Blood Red

“Shame if I have to do something to Renee, Lenny. She’s a pretty girl.” He shook his head and frowned for the bloodied man in front of him. “I’d hate to have to change that.”

What was that? A little glimmer of anger in Lenny’s eyes. Was there still a spark somewhere in there that wanted to fight? He hoped so. “Don’t you touch her, Tom. I told you everything I know.”

“How can I be sure of that, Lenny? I mean, where were you all day that I couldn’t get a hold of you?”

“I told you, Maureen needed tests. There’s something wrong with her heart.”

“She’s too young to have heart troubles, Lenny. Come up with a better excuse.”

“She’s got congenital heart disease! Let me go home and I’ll bring you the motherfucking papers!”

“You’re not going anywhere until I get back my money!”

“I don’t have the money, Tom! How many times do you want me to say it!”

“Lenny, the walls are soundproofed, but let’s not test that, okay?”

“You can’t hurt my little girl, Tom. I’ll find the money for you. I’ll fucking steal it myself, but you can’t hurt my little girl.” He was starting to cry again. Pathetic.

“Lenny, I’m a good sport. I’ll give you until midnight to find my money. You have it for me by then, Renee gets to have a nice, safe sleepover. You don’t . . . do the math.”

Lenny looked almost ready to kill him. The restraints might have slowed him down.

“It’s your choice, man. I want my money back. There are only a few people who know the right information to steal it. I already checked with the other one.” He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “He didn’t have a daughter, but his girlfriend was nice and tight.”

Tom moved over closer, until he could look into Lenny’s swollen eyes. “I’m gonna let you go now, Lenny. Don’t be stupid. Just get it done and we can go back to being friends.”

The man groaned when his wrists were unbound. His fingers looked like purple sausages. He’d have to be careful about that the next time. He could have ruined Lenny’s typing skills; live and learn.

Someone started pounding on the front door. Tom scowled and looked at his newly freed victim. “You stay here, Lenny. Don’t want you getting jumpy while I’m busy.”

The stairs up to the ground-level floor were nicely padded, and he moved up them quickly. He didn’t carry a weapon on him, but he had easy access, so he wasn’t overly worried.

He should have been. By the time he reached the short hallway to the door, it was obvious that somebody was extremely unhappy with the current situation.

“Hold on to your ass! I’m coming!”

The front door came apart before his eyes and large pieces of the wood and beveled glass ripped through the air on a path for him.

Tom dropped to the ground and covered his head; only one piece of wood actually hit him, but it drew a red line of fire across his upper back. “Fuck!”

He scrambled, reaching for his stashed weapon. All he had to do was get into the vent next to the living room entrance and that was easy enough to do. He’d had the vent designed to lift up with ease.

His hand caught the lower edge of the vent cover. Maggie’s bloodied hand caught his wrist.

He looked up and saw the shape she was in: Maggie was covered from head to toe in drying blood that flaked away from her skin. She looked like she’d been dipped in the stuff and then hit with a hair dryer until her clothes were merely damp. Her hair was still pulled back in a ponytail, still had its usual thick curls, but it was rusty brown from the bath she’d taken. Her face, always enchanting, always so hot in that girl-next-door way, was twisted into a look of undiluted hatred. Her dark eyes glared down into his. Her nostrils flared and her full, welcoming mouth showed him nothing but bared teeth.

“Maggie? What the hell?”

Maggie yanked on his arm and lifted him into a standing position. Several tendons in his shoulder let out screams of protest that matched flawlessly with his yelp of pain. When the hell did Maggie start working out?

“Look what you did to my fucking door!” He was a little nervous, but only a little. He could handle a bitch hopped up on too much coke. He had several times in the past. “That’s coming out of your take, Maggie.”

“Shut your face, Monkey Boy.” She had a smile starting. It was dark and dangerous and mischievous and sexy as all hell. He was going to enjoy breaking her, but he’d make her take a shower first. He preferred his blood fresh.

“What did you say?” Now she was calling him names? Definitely time to put her in her place. He figured a good railroad by twenty men would have taken care of that, but she was still ready for more.

Tom was always glad to oblige. He brought his knee up and nailed her on the crotch. He’d learned a long time ago that hitting a girl there hurt her almost as much as it hurt a guy.