Bender

by M. Stratton

  Stormy looked at him with huge eyes as the counter slowly got closer and closer to her. She didn’t know what she’d do if he pinned her back here. Knowing he fed off her fear wasn’t lost on her, but there was nothing she could do. She wasn’t equipped to deal with someone like him.

  “Oh, princess, you’re so tight.” With every violent thrust, he spoke, “I . . . could . . . fuck . . . you . . . all . . . night.” He threw his head back and licked the air.

  She was left with less than a foot of space when she finally stopped looking at him and looked for the baseball bat Fred used to keep under the counter. She really had no idea what she was going to do, but she had to do something. But she was too late; there was no way she had the room now to get anything from under the counter.

  His hands reached out and he grabbed her upper arms, pulling her across the counter as he continued to thrust. “You’re mine, princess.” He shoved his tongue in her ear, breathing heavy. “Oh, God, I want to come all over you. I want to drink from your pink pussy.” He licked the side of her face.

  “Nutter.” A deep voice sounded behind them.

  He stopped thrusting, but didn’t let her go. “Yes, boss.”

  “Put the counter back and make sure Ms. Ryan is back on her own two feet.”

  “Looks like we’ll have to continue this later, princess,” Nutter whispered in her ear before shoving his tongue in it and letting her back down. “So sorry, here let me fix it for you.” He moved the counter back where it was.

  A well-dressed, attractive man strode toward her extending his hand. He didn’t let go when she placed hers in his. Gently, with the other hand, he caressed the back of hers.

  “Please excuse my associate, Ms. Ryan. I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced, although I have seen you around the neighborhood. I’m Mick Controne. As you are aware, this neighborhood isn’t as nice as it used to be. It is our goal to clean it up.”

  Stormy tried to pull her hand away and looked at Nutter out of the corner of her eye. She’d seen him lurking around in the shadows. She wasn’t sure what part of cleaning up he had, but she wanted nothing to do with it. “That sounds all well and good, but what exactly are you doing?”

  “Running off all of the riffraff. We have some big plans and would appreciate your cooperation.”

  “What kind of plans.” She was trying her best to keep her eyes on both men. She didn’t trust either one of them.

  “For now, we are offering extra protection while we clean up. Now I know we have been in before and I believe talked to a couple of your employees. Can you tell me if they ever passed on the message?”

  “I believe they did, and we were just talking about getting some more security around here.”

  “Really?” His eyes were large. “How strange is that? We just happen to show up when you’ve been talking about it.”

  “What kind of protection are you talking about?” She was afraid of what his answer might be.

  “We have, what we like to call, enforcers, like Nutter here. It’s their job to make sure you are safe, at all times.”

  This time Stormy couldn’t hide it, she shivered. The thought of Nutter being around her, at all times, made her skin crawl. “Well, I was actually thinking more of cameras and bars on the windows.”

  Mick shook his head. “Tsk . . . tsk . . . my dear, while that is all fine and good, you really should have the best, and what could be better than your own personal bodyguard.” He waved his arm toward Nutter. “A bodyguard who would lay down his life for his princess.”

  She wanted them out of her store as quickly as possible. She wanted to throw the lock and never open again, but the children would be out of school soon and coming by. “Umm . . . can I have some time to think?”

  “Of course, my lady.” He leaned in close, much closer than was acceptable since they just met. She tried to hold her ground. “But don’t take too long.” She watched as he turned and walked toward the door.

  “Princess,” Nutter whispered in her ear. When she gasped, his arm snaked around her waist and he pulled her in close. She went still. “You smell like dessert. I’ll guard your body like no other man.”

  He let go of her and walked to the door, holding it open for Mick to leave. Once she was safely alone, she sank to the floor behind the counter and curled up in a ball. This couldn’t have happened to her. She knew she didn’t always pay close attention to what was going on around her, her nose stuck in a book most of the time, but she shouldn’t have frozen. She should have been able to do something.

  With determination, she looked and found the baseball bat. Standing up, she took a few swings. Enjoying the weight of the wooden bat, she felt she was at least taking a step in the right direction, even if it was a small one. Next, she pulled out the card for Mr. Murdoch who’d come by to visit her yesterday. Now him she trusted when he’d offered her protection. Feeling a little bit better, she made her phone call, wanting to get that done before she found a hammer and nails and started securing the wooden counter to the floor. It certainly wasn’t the best carpentry job, but it wasn’t going to move ever again.

  It had been a slow night at The Night Club. Only a few local regulars were sitting at the end of the bar nursing beers and watching football. Bender wiped down the bar; this was how he liked it. Nice and quiet. However, he knew it wasn’t going to last. The way he figured it, sometime within the next few days someone would be paying him a visit. He could only hope it was the scum he was looking for and not someone who wanted to reminisce about old times here in the neighborhood.

  “Hey! Another beer, boy.” One of the old timers bellowed from the end of the bar.

  Bender pulled the tap and filled the glass, sliding it expertly down to him. There was something rhythmic about working behind the bar. No matter where you were, it was always the same, always familiar. Sometimes it was fast paced and sometimes, like tonight, you could get lost in your thoughts, in your memories.

