“I want you to listen to me closely, slut. You go spouting shit off to Drake then you’re going to end up dead. Now, you can leave this place alive, or I will end you here. I’ve got no problems killing you, Tiffany. You mean shit to me.”
Tears leaked out of her eyes as she stared back at him. She shook her head. The panic was finally getting to her.
“You were nothing but a hole for me to enjoy.” He held his hand over her mouth several seconds before he released her. She gasped for breath. “Now, what’s it going to be?”
The door to the apartment opened, and he heard his men getting closer.
“I’ll go. I promise I’ll go.”
Barry rounded the corner.
“Good. Take this piece of trash out,” he said, pushing her into Barry’s arms.
It didn’t take long for his men to get her out of his sight.
“Fucking slut,” Caleb said, walking back into the kitchen. Henry was eating a sandwich as he entered. “They’re getting me information on her?”
“Yeah, they want to know how important it was. I told them the reward you were willing to give for any information they could find.”
“Good.” He finished off his scotch and placed it on the counter. “I guess it’s going to be a lonely night for me.”
“What about your other women?” Henry asked.
“I can’t. I’ve already sent them gifts to get rid of them. Tiffany was the only one I hadn’t sent anything.”
“Is this because of the girl at the store?”
Caleb shook his head. “No. Women get too attached.”
“I don’t know, Caleb. This blonde is different.”
“I asked you to get information on a woman, so what?”
Henry sighed. “You can get any woman you’ve ever wanted. You’ve never needed ground work to be done. Tiffany was more than enough, and within hours of meeting this woman, you’ve gotten rid of her.”
“I had every intention of getting rid of her.”
“I’m just saying, maybe you need to take a step back just in case.” Henry held his hands up. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”#p#分页标题#e#
Nodding at his friend, Caleb waved a hand at him. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
****
Donna stretched out her tired limbs. Pearl did the same, and she stroked her cat’s back. “It’s time to get up again. I’ve got the early shift this time. I’m in at nine.” She stayed in bed, stroking her cat, thinking about work. The job was not the worst one she’d had. Before she worked as a sales assistant at Dreams, she’d worked in a bar, then at a diner. All the jobs had men in different states of drink. She hated working with alcohol.
Her parents had been killed by a drunk driver when she was fourteen. With no other family she had been sent into foster care. She’d been lucky as an elderly couple took her in for the last years of their life. They lived for six months after she graduated high school, and then both were killed by an infection.
That was five years ago. She didn’t go to college and preferred to work. Even though she graduated she’d never really enjoyed school. There was always something missing from her life. The past five years had been lonely, but she had her cat.
There were no men in her life or boyfriends. She didn’t like being around members of the opposite sex. They always made her nervous. All of her life, even when her parents were alive, she’d avoided being around men. After getting bullied over her weight when she was younger, she’d learned to keep a lot of things to herself.
“I better get up for work before they give my job to someone else.” She stroked Pearl one last time then got up. She did her business in the bathroom, brushed her teeth, washed her hands, and changed into a fresh set of clothes.
Before she headed out, she made herself some toast and coffee at the same time she quickly set Pearl some food out. In no time she was back out the door and walking toward the jewelry store. There were times she felt like all she did was work.
She did enjoy taking long walks in the park, but getting the time and the weather together was hard. Lydia was already opening up the shop by the time she arrived.
“Hey, I didn’t think you were going to make it inside.”
“I made it. I’m here.” She followed her friend inside, and they locked the door. The shop wasn’t due to open for another thirty minutes.
“No problems getting home safely last night?” Lydia asked.
“No problems. You really should stop worrying about me. I’m going to be fine. More than fine.” She entered the back room, put the kettle on, and set down her jacket and bag. “What about you?”