or children a little tighter tonight and every day forward. Tell them you love them every chance you get. Because you never know when it will be the last time that you can hold them and say those words.”

She smiled, tears streaming down her cheek as she made her way over to the cherry wood casket, an American flag draped over it.

Leaning down, she planted a kiss on the wood. “I love you, Daddy.” All of her pent-up emotions rushed forward and she began to sob uncontrollably, not wanting to say good-bye to the man she had just begun to get to know again.

As she cried in front of her father’s friends and family, she felt a warmth surround her. Looking up, she was met with the silver eyes that had become her salvation. Her hope. Her freedom.

“You okay, peaches?” He placed a gentle kiss on her head.

“With you, I’ll always be okay.”

He helped her up, cringing in pain.

Jolene caressed his arm as it hung in a sling. “You alright?”

“You know I’d take a bullet for you.”

“I know. You already proved that point. No need to do it again, Casanova.”

“I’ll never get sick of your sharp tongue, Jolene.”

“H
EY
, J
OLENE
,” L
ANEY
SPOKE
into the phone. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m doing good. We’re staying hidden down in Key West until all of this blows over. We figured once they announced the sentence, things would get out of control. Elsie told me there are reporters camped out on our front lawn, so we’re glad we got out of town when we did.”

“Are you okay with how things turned out?”

Jolene shrugged, checking her reflection in the vanity mirror. “I suppose. Mark
did
turn himself in and cooperated with the investigation. If it wasn’t for him, they wouldn’t have been able to find out about all the cops, politicians, and other law enforcement officials that were involved. No wonder you always ran into a roadblock investigating this case. Unbelievable to think that the chief of police in both Chicago and Houston, and a handful of other cities, were on that bastard’s payroll, and that, hidden across the country, he had hundreds of girls who are all now free. Anyway, Mark’s over sixty. He’ll die in prison, no matter what. He got what he deserves. It still irritates me that David Murphy took a plea deal and is only serving ten years for everything he did to me. At least he’ll never be able to step foot in Washington again. I just hope the other inmates give him a taste of his own medicine.”

“I’m sure they will. Do you have any more speaking engagements coming up, or are you taking a break from that for a bit until it settles down?”

“I have a few. I’m not going to stop doing those. Hopefully, me speaking out will help some of the other girls. They’re still scared about being found, even though Falconi’s dead. I get it, though.”

A man’s voice cut through. “Jolene, doll, are you almost ready?”