Hot Revenge Box Set 2

*****

James

The message from Charlotte’s abductors…

Finchby…

Baxter…

… replays in my head…

Marsh Street under Barnbridge Road overpass 9pm

Bring the money

No police. No other people or she dies

If late she dies. So does the baby

Brandy and rage burn inside me.

The bag containing the ransom money swings heavy in my hand. I'm the decoy and at some level, I know I may not come out of this alive. Klempner's Kevlar vest gives me a little comfort, but it’s the fury inside that warms me against fast falling temperatures.

I should be afraid…

But I’m not.

Jade-Eyes…

My beautiful Jade-Eyes…

Cara… Your

the day I met Charlotte, my Virgin, we have helter-skeltered from one crisis

she deserves. None of it

I change any

No. Nothing.

Strong. Fearless. Resourceful. Even in the dire situation she’s in, imprisoned in her cell, racked with pain, coughing

for

And me?

I’m the decoy.

the stars but does little to blanket in what passed for the heat of the day.

a mile to reach the rendezvous point, near enough to get there quickly. Far enough

late, but the cold is keeping people indoors and, after all, Christmas is coming. Most folks will be with friends, at parties or

pass windows brightly lit, glowing with warmth and welcome, sparkling with fairy lights, dressed with spray-on snow and Santa, Please Stop Here signs. In my own home, we never finished the trimming up. Charlotte’s abduction killed off any

I pass by.

minutes I’m leaving the relative safety of the residential zone and passing into more uncertain territory. This end of Marsh Street is not

the main highways were developed, a remnant of the old town, under the overpass which carries

area is noted for hoax calls of fire or medical emergency followed by muggings

admit, I'm feeling windy about

Better than the alternative.

to

dim under inadequate sodium lighting. From the road above, moisture trickles down, streaking stark concrete walls white before settling to

overpass, late evening traffic grumbles past. But here below,

“Hello?”

echoes briefly, then

here.” I pace, circling,

Nothing…