Ten Days of Perfect (November Blue #1)

Once I heard their names, fear convinced me that I now knew too much. The one with the simmering temper was Bill. He was as tall as the cab of his truck, if not taller, and his voice sounded like pain personified. It was a voice I never wanted to hear directed toward me; it churned my stomach and sent chills racing off my spine. Thankfully, the more levelheaded, albeit smaller, guy was there to calm him down.

Realizing how irresponsible I was being with my safety, I forced myself to move. It would be dark soon and talk of ass-kicking and getting money from someone was more than I needed to hear. As my feet hit the sidewalk at the edge of the small parking lot, another car pulled up from the street behind the garage. I slowed when I reached a large oak tree at the corner of the lot. Curiosity stopped me with her hand; made me listen as I tried to catch my anxious breath. Why do you care? Didn’t curiosity kill the cat? Thankfully I’m no cat. I could see just the backs of the men as I used a giant tree as my camouflage.

“Gentlemen, you’re early.” A young-sounding male with a confident voice emerged from vehicle number two.

“Cut the shit, Spike. You’re late and you know it. We didn’t come all the way down here to fuck around. This is a favor, remember?” Bill’s anger tore through the quiet lot.

Spike? Seriously?

“No need to swear, Buddy, I have it right here. And I appreciate the favor.” I noted the sarcasm in Spike’s voice.

“Hand it over so we can go home, Asshole. You’ve got all the money; I don’t know why we’re still doing these little exchanges.” Bill’s unnamed friend sounded curt and bored at the same time.

“You’re a real prick, you know . . . ”

Suddenly, I heard a thump followed by a low grunt when Bill punched Spike square in the stomach. I had to cover my mouth to suffocate the scream that was trying to use my throat as an emergency exit. Terror flooded all five of my senses. One side of my brain told me to run away while the other told me to wait to see if Spike was OK. That side held its blue ribbon as I rooted my feet next to the oak tree.

“Bill! Son of a bitch, what’d you-ugh—what the hell?!” Spike, folded in half at the waist, stumbled back for a second before righting himself, one arm still clenched around his stomach.

“Seriously Bill . . . ” his friend cut in, trying to step between him and Spike.

“Shut the hell up Max! We’re doing this bastard and Ray a favor and he strings us along like he’s the one in charge. Sometimes, those of us in charge need to remind those of us who aren’t.”

OK, so the calm one was Max. This was little consolation given the tension hanging like fog around them; I begged the tree to swallow me.

“Don’t ever talk to me about Ray, you prick!” Spike threw a hook that drove Bill to the ground. I counted this as astoundingly impressive given that Spike was probably two inches shorter, and 50 pounds lighter, than Bill.

Suddenly, arms and legs were everywhere as night poured in around the brawl that erupted between the three men. My eyelids rose, taking in what little light was available as my eardrums pounded with the sounds of battle.

“I’ll talk about who and what I want, douchebag; especially about lying, trashy-ahh! Asshole!” Bill recoiled to the fetal position on the pavement when Spike kicked him.

“Bill, I’m fucking warning you,” Spike’s voice was calculating and calm, purring like a panther ready to pounce, “never say Ray’s name in front of me again. Got it?” I knew if I was Bill that I’d make damn sure never to say it again.

“Come on, Bill, let’s get the hell out of here before someone calls the cops,” Max interjected, adrenaline ringing in his voice. He’d spent more time trying to break up the fight than participating, so he was still thinking clearly.

The cops, why didn’t I think of that?

“Max, just get in the truck if you’re going to be a useless *.” Bill’s body was sure to match his clearly bruised ego. Max didn’t listen; he stood cross-armed, probably waiting for Bill to back the hell down.

Bill threw his colossal body forward for one final punch, followed by a string of garbled cussing and the shutting of two truck doors. I jumped again as the engine roared to life, driving Bill and Max away. Luckily they went out the back driveway as I remained glued to the tree.

Looking around, I realized that despite being only two blocks from my heavily populated neighborhood, I was in the middle of a business district that was closed and locked up for the night. Those guys were no fools; they knew no one would be around. I had every right to freeze earlier-no one would have heard my screams if I’d gotten into trouble.