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...

inches. Well

Well used…

Left-handed…

gives

against right-handers.

Hard. Fast.

jerk back and he follows through, but I grab him by the arm. We grapple. His blade to my throat. My hand locked

close, I smell

Sweat. Sour.

sour scent

Not excitement.

Fear.

away, dancing back from me and suddenly I'm overreaching… off-balance…

then grunts as I lash for his neck but as he swings away, my fist lands in

up on my advantage, I bully forward, reaching for his blade, slashing out with

my right hand and he twists away,

The other knife...

Ambidextrous?

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

the rib cage

Got you, you bastard…

her. The

out of nowhere, pelting for the exit, apparently blind to me and Baxter, she charges between us and

my

Drinks slops?

Blood?

In slow motion...

arms

I go down...

on top of

…

My gasp as his blade slices

The rasp of shredding

The metallic tang of

Whose?

Mine…

he hovers, enjoying his moment, the knife poised at

the vein, he reaches

My Glock?

for my forehead,

use

the balls for

elbows I swing round wildly, one way or the other,

There are none.

straight up the barrel of my own fucking gun and to Baxter’s

Is this it?

this is how

all the ways I could have died over the

for something I didn’t actually

Live by the sword…

the mind works at these moments. The brain does odd things under

don’t think

looms close and huge. The rest of the

My throat tightens…

just the real man.” The voice is sultry, smooth, and drips honey and contempt in equal

know that

to its

to six feet in the spiked heels. The matching skirt just

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

“Mitch?”

admit it. I

So does Baxter.

might have been full of women offering their all. But nothing compares to

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

one leg a little curved to strike a pose. And with

open silver loop. She hooks a finger

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

Comments ()

0/255