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One day some lucky girl would snatch Luke up, leaving his admirers grieving from the loss.
Dressed in her pajamas, Terri ventured into the kitchen for a snack. Despite her pack-rat tendencies, her kitchen was sparse, lacking anything to make a real meal out of. Finding one last slice of bread in the bag, she made a peanut butter sandwich and poured herself a glass of milk. She was planning to fall asleep in front of the TV tonight watching infomercials.
She was halfway to her bedroom before Luke’s words came back to her.
Turning around, she went back and flipped on the porch light. It was going to make a dent in her electric bill, that was for sure, but she would do it because he was right. Safety was important.
***
Randy drove aimlessly around city blocks, circling back to the club several times while he waited for the police to leave. It had been a mistake, allowing his emotions to rule him. But then they always had, hadn’t they?
Ever since he was a kid, Randy had had anger problems. Like a match, once struck, the anger spread, destroying whatever it touched. Early on he tried to control it, but the battle proved more work than he was willing to put in, and eventually he just let the chips fall where they may. People inevitably got hurt, but he no longer worried about them. In nature, only the strong survived. And Randy was strong.
The club, Sunset Black, came into view once again, and Randy coasted toward it. His fingers gripped the steering wheel as his mind replayed the moments before he snapped. The boy was out of line, moving in on his property. Like Randy, he was a man, and everyone knows that men are ruled by their anatomy.
Terri knew that full well, too.
Randy had watched her strutting throughout the club, sidling up to tables full of men in her barely there getup. Whores get what they deserve, he recalled his father telling him once. And Terri definitely played the part well.
Yes, the more he thought about it, the more he realized the blame for what happened that evening lay firmly at her feet. He never would have had to punish the kid if she hadn’t drawn him in with her feminine wiles. She always had been one to spark his temper, and she had succeeded once again tonight. It was almost as if she enjoyed ruining men.
Well, he would teach her better.
The parking lot was dark when Randy pulled in. A quick scan revealed Terri’s white Ford Focus was still there, which meant she was still inside. Tucking the truck into a space shrouded in shadow at the far end of the lot, he waited. His plan was simple: When she drove home, he would follow her. From there, he would employ any means necessary to get inside and deliver the shock of her life.
He could see it now, the look on her face when she realized he was back. She would be surprised, but would it be a happy surprise, or something born of fear? After the way they had left things, coupled with the fact that she hadn’t even bothered to visit him once, he figured the reunion wouldn’t be a very welcoming one.
That didn’t bother him, though. They may have had their problems, but Terri loved him. She would never forsake him over a simple impassioned argument. She knew how he was, and she accepted that. It’s why he stayed with her for so long, after all. No one knew how to handle his tempers like Terri, which is why he didn’t feel it necessary to hold back.
Sure, sometimes he would take it too far and he would find himself in some trouble, but it always worked out in the end. Give him an hour, and he would make Terri see that they still worked well together. He would make her understand what she had done wrong and accept her punishment like a good girl and they would move on. Things didn’t have to change. Love transcended all barriers.
***
Two hours ticked by and still no sign of his wife. Eventually, a white Lincoln pulled into the lot. Moments later the neon sign overhead flickered out and the steel door popped open. Sitting up, Randy had his fingers wrapped around his keys, ready to get moving, when that big black bouncer stepped out.
He was alone.
Randy watched as the guy locked the doors, holding out hope that Terri would emerge—from where, he didn’t know. The place was a ghost town except for the newly arrived Lincoln and her car.
As the bouncer got in and the car drove off, Randy thumped the steering wheel with his fist. As realization hit him, rage rose up like a tide, starting in his middle and swelling into every cell of his body.
Somehow, probably while he had been trying to avoid being caught by the police, she had managed to slip away. Now he had no way of finding out where she was.
Once again, Terri had managed to muck things up.
Starting the engine, Randy threw the truck into drive and stomped on the gas. Rubber squealed against asphalt as the truck careened onto the street and cut around the corner, fading into the night.
