Siren's Garter: Issue One August 2016 by Miriam F. Martin

like a pro, head bending with the blow, brows
furrowed and reddened with anger.
    “ There’s one
solution to our mess,” said Molly. “Gertie comes with
me.”
    The way she said “comes”
simultaneously curled Elsie’s toes and made her stomach
churn.
    Mom withdrew her gun, and dropped
it into her purse. She stepped around Kevin, putting a hand on his
forearm to gently get him to draw down, too.
    “ Mother!” Elsie said. “You’re not
seriously going with her?”
    “ She’s right,” she said. “This is
between me and Molly.”
    “ I won’t allow this. I won’t let
this strange bitch hurt you.”
    Molly cleared her throat, a happy
and light smile spread across her smeared red lips. “Darling,
please. I wouldn’t dream of hurting Gertie. Much less
you.”
    Molly winked at Elsie, a playful
giggle erupted from her throat. She motioned to her goon, Nikolai,
to stand down, and offered an arm to Mom.
    They walked out arm in arm, a
crooked scrunch in Mom’s brow. Elsie leaned against the counter,
helpless.
    Kevin kept his distance, gun still
in hand. “Well now,” he said. “What’s the next move?”
    Elsie waited until the front door
slammed shut. “Go fuck yourself,” she said. She pushed him out of
the way and ran downstairs.

 
    Chapter
Eight
     
    Kevin didn’t exactly know what to
do. Elsie’s shove was rough, and a lot stronger than he expected.
He shifted his weight, taking the blow with his back
foot.
    The pitter-patter of her feet on
the sandy brown carpet was rapid fire. Shoulders hunched and arms
crossed in front of her stomach, face hidden by her hair, Elsie
disappeared around the corner downstairs. Kevin wasn’t sure if she
was crying.
    Elsie was pretty talented at
holding it in. Better than many men.
    They’d had their disputes by now,
like when Kevin forgot Elsie’s birthday, and when she had
mysteriously disappeared without saying a word. Truth was, Elsie
being angry at him lifted the weight of his secret a little bit.
She couldn’t be more angry at him, or if so, at least the camel’s
back was already broken.
    He still couldn’t tell her he was a
spy, though Elsie deserved the truth. Some secrets had to remain
secret, even if they hurt to keep them in.
    Kevin stood at the top of the
stairs, debating whether to go down and comfort Elsie or not. What
was he going to say? Or do, besides pat her on the shoulder and lie
about things being alright?
    He took each step at a time, every
footfall loud as possible to let her know he was coming.
    Elsie sat at the minibar, a bottle
of Jack Daniels at her elbow and a crystal shot glass in one hand.
Niagara Falls ran down her face, along with streaked mascara. She
looked like a raccoon.
    Kevin waved and plastered a smile
on his face. “I’m not angry about…”
    … what?
    Walking in while a strange woman
buried her face in between Elsie’s legs? Jealous, maybe. Angry,
nope. How could he be angry about that?
    But he was angry that the strange
woman was no other than the mysterious Biggins who haunted his
nightmares.
    He cleared his throat and started
over. “Wanna talk?”
    “ No.” Elsie poured herself another
shot and whisked it back. Her head shook from the stinging burn of
alcohol, and she turned away from him.
    Kevin touched her shoulder, and she
pulled away as if his fingers were on fire.
    “ We’ll find your mother,” he
offered. “We can…”
    Shit, call the authorities? Use his
spy talents to get her back? Kevin didn’t have an easy
answer.
    “ We’ll find her,” he said
again.
    “ Blow it out your asshole,” said
Elsie, cold and calm. Scary calm. She poured another
drink.
    The drink wasn’t for
Kevin.
    He walked to the billiard table. It
was a simple thing to set the balls in the triangle, keep his mind
busy while Elsie fumed at him. Kevin had to do something, and
wasn’t sure what exactly to do besides putz with his hands. He got
a stick off the wall, chalked it, and broke the balls.
    The hard clattering of