Page 137 of Out on a Limb
“Stupid bitch.”
I pressed my lips tight together, fighting the urge to point out that I was clearly smarter than he thought.
Alan stepped in front of me, his face looking much older than normal. His eyes were pinched. His mouth was drawn. His skin was sallow.
“Where’s the deed, Collette?”
I stared at him. There was no reason to tell him. He’d never get his hands on it.
There were only two names on that box, and he couldn’t pass as either one of them.
He bent at the waist, coming eye-to-eye with me. “You should have let me hire Linda. Then this could have all worked itself out.”
He thought hiring a prostitute to sell souvenirs would solve all his problems?
Not likely.
“Where’s the key?”
I stared back at him.
“Fine.” He straightened. “You have two options.” He paced a few steps away. “You can either tell me where to find what I want, or you can end up dead at the bottom of a burned-out trailer.” He turned to face me. “Your choice.”
It took everything I had to keep it together. To keep from reacting.
“Damn it.” Alan got up in my face, his eyes bugging out of his head. “You think I won’t let them kill you? Because I will.” A disgusting smirk twisted his lips. “And then I might let them have at one of your old lady friends. Just for fun.”
I might have been able to keep it together if he hadn’t brought my geriatric girl gang into it.
Might have maintained my composure if he hadn’t threatened the women I knew would always have my back no matter what.
But he just had to go and push that button.
And apparently that button jumped right past plans A and B and went straight to plan C.
Which was violence.
Alan was close enough I could reach him with the only thing I could move.
I whipped my head forward, slamming my forehead into the bridge of his nose as hard as I could.
Hard enough to crunch some things that sounded pretty important.
Hard enough I immediately saw stars.
Hard enough Alan stumbled back a few steps, both hands going to his nose as blood started to spew from his nostrils, shooting onto the front of his button-up shirt as he sputtered and spewed, tears running from his eyes and a string of curse words running from his mouth.
“You fucking cunt.”
I kept my stare, leveling it on him as he wiped at the mess of blood and tears.
I was kind of hoping to take him down with one hit. At least incapacitate him enough to buy me some time to figure out an escape plan.
Unfortunately, Alan seemed like he might have a little more staying power than I expected.
He took a step in my direction, but a heavy thud stopped him in his tracks.
The door to my left rattled on its hinges as it took a second hit.
