Chapter 2.

Emmy

"I told you to stay in my sight at all times!" Dwayne roars in my face, thrusting me against the wall he has me cornered in.
He found me waiting in the hall and dragged me to an empty sitting room in the estate. I'd managed to talk to Ben without being seen but the diversion Alisha set up for me didn't last as long as we'd planned.

"Let me make one thing clear.""

I turn my chin down to avoid the spit flying from Dwayne's yellow teeth. My gag reflex is alerted by his harsh and gritty breath. If I have take any more of him, I'll throw up all over his leather jacket. Suddenly I don't have a choice. He grips my neck between his oversized ape hand and forces me to face him.

"Look at me, you little bitch!" he points to his dried lips.

My stomach churns. Only the overpowering pain in my throat is keeping my stomach contents down now.

"You pull that shit again and I will make you pay." His eyes take a disgusting stroll down the length of my body. "In more ways than one. In fact," He says dragging up the long chiffon material. "Maybe that's just what you need."

I start kicking at him right away, using my free hands to claw at his face. But in comparison to the men he has had to kill, I'm nothing to disarm. He hits my head hard against the wall and it sends me into a daze. I drop my hands and it's just what he needs to secure them both over my head.

I don't hear the sound of another man entering or the gun being cocked. What I feel is the overwhelming wave of relief as Dwayne's bad breath is no longer suffocating me. He releases his hold on me and I slid down the wall. When my watery eyes focus, I see Gray pointing the barrel of his gun into Dwayne's temple.

They're talking quickly. Too fast for my oxygen deprived brain to keep up. Still, I recognize the fear in Dwayne's bulgy eyes. He realizes that he is seconds away from having his brain splattered against the velvet curtains around us. He takes the hint and backs away with his arms up. It's not until Gray is sure that he is gone that he turns his attention back to me.

"Are you okay?" I sign with trembling hands.

Gray frowns at me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

He doesn't buy it. He is naturally intuitive and knows me well. It makes keeping things from him hard as hell. Gray isn't deaf, but he is hard of hearing. My uncle hired him a few years ago as my bodyguard because he knew ASL and he had the training of a former UFC fighter. It was easier for my Uncle to hire him rather than take the time to learn to communicate with me.

If I'm honest, hiring Gray is the one and only good thing my uncle has ever done for me. Unlike everyone else, Gray treats me like a human being instead of one of my uncle's tools. He is like a brother to me and he cares for me the way I care about him. No matter what happens tomorrow, I'm going to miss him.

"Don't cry." Gray says once he has helped me to feet.

I wipe the tears away quickly. I didn't realize they had started. With a deep breath, I give him weary smile.

"Where is Alisha?"

That question causes the frown to completely disappear. His light green eyes light up and I know his response is exactly what I am hoping for.

"Safe."

My heart warms and tightens. My cousin is my best friend. I wouldn't be able to go through with tomorrow if I thought for one moment things would backfire and put her in harms way. She's the only real family that I have and I want her to be safe when I'm gone. But I don't have to worry too much about that. Gray wouldn't let a mosquito hurt Alisha.

"Did you tell her?" I ask hopeful that before he took her to the safe spot, he told her the truth.

A slight blush tinges his cheeks and just like that, this big muscle man takes on an almost boyish charm. He's been in love with Alisha since he came here but they've only just recently acknowledged their feelings for one another. My uncle keeps a tight ship. He would have Gray killed if he found out. So, they've had to be very careful these past few months.

He runs his hand through this dark chestnut hair and shakes his head. "When the time is right. I will. Love takes time."

Who knew that the quiet enforcer could be so wise, when slipping his gun back into his waistband?

I look over my shoulder and down the hall as we make our way out. WhenI first saw Ben in the library, I didn't know who he was. He didn' have NYC's best criminal defense attorney written on his forehead. It wasn't until Alisha and I were doing some research on the internet that I realized the very same man, I'd been thinking about since the day I saw him would be the same man I would need to get me away from my family.

