Troubled Indeed

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

My gut feeling was right and I ignored it. Not in a million years would I expect this to happen. Why on Earth would Simon be here? Why would he wait until the very end to open his mouth and say something? Why did he feel the need to interrupt the wedding in the first place?

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I hear Alexi's voice cutting through my thoughts in a manner I've never heard him use before.

I look at Alexi in surprise and see him turning red momentarily. He's enraged. Right at this moment I understand that there's a link between the two of them. Simon came here on purpose, he's on a mission.

"Don't look so fucking surprised," Simon replies with the widest grin as he slowly walks towards us. He unbuttons his jacket button and slowly pulls out a gun, pointing it at Alexi.

I can't believe something like this is happening again, only a few months after the incident at the restaurant. But this one is on a much bigger scale. The guests are paralyzed, and nobody dares to move. My breathing has changed, and I realize I'm only taking shallow breaths. I clench Benji closer to my chest.

As Simon comes closer, I notice his face looks way worse than it did when I last saw him. He now has bruises all over his face and neck. I look at Anthony, but he doesn't look at me. His demeanor has changed. He's focused, breathing heavily, staring at Simon. I guess him showing up was a surprise for everyone.

"Leave, before you do something that can't be undone," Alexi warns him as he steps in front of his bride. He looks around, I think he's trying to find at least one staff person to get them to call for help, as we all do, but Simon notices this.

"Yeah, don't worry," he laughs out loud, then says, "My boys trapped these people in one of the rooms so we could do this shit in peace."

Simon is not alone. He has his boys somewhere in the building and none of us has any idea how many of them are there. But since I don't see any staff, I think this time he's for real.

"Mommy, I'm scared," Benji whispers in my ear, and right at this moment, Anthony steps in front of me, to shield Benji and me from Simon.

"Haha, well look at that, we have a hero in the house," he says as he looks at Anthony, "Don't worry, I don't care about the bitch and the brat, I'm here to straighten things out with you two."

"We can do this in private," Alexi tries to reason with him, but Simon is having none of that.

"Oh, sure, that'll be in balance – you two trapping me once again, ain't going to happen. I want your woman and all of your guests here to know what kind of motherfucker you really are and what you're capable of."

"Simon, you need to stop," Anthony now opens his mouth, trying to talk some sense into the man.

"No, Tony, you need to stop. Stop acting like you don't know me. Or better yet, stop acting like you don't owe me."

"I owe you nothing," Anthony says in despise.

"What is he talking about?" I ask Anthony, but he doesn't reply.

"Oh, sweetheart over here doesn't know what I'm talking about, huh?" Simon smirks, clearly amused by my confusion, "Well, first of all, I told you before you shouldn't trust him. He's the lord of the underworld," he adds, aiming his gun carelessly in Anthony's direction. All of the guests gasp.

"Who do you think made me look like this?" he asks looking from one person to another, circling his face with his free hand, then adds, "Your prince-fucking-Charming!"

I look at Anthony, but he doesn't turn my way. I'm still standing behind his back, but I'm too afraid to move to look him in the face. I have a hard time trusting any of them at this moment. This could be another one of Simon's lies. Or this could be the truth, considering the fight I had with Anthony last night.

"Simon, stop," Anthony warns him.

"Or what," he replies, laughing, "You'll beat me up again? I don't care! You'll track me down and kill me? Because I know you're capable of that. I. Don't. Care."

Simon sounds weird, anxious somehow. He tries to sound confident, but he's blabbing non-stop as if he's nervous. I suspect he might be high on something, which makes this whole situation ten times worse. He doesn't care if anything happens to him.

Anthony takes a step towards him, but Simon shoots above our heads the moment he sees motion, and we all startle in panic. People gasp, someone shrieks, and women here and there start crying. He's in no state to be reasoned with.

"Mommy, make it stop!" Benji sobs in my lap.

This makes Simon laugh out loud.

"Yeah, mommy, make it stop," he mocks Benji, "Except mommy can't make me stop. Your mom is a stupid fucking bitch for trusting that man. Tell me, do you make the kid call him daddy?" Simon hisses, then adds, "Because I'm the real dad of that brat!"

Some people gasp, which makes Simon burst into laughter again.

"Do you know why I took him in the first place?" he asks me.

I slowly shake my head no. Anthony adjusts his posture, blocking my view of Simon, but I move a little bit so I can see him. I want to know.

"Did you think I care about the kid? I hope you aren't that naïve. I took him because I wanted to know how deeply you are involved with this dickhead," he says as he waves towards Anthony with his gun, "And to my fortunate surprise I found out that you are the reason he tried to quit being who he really is."

I feel my heart skipping a beat, but I don't know whether it's excitement or anguish. Simon's indifference is downright scary.

"As soon as I knew you were his weak spot, I could finally pursue what is rightfully mine. You and the brat are just little pointless tools to get to him," Simon adds.

"What?" I ask him, but I'm interrupted.

"Vicky, you need to stop talking to him," Anthony warns me through gritted teeth.

Simon observes Anthony and me for a moment, then makes an expression of disgust.

"Don't tell me you let him talk to you like that. What are you, a doormat?"

"Shut the fuck up, Simon," Anthony addresses him, "This has been going on for way too long. You need to leave."

"Why? Because I might reveal some more of your dirty little secrets? What are you afraid of, you conniving motherfucker?"

"Simon, enough," Alexi starts talking again, having Anthony's back.

We can all see this is going nowhere. Simon is not backing down and since he's the one with a loaded gun, we can't do anything to make him leave.

"You're not the boss of me. It should be the other way around. I should be your boss. I have known you long enough, and you two are made for each other. Almost like father, like son."

"What does he mean?" I ask Anthony quietly, but Simon hears me.

"Ooooh, she doesn't know, does she?" he looks at me, then at Anthony with wide eyes. "This just got way more interesting!"

Anthony stiffens as if some big secret is about to be revealed, but I ignore him for a moment. I want to hear what Simon has to say. He might be crazy, but I have a strong feeling he's telling the truth, at least right now.

"See, I told you that you shouldn't trust him! I guess he failed to mention that we knew each other from way back, like since the time I knocked you up," he says with a grin.

I knew it! I had a feeling these two knew each other from before. I just don't understand why Anthony wasn't the one telling me this. Why did I have to find out like this? Or did he plan never to reveal this? I guess my surprise is evident because Simon gets fueled by my confusion.

"I am the rightful owner of Dirty Angels, but he bought me out, and not in the nicest way," he states, straightening himself, "So, I'm here to take what's mine, and I don't care if I have to kill him to get it!" he says triumphantly, then adjusts his gun pointing at Anthony and comes closer, so that if given the chance, he wouldn't miss his target.