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“Would you rather I just locked you up?” he asked. “Left you to rot in that room? Maybe I could just slip your meal under the door.”
“Honestly, I almost wish you would. Being nice to me is worse.”
He frowned. “I don’t think that’s true.”
“You’re making me forget what you are.”
He leaned forward and put his beer back down on the coffee table. He leaned his elbows on his knees and stared up into my eyes.
“And what’s that?” he asked.
“You’re a monster,” I said. “You’re a killer. You’re an asshole. I don’t want anything to do with this… this reward.”
“Then go to your room,” he said, his voice cold and hard. “Go ahead, go slam the door, crawl into bed, cover yourself with the sheets. But when you wake up tomorrow, I’ll still be here, and you’ll still be mine.”
I felt rage run down my spine and I wanted to scream at him. I took a step toward him but he never broke his gaze and didn’t react at all. I stood there, glaring at him, wishing I could do something that would really hurt him.
So I turned away and stormed upstairs.
I slammed the door shut. I made sure he heard it.
And then I crawled into bed and told myself I wouldn’t come back out until he forced me to.7StevenThat night, after she threw her little tantrum, I called up one of my soldiers and had him swing by the house. He was a young guy name Dino, skinny guy with jet black hair and dark brown eyes. He wore a pair of baggy jeans, basketball sneakers, and a button-down shirt. I met him out on my front stoop, but didn’t invite him in.
“Hey boss,” he said, looking around the block. He’d never been to my house before and I could tell it made him nervous. He was new to the crew, and he was still in the process of proving himself.
Tonight would be a good test.
“Hey Dino,” I said. “Thanks for coming out.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure, boss, sure. What, uh, what can I do for you?”
I leaned back against the door and crossed my arms. “You still got that girlfriend?” I asked.
He looked surprised. “You mean, Theresa?” he asked. “Yeah, sure I’m still with Theresa.”
“She’s the one with expensive taste, right?”
He let out a laugh. “Yeah, boss. How’d you know?”
“Heard you talking with Simon a few weeks back,” I said. “Listen, I need you to do me a favor. Call up your girl and tell her the two of you need to go shopping.”
He looked confused. “All right, sure, boss,” he said. “For what, though?”
“Women’s clothes,” I said. “Bras, underwear, dresses, shirts and shit. Get a full wardrobe.” I reached into my jacket pocket and took out a fat roll of hundreds and handed them over. His eyes bulged out of his skull. “That’s ten grand,” I said, and took out another roll. “And that’s another ten.”
“Yeah, okay, boss,” he said. “Twenty grand on women’s clothes, got it.”
“I’m not sure what size she is, but she’s small, so get her some small shit. Tell Theresa to get some stuff in multiples sizes so she can choose. Whatever she doesn’t pick, you get to keep, so don’t be cheap.”
His eyes lit up. “Yeah, okay, boss,” he said.
“And I want fucking receipts. You hear me? Receipts for every single penny you spend. If you don’t fuck this up or steal from me, there’ll be a bonus in it for you.”
“Sure, sure, I won’t let you down. Theresa, she got real good taste. Too good, to be honest.”
I grinned at him. “Good luck Dino. Don’t fuck up.”
He nodded and backed off the stoop then walked away toward a black sedan parked against the curb. I turned and headed back inside, shutting the door behind me.* * *I let Colleen sulk in her room until noon. That was plenty of time for Dino and Theresa to show up with bags and bags from designer stores. They dumped their haul out. Theresa had big, crunchy curly hair, dark lipstick, a black tight shirt and black jeans.
“She’s gonna love this stuff,” Theresa said.
“Just make it look nice then get out,” I said. “Dino, receipts.”
He handed me the receipts plus a small stack of bills and some change. “It’s all there,” he said.
“Good. Be gone before I come back down.” I turned and walked to the stairs then slowly headed up. I could hear Dino and Theresa whispering to each other, fighting about how to set the clothes up, as I walked to Colleen’s door.
I waited a minute before knocking. I had to knock four times before she finally answered.
“Go away,” Colleen called out.
“I got a surprise for you,” I said. “I’m coming in, so make sure you’re decent. Or not, I don’t really care.”
I unlocked the padlock and opened her door. She was sitting in bed, legs crossed under her, an angry look on her face.
