Hot Revenge Box Set 2

Chapter 15

Klempner

Although I can hear chaos from down the stairs, up here now, it’s quiet. There’s no-one in the dance room.

In the pool room, the only sound is the crunching of glass under my boots. I carry on to Finchby’s office.

All empty?

It seems so.

The time?

Time to go.

Except… as I’m about to turn and leave a girl, I see her; barely a teenager, some variety of Asian, Indian perhaps. Streaming tears, she skitters out from behind the desk, making for the kitchen.

I follow her and she cringes back into the corner. I offer my hand. “I’m not going to hurt you. You have to leave.”

She babbles at me in I’ve-no-idea-what language, then abruptly, her face swings up to mine and fingers outstretched, leaps up at me, clawing at my face. Reflexively, I jerk back, and she bolts past me and out, back the way I came.

Fuck!

I dash after her, but in the few seconds, she’s gone, vanished.

Where did she go?

Out?

Or somewhere deeper inside?

I check my watch… Three minutes…

Christ!

I have to find her… If she’s on the stairwell, perhaps I’ll hear her. I turn for the bar, heading for the stairs up and down, and there…

Fuck.

Baxter.

I reach for my Glock… And it’s not there.

Damn… When did I put it down?

Baxter flashes brows. And the knife in his hand. “Going somewhere?”

“I was planning on leaving.” I slip the knife from my belt. “Your friend Finchby has already left the building. I believe the money may be with him.”

“I’m not going to weep over Finchby. And I didn't do it for the cash. Well… mainly not for the cash. And I have my half anyway.”

We circle, eyeball to eyeball.

Make the first move?

Wait for him?

I move slowly, watching for the twitch of the hand. The nudge of the shoulder. The tell that he's going to stop talking and...

He slashes out… moves fast…

But it’s a feint and we both know it, calculated to draw a reaction from me.

Testing me…

My speed…

My reactions…

Younger than me...

How much by?

Ten years?

His knife...

eight inches. Well cared

Well used…

Left-handed…

gives

practice against right-handers. I've done

stabs out. Hard. Fast. Teeth

him by the arm. We grapple. His blade to my throat. My

close, I

Sweat. Sour.

sour scent of

Not excitement.

Fear.

me and suddenly I'm overreaching…

I lash for his neck but as

my advantage, I bully forward,

his chest with my right hand and he twists away,

The other knife...

Ambidextrous?

not. Just well-practised. As he swerves away from my

the rib cage and

Got you, you bastard…

it’s her.

and Baxter, she charges between us and I twist away to avoid slicing the silly

back, my

Drinks slops?

Blood?

In slow motion...

arms wind-milling

I go down...

Baxter’s on top of

…

as his

rasp of shredding

The metallic tang

Whose?

Mine…

enjoying his moment, the

he reaches

My Glock?

for my forehead, he

not use the

the

up on my elbows I swing round wildly,

There are none.

of my own

Is this it?

all this time… this

with irritation. Of all the ways I could have died over

I didn’t actually

Live by the sword…

at these moments. The brain

don’t think

muzzle of the gun looms close and huge. The rest of the world vanishes

My throat tightens…

honey and contempt in equal measure… “A hero with

I know that

eyes swing to its owner.

her close to six feet in the spiked heels. The matching skirt just clears the crotch and the zip-front leather vest hugs a narrow waist and full

a face made up with emerald eyes painted Goth-dark and

“Mitch?”

admit it. I

So does Baxter.

It might have been full of women offering their all.

I have never seen her dressed like this, not even in her

lifted, one leg a little curved to strike a pose. And with an

finger into the loop and tooth

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