Curly's Joint, Night Club, Fremont Bay, Flashpoint, New Jersey...
Another long shift had been finally at an end as an exhausted voluptuous blonde-haired blue-eyed cocktail waitress by the name of Constance "Connie" Selwyn attempted to get the remainder of her shift over by looking after her favorite regular. She wiped down the countertop of the bar and fished around back for the strikingly handsome and dapper man in the grey suit who had strolled in and taken up a space at the far end of the bed. He had been quite the looker despite his disheveled appearance and five-o'clock shadow. She noted the interesting contrast between his cream-colored dress shirt and his lightly tanned skin. He had told them to call him Sal, which had been his nickname from what Connie could gauge from him during their moderate conversations.
From the looks of him, he'd been Italian and a mix of something else, he never cared to elaborate on the something else, but always smirked when they'd guessed he'd been Italian. He had a dapper kind of charm that had the girls in the establishment swooning but Connie had her feet firmly on the ground when dealing with the likes of him.
She knew from the sloppily pressed suit, the drinking habit, and the smoking that he'd been trouble his dark bed-tossed locks had not been enough to warrant her a second look as she had seen her fair share of trouble in her own life, and wanted no part of it now that she'd been much older and wiser in avoiding it. She had been a proud mother of two a son who had been about eight and a daughter nearly four years of age.
The wrong kind of trouble got her both kids from a no-good former husband who had bailed on her the first instant that things weren't going to go their way. Connie had gotten by after finding work and simply kept her head down and her leg closed ever since the bastard took off with a much younger woman leaving her and the children she bore him in the dust.
Connie had gone a few good years turning down men left and right who asked her out for drinks and driving. Most had been poor shlubs who had been only trying to boost their collective egos when asking the most beautiful woman they had ever seen out. Sal had called her gorgeous the moment he walked into the club, whistling like a cartoon wolf and loosening his tie at her approach. Most men had turned away the moment she laid it on them that she had two kids along with their ages. Responsibility had always been something of a shield for her and it worked more often than not to fend off would-be suitors that had been entirely unwanted.
Sal had been another kind of animal altogether. He saw her having children as a go-ahead to want to make a few babies of his own with her and she rolled her eyes not knowing how a man as lecherous and caddy as him had been allowed to roam free with decent women everywhere. Sal had admitted to being something of a scoundrel and simply asked for what had become his favorite drink when visiting the club, straight bourbon on ice.
Connie had finally made her way over to Sal who had looked to have been in a contemplative mood from the moment he walked in. He had not even bothered to engage in their usual banter about her looks and his desire for her as something had truly been on his mind and it had been quite heavy. Connie noted his disheveled appearance and messy hair with a sigh as she slid his drink over toward him.
He looked up at her finally, his dark brown eyes looking sorrowful and contemplative as if he'd been battling with something internally. He treated her to a small sad smile and took a deep breath before turning up his drink. She watched him finish it and he ordered another round.
Connie had been shocked that he had been so silent, especially around her. Sal seemed to have been watching the nearby wall clock and staring into his drink for several minutes. She figured with how well he'd been tipping her, the least she could do was make conversation about what was wrong with him.
"You know Sal you don't look so good," she said with a bit more concern than she realized she'd have for him. "You look like you got somethin' on ya mind if you know what I mean."
Sal took another drink from his glass and nodded.
"You've got good instincts doll I'll give ya that," he said meeting her blue eyes with relief. "Let's just say that I'm not too settled about a deal that was made and fully expect retaliation one way or another on the part of the people not too happy with me or my old man's company."
Connie had not liked the sound of that, especially when she knew she had a long walk home ahead of her with her car on the fritz. She sighed and turned her attention back to wiping down the countertop. Just as Connie had turned away from Sal she got a glimpse of strange men in long dark coats moving about the club. Sal had taken note and immediately dived from his seat at the bar toward Connie knocking her over the counter and onto the hardwood floor below just as bullets began to fly in the background.
The spraying had shattered glass, bottles, the mirrors that lined the back bar, and then some as the shooting continued. Sal had continued to keep a frantic Connie pinned to the floor and covered by the shards of spraying glass and bottles with his body. He had sustained a small cut on his face and right eye as he blocked her body from any damage.
"SHIT!" he hissed making sure to keep Connie covered even if it meant taking the hits himself.
She had been innocent in all of this and knew nothing of his father's shady dealings. He had made up his mind to ensure she got out of this unscathed and that her kids would be well taken care of. Knowing how much family meant to her had made it all the easier for Sal to choose to protect her personally when the bullet began to fly.
Connie had been shocked as Sal's body landed on top of her and fought the urge to scream amid the pelting bullets and shattering glass. Tears streamed down her lovely pale cheeks as she felt her life flash before her very eyes and all she could think about was how she'd never live to see her children grow up and have lives of their own.
"Hang in there Kid," Sal assured her as he covered her body with his own. "I'll keep you safe...you'll see your kids again Connie I promise."
He had looked so sincere as he met her gaze. She had not known that Sal had taken quite a few bullets for her, one in the shoulder and one in the back as he remained over her body blocking her from harm.
Once the bastards believed their work had been done, they took off at the sound of the alarms and the arrival of the police. The lights flickered and there had been water and broken glass everywhere as bits and pieces of the interior of the club were scattered everywhere and riddled with bullet holes. Whatever music had been playing had long stopped as pipes burst and people scrambled to get clear of debris and find loved ones trapped amid the dust and near inward collapse of the building.
"C-Connie are you hit?" asked Sal examining her with the adrenaline he had left.
"I-I don't know," she replied noting the slick crimson that had been against her skin.
Sal slowly moved from on top of her only for her to notice she had not a scratch on her thanks to his heroic efforts but he had been shot in multiple places and lost a good deal of blood. Sal's father had sent people to round up the survivors and get witnesses to detail what happened before the police could, he sent a team in to retrieve his son furious that he'd been targeted and had already opted for retaliation.
Connie had been shocked to see Sal's wounds. He brushed them off like they had been nothing but she knew better. He smiled sadly at her and touched her cheek with his blooded right hand before passing out from the blood loss. Sal's father's security team had found them and loaded an unconscious Sal into the back of a large armored SUV. Connie had attempted to protest them filing her into the vehicle as well but they would not hear of it given the attempt on her and Sal's life.
She'd been forced inside and driven away from the crime scene before anyone could identify what happened and who the main target had been. Connie sat in the back of the SUV terrified and confused as she watched the team work on Sal who had been stripped of his shirt and jacket. His bare chest which had been lean with moderate chest hairs was covered in blood and she could see the very visible bullet holes and bloody portions of it.
She had not wanted to see anything happen to Sal, he'd been her favorite customer after all, and a real charmer, no matter what shady business his father had been involved in.
Sal had not hesitated to save her life when it counted and for that, she had especially wanted to see him pull through.