Blood Red

He used her. She returned the favor. Enough was enough, and she decided to get inventive right back. He kissed. She bit. He scratched, she clawed. He thrust, she arched. He tasted, she drank. He bruised, she cut. Well before they were finished, both had begged for mercy and been granted none.

Finally, she solved a mystery. The taste she had in her mouth when all was said and done, so familiar but not common. It was blood. She drank his and he drank hers. It was intoxicating.

When the sun was almost up, she rose from his bed and dressed hastily. Her body still felt feverish, and she was in a daze. Jason watched her stand and move about, and smiled at her.

“Find a safe place, Maggie. Be with someone you can trust for the day.”

“Why?”

“Trust me on this if nothing else. Find a safe place. Come to me tonight, when you want your questions answered.”

Exhausted, elated, and nearly delirious, she nodded her head and left his house. The glow of the coming dawn seemed too bright to her eyes and she drove quickly, trying to keep her calm.

“Damn. I gotta start getting some sleep. This is crazy.”

The roads were mercifully devoid of people. The trees were alive with the watchful eyes of crows. She found herself noticing the birds at nearly every corner, all of them intent on her, staring as if she were a succulent morsel of food.

Maggie pulled into the parking lot and barely avoided hitting another car parked in the space next to hers. The world was swimming and swaying by the time she got out of the car and started for her apartment. The courtyard seemed miles longer than it should have.

She was almost home, almost safe, when the ground lurched under her feet and she fell. The darkness was complete and silent and blissful.

Chapter 14

I

Ryan Harper wet himself when the gun pushed up against his face. It was a big gun, and he knew good and fucking well that Tom Pardue would use it on him in a heartbeat if he didn’t get what he wanted.

“Tom?” His voice was subdued for obvious reasons. “Want to tell me what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong is that all of my money is gone, Ryan.” He’d never seen Pardue looking anywhere near this pissed off. “All of it. I got nothin’ left and I’m feeling a little like killing someone. So you tell me who has my money, and I will pick that person to fucking kill instead of you.”

“Tom, I don’t know who has your money.”

“Listen carefully, Ryan. Listen like your life depended on it.” His teeth were bared and the acne scars on his face were glistening. Pardue’s eyes were wide and furious. “You have five hours to find out who has my money, or I’m going to come back here and make you sorry we ever did business together.”

Tom Pardue was not the smartest man in the world, but he had the good sense to know he wasn’t. Ryan had helped him launder a lot of money over the years and been paid for it. That also meant that Ryan was one of a small handful of people who knew how much Pardue was really worth and who had access to information about where he kept his life savings.

“Tom, listen to me. I didn’t take your money, you know that, okay? I don’t need to take your money and I’m not stupid enough to have you wanting me dead.”

“That’s why you’re still alive, buddy boy. That’s the only fucking reason.” Tom’s eyes were absolutely murderous. “You find out who did. That’s all. You fuck this up, I fuck you up.” He emphasized his words by running the business end of the pistol along Ryan’s jaw line.

“I’ll do what I can, Tom, but I’m only human.”

“Be better than that. Be better than only human. You understand me?”

Ryan nodded.

“Good, because I’ve seen that little skirt you’re with. She won’t much care for you when I’m done. Shit. Do ya one better. You get this right, or you won’t much care for her when I’m done, either. You get me?”

“Yeah, I get you, man. Just chill, okay? Just be calm. It’ll work out. I’ll find out who did it.”

Tom put the gun into the back of his pants and stepped back two paces. Ryan let himself hope he might live through this.

Not fifteen feet away, Karley was making breakfast. The only barrier between them was a thin apartment wall. That she hadn’t heard anything was something of a miracle.

“Five hours. That’s all. Get to work.”

Tom left the apartment and stormed off toward his car. Every stride he took, every gesture he made, was filled with anger.

Somebody was going to pay dearly for pissing him off. Ryan intended to make sure that someone wasn’t himself.

II