Blood Red

“Three will be four large. Four will be five large.” They’d have to be placated, of course, but he needed the cash and there were a few girls who still thought they could push Tom to get what they wanted. It was time for them to learn otherwise.

“Better make it three then. Sky’s the limit, but damn.”

“I’m not kidding when I say they’re the best.”

“They do what we want?” Actually, there would probably be a lot of screaming and protesting, but when it was done, they’d be grateful to get back to the high-end boys who only wanted straight sex instead of a little gang action or to watch a girl take a donkey. He had shit to make the girls compliant, but there were limits.

“Oh, they might fuss a little, but they’ll do it. That’s what they get paid to do.”

“Sweet stuff, my man.”

“I’ll have the girls rounded up by around eight o’clock. I’ll have everything else sooner if you need it.”

“The earlier the better with the supplies. Beer only goes so far.”

Tom smiled. “You know what? Just for this occasion, I’m gonna drop you some Viagra. Make sure you can show the girls the time of their lives.”

“Awesome! You’re the man!”

“Oh yes. The one and only, Doug. Don’t you forget it.”

He hung up the phone and relaxed a bit. Playtime was over. He had just the three girls he wanted to use, and they would have no idea what was coming.

The one he was going to have the most fun with was Maggie. Bitch needed to learn her place. It was long overdue.

But first, he had to visit Ryan and find out what was going on.

And maybe he’d have to show Ryan’s woman a good time. He was a little disappointed that he hadn’t found Lenny and his little girl, but it was a small price to pay.

Lenny could wait until tomorrow if he had to. His daughter could wait, too, but the longer Tom had to wait, the worse he was going to make it for the girl.

Ryan didn’t have any information for him.

He cried when Tom tied him up. He begged when Tom grabbed Karley and started giving her a work over.

Karley cried too. That made it more fun.

V

Maggie woke up a little after three in the afternoon. The window curtains were drawn tightly and she was in the exact same clothes she had been wearing the night before. She was also in Ben’s bed.

She sat up and felt a slight twinge from her muscles. All in all she felt much better than she had the night before. She could hear the stereo playing in Ben’s living room. Diana Krall sang softly but she didn’t recognize the tune.

Maggie stretched, feeling the muscles slide under her skin in an oddly sensuous way. She stood up and looked around the small bedroom. She had been placed on top of the covers, and the only distortion of the bedclothes came from where her body had been resting. Ben had left her alone through the day.

Jason had said something to her the night before about finding someone she could trust, and she guessed that maybe she had.

She left his bedroom and immediately went for the toilet. It wasn’t hard to find, as their apartments were mirror images. After what seemed like a few eternities, her bladder stopped screaming at her and she flushed.

Not wanting to delay the inevitable, she walked toward the living room and found Ben asleep on the couch. His face was looking less swollen. On the coffee table in front of him, she spotted her shoes and her purse. Her keys were sitting slightly aside from everything else. Had she dropped them the night before? She wasn’t sure, but she thought maybe she had. Ben must have gone looking for them after he found her.

The sunlight streaming through the window was annoyingly bright, but survivable, so she walked into the room and grabbed her purse, desperate for a cigarette. She didn’t know if Ben was a smoker, but he had ashtrays so she made herself at home and lit up.

He stirred on the couch, but didn’t wake up immediately. So Maggie finished her cigarette and then leaned in close and kissed him on the forehead. His eyes creaked open and he looked up to see her. His face managed a small smile as he sat up and looked at her, his eyes still bleary.

“Good morning, handsome.” She looked at her watch. “Or good afternoon.”

“Hi. You okay?”

“Never better.” This was true. She felt rested and invigorated for the first time in forever.

“I was a little worried.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t normally pass out.”

“Been a couple of rough days.” There was no judgment in the tones, merely an acceptance of fact.

“Yeah, that’s for sure.” She sat down next to him, and he moved his legs away to let her.

“Guess I’m lucky you found me.”

“Wasn’t luck.” He shrugged. “You knocked on my door.”

“I did?”

“Well, fell against it.”

“Well, thanks.”

“Hey, you did it for me. Besides, I wasn’t doing anything, anyway.” He smiled and then covered his mouth as he yawned.

“It was still nice of you. So thanks.”

Ben looked uncomfortable and shifted his weight a bit. She felt a flash of absolute hatred for Tom: the discomfort had never been there before. She looked at him and then leaned over. A quick kiss on the cheek and she stood back up.

“I should go.”