  His father used to like to come here. He’d lost track of how many times he had to drag him out and back home. The night would always end with a beating; there was nothing new there. His father’s fists would pound into him rhythmically, repeatedly, until his father would fall over and pass out. As Bender got older, once the old man passed out, Bender would give him a good kick or two as payback. He still remembered the first time he’d done that; actually kicked his father. He’d been scared shitless he’d come raging up off the floor and kill him this time. But he hadn’t, and the next time it came easier to him.

  The way he figured it, the bar hadn’t looked this good in a long time. It might be the local dive bar but that didn’t mean it had to be dirty. He’d spent considerable time polishing the bar until it shined again. It was made long ago by men who knew their craft and was far nicer than this shithole deserved. After a little bit of hard work, it was back to its glory. He was hoping, when his job was done and he left, the neighborhood might go back to how it was when good hard working men and women brought their families up here. Now instead of the men stopping off here on their way home after work, maybe their wives or girlfriends would too. Maybe it could even be made into a kid-friendly place where they could bring their kids and watch the Bears kick some ass.

  “Last call.” He filled up their glasses one more time, knowing they’d all stumble out and to their empty homes, their wives long since left them, either in death or divorce, fall into bed only to get up tomorrow to do it all over again.

  Cashing out the register he wondered, again, why his mother had stayed with his father until she finally died ten years ago. It was too late to ask her, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to look the old man up. Not like he’d be in any condition to talk, the stroke had made sure of that.

  Remembering his promise to Murdoch he locked up and walked down the street to Lost in the Pages to make sure everything was safe there. As he came around the corner he cursed under his breath. The lights had just gone out and she stepped out into the stre
et. He hung back in the shadows not wanting her to see him. When two men stepped from alley and started toward her he knew he was too far away to do anything. His heart sank as he saw the gun glisten from the light of the streetlamp and heard her muffled scream.

  Knowing the next few minutes would determine their fate he picked up the pace and silently moved closer, ready to show his hand long before he wanted the key players to know what he was all about.

  Stormy froze when she heard the unmistakable sounds of footfalls behind her. She’d just finished locking up the store and was going home. She mentally kicked herself for getting distracted by the books again. It was way too late to be out. With her heart in her throat, she slowly turned around to see who was there. Seeing the gun pointed at her she tried not to scream but she couldn’t help herself. She started backing away from the two men she’d never seen before.

  “Oh, now don’t be like that. We just want to talk,” the short one with the gun said. “I’d stop moving if I were you.”

  “I don’t think civilized people bring guns to ‘talk.’” The comment was out of her mouth before she could think better of it.

  “Bit of a smart ass are you? Must be from all those books you read.” The tall, skinny man said as he nodded toward the store. “Going to the bank? We could escort you there.”

  It took everything she had not to clutch her purse tighter. There wasn’t much in there; she was planning on stopping by the bank but she wasn’t going to let them know that. “No, it was a slow day.”

  “So the money is still in there . . .”

  Shit. “Well, like I said, it was a slow day.”

  “But even on a slow day, you’d still pull in a couple of twenties. Why don’t you open her back up? Maybe I want to buy a book. I may not look it, but I’m an educated man.” He scratched his balls.

  “Ha. By educated he means he was one of the few who actually made it to graduation.”

  As they both laughed at their joke Stormy started backing up again. She reviewed the streets and alleys in her head; the last thing she wanted was to be trapped down a dead end alley with them. She couldn’t help herself, she shuddered at the thought. Trying to keep her mind focused she knew if she could make it to the next street over, there was a bar she could go into. That is as long as it wasn’t already closed, she’d lost all track of time. When she backed into a solid form she froze. From the warmth radiating out she knew she hadn’t backed into a lamppost. Now she had no idea what to do or who was behind her. She started breathing heavy, this was it. She was going to be murdered, or worse, right here, right now.

  “Chill.” The deep low voice rumbled behind her so quietly she wasn’t sure she actually heard anything.

  “Hey now . . . don’t leave us. We were just getting to know each other.” Shorty, as she’d named him squinted into the darkness where she stood between the two lights. “Who you got with you? That you, Nutter?”

  Stormy wanted to vomit; if Nutter was behind her she was dead, and she didn’t even want to think about what he’d do to her. There were people you just knew weren’t dealing with a full deck and she was sure he only had two cards left.

  “No.”

  With that one word she felt her bones begin to melt, he wasn’t Nutter. Then who was he? She watched as the two men looked at each other and the one with the gun raised it and aimed it at her. She couldn’t help it, she squealed.

  “Well then, why don’t you just move on?” The short one said.

  “I think you two should be the ones moving on.”

  As they laughed she focused on the gun imaging the flash of the muzzle when they pulled the trigger. Would her brain even have time to register between seeing the flash and the pain as it ripped through her? She knew what was coming and wondered if the bullet would go right through her and into the man behind her or if it would stop and he’d survive.

  “What are you, new here?”

