AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fuck.
He gets out of the car before I can protest and walks briskly into the nearest store. My shaky breath grows shallow. I’m alone. I press the lever of his old-school Cadillac seat, which drops me back quicker than I expect.
When I hear car doors slam shut in the distance, I can’t help but look out the rear window. Oh my God. It’s them. The skinny fedora guy and the chubby half-skunk. Fuck. They’re walking straight toward me.
“Please no.”
They’re not stopping.
I panic and try to open the door, but it’s locked.
The clack of their loafers split to either side of the car.
Squeezing my eyes shut and holding my breath is just about the dumbest thing I can do to make myself disappear, but that’s all I’ve got. Muffled words are exchanged, making me shudder. Are they talking about me? Can they see me?
I open my eyes to a set of brown pearls trying to peek inside. They’re squinted and scanning, scanning, scanning.
His brow furrows as he slowly recognizes my shape.
Every inch up is like a laser on my skin.
No.
Further. Further.
Our eyes lock. And in that instant, two strong leather-wrapped arms squeeze around his neck.
“Get in,” Leandro’s voice rattles clearly. He has a pistol pointed at the other man – judging by his raised hands.
The back door unlocks, and the man shakenly opens it and slips in. Instinctively, I prop up my seat as Leandro opens the other door to shove in the half-skunk. His pistol is trained on them as he rounds to the driver’s side.
The door closes the four of us in.
“Hook!” the fedora man pleads – his hands still up.
“Not another word,” Leandro’s voice resonates in the small space. It’s dangerous when he’s on, commanding. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out two pills. “These are non-lethal doses of Etomozen. Think of it as chloroform in pill form. Without reacting, you will each take one—”
“Sir! We were sent by Donny as protection!”
Leandro points the gun at the skunk. Little do they know, he has a second pistol pointed through the seat if either of them try anything. It’s like he’s always three steps ahead.
You could cut the tension with a knife. Now that I think about it, the two men didn’t approach the car confidently. I now realize… they were scared.
Leandro’s silence prompts the half-skunk to continue talking.
“It’s your cousin. She’s worried about you.”
“How do I know he didn’t send you both to try and kill me?”
The fedora man laughs nervously. “He said you’d say that. The boss also said, he’d have to come himself if he wanted you in the ground.”
“You didn’t answer my question.” Leandro’s losing patience. “Hey.” He taps the gun twice against the metal prongs of the headrest. “Look at me, not her.”
“I’ll tell you how, Hook, with respect.” The fedora man tilts his head. “We’re unarmed. My name is Johnny itchy-drawers. This here is Pompo.”
Leandro narrows his eyes and shoves the visible pistol in the back of his pants – I’m guessing to see if they’d try anything. They don’t. There are no quick movements, no attempt to fight, just fear. He then reaches, leaning in between the front seats, to pat down the thinner of the two.
“Just trying to watch your back,” Pompo says. “There’s heat on you. Big time. Richy Scones. Fat Mike Abrusso. They’re all making calls.”
