Dangerous Conceit by Ali Lee

Chapter 54

Lexi darted up the steps and eased the screen door open in front. A whiff of old wood and lingering cigarette smoke gushed outside before she ever entered the house. She paused for a brief moment, afraid to move forward as she saw the frayed furniture where she used to live.

She pushed the fear aside and walked through, past the old chair and down the hallway beside it. There was a room in back and one that Lexi remembered well. It belonged to her, too many years ago.

The door was cracked, wide enough for Lexi to peek in. Her mother sat casually on a pair of old, yellowing sheets. The bed frame had given out, pressed between the mattress and the floor. In Gloria's hand pointed a gun, except she did not point it at the door; she pointed it at a small child in the corner, playing with an old tub of blocks.

“Look, Gloria.” Maura smiled, proud of the towering building that stood. The poor baby had no idea what the gun meant or that Gloria threatened her life.

“Put it down, mom.” Lexi took small steps inside but Gloria shook her head.

“You were supposed to bring the money.”

“The money is coming; put down the gun.”

“I gave you a month; your time is up.” She clicked the hammer to prove a point.

Lexi looked at her and then at Maura. What an awful woman to threaten a child. Lexi would have her head and waited her time. “You won’t get anything if you pull that trigger on Maura. Why don't you point that thing at me instead?”

“Mommy!” Maura started to stand when Gloria bounced to her feet fast.

“Sit back down,” she yelled, making Maura freeze and not move.

“But I wanna see Mommy.”

“Sit!” Gloria demanded as Maura started to cry.

“It's okay, honey. I'll get you in a minute,” Lexi consoled but never stopped staring at her mother. “Let her go and keep me. You will still get your money that way.”

“Not a chance.”

Lexi figured that her mother would keep her anyway. That was why she would not trade Maura for Lexi. Rafa needed to get here quick, before it was too late. Then Lexi heard the slight tapping of feet inside. She knew the time had come. When Donnie came close, Lexi jumped in front of Maura as a bullet shot to her mother's arm.

Gloria's gun fell and landed on the bed as Lexi hugged Maura tightly to her chest and turned her away from her mother, whispering in her ear. Maura listened and held her hands over her ears with her eyes shut as Lexi hopped to her feet, walked to the bed and stood above the woman she called mom. “You threatened my daughter.” Lexi grabbed the gun she had dropped. “Big fucking mistake.”

“Put it down.” Someone else said from the hallway. “Put your gun down.” The woman demanded of Donnie.

The voice was familiar, as familiar as Lexi's own. It belonged to a woman, a friend, a person who Lexi considered her very own blood. Abby stood behind Donnie, pointing a gun to his head until he lowered his arm. Then she ordered again. “Now get on your knees.” She swiped the gun out of his hand.

Gloria gave a raspy, choked laugh but Lexi did not smile. She saw her life unfold. At some point, Abby had turned on her. Her friend's betrayal shattered every ounce of trust she put in humanity. Lexi shook her head. Did Abby really set her up the entire time? Was she the one responsible for every horrible encounter Lexi had? She could not believe that Abby had been against her from the beginning, but that did not change that she was now.

“Why?” Lexi asked, not really needing a reason, but at the same time, wanting some sort of answer. She had hoped she was wrong in the car, but all the signs pointed to the obvious.

“Lexi, I tried to help. I did. I couldn’t do it anymore. It was too much. You will never be able to keep Maura safe. I made a deal with Moretti. He gets you,” Abby paused, “I get her.”

“You're kidding? You want my child? She isn't yours?”

“Look at her, Lexi. Look at her. Under your care and Tomassi's, she was kidnapped.”

“Because you betrayed us. Because you told them how to get her. Because I trusted you.”

“I'm sorry. You were never afraid to leave Moretti, and I always was. He promised to leave me and Maura alone if I gave you up.”

“Wow,” Lexi mumbled and shook her head. “I can't believe my luck, and I can’t believe that you think he will let you go. How can someone be so smart yet be so dumb?”

Gloria's smile returned as she yanked the gun from Lexi's hand. “Nice, your friends aren't even on your side. Nobody wants you around.”

Chills. All Lexi felt were cold stinging chills that scattered against her skin. She had hoped she was wrong, but she knew she was not. All it took was putting the pieces together to see through the facade she believed the whole time. Nobody was that loyal—nobody.

A second later, Lexi heard a harsh thud, a sudden whack that made Abby go down. Then a bullet flew through the air, striking Gloria's chest, causing her to moan out in pain. Lexi glanced sideways, making sure that Maura was still facing the wall. Then she reached for her mother’s gun again and pointed it at her mother's head.

“You were wrong. I will always have someone.”

Abby moved. Rafa was too busy watching Lexi when she saw Abby raise the gun toward him. Abby left her no choice—Rafa’s life for hers. Lexi shot. Then she closed her eyes as soon as she pulled the trigger. Lexi could not watch her die.

No one said a word. Lexi did what she had to do, yet she could not stop her boiling nausea from rising. She had to turn away, where no one could see her vomit her insides to the floor. When she turned back around, Abby was not there. All signs of her life were gone.

The air felt heavy. Years of conflict compressed in her dirty childhood room. Lexi did not want to hate. Having hate was what caused all of this.

“Look at what you did. You said I’m a bad person and then you shoot your friend with the same breath. You’re a disgrace, Lexi. I always hated—” Gloria choked, never finishing her words. It was the last insult she ever gave. Her worn out body finally succumbed to her loss of blood. Lexi felt no pity for her life.

“Take her; put her in the car,” Rafa ordered when a man stepped inside the room.

“Mr. Vega.” Lexi said with surprise. The last time she saw him, he attended a party for Pearson.

“If I had known what you were dealing with before, I would have helped you,” Miguel said before jerking Gloria by the arms. “You don't have the right to be anyone's mother. You got what you deserved.” He dragged her through the door in the harshest way possible while Donnie followed him out.

Lexi could not move. She stood in shock and closed her eyes as she heard a vehicle drive away. Even when Maura turned back around, Lexi could not say a word. Rafa’s strong arms embraced her. She wanted to feel his warmth, needed to feel his body protecting her from her fears; instead, she immediately pushed him away.

His expression grew confused, and he stared at her with hurt, not understanding her withdrawal from the security of his chest.

“Leave,” Lexi said, seeing something that he did not—a man. Moretti stepped out five feet away and held a muzzle to them both.

“I'm giving you one chance to take the kid. Lexi stays. If you try anything at all, you die.”

“Don't you dare touch them. If you do, you will never get me,” Lexi said.

Rafa did not know what to do. He could not leave Lexi behind, not with this man—never. “No, you take me. Let them go.”

“This is not up for negotiation,” said Moretti.

“Rafa, take her out of here,” Lexi whispered.

“I will not leave you. I will not make the same mistake twice.”

“Rafa, please.”

“Take me. You can get more out of me than her,” Rafa said.

Moretti wanted Lexi and aimed another pistol at Maura to get her. “Do you want the kid to die?” He clicked and started for the trigger.

“No!” Lexi cried. “Rafa, do what you were supposed to do all along. Be her father and keep her safe. Leave me. It's about her now.”

Lexi pleaded with the eyes that stared back in hers. She was sure he saw fear, the tears that threatened and pierced their corners, the dread of what would come when he left. Rafa needed to look past that for a moment. He needed to save their daughter first. He knew what he should do.

Rafa quickly placed a finger against Lexi's lips, assuring her that he would return; then he darted to Maura and grabbed her up with one arm, rushing out of sight. He left Lexi to stand face to face with Moretti—alone.