Boston Blood

Twenty three

The car stopped outside Frankie's apartment. Of course they knew where she lived. She hadn't spoken a word the entire drive and just wanted to be as far away from these people as possible. As she grabbed the handle of the door, Cillian had reached over to yank her back by the shoulder. "Don't do anything stupid. We'll be watching." His voice was threatening as he threw her her bag, but Frankie just laughed and got out of the car, slamming the door so hard that she was shocked the window didn't shatter.

She opened the door and stalked up the stairs, swearing and rambling incoherently under her breath. She paced her apartment, trying desperately to unravel and understand everything that had just happened. Her head was spinning and she felt like she was on the verge of a full on break down. She sat on the couch and tried to control her trembling body but the silence was deafening. She couldn't stop the images of her brother's face sitting across from her father, her mother and Sinead's lifeless bodies lying by her feet and Cillian's ocean blue eyes, piercing hers. And Russo's devilish smirk. A smirk that used to make both; her weak in the knees and sick with disgust. She had made herself forget about him and everything that had happened and now; it was all back. Everything was crashing down around her, everything.

She stood up, unsteadily and reached for her purse out of her bag. Her hand shook as she fumbled for the card. She held it in front of her wet eyes and stared blankly at Linda's number. What was she doing? Was she going to call her and say what? That she was being forced to help Boston's Irish mafia take down the Italians and kill her father in the process? She laughed, humourlessly and manically and ripped the card in half. No. She was on her own. No one was going to help her out of this. This was her mess, ultimately and she had no choice. She had to do it to protect the people she loved. Right?

But how was she going to do it? Maybe she should just get it over with. She knew she would have to reach out, eventually. If she was going to do what O'Shea wanted and ask Russo for a job she needed to see him. She had to make him think she was back. That she was her old self, again. She wasn't sure, but she had a very strong feeling he was still close to Russo, at least he was ten years ago. Although, so was she.

Fuck this

***

She could here the music pumping through the speakers as she turned the corner. She hadn't been in this part of town in years. When she met Bill and he had helped her get clean, part of her recovery process was to steer clear of all the places and people she had been involved with. But tonight, it was all she wanted to do. She was spiraling, spiraling back to her old ways and she couldn't stop it. She didn't care. She needed this. She needed to escape, to quiet the thoughts in her mind. She didn't care.

The bouncer smiled as she approached the club doors. He held his massive arms out and gasped. "Frankie fucking Ryan. Long time no see! What brings you down to the slums after all this time?" His amusement faded immediately when he took her in. She swayed and went in for a hug, causing the bottle of whiskey she had tucked under her coat to shatter at his feet. "Whoa, Frankie, are you okay?" He held her shoulders to steady her as he looked her up and down. She was wearing a black dress that was too small for her already slim frame and her heels were scraping, ungracefully on the wet pavement. "Who, me? I've ne,- never been better, Mattie. Just here to see an old f-, friend. Is he here?" She stood on her tip-toes, trying to see into the mass of blurry bodies in front of her. Mattie eyed her, cautiously and spoke into his earpiece. Frankie swayed to the music and smiled at a group of younger men waiting in the queue. They laughed at her and she frowned like a child. "Fuck you!" She yelled but Mattie had grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her aside. "Frankie, are you sure you want to go in there? Why don't I take you for a cup of coffee instead?" Mattie was leading her away from the club but Frankie yanked herself from his gentle grip. "N-, No, Matt. I need to see him. It'll only take a minute. I'll be in and out in a second." She tried to click her fingers but couldn't manage. She touched her nose with her freezing hands and giggled, trying to act as sober as she could. Mattie sighed. "Okay, but if you cause any trouble I'll fuck you out myself." Frankie walked past the enormous bouncer and grabbed her chest in mocked shock. "Me? Cause trouble? You must be confusing me with someone else." She waved, in a way she assumed was flirtatious and stepped into the club. The heat from the sweaty crowd and smoke filled room hit her like a tonne of bricks. She whipped off her jacket and flung it over a near by table, causing its occupants' drinks to fall and smash all over the floor. One of the girls called her a fucking stupid bitch and stood up, making her way over to her. Frankie smiled and raised her eyebrow, waiting, but the young woman was pulled back by one of the guys sitting beside her. He screamed something in the young blonde's ear while motioning to Frankie which caused the girl to stop dead in her tracks. She looked apologetic and raised her hands in a submissive way before sitting back down. "Good decision." Frankie shouted and stalked across the dance floor.