Page 2 of The Echo of Violence

A club girl might be good for swallowing a load, but an old lady would carry one if treated right. They would wash blood from their man’s clothes without batting an eye, patch up cuts and bruises after a fight, and never push when the only answer they get for their questions is, “It’s club business.”

“You, okay?” Nico questions.

I shake off my wayward thoughts and nod, even though he can’t see me.

“I’m fine. Nothing pizza and a margarita won’t fix.”

“Amen to that.” Nico snorts as Rex nudges me.

“We’ve got company. Ten o’clock.”

The mystery man steps out of the shadows and looks around. Sure enough, it’s Ronnie. I watch in amusement as his eyes drift past the SUV we’re sitting in to the motel room where Tina waits for his sorry ass.

“The guy has no fucking clue, does he?” Rex chuckles as we watch him knock.

“Stealthy sure as shit isn’t his forte.”

“Alright, time to get into position. We don’t know how long he’s going to hang around. I don’t want us getting caught with our pants down around our ankles,” Nico orders.

I open the door and swing my leg out with a laugh. “That’s impossible when you don’t have ankles, Nico.” I swing my other leg out and adjust the socks in my prosthetics, making sure they are nice and snug, before placing my hand on the door and sliding out onto the sidewalk, bouncing on the carbon fiber blades I love so much.

I’ve been a double below-the-knee amputee for years and have tried dozens of prosthetics, but these are my favorites. After seeing an amputee compete in the Olympics with a pair just like the ones I’m wearing, I knew I wanted them. And with a job like mine, they’ve been invaluable.

“You take the front. I’ll go around the back,” I tell Rex, who huffs.

“Oh, come on. You know he prefers the back door.”

I cock my eye and grin at him over the hood of the SUV as I close the door. “The same could be said for you, Rex. Now, why should you get all the fun?”

Nico laughs in my ear as we move into position.

I make my way around the side of the motel and stand next to the fire escape. Once I’m in place, I blow out a breath and center myself, listening to my surroundings.

“I’m in position.”

“Me too,” Rex replies.

“On my count. Three, two, one.” Nico counts off before I hear a loud banging on the hotel room door.

“FRA. Open the door, Ronnie.”

There’s a loud noise before the sound of wood splintering as Rex kicks the flimsy door in.

“Stay down, Tina!” I hear him yell.

“We’ve got a runner,” Rex shouts, making me smile as adrenaline floods my system.

Being a fugitive recovery agent might seem like an odd job for someone with limitations, but I never let my disability hold me back.

When I hear more noise coming from behind the motel, I inch around the corner just in time to see Ronnie scrape himself off the ground after falling out of the bathroom window.

“Hell, I did not see that coming.”

I look at Ronnie’s retreating form before my eyes move back to the small window, shaking my head in disbelief.

“What is it?” Nico questions me, the man on high alert when I don’t answer right away.

“Sorry, I’m just trying to figure out how that man squeezed his ass out of the bathroom window. That’s some Houdini shit.”

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