Free Risky Secrets by Xondra Day Page B

after all.
    ****
    The
man in black laughed inwardly after he’d gotten his last call from the Leones.
They told him to get the job over. He had to find the money and kill the idiot
who’d stolen it. That was their final orders, and they expected it to be taken
care of immediately, stepping up the game.
    With
his gun tucked inside strapped into a holster, he stepped out of the car onto Lucky’s parking lot. Jesus, this place was so different
from the city. With nearly zero traffic and not one pedestrian to be seen, he
made way towards the building housing the bar and the apartment above it.
    He
paused at the bottom of the stairs which would lead him up to the second level
apartment. He knew that Tom was inside. He’d staked out the place all day and
had witnessed the other guy drop him off early that morning. The other guy had
stayed for a brief period before leaving again. With each careful step, he made
his way to the top. It would be quick with a bullet to the head. It had to be
quick, that was vital. The money would definitely be in the apartment
somewhere.
    ****
    Tom
saw the man dressed in black walking across the parking lot, and he immediately
recognized him from not only his unique dress, but also his slight swagger. The
Leones had a hit on him. Tom looked left to right first then to the door, which
was the only way out of the apartment. It would be impossible for him to escape
that way without being seen.
    Tom
scanned the room around him before heading into the bathroom. He opened the
smallish window and knew it would be a tight squeeze for him to get through it.
It was his only option.
    Tom
backed out through the window and once outside dangled as he held on tight to
the window’s ledge. The drop to the ground wasn’t that far, but it was far
enough to snap an ankle or break another bone if he landed the wrong way. He’d
be royally screwed if that happened. Without a choice or another thought in his
head, Tom let go.
    He
landed on his side with a thud on the asphalt below. With no time to assess if
he’d damaged anything, he got up and brushed off the discomfort he felt
emanating from his left shoulder and wrist. No time, his mind screamed when he
spotted the face of the man coming after him in the bathroom window looking
down at him. There was a flash of something metallic in the man’s hand, and Tom
knew it was a gun. He bolted down through the alley behind Lucky’s and past the dumpsters. He needed a place to hide at least until night had
fallen. Being out in the open made him a sitting target. It was entirely possible
that he wasn’t going to live through this!
    ****
    Keith
nearly drove his truck off the road when he spotted Tom walking alongside the
road leading out of town. What the hell was he doing? He slammed on the brakes
and pulled to the side of the room before jumping out of the vehicle with his
hand waving in the air. “What are you doing all the way out here?” Keith
glanced at his watch. It was a little after ten. What business could Tom
possibly have all the way out here?
    Tom
look bewildered as Keith spoke to him, and he was shaking a little. He backed
away as Keith walked closer. “I’m in trouble,” he muttered. “Big
trouble.”
    “Nothing
can be that bad. Get in the truck and we’ll head back my place to talk it out.”
    Tom
shook his head. “No, I can’t get you involved. I’m poison. You need to leave me
here and just go.”
    “Tom,
you need to get in the truck. It isn’t safe to be standing here on the side of
a road at night. You’re lucky someone didn’t run you over.”
    “I’d
be better off if they did.”
    “Enough.
Get in the truck. I will take you by force if I have to.” Keith wasn’t kidding
around. He meant what he’d said. This wasn’t safe for either of them.
    Tom
was reluctant, but he did as Keith ordered.
    On
the way back to Keith’s place, Tom sat in silence next to him. This man who was
still practically a stranger came to Pine Bluff with a