Page 4 of Red

“You know, Ryan. You know who I am. You recognized me as soon as I walked into the gas station. I don’t think you should be worried about them killing you. I think you should be more worried about what I’ll be doing to you.”

Taking the knife to his neck and pushing it into him, I nick his neck. I can see the blood beading up and start to trickle down.

Finally realizing he’s in a shit position, he starts to sob. “Ok, ok! I just told her that it wasn’t safe for pretty ladies to be out driving in these parts by themselves. They asked me to scare her. Come on, man, I just needed the money. I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal.”

I don’t care what he thinks. I just nod and push his disgraced face away from me. He falls back and lands on his ass. I hover over him and whisper, “I want you to remember this act of mercy I’m giving you, Ryan. I’m going to let you live, but think of this moment when someone wants you to scare some innocent person in the future. Next time, I won’t be so lenient.”

Walking out of the gas station, I cross back to the surveillance spot and jump on my bike. I start the engine and head towards the highway. Blood pumps through my veins, I’m on the hunt and I have a prey I need to catch. I slow down as I finally catch up to her and keep my distance. I don’t want her to know that I’m following her. We drive like this for about an hour until she exits, me following behind her. I watch her take an abandoned driveway.

I can’t follow her down the driveway or she’ll see me. Taking a quick left, I park my bike behind a few trees and push my way through branches that hang low. Rounding up towards the edge of the driveway that borders the property. Hiding behind the hedges, I pull out the binoculars to see what she’s up to.

As soon as I lay eyes on her, the sky decides to open up and the sexy woman lets out a squeal, grabbing her bag of her car. She climbs up the stairs two at a time towards the mansion, trying to get out of the rain.

Well, fuck. I know that mansion. This can’t be good. This goes against everything I’ve been working towards my whole life. She’ll either be the key or the ruin to all of my plans.

The front door opens, and an elderly man greets her and welcomes her into the house. I wonder who he is to her. Is she here to see this older gentleman? Or is she here to see the old lady?

I have so many questions. I need to know who she is and why she’s at the mansion. I take a picture of her license plate and send it off to Jake. I need to know everything about her, down to what she eats each morning. Tomorrow is a new day and soon enough I’ll take what belongs to me.

Chapter 3

Blanche

Walking into Grandmother’s foyer, I look up at the pretentious crystal chandelier as it illuminates the red damask wallpaper that has been decorating the mansion since I can remember. Even though it’s so garish, it still gives me a little bit of comfort.

Brushing past Gregory as he stands with the mahogany door open and dripping rain water all over the marble floors, I hand him the cakes made special just for my grandmother along with the wine I brought. He hands them off to one of the maids and takes my bag from me to take up to my room. The room that became mine at eight years old.

Smiling, he nods. “Good evening, Ms. Blanche.”

“Good evening yourself, Gregory. How is she doing? You know she doesn’t tell me much until she decides to summon me.”

He nods, acknowledging my question but doesn't answer. Hmm...that’s weird. Something must be up. I decide to just walk into the lion's den and face what’s coming next. Walking into the living room, she’s sitting on the couch reading while waiting for me, causing my nerves to amp up. I greet her, surprised that my voice is so even.

“Hello, Grandmother. How are you doing today?”

She looks up from her book, giving me a small smile, and replies, “I’m doing great today. Feeling much better. The medicine the doctor has given me is helping a lot with the effects of chemo. I want to talk to you about something tonight, Blanche.”

I finally choke back the underlying sadness that I have whenever we talk about her health, trying to put on a smile for her and reply, “That makes me happy. I brought you some cakes that I made for you along with your favorite wine.”

Right on cue, Gregory walks in with two cakes and glasses of wine for each of us. He hands out the cakes, then places the wine glasses down on the table, filling our glasses. Once he finishes, he bows and walks back out of the room, giving us some privacy.

My grandmother gives me a small smile looking down at the cakes I made but doesn't touch them.

“So how have you been doing? Tell me how your business is going.”

"The bakery is doing great! I'm booked solid for a few months and hoping to pick up more clients," I reply with an excited feeling. Talking about the bakery always perks me up. I notice my grandmother doesn’t seem to have the same feeling.

She sighs and her shoulders slouch a bit.

“You know I’m not going to be around much longer. You need to make sure that you are putting the effort in to meet someone. I invited a friend of mine that I’d like you to meet tonight. Then later, we will discuss the decisions on what will happen to the family business once I have passed.”

Before I even have time to respond to her, there is a loud bang that coincides with a flash of lightning, causing the lights to flicker. I jump at the noise, shaking my nerves a bit. Fuck, I hate storms.

Suddenly, five men in black suits come bursting into the living room. The leader of the group, a tall, lean man with dark hair and a scar that runs down the side of his face, steps forward. The other men circle around the room as if to protect him. But why would they be protecting him? I look at the man again and squint my eyes at him. A whispered thought runs through the back of my head. He looks familiar, but I can’t seem to place him. Maybe I knew him in a past life.

As soon as this thought enters my mind, he speaks with a deep gravelly voice, opening his arms and addressing us.

“Ladies, please. I’m sorry to interrupt, but we have some business to take care of.”

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