Page 46 of Bitter Truth
“Because I told you to.”
The thin man moves behind me. A moment later, I feel his hands tucking into my armpits. He tries to lift me gently, but even so, the motion is too much. That balloon I’ve been fighting? Any second now it’s going to pop.
“You’re taking too long.”
Skunk grabs a handful of the rope that binds me and yanks me up. The world tilts. My body lurches. The bubble inside me bursts. A hot stream of vomit erupts from me, hitting the floor with a splash.
”Sick.”
Skunk gives me a shove as he releases me. I use the momentum to aim my fall, landing on my side next to the glass. Stretch my fingers, trying to reach it, but it’sstill too far away from my hand.
I grunt as Skunk uses his foot to roll me onto my back. “You’re going to clean that up.”
“Yes,” I say, hoping he’ll cut my hands free so I can do it.
“This whole thing is your fault.” The glare he gives me is toxic. I shift my gaze from his face to my firearm, aimed at my head, wondering if this is it. “You’re nothing but trouble.”
His gun hand moves. I squeeze my eyes shut. Try to conjure up an image of Jake’s face, Butch’s smile, Stephano’s dancing, memories from a life that still feels so horribly incomplete.
The crack of the shot echoes in the small room. I feel the force of it in my bones. The heat of the blood as it spatters across me, dampening my clothes. But what I don’t feel is where I’ve been hit.
I push my eyes open. They land on a cartoon of a half-naked woman riding a shark. It’s the back of Skunk’s shirt. The man isn’t even facing my direction.
Was he just trying to scare me? No. Because as I continue to look around, I see the victim of his anger lying on the floor by my legs. It’s Worm. And there’s a bullet hole right where his nose used to be.
Skunk turns slowly. This time, when our gazes meet, there’s a smile stretched across his face.
“That’s one problem down.” He uses the barrel of the gun to point at me. “Now one more to go.”
“You don’t want to do that,” I rush to say.
His smile vanishes. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t.”
I’m desperate. I only have one trick up my sleeve, and it isn’t even really a trick. It might not even work, and if it does, it’s just delaying the inevitable. Butmaybe, if I buy myself enough time, I’ll find a way out of this.
“My name is Cassidy Knox,” I say. “I’m the one responsible for putting Tony Bianchi in prison. Do you know who he is?”
Skunk’s eyes widen. He licks his lips as he stares at me. “Yeah. I’ve heard of Tony.”
“He wants revenge. Put a bounty on my head to get it. Which means that I’m worth far more to you alive than dead.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know. If you were him, how much do you think you’d pay to get your hands on the woman who took away your freedom?”
His mouth twists into a knot. His foot starts tapping rapidly against the floor.
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“You won’t until you check. Do you know anyone with ties to him? Who could get him a message, maybe?”
“Yeah.”
“Why don’t you call them?”
“He’s not the kind of guy you call. I’m gonna have to go see him in person.”
Skunk crosses to the door, giving me a threatening look.
