as a large party boat cruised past, reggae music floating down from the crowded deck. He recognized the lyrics of a Ziggy Marley song.
It was completely dark on the river by the time Mack made it home. He pointed the skiff toward the boat hoist when his body jerked.
There was someone standing in his yard, between the dock and the house.
Mack couldn’t tell if they were looking out at the river or back toward the house.
What he did know was they were entirely in shadow.
22.
Lady of the Evening
Amanda Dekins sat on the park bench and watched the slow breeze take her cigarette smoke in a lazy wave up toward the magnolia tree currently providing shade from the blistering noon day sun.
The pulsating air was thick and deep, and Dekins’ sweaty hand held the card, causing the thick paper to ripple from the moisture.
They called it America, she thought. Land of the free, right? But there really was no freedom. Never had been, never would be. She hadn’t been free a second in her fuck assed life. From her first breath she was under the control of others, being told what to do, where to go, but most of all, to keep her mouth shut no matter what happened.
And she’d done it most of her life.
At first, she thought life on the streets might be her first taste of freedom. But it had turned out to be just another type of prison. She’d just traded in one set of chains for another.
The only time in her entire life she’d felt truly liberated was when she was watching one of her customers die. Then she felt the stunning glory of being in complete control. Total power. Absolute freedom.
Now, someone was even trying to take that away.
She stared across the parking lot at the heat shimmers and then reviewed the note again.
Dear Lady of the Evening,
Don’t have too many repeat customers as of late, do you? Well, I’m so impressed with your thorough client services, I have selected you as a competitor in The Killing League.
Your travel information is attached. Opting out of the competition will leave me no option but to share your poor service record with the authorities, and maybe even the Better Business Bureau. I look forward to “hooking up” with you.
Sincerely,
The Commissioner
Amanda Dekins separated the card from the airline ticket and put the tip of her cigarette to the card. When it caught and held a flame, she tossed it to the ground.
Her newly found freedom was in jeopardy. Those brief moments of sheer ecstasy when she watched the life sucked from one of her pawing, leech-like johns were now in danger. Even those tiny pleasures were being threatened.
It figured. For the first time in her life, she had joy, passion, and direction in her life. Now, when she woke up, she had a purpose. Something to do. Something to live for.
It just happened to be killing other people.
And now this.
She watched the card’s embers smolder and get a ride from the hot breeze.
Typical, she thought.
Another man thinking he can control her.
23.
Nicole
“So I want to hear all about it,” Tristan said, as they organized themselves on the trail. They always followed the same formation. Tristan on the right, Nicole in the middle, and Sal on Nicole’s left.
“It went far better than I would have ever dreamed,” Nicole said. “But being a bit of a perfectionist—”
“You? No way!” Tristan said with a grin.
“There were a few things I thought we could have done much better,” Nicole said.
“Geez,” Tristan said. “It was the first night, you’re going to have a few kinks to work out, you had to expect that.”
“Absolutely,” Nicole said. “And there were actually far fewer snafus than I was expecting.”
“Okay,” Tristan said. “Why don’t you start with all the things that went right, and save the areas of improvement for the end?”
Nicole laughed and filled Tristan in on all of the wonderful things said about Thicque’s entrance into the Los Angeles dining scene. She talked about the abundance of
It was completely dark on the river by the time Mack made it home. He pointed the skiff toward the boat hoist when his body jerked.
There was someone standing in his yard, between the dock and the house.
Mack couldn’t tell if they were looking out at the river or back toward the house.
What he did know was they were entirely in shadow.
22.
Lady of the Evening
Amanda Dekins sat on the park bench and watched the slow breeze take her cigarette smoke in a lazy wave up toward the magnolia tree currently providing shade from the blistering noon day sun.
The pulsating air was thick and deep, and Dekins’ sweaty hand held the card, causing the thick paper to ripple from the moisture.
They called it America, she thought. Land of the free, right? But there really was no freedom. Never had been, never would be. She hadn’t been free a second in her fuck assed life. From her first breath she was under the control of others, being told what to do, where to go, but most of all, to keep her mouth shut no matter what happened.
And she’d done it most of her life.
At first, she thought life on the streets might be her first taste of freedom. But it had turned out to be just another type of prison. She’d just traded in one set of chains for another.
The only time in her entire life she’d felt truly liberated was when she was watching one of her customers die. Then she felt the stunning glory of being in complete control. Total power. Absolute freedom.
Now, someone was even trying to take that away.
She stared across the parking lot at the heat shimmers and then reviewed the note again.
Dear Lady of the Evening,
Don’t have too many repeat customers as of late, do you? Well, I’m so impressed with your thorough client services, I have selected you as a competitor in The Killing League.
Your travel information is attached. Opting out of the competition will leave me no option but to share your poor service record with the authorities, and maybe even the Better Business Bureau. I look forward to “hooking up” with you.
Sincerely,
The Commissioner
Amanda Dekins separated the card from the airline ticket and put the tip of her cigarette to the card. When it caught and held a flame, she tossed it to the ground.
Her newly found freedom was in jeopardy. Those brief moments of sheer ecstasy when she watched the life sucked from one of her pawing, leech-like johns were now in danger. Even those tiny pleasures were being threatened.
It figured. For the first time in her life, she had joy, passion, and direction in her life. Now, when she woke up, she had a purpose. Something to do. Something to live for.
It just happened to be killing other people.
And now this.
She watched the card’s embers smolder and get a ride from the hot breeze.
Typical, she thought.
Another man thinking he can control her.
23.
Nicole
“So I want to hear all about it,” Tristan said, as they organized themselves on the trail. They always followed the same formation. Tristan on the right, Nicole in the middle, and Sal on Nicole’s left.
“It went far better than I would have ever dreamed,” Nicole said. “But being a bit of a perfectionist—”
“You? No way!” Tristan said with a grin.
“There were a few things I thought we could have done much better,” Nicole said.
“Geez,” Tristan said. “It was the first night, you’re going to have a few kinks to work out, you had to expect that.”
“Absolutely,” Nicole said. “And there were actually far fewer snafus than I was expecting.”
“Okay,” Tristan said. “Why don’t you start with all the things that went right, and save the areas of improvement for the end?”
Nicole laughed and filled Tristan in on all of the wonderful things said about Thicque’s entrance into the Los Angeles dining scene. She talked about the abundance of
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