Page 78 of Erase Me
Long greying hair sprouted from beneath a black knit beanie.Standing close to seven feet tall and as wide as a bull, the tan coveralls he wore seemed custom-made by a local tentmaker.
The monster glanced at me, dismissed me as inconsequential, and lumbered toward Reed.
For the first time since arriving here, I was really, really worried.This was a scenario I would have shrugged off a week ago, I realized.Reed was the person I had to protect.
As the giant got close to him, Reed tried a front kick.Not exactly effective.Instead, he propelled himself backward, where he tripped over the bodies of the men we had just taken down.
Reacting quickly, I grabbed a wine bottle from the floor and hurled it directly at the monster’s massive head.Surprisingly, I made contact.The base of the bottle struck the back of his skull solidly.That only succeeded in grabbing his attention, however, and he turned, lumbering back across the room toward me.
I’d seen what Reed’s kick had done, so I wasn’t feeling too optimistic about throwing a kick of my own at him.I thought about his legs, but they looked like tree trunks.
Opting for a more substantial weapon, I seized the steel angle bar dropped by the muscle boy and swung it at the colossal figure.
The blow to his face was hard enough to cause a jump on the Richter scale.The oversized head barely moved, though, and the eyes never even flinched.
“He’s trouble.With a capital T,” Reed remarked loudly from the background.
When I swung the bar again, he knocked it out of my hand with one massive paw and grabbed me by the throat with the other.
As he lifted me, I felt the fingers clamp down on my windpipe.
Then, Reed was on the giant’s back.He had his left arm around the man’s throat while he pounded at the face with his right.
From my vantage point—dangling in the air from our attacker’s fist—I got to see the action up close.At first, the monster didn’t seem to notice, but when Reed mashed the nose to the side, it got his attention.
The big fellow acted like he’d never had his nose broken before.
The cheeks flushed red with rage and his eyes were on fire.
He dropped me to the floor, none too gently, and reached back for Reed.
I had only one way of helping my partner at the moment.Arching my body up, I kicked him squarely in the balls.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone’s eyes bulge quite like his did.He sat back down on his butt so heavily that the entire building shook.
With his arms locked around the giant’s head, Reed had the leverage he needed to finish the job.
“Nice,” I said.
“I knew you could take him alone,” Reed said, his voice actually laced with a hint of pride.“But we’ve got more fish to fry.”
I knew you could take him alone.We’ve got more fish to fry.
It was stupid to feel emotional in a moment like this, considering the urgency of the situation.But I couldn’t help but feel a surge of happiness.Whether it was authorized or not, this was my first job.I found myself caring for Reed, and adrenaline was still coursing through my veins at full throttle.
Reed cast a glance through the door to see if anyone else was coming.Seizing the moment, I darted for the porch, scanning the street below for potential dangers.Outside, there was no sign of movement near the cars.Could it be that every one of them had come up here to take us down?More likely, the rest of the hired help had turned tail and run.
Returning to the living room, we found ourselves surrounded by the aftermath of the fight.Bodies were scattered everywhere.The furniture was in splinters.There were holes in the walls.The once-cozy living space was now unrecognizable.
At one end of the shattered table, my eye fell on the Jane Austen book.It sat on the floor, seemingly undisturbed by the chaos around it.I walked over, picked it up, and wiped shards of glass off the cover.
“I meant to drop that off at your new friend’s house,” Reed commented.“The one from the beach.”
“Well, maybe there’s still time.”I tucked the volume under my arm as memories rushed in.It was because of reaching for this book that Reed and I met.Jane Austen had played the role of matchmaker for us.I reflected on how different everything would have been if we had not connected.
“Are you okay?”he asked.
“Yeah.”
