Free ROMANTIC SUSPENSE : DEATH WHISPERED SOFTLY by Oliver Anderson, Maddie Grace Page A

his step. He decided he wouldn’t give Nilsson another opportunity to go berserk, confirming his thought that “This loon wouldn’t hesitate to strangle his own mother, if she were foolish enough to provoke him,” Steve thought to himself, but he was smart enough to keep his thoughts to himself and not escalate the situation.
    Instead he looked at Nilsson and gave a broad smile and said “No offence taken bro”.  The whiskey was hitting Steve and he was feeling more relaxed, even reckless. I hate these bastards, but I need their stinking money. Let’s play this out smartly Steve and in no time they will become a distant worthless memory” he encouraged himself inwardly.
    Steve’s words and smile had cleared up the tension in the room. Ricardo’s expression showed his relief. This told Steve that despite his toughness Ricardo wanted the money as badly as he did.  And he was also convinced that Ricardo was getting way more than a hundred grand from Gustav Nilsson. But Steve didn’t care about that. He was satisfied with what he was offered. He now wanted to go back to his hotel room and sit down and do some serious thinking. He wanted to wrap his arms around the situation which was threatening to get out of hand. He wanted to contemplate on finding a way out of this predicament.
    But at this moment he couldn’t do that, so decided he would relax and take it easy. “If these bastards think they can intimidate me with their crazy acts, they have another thing coming! They don’t know who they are messing with. I have spent ten years of my life with dangerous thugs on the treacherous streets of Los Angeles. I will teach them a lesson they will never forget in their demented lives! “He promised himself. But he knew this wasn’t the time. He would wait patiently for an appropriate time to get even with them.
    So he let himself unwind and drank a few more drinks with Nilsson and Lopez who became friendlier after throwing back a few more drinks.
    They had both realized Steve was not easy to subdue. If they wanted him to carry out their plan, they would have to be cautious and civil to him in the future. This Steve understood when he saw Ricardo and Nilsson exchange glances between their drinks. An hour or so later, after Steve had knocked back couple of more drinks, he cautiously informed Nilsson and Ricardo that he would like to leave. He then proceeded to pick up the thirty thousand dollars lying on the table, stood up, and began to walk out of Ricardo’s office, when he heard Ricardo’s strident voice call out “Wait!  What did you plan to shoot the girl with Steve? Hope not with that little toy concealed in your pants!” Ricardo roared with laughter as Gustav Nilsson joined him with his shrill laugh and their evil merriment filled the room, even as it jarred Steve’s ears.
    Their crazy laughing continued for a bit but it didn’t amuse Steve who glared at the duo.  The members of his gang—although dangerous—looked like a bunch of school boys, compared to these two. And he began hating them, from that moment onward. When they had had their fill of crazy laughter, Ricardo suddenly hurled his gun at Steve yelling “Catch!” That will take care of business and it’s untraceable!
    Although surprised by the suddenness of the act, Steve caught the gun effortless.
    “It’s fully loaded Steve. You won’t need more bullets. Understand?” Ricardo said with a sly look.
    “Understood” Steve replied stoically.
    With the loaded gun in his hands, for a brief moment he was tempted to shoot these two wild thugs. But he resisted the urge, controlled his rage, managed a drawn smile, and then turned around and walked out of the room into the hot humid night, leaving Nilsson and Ricardo staring after him.
     
    Chapter Xl
     
        The next few hours turned out to be the most nerve wracking moments of Steve’s life, as he paced up and down in his sordid hotel room. “What a fool I was to have anything to do