by R Weir
“Your man shot and killed two unarmed people, who didn’t need to die.”
Brandon shrugged as if swatting a fly. He felt nothing, which I couldn’t do, even if they were bad people who would kill me in a heartbeat.
“What of Roland’s operation?”
“It will be handled, with new management. His house will be gutted and the torture chamber replaced with a game room for civilized people.”
“So you will oversee the new management?”
“No comment.” He said it with a grin.
“And the driver who got away?”
“Of no concern; it’s been handled.”
“I heard The Hustle burned down.”
“Another cleanup job. It will be rezoned and become capitalism at its finest. Something to bring needed revenue to Greeley.”
“Buy the land and build a playground there for kids to use. Make is something useful. We don’t need another multi-storied building or a shopping center.”
“Interesting suggestion. I’ll consider it once the dust has settled. Might be a nice tax write-off.”
All I could do was sigh and shake my head, feeling like a fool. I had been desperate and used a dangerous man for dangerous work. I should be happy I was out of this mess, but I wasn’t.
“Look, Jarvis, you came to me and the job is done. It’s not how you’d hoped it would turn out, but it’s for the best. Your friends are safe and free now to live their lives. I have repaid my debt to you. Now you will be this famous PI who took out six dangerous people on your own. You will be a legend now. The press will be begging you for an exclusive interview. Potential clients will be knocking on your door, begging you to help them, willing to pay top dollar. Increase your rates. This will be a boom for your career.”
“But at what cost?”
“You worry too much. If you are so worried about what happened, you should talk to the man who was responsible and tell him of your concerns.”
Brandon led me over to the stall where the man was shooting. He had fired off sixteen rounds and was retrieving the target. From behind I saw he hit center mass or between the eyes with each shot. He turned around, a serious look on Rocky’s face, his long hair flowing freely today. He reloaded his Glock, the same model he’d turned over to me at the scene and holstered it. Pulling off the paper, he folded and slapped it on my chest, causing me to take a step back.
“You’re welcome,” he said, while gracefully gliding out of the room, leaving behind a powerful presence.
I may have met the most dangerous man I’d ever encountered, and deep down I was thrilled he had been on my side.
Chapter 45
On the drive home I called Melissa but got no answer. Christmas was a couple days away and I wanted to be with her. I had to leave the dangerous world behind. Our flight was tomorrow and I needed to know if I should pull out my luggage. While contemplating, my phone rang and it was her.
“Sorry I missed your call,” Melissa said. ”How are you?”
“Better, now that I hear your voice,” I replied. “And you?”
“Still a bit shaky. Trying to decide what to do.”
“Pack and go away with me. I need you. We both need a break after what we’ve been through.”
“I don’t know if I will ever forget it.”
“We can try. I want to see you in your bikini, walk hand-in-hand on the beach with you. Together we can return to some semblance of a real life. No guns and no violence. Two weeks of only you and me.”
There was silence and I think I heard a sob or two.
“Please, Melissa. It is the only way we will know what we are to each other.”
“OK.”
“And the bikini?”
“Yes.”
“The revealing lingerie you got from Victoria Secret?”
“Not much material so it fit easily in the suitcase.”
“Little lady, you’re already packed? I should have known since you did this to me once before.”
“Yes, I was packing today. I wanted to make sure you still wanted to go. If not, I was going to order Domino’s pizza and hope for the best.”
I laughed out loud and loved the humor. The healing was starting and soon we’d be together.
“The deliveryman would only disappoint you like before,” I said. “I’m the man for the job. You are my gal. I can’t wait to see you every hour for two straight weeks.”
“I can’t wait to see you. I love you!”
If I hadn’t been such a hard-ass macho guy, I’d have cried.
“I love you, too. I will be there bright and early tomorrow to pick you up.”
“Why don’t we start the vacation now and you come and stay the night? I’ve been missing you badly and want you.”
“You took the words right out of my mouth. Be there in an hour or two. Have to run home and get my stuff.”
A surge of excitement filled me on the rest of the drive home. With her in my corner, I could get past all of this pain and violence, even if only for a little while. Arriving at my place, there was a familiar car parked in front. I saw her standing by my stairwell, a beauty only eclipsed by Melissa, but whose deviant behavior nearly cost me my profession and current relationship. She stood there looking as she always did, the girl next door with a sex appeal to drive men wild.
“Hello, Jarvis,” said Emily White, dressed in expensive black jeans, black boots, pink blouse and a long brown leather jacket.
“It’s good to see you,” I said. “You are looking wonderful.”
I wasn’t lying, she was stunning! Her hair was a little shorter, but still the same brownish-blonde I remembered with a wave to it.
“Can we talk?” she said.
“Sure. Come in where it’s warmer.”
Once inside I asked if I could take her coat, but she declined. I offered for her to sit down, but again she said no. She had something on her mind by the expression on her face.
“You are looking good yourself,” Emily said. “Brandon mentioned you wanted to talk with me, but said I should wait until I was through therapy and I was ready.”
“How has the therapy gone?”
“Not too badly,” she replied. “I know I’ve learned some things about myself; come to terms about my behavior. I need to make amends for some of the things I’ve done.”
“So have you contacted Mark and Jim?”
Mark was her ex-husband, while Jim was a married man she’d had an affair with. In both cases, she had manipulated them with her feminine wiles.
“I have, and did my best to explain.”
“How did it go?”