So, I took a chance. I wrote the letter and laid things out. I won't allow my feelings to get the best of me. If he takes my case, I'll keep a clear head. I just pray he won't look at my name and dismiss me like so many others have. I hope Ben will take a chance on me.

Ben

She is a god damn Chapman. Fuck. I let that thought resonate in my mind for the five hundredth time and it still doesn't make me any less sick. The Chapmans own nearly all of Manhattan. They're old money, with ties that reach in every borough of New York. They're known as a whole to be ruthless, unforgiving and deadly. Words, I would never use to describe Emmy.

I've passed on every case even remotely connected to the Chapmans. The money would have been substantial but that doesn't matter to me. I use my talents for those I believe are truly innocent. People, who without a proper representation, would get mauled through the system or made an example of simply because of the color of their skin. That's who I defend. Not Chapmans. If they're involved, they're guilty.
I sit back in my unfinished home office and reread the letter, hoping to find some clarity in her words.

Ben,
Hi.
We never got that far, that day in library so it feels like I should start there. My name is Emmy Joss-Chapman and as you probably figured out by now, I am the niece of James Chapman.
Because of my gift with numbers, I've lived most of my life as my uncle's accountant and I'm ashamed to say what that has cost me. I have the proof that I need and so tomorrow morning, I will be turning myself into to the police as an accessory to my uncle's money laundering, tax crimes and murder. I know that no one will listen to the deaf girl going against her family. But I hope you will.
I have access to my trust fund. I can pay you whatever is necessary. Without your help, my Uncle will find a way to make me pay for everything he has done. That's why I need you to give me a voice so that I can finally be free. I will take jail time, and even death over another moment as my Uncle's pet. So, whether or not you decide to help me, I am doing this.
Sincerely
EJ.

Damn. My head hurts. It's going to be a long night. I pull open my desk drawer and pop two aspirin. I need to do some heavy research. If I decide to take her case on, I would be taking a huge gamble. A chance that she isn't like the rest of her family. And before I can do that, I need to know everything there is to know about Emmy Chapman.

Emmy

Gray comes to my room to wake me early Sunday morning. He doesn't need to douse me with cold water or strip me of my blankets, I haven't slept all night. My mind raced and every time I came close to sleep, the reality of today began to suffocate me.

I had to come back to my Uncle's estate last night from the dinner party. If I didn't, my uncle would have went looking for Alisha and before I can turn myself in, she needed to be on the first plane out of JFK airport. I knew Gray went to see her off but he's so good at keeping his emotions under wraps that I can't really tell how it went. I don't want to press him either. He and Alisha have to work things out of their own. I've meddled enough.

While I dress, Gray goes to wait for me outside my bedroom door. I find my favorite dress and a scarf that will cover the handprint on my neck. Sundays I always go to church. No matter what. It might seem a bit hypocritical for a well-known gangster's niece, to attend the Sunday sermon but when my parents were alive, we always went. When I go, it feels like I still have a piece of them with me.

Sundays we also have dinner as a family. It's really just my uncle's excuse to keep us in check. The "family dinner" is when we get dealt any punishments for the week. I get my fair share, but I mostly stay out of the way. Alisha is headstrong and defies my uncle in every way. By the time she has served one punishment her next is ready to begin.

I heave my purse over my shoulder. As much as I want to take every single book that I own, it would draw too much attention. I just need the essentials, but I am going to miss the small library I've amassed. Books have been my lifeline. In the darkest times, I could always count on a good story to provide me some escape. I glance around my bedroom one last time and stand beside Gray.

"Relax. You look nervous." He points out when I close my door behind me. "This is just like every Sunday. This part is easy."

Right. This is just like every Sunday, except if my uncle even gets a hint about what's going on, we're both dead before we reach the front door.

Downstairs, I'm sure the house is quiet. Very few people get up this early. Breakfast isn't usually served until nearly twelve. Yet, as we descend, I can feel my heart beating strangely fast. There is this uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach and I quickly realize why. My uncle waits for us at the stair's landing. Behind him, Dwayne wears a cold sneer on his leathery face and Marco stands in a corner.

