A Crooked Waitress

Chapter 31

Jack sat at the bar in the strip club.

"Whiskey neat." He shouted over the blaring music so the barkeep could hear him.

The man poured a drink and put it on a coaster in front of him. Jack's gaze wandered around the place and found Morris. He sat at his usual table at the end of the club. Where he could sip a margarita and see everyone and everything. A girl in a short skirt sat on his lap and whispered something in his ear. He laughed.

One of Morris's men had called Jack and asked him to show up. Boss didn't call himself, which was not good. Even if he had called, it usually was bad. He didn't summon his crew when things were fine; they were supposed to be. He wanted to see them if they screwed up.

Nursing his drink, Jack tried to calm his nerves. He knew what it was about; Christina. Yesterday was payday, and she didn't show up and didn't answer his messages either. He had stalked the house, even peeked through the windows, but there was no sign of life. She wasn't at the diner either which meant the siblings had escaped. He rued the day that he set eyes on her.

Alcohol wasn't doing anything to quell his nerves. Besides, he needed his wits about him when he met Morris. His life or at least several of his bones depended on that.

Boss glanced at him, then turned his gaze. Jack put down the glass and walked to his table. "Did you want to see me, sir?"

"Oh, the man of the hour." Morris was tipsy. "And he's so polite. Sir! Does he think that he's in trouble?" He and the stripper on his lap laughed.

"Go away now, "Morris told the girl and waited until she was gone. "So what's new about your protégé? What was her name?"

"Christina."

As if you have forgotten.

"Yeah! That's the one! So what's going on with that project?"

"I... I..."

"You...You..." Morris wasn't tipsy or happy anymore. He was a piece of ice, fuming cold. "You don't know where she is. Do you?"

"I hung out outside her home and the diner where she works. But didn't see her or her brother." His voice trembled.

"Oh, the brother's gone too? Bravo! Bravo!" Morris clapped for him.

"I don't know. I just didn't see him."

He was angrier than Jack had thought. If he didn't find the girl or at least her brother, he wouldn't get out of this situation in one piece.

"Let's go to her home. And for your sake, I hope we find one of them there." Morris picked up his jacket.

Jack stopped the SUV in front of the house. Morris had followed him in his black Porsche. All the lights at home were out, and the door was locked. They went to the back. Jack took a quick look around; it was after midnight, and no one was in sight. Facing the door, he fixed a silencer on his revolver and shot the lock open. The door handle fell at his foot and clanged on the ground. He found the light switch, flipped it on, and searched the house. It was empty.

"Come over here," Morris called him.

He looked around and found him in the kitchen. His boss pointed at the message on the fridge.

I'M NOT COMING BACK

"Nobody's home I assume?" Morris said.

Jack shook his head.

"She stole my money, and she's mocking me."

"I'll—"

Morris punched him in the face and broke one of his teeth. The broken tooth nicked Boss's hand and he shook it.

Jack spat out the bloody tooth into his palm and looked at it for a few seconds. Then his gaze turned to the gun in his other hand.

Shoot him in the head and bury him in the forest; your problems solved. He's gonna kill you for this money. He has no son. Maybe you can take over his business...

The next blow landed in his stomach and paralyzed his diaphragm. Gasping for the air, Jack fell to his knees. His hand still latched on to the revolver's grip, and his finger touched the trigger.

Shoot him! Shoot him!

Morris didn't care about the loaded gun in his hand. He didn't think he had the guts— And Jack knew that.

Just shoot him in the face. Blow his brain all over the wall. If he hits me one more time...

But Morris was done roughing him up. "Find her, and bring her to me. If she's killed, I want to see a body with a face. I won't take your word for it. You know what happens if you fail again."

He walked out of the house and left the door open. Jack lay down on his back and put his cheek on the kitchen's cold floor. A small stream of blood watered down with saliva ran out of his mouth.