Free Beloved Beast by Cathy McAllister Page A

relieved that her voice still sounded so strong. She was angry and that was good. If Mario had tortured her really badly she would now sound very different. Nevertheless he did not doubt for a minute that Mario had hurt her a lot.
    He heard Mario laugh and Ramon was filled with wrath.
    “Wait till your lover-beast comes. Then he’ll see how much time I’m taking over you. That was just a little foretaste of what is to come.”
    “And what if he doesn’t come? I’ve already told you. He’s left me. He won’t even have got your note.”
    “He has got it!”
    “How do you know?”
    “He killed the man who gave him the bad news. And he wasn’t particularly gentle with my cousin. He stabbed his hand with a knife, cut off his earlobe and then shot a bullet into his head. He’s not squeamish, our friend.”
    “But he doesn’t do it for such lowly motives as you do. You even enjoy doing it!”
    “You don’t know Ramon very well, dear Crissy. He goes lower than you would care to imagine. He’s not your romantic knight! He’s a killer !”
    “Good! Then I hope he kills you!” said Crissy, full of hatred.
    Ramon crept quietly around the built-in office to the only door. With a well-aimed kick he opened the door and held the pistol, ready to shoot. Mario, who was standing very close to Crissy when the door flew open, reacted very quickly and held the knife to Crissy’s throat.
    “Ramon!” shouted Crissy.
    “Good evening, Ramon!” Mario greeted him with a smile. “Great, that you accepted my invitation. I’m sure you won’t want to miss tonight’s performance. But I must warn you – if you don’t throw down the little toy that you’ve got in your hand, then the game’s pretty much over for the little one here, if you wouldn’t mind. So, throw the weapon nicely over here, OK?”
    Ramon tried not to stare at the blood that was running down Crissy’s breast. Mario had cut an ‘M’ in her skin to brand her. It was not as bad as he had feared – the cut was not deep, but still his blood was boiling with rage. And still he had to act with caution. Mario was capable of anything and Crissy was in great danger. Slowly Ramon lowered the gun and threw it across to Mario.
    “Good boy. I’m proud of you. And now come two steps closer and stand still.”
    Ramon took two steps forward without taking his eyes off Mario. He could see both bodyguards out of the corner of his eyes. They waited upon Mario’s command.
    “Seize him and bring him here!” Mario demanded, and the two brawny men got moving.
    Ramon knew that if he was going to have any chance, then he had to take it now, before the men tied him up. Once that was done he would be forced to watch Mario assaulting Crissy. He had to take the risk. They had nothing to lose.
    In one speedy move he took the landlord’s pistol from his waistband and shot. Mario looked in disbelief at the rapidly spreading patch of red on his white shirt – he clutched his chest and collapsed. Momentarily the two bodyguards were frozen to the spot. Then they pulled out their guns. Ramon shot the man on his left and threw himself to the ground, just missing the bullet fired at him by the bodyguard on his right.
    Whilst still falling, Ramon rolled onto his back and shot at the man who was aiming at him again. Two shots could be heard and Ramon felt a burning sensation in his left shoulder. He only just registered that Crissy was calling his name.
    He jumped up and checked out the situation with a quick look around. The guard that he had shot first was lying on the floor, dead. Mario, too, lay motionless, but the last man was moving. Ramon aimed at the man’s head and pulled the trigger.
    “Damn it!” cursed Ramon, as no shot was heard.
    He pulled a new magazine out of his bag and quickly loaded the weapon, without taking his eyes off the man, who had lifted himself up and was reaching for his weapon. But before he could aim, Ramon had fired a bullet into his head.
    Crissy