Read Online Enforcer: A Prequel Novella to the New Mafia Trilogy by E. J. Fechenda - Free Book Online

to his
sides when he lost consciousness.
    I took a step back, breathing heavily from the exertion and
adrenaline. The sad shitbag known as Leonard wasn’t moving, but he was still
alive; a whistling, rattling combination coming from his mouth every time he
exhaled indicated as much.
    Leaving just as silently as I arrived, I quickly walked to
my car and climbed in. Peeling my bloody gloves off, I stuck them in the glove
compartment. Within minutes I was pulling up in front of my house. Before I
went inside, I grabbed a t-shirt out of my gym bag that I kept on the backseat
and wiped the specks of blood off of my face. After a quick glance in the
rearview mirror, I got out of the car.
    My mom was still asleep so I washed up in the bathroom and
brushed my teeth. The adrenaline rush was wearing off and I felt weighted down
with exhaustion. Just as my head hit the pillow, the faint beep of my mom’s
alarm clock could be heard through the thin wall dividing my bedroom from hers.
I drifted off to the sounds of her moving around, getting ready for work.
    I woke up shortly after noon and went to check on Natalie. I
found her sitting cross legged on the sofa with a can of diet Coke in one hand.
An unopened sleeve of saltines was on the coffee table. Sitting down next to
her, I quietly assessed her. She had changed into flannel pajama bottoms and
one of my old t-shirts that was so big, she looked extra small. I noticed her
skin was already bruising at the crook of her arm from the I.V.
              “How are you feeling?” I asked.
              “Like I have fifty hangovers going on at once,”
she groaned. “What the hell happened last night?”
              “You don’t remember?”
              “Bits and pieces, like I remember being in the
hospital, but everything is hazy.”
    I rubbed the back of my neck and leaned forward, propping my
elbows on my knees. “For starters you were at the York Tavern drinking.” I
glared at her and she rolled her eyes, which just pissed me off. “Natalie, what
the fuck? You put yourself in a bad situation last night. Some asshole slipped a
roofie in your drink. Why you were even at a bar and getting served is
something I don’t understand!” I stood up and started pacing in front of the
sofa, deliberately blocking Natalie’s view of the television so she would have
to listen to me. “Jesus fucking Christ, what if I wasn’t home? What if I had
been in Philly and couldn’t get to you – what would you have done then?”
              “I don’t know,” she said in a whisper then started
to cry, which cut through my anger. “I’m sorry.”
              “Nat, what’s going on with you?” I sat back down
next to her.
              “Everything,” she hiccupped through a sob. “Toby
and I broke up and God, he’s such an asshole. Of course Mom hasn’t been
sympathetic at all, plus I want to go to college so bad, but it’s so expensive
and I need to get out of here, Grant. I refuse to live here and go to school in
York.”
    She was all over the place with her verbal diarrhea, so I
held my hand up, indicating she needed to slow it down.
              “Hold on, back up, what happened with Toby?”
    Natalie proceeded to tell me how the little fucker cheated
on her and then plastered copies of the nude portrait he painted of her all
over the school, even posted it on Facebook. Toby’s older brother, Ethan, was
in my class and I never liked the guy. Guess his brother was a mini-me. I
briefly contemplated paying Toby a visit, but knew I couldn’t fight all of
Natalie’s battles.
              “Fuck him, Nat. You’re better off without him and please,
don’t pose nude for anyone ever again. Okay?” She sniffled and nodded, her
cheeks flushing at the mention of posing nude. “As far as college goes, there
are tons of loans and grants available. That’s how I’ve been paying for Drexel.
Have you thought about where