1972

Chapter Twelve

       "Tom," Ivor says with the unfamiliar something, in his voice. "Why, you don't half to do this."

"But I do." Tom corrects him. "You have everything Ivor, at least everything I've ever wanted."

Malinda leans over the side of the sofas arm rest and throws up. The vomit hits the ground in a awful splash and continues to mound up. Ivor starts trying to reason with Tom, but it's already to late. Tom had his mind made up and he didn't want to see any other way out. Tom is what he deemed as reborn or even aware of the problem he had to fix.

"I'm not your bitch," Tom snaps. "Do not offer me things like I am one."

"Tom this can all go away." Ivor says. "You can't kill the issue because you can never erase the actual problem hell, those words came from you."

"I know." Tom sighs and gives a sharp glance over to Malinda. "I know there are plenty of your kind going around in the world, the kind that has what the pitied man wants."

"What is it exactly that you want?" Ivor looks him in the eyes.

Tom looks back and with a swift movement the gun is pointed at me. My heart went crashing like a ship at sea. The corners of my eyes watered but tears didn't fall. When my chest ached there was no telling if it was for Tom or because of actual pain. The tension stiffened between all four of us and everybody else just watched the events unfold.

"You were always a weak man Tom," Malinda raises her voice. "It's your fault your miserable you son of a bitch, you could have left long time ago."

"Not without Letty I couldn't." He said this time looking at me. "And you knew that didn't you?"

I didn't, nobody did. Tom was as secure as a treasure chest. The mad look in his eyes and the Devil's blood he enjoyed having was what he found as peace. One thing we knew was that Tom was miserable just how miserable we would soon come to know. With a gun in his hand a serpents at his side he must for ounce, feel like a man.

"So it's every body else's fucking fault that your a failure?" Malinda screams louder and soon that bullet might really be in between her teeth. "You knew I never cared about you like that, I tried darlin' but believe me a diamond is truly a woman's best friend."

"I know." He says in the way he did before. "A dog can't help its nature, so what do you do Letty?"

I froze and said three questionable words I'd soon regret.

"You train it?"

"Exactly." He smiles snapping his finger.

Lyssa squeals and runs in the room with a butcher knife in her hands. Two men company her none of them being the now deceased Jammison. Motioning for Irwin to bring me closer he does and Tom has a look of sick affection on his face. If he liked me why would he have them touch me the way they did? All these questions filled my head one after another like slides in a microfilm. Tom had noticed and replies back with something I never wanted to hear again.

"Even the devil can have innocents and I had to steal more of yours." This is when he then added, "Even you needed to understand, so I had to teach you a lesson."

"Malinda hon, we're going to play a game." Tom says wild eyed smile detaching himself. "Yes bitch, it involves you caring about someone else so get it right and you'll live a little longer."

"Fuck you." Malinda says watching him smile. "You sick fuck."

"I know isn't it great?" He laughs. "This is your training."

The rules were simple and Tom simply explained them. If Malinda didn't do or say anything he asked she's lose a finger. Ivor hand to go next and having enough time to think about it I volunteered myself. Everyone looked at me and Tom smiled. Under the circumstances he was crazy because the smile seemed genuinely nice.

"No my brave soul," He caresses my face and instructs Irwin to let me go. "You need a break after this afternoons rather long...events."

Both of us sat down and every bit of me was uneasy.

"Trust me this will be fun." He says. "Maybe not for you but your just going to half to cope with it if we're going to be together, and we will."

They're was no changing nor convincing him otherwise. One of us had to kill Tom. If not he'd kill each and everyone of us and something told me he had already made plans for that.