Wanted: Dead or In Love
(*excerpt taken from the middle of Chapter 1)
WHO: Monroe's POV (modern day)
WHERE: Backroom of her father's 1920's style dinner theater.
WHAT: Monroe is examining the display case containing the slugs removed from Bonnie Parker's body that her father purchased as gangster memorabilia. Bonnie Parker was part of the deadly criminal duo known as "Bonnie and Clyde," bank robbers that were gunned down by police in 1934.
******
“Hello, Bonnie,” I whisper. “Did you have a lot of crazy chicks at your school, too? Is that why you dropped out?” I laugh, feeling silly talking to a dead girl. I hear the familiar click and swirl of the safe combination knob in the back room as I pull the slug box toward me.
Take one, my inner voice urges.
It would be kind of cool to touch one. Like touching death head on. I look back toward Dad and think, why not? Just for a second. I attempt to pull the edge of the clear plastic seal, but it’s stuck tight. I slide a fingernail under the edge of the sticker and slowly pry it up, careful not to rip the seal itself.
A rush of bubbling nervous energy makes my fingers tremble as I lift the cover. A puff of stale air with the scent of rancid meat assaults my nose. I breathe through my mouth as I pull out one of the silver gnarled bits. Is this the bullet––the one that actually killed Bonnie Parker? I spy a tiny spot of dark brown nestled between two twisted nibs of steel. Is that her dried blood? Could it be locked inside here after all this time? I lick my finger and touch the spot.
It smudges, turns brownish red. Holy shit––it is her blood! I rub it a bit harder when something sharp pierces my fingertip. A bright red dot from a tiny jagged cut sprouts on the pad of my index finger. I ram my wound into my mouth and glare at the slug.
That’s when I realize that Bonnie Parker’s blood was on my finger.
And it's now on my tongue. ***To find out more about me or this story, head to my website at: www.kymbrunner.com or you can preorder it on Amazon. It'll be out in May! :)
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Wanted: Dead or In Love
Teen FictionImpulsive high school senior Monroe Baker is on probation for a recent crime, but strives to stay out of trouble by working as a flapper at her father's Roaring 20's dinner show theater. When she cuts herself on one of the spent bullets from her fat...