"Good morning, baby girl. I heard you had an interesting night." Uncle James peers up at me with eyes that are like my father's without the touch of crazy.

It disgusts me that they look so much alike. It makes hating my uncle harder. But they both have brown skin, like warm hot chocolate with hair that'd been grey since their twenties. They were both good looking men. My father settled down with Mom and my uncle never stopped parading young women through the estate. He never married Alisha's mom and no one knows how he got custody of her. I hate thinking of about it.

"Good morning, Uncle."

"Why don't you tell me what happened last night?"
I start to explain while he looks to Gray to translate. I follow along with his lips.

"She says nothing happened. She went to the bathroom and when she came out Marco and Dwayne lost their shit."

Uncle James turns back and glares at me. "Don't lie to me!"

I jump back. You don't have to hear him scream to feel the intensity. He knows something is up. My whole body is trembling now. I wonder if he'd found out about Ben and how. Was it Alisha? Maybe she didn't make on the plane and she was caught. My uncle has eyes everywhere. Anyone could have recognized her and---Gray drags me down the step. Standing me in front of everyone he pulls the scarf from around my neck, exposing Dwayne's handy work.

"I let her go to the bathroom," he explains looking as calm as he has always been known to be. "I told these two idiots to watch her. She didn't see them because they were too busy hitting on some teenager to notice. So EJ went looking for me. When they found her first Dwayne made her pay for their mistake."

My uncle may knock me around. But that doesn't mean he let's just anyone do it too. Fire rages in his eyes when he sees the bruising. He turns around so fast, takes out the gun in his belt and grabs Dwayne's right hand. All in a matter of one breath.

With eyes that look too much like my Daddy's, he looks at me while pressing the barrel of his gun into Dwayne's palm. I exhale Uncle blows a hole through his hand. Blood rains against the wall but manages to miss me and my Sunday dress.

"Enjoy church, baby girl." Uncle James grins.

I've become so desensitized to the violence that it hardly phases me. Even if I could hear Dwayne's cries, I doubt that would make a difference.

"And Gray," he adds. "If you ever let her out of your sight again, I'll put a hole through your thick head."

Gray nods and finally leads me out of hell.

Ben

Every Sunday Emmy goes to church. Apparently the entire would knew that but me. A Baptist church in the heart of the Bronx. I watch her from the farthest pew. I stick out like a sore thumb, not just because I'm white. But I'm not religious and it shows.

She sits beside a big guy who is whiter than me but seems completely at home with her here. Even signing to her every now and again. Watching them interact is more than I can take so every now again I put my eyes elsewhere. Never was one for jealousy and don't want it to rear it's head now, especially if she's just a client.

Service is over two hours later. The choir stops singing and the building begins to file out. One minute I see them both and the next they're gone. I'm walking back to my car, thinking I can wait for her at the police station and hopefully catch her before she heads in. That's when I feel hard metal being pressed into my ribcage.

"Keep walking." Says a harsh thick voice.

I keep up my pace until we make it to my Porsche. I didn't see myself getting robbed outside of a church when I started my day.

"Why were you watching us?" the voice demands.

"I'm not watching you." I reply with an even amount of control. "I was watching Emmy."

That causes him to press the barrel harder into my ribs. "Why?"

I joined the army right after college. Another way to get away from my father. I picked up a lot of useful things there. I may be a lawyer but I'm not a runt. I'm 6'3' with the hand to hand combat skill of the Army Special Forces. I could have the man on his back in no time but I have to be careful to not cause unnecessary attention to myself.

Smoothly, I respond "I'm a lawyer. Emmy is my client."

"What kind of lawyer carries a loaded .22?"

"A good one. And to be fair, this is New York."

My joke sails over his head as shoves the gun deeper.

"Gray, stop." The voice this time is soft and appealing.

We both turn toward it and find Emmy hugging herself and watching us both. Her gaze goes from Gray to me. The sunlight does magic to her brown skin making it take on a golden glow. It's been less than eighteen hours since I saw her last, but the effects are always like the first time.