Page 72 of Small Town Beast 2: Saverin's Duet

Oh, no.Lorrie’s heart nearly stopped. She stared at the gun. “Were you the one who put the bomb on his truck?”

“Yes.”

Her breath came in bursts. “P-please don’t kill him. He only wants what’s best for everybody. He’s not a bad man. He—”

“Spare me.”

Lorrie shut up at once. Roman cast a curious eye over her from top to bottom. “You’ve grown up since last I saw you,” he said. “I was surprised you cast your lot in with Absalom, of all people. Saverin’s brother used to have a thing for you.” His eyes went tight at the corners. “I always hoped he’d have the courage to tell you. Sam…”

“Sam Bailey didn’t like black people. I wouldn’t have anything to do with him,” Lorrie said. “I won’t speak ill of the dead and he was nice to me, but that’s the truth of it.”

“Interesting how it all worked out,” mused Roman. “Absalom didn’t seem like a hero to the downtrodden, in my estimation. Just your average Green Tree roughneck, I thought. Strong arms. Weak minds. Then all of a sudden he’s running around talking like Karl Marx.”

“Who?”

“Nevermind.” Roman laughed to himself. “Just like you told Saverin— he ain’t one to be underestimated. But I guess he never talked much back then. It’s always the silent ones.”

“What do you want from us?”

“I brought something for your man.” Roman gestured to a chair in the corner of the room. Slowly Lorrie walked over and picked it up. It seemed like a package of documents.

“What is this?” she whispered.

“Terms and conditions,” said Roman. “I’ll let him have what he wants, if he gives me what I want.”

“Which is what?”

“Eternal peace and quiet. Everything else…I’ve parted with already.” He looked around the room as if committing it all to memory one last time.

“How did you get up here?” Lorrie blurted, thinking ahead. If Roman was able to move through the house undetected, then Absalom could never be safe here.

“I built this house,” Roman answered dryly. “Don’t fret. Your man won’t have nothing to fear from me as long as he keeps up his end. It’s all in that little packet. Make sure he reads it. I guess he already found the bomb, so he’s a step up already.” He looked down at Tanya sleeping on the bed. “Saverin…I never would have thought,” he muttered. And it seemed to Lorrie as if he smiled to himself, a wry, sad smile. “Goodbye, Sweet Lorraine,” he said. He walked past her and opened the door she had just locked. Then he stepped into the hallway quietly, shutting it behind him.

FOURTEEN

SAVERIN

Downstairs, Absalom was pissed.

“Why did nobody stop her?” he raged.

“What were we supposed to do?” Shadrac argued back. “The bitch was drinkin’ like a fish— how could we know she was pregnant?”

Absalom knelt next to his legal wife and tested her pulse. “She’ll probably lose the child,” he said, shaking his head. He looked up at Saverin’s astonished face and said sharply, “It ain’t mine. It’s Gino’s. Where is Gino?”

“Over there,” said Shadrac, indicating the heap of Snatch Hills shivering across the room. “He’s alive. Barely. It ain’t our fault, boss,” said Shadrac stubbornly. “There was nothing we could do.”

“Enough,” said Absalom, rising up to grab him by the scruff. His eyes flared open. “You do as I tell you. Get her to a hospital and none of your fucking lip.”

“They’ll run her blood,” hissed Shadrac.

“Do it. Say she ate something, I don’t give a fuck. I’m not letting the woman die on my account.”

“What about the rest of them?” asked Saverin, his mouth a grim line.

The Snatch Hills, many of whom had lost consciousness, were in a sorry state. Some were covered in blood, in shit, and all were absolutely coated in vomit. The cleanup in this room would be spectacular. It stank worse than a slaughterhouse. While one Green Tree went around collecting the tainted bottles of Roman’s whiskey, a few more hauled the sickened Snatch Hills aside in a heap.

BOOM!

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