Page 38 of Doc Showmance
She chuckled and shook her head.
“My nose is on fire,” I complained as I pinched it.
“What would it mean if we were friends? Does it mean you want to hang out after work like this or what?”
“I don’t know.” Bad response. But I didn’t know.
“I’ll think about it. Thanks for dinner. I’ve got to get home. So…get out.”
I glanced at her. My voice came out raspier than normal, “Okay.”
“What’s the point in us being friends with you only around a few months?”
“Fine. Forget it.” I thrust open the door, suddenly irritated as hell.
“You’re the one who brought it up.”
“I changed my mind.” I slammed the door and stalked away.
14
Amber
All the way home, my head buzzed with confusion over what happened with Ian. Friends? Not friends? I didn’t know what I wanted from him.
At my lawn, five strangers emerged from the darkness and surrounded me as I walked up the concrete path to the front door. These were the type of guys you found in hard neighborhoods, but not the roughest. They didn’t have gang or prison tats. One had a gold grill on his teeth. Another had an expensive watch.
A typical woman from this neighborhood would assume her death loomed on the near horizon.
Me?
Meh.
Not much scared me. This didn’t. This represented chaos I could control. I knew exactly what they wanted. Their money.
They might be bulky and weaponed up to intimidate, but they weren’t hardcore killers. I’d met guys who’d lost their souls and put no value on life. Intent was in the eyes.
To the one I assumed to be the leader, dressed in a dark leather coat and pressed pants, I said, “Are you the one Marino owes money to? Greg something-or-other?”
I gave them my back as I unlocked the front door and held it open for them to shuffle inside.
Three dogs rushed the front door in a loud, furry storm barking at the visitors. The guys plastered themselves against the wall just outside the front door.
“Hush,” I ordered.
Two dogs stopped. The lab mix we’d picked up at the shelter last year had all her hackles up and growled. I dragged her into the closest bedroom and shut her in. She barked and scratched at the door.
“Stop it,” I yelled. “If you destroy the paint I just put on two weeks ago, you’re spending the night outside.”
The dog didn’t stop. She’d never been a good listener.
Pinot stood guard at my feet when I emerged.
“What the hell’s this?” Bruno yelled. He was puffing up, ready to fight.
The loan shark’s cologne flew up my nose as he passed and almost made me sneeze.
The loan shark said, “If that asshole doesn’t hand over the money he owes us, I’m going to cut off his balls and shove them down his throat while he’s screaming. Then I’ll eviscerate him.”