  “I know this neighborhood better than you do, scum.” His voice resonated with power.

  “Oh, I doubt that. Who are you anyway?”

  He didn’t hesitate. “Bender.” He knew with coming forward to help Stormy the game would change. His only option was to see if he could keep them off balance and not really sure of anything.

  She couldn’t be sure but she thought she saw the gun wavier. Who was this ‘Bender’ and why did those men start to back up?

  “Oh, come on, where are you going? We were just going to start having some fun.” Bender’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

  “Nah, that’s okay, man; we’ll just move on. Come on, Frankie, let’s move it.” The man put his gun in his waistband and they went around the corner.

  “Come on, it’s not safe. They’ll be back.” Bender grabbed her hand and started pulling her away.

  “What? Wait? Why?”

  He stopped and looked back at her. “Unless you want them to come back for you?”

  “No.” In the shadows with his dark hair flopping over one eye, she couldn’t make out his features. She wanted to see more. She wanted to know why those men were afraid of him just by his name. She needed to know more. “No, I don’t ever want to see them again.”

  “Then come with me.”

  “Okay.” Once she was trotting behind him with her small hand lost in his, she wondered why she trusted him so easily. Was it because at this point he was the lessor of two evils? She knew absolutely nothing about him but his name. What if this was all a setup made to put her at ease before they killed her? But why would they do that? They could already have killed her.

  “One of the first things you need to learn in survival is always pay attention to your surroundings. That includes when you are trying to escape from death.” His voice was like liquid silk washing over her. She blinked a few times before his words actually registered and she took note of the street signs as they rushed pass.

  His keys were already out and he was putting one into the lock. Looking up she saw it was the bar, The Night Club. She didn’t spend much time going around the neighborhood, so she had no idea what went on here. He had a key, so he had to be someone important. Once they were inside, he slammed the door and threw the bolt locking them in. With the sound echoing through the quiet building, she didn’t know what to do.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll be safe here. For now. I just need to get a few things then I can get you home.” He went behind the bar and she heard the sound of Velcro ripping. A gun appeared in his hand. He took the clip out, checked it and shoved it back in, and cycled a round. She thought it was strange seeing it in person and not reading about it in a book.

  Looking around the room, which was only lit by the neon behind the bar, she could make out some booths lining the wall and a doorway that looked like it led to another room. The smell of stale cigarette smoke and liquor was most likely from many years of being in business.

  He made a quick phone call but she couldn’t hear what he said to the person on the other end. She tried to inch closer but he was already hanging up by the time she got near enough.

  “Where do you live? Do you have any kind of security system?”

  “I just need to go back to my car and then I can go home.”

  “Don’t you think they are waiting for you to do exactly that?”

  “Well . . . I need my car.”

  “Exactly, and they know that. Someone like you is going to want your car.”

  She pulled herself up to her full height, “What do you mean, ‘someone like me?’”

  “Lady, you’ve got sucker written all over you.”

  “I’ll have you know—”

  “Just stop.” He waved his hand. “You believe what you want, but right now your safety comes first. Now, where do you live and do you have security at your place?”

  She folded her arms across her chest. “Do not talk to me as if I’m a child.”

  He closed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling muttering something under his breath. “Listen, lady, I need you to chill out
and leave emotion out of this conversation. Lesson number two, when you’re in danger, don’t feel, just act. As soon as you start messing with your head by ‘feeling,’ you lose your edge. Always lead with your head. Gather the facts then make informed decisions. Quickly. Now do I have to ask again?”

  Stormy narrowed her eyes at him. “Maybe I don’t want you knowing where I live.”

  “God help me survive stubborn women.” He bent down and quickly came back up with a laptop. “Name?” He looked up at her. When she didn’t say anything, he shrugged and started typing. Within a couple of minutes, he let out a whistle and looked at her. “Fancy place,” he snarled at her. “What’s a girl like you doing owing a store in this neighborhood? Slumming?”

  “What? How do you know where I live?”

  “Stormy Ryan, I know everything about you.” He turned the laptop around so she could see.

  Her eyes widened at all the information he could find so quickly. If he could find it, so could those guys, and Nutter. She wasn’t safe anywhere.

  “Looks like I am finally getting through to you. Now are you ready to listen, and more importantly, smarten up; and when I tell you to do something, you do it?”

  She tried to speak but when she opened her mouth, nothing would come out. She settled for nodding at him.

  “Good. Now the way I see it, you’ve got two choices. One, go get a room somewhere; somewhere no one would expect you to go. I can get you there and then pick you up in the morning. I wouldn’t go to the cops if I were you; that’s just going to piss those guys off and in this neighborhood, they are probably in their back pockets anyway, waste of time.”

  He let that sink in for a moment. “Or two, you could stay with me.”

  Bender had always been a sucker for helping people who were in trouble. Even if he put on his tough guy act in front of them, he always ended up seeing what he could do to give them a hand, usually without them knowing. Big bad Bender only looked out for himself, or so everyone thought. “I’ve got a place above the bar, two rooms, and excellent security. Nothing else to worry about.”