“Fair-to-poor with both of them. Mark listened, but I know he won’t forgive me completely. Jim left calling me a bitch and a slut. It’s to be expected. My therapist warned me the reactions might not be pleasant. It’s as much for me as it is for them.”
“Now you’re here to make amends with me?”
“Sort of; in your case it’s a little harder. You are the one I had deep emotions for. It wasn’t love per se, but the passion was real and exciting. I had deeper feelings for you. I was exploiting them.”
“You were exploiting me, too, wanting me to eliminate the other men in your life. I’m not certain how you can have deeper feelings for me, when you schemed to get me to kill them for you.”
“It was part of the excitement—got me off. Foreplay of the mind, imagining you doing those nasty things for me. I know now it was wrong. I did want you. I still want you.”
Looking at her, I could see the flush of arousal on her face I’d seen before. I had been weak giving into her previously. If it weren’t for Melissa I would probably push her against the wall and take her in a second, even knowing it was a horrible idea, my male hormones taking over. Today. I would resist the temptation. I had to resist…
“Emily, you are one of the sexiest woman I’ve ever met,” I said. “No matter how tempting, and believe me you are, I must decline. I’m in a strong relationship now with s
omeone I do care for. I hope you understand.”
A frown overcame her face, almost a pouting child face. She upped the ante by opening up her coat to show off her braless ample bosom, her nipples pointing through the blouse, like two darts aimed at my eyes.
“Are you sure you won’t reconsider?” Emily said. “Wouldn’t you like to explore my body as you did before? Enjoy my curves and folds. Use your hands, fingers and tongue to drive me wild.”
I counted to ten before responding. Be strong, Jarvis!
“I’m certain. I won’t betray my lady’s trust.”
More pouting filled her expression.
“So, is it Melissa?”
I probably shouldn’t have answered, but I said, “yes.”
“I was able to persuade you before.”
She rubbed her body with her hands, her eyes closed, her head thrown back to add to the sexy drama. It seemed a last ditch desperate attempt to seduce me, but I held my ground. It seemed her therapy had not been totally successful.
“Emily, please don’t do this. You can find someone to care about you without throwing yourself at them.”
Again the pouting face appeared. She toyed with the buttons on her blouse, releasing one, then two to show more of her cleavage, her breasts nearly exposed. Her hands reached the next button and stopped.
“I know, but damn how I wanted you; one more glorious time of you inside of me. But it appears no matter what I try it won’t happen.”
“No, it won’t. I’m sorry.”
“So am I. Because I did want to fuck you before I shot you.”
From out of her coat pocket she pulled a 9MM gun and pointed it at me. She held it expertly with both hands. It was at this moment I came to realize the backside of the woman I saw at Brandon’s shooting range was hers.
“Been practicing at Brandon’s office, I see.”
“Yeah, been working with his help and one of his men’s. Big, good-looking man with long hair and a scar above his right eye. I never got his name but sure liked the cut of his figure. I might have to thank him in my special way since you weren’t willing.”
“So you plan to kill me?” I asked.
“No. I had to promise Brandon not to. He likes you for some reason, though he never could explain why. He said I could put a bullet in you like you did me. But you had to live through it and be able to work again. He appreciates having a PI in his back pocket.”
I let the slam go, though I wondered myself sometimes.
“Come on, Emily. What will you accomplish by shooting me?” I took a step forward, but she tensed up, so I stopped.
“I’ll feel better about the pain you put me through; all the physical agony from the hole in my leg which still hurts today. I need you to feel what I felt.”
I made a quick move and she fired, aiming downward. I twisted as the bullet caught me in the back of the upper thigh. I crumbled down in instant pain, the burning feeling running up my spine. Once on the floor I felt for the spot and noticed the warm blood. I closed my eyes to try and manage the agony, but failed. She had gotten what she wanted. I now knew how she felt when I shot her.
“Damn, this hurts,” is what I shouted out.
“Yes, it does,” she answered, while grabbing a kitchen towel and tossing it to me.
“Satisfied?” I said while using it to apply pressure.
“On one level, yes,” Emily said, “on another, no. Like I said, I would have preferred to fuck you first.”
She put the gun back in her coat pocket. She kneeled down next to me, her exposed breasts falling out her mostly open blouse. She grabbed my face and kissed me with a fiery passion, replacing the pain for a split second with desire. If she had led with this kiss in the first place I might not have been able to resist. When finished she stood up, closed her top and headed for the door.
“You won’t see me again—I’m moving away,” she stated. “I wished we’d have enjoyed the pleasure before the pain, but beggars can’t be choosers. Since I’m all worked up, I’ll find my gun trainer and do him a few times.”
She opened the door and glanced back at me with a wicked expression.
“Oh, and Brandon wanted me to tell you he owes you again. Although if you tell the police I shot you, there will be dire consequences.”
She was out the door and, hopefully, out of my life. But damn, that kiss would be difficult to forget, like the pain in my backside. I reached for my cell phone to call 911 before I passed out. My only other thought was how I was going to explain this to Melissa; our vacation appeared to be in jeopardy. It would be hard to look good in my swim trunks with a hole in my ass!
Thanks for reading Twice as Fatal. I hope you enjoyed it and would love if you would leave a review on Amazon to help an Indie Author.
And be sure to check out my other Jarvis Mann Detective novel, Tracking a Shadow, and the short story, The Case of the Missing Bubble Gum Card, both available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MQHVKJA
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JGEZNSU
Jarvis will return soon in Blood Brothers, where he is summoned back to his hometown of Des Moines, Iowa, to help his brother out of a life-threatening situation.
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