The Dangerous Dames

1-Bullets in the Dark

Leo sat in the driver's seat, the engine idling as much as him. The car's headlights illuminated the street in front of him much better than any of the burnt out streetlights could. He dangled his arm languidly out the window and flicked ash off his cigarette before taking another long drag.

A long drag is what this night was turning out to be, all right.

His wife had been spending a lot of nights late at the office, and as much as Leo liked to rag on her with the guys at the gym, fact is he wasn't too keen on the idea of her entertaining any other gentlemen. They were both hitting middle-age, and he was no fool. She was a knockout, the kind of woman that girls half her age asked for makeup tips and wanted to go dancing with. But after eighteen years, the spark was gone, and Leo knew it.

He ran his hand through thinning hair and peered up at the seventh-story window where her office was, then glanced at his watch. The light was still on. It was 6:10pm.

Nothing too out-of-the-ordinary.

Leo sighed and watched the door. Still nobody going in or out, at least nobody that looked like they could be a potential paramour. But something else caught Leo's well-trained eye in the rear-view mirror above the console.

Silhouetted by one of the few functioning streetlamps, he caught sight of long legs and tall stiletto's crossing the street, hurrying toward his idling vehicle. Well-trained ears picked up on the hurried clack-clack-clack of the heels on the pavement. Whoever she was, she was in an awful rush.

She was directly behind his car now, and the light behind her framed her long, thick curls and shapely curves.

Leo's stare was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot from the alley, the stillness of the night shattered by a short scream as the woman took cover behind his car. Leo ducked as the next shot splintered the rear driver's side door of the old sedan. The passenger door clicked and the woman slid in, keeping her head low.

"I'd be much obliged if you could...how you say, step on it," she said, never even looking Leo in the eyes as she tried to peek in the side-view mirror to see her assailant. Leo flicked the cigarette out the window as he leaned across her body, his face dangerously close to her neck.

He smelled lilacs, the subtle yet weighty scent of her perfume. Time stood still, waiting for the next bullet, or the car to scream away, or someone to say something. And Leo grabbed the door, slamming it closed.

"Buckle up," he said. The next shot was drowned out by the roar of the sedan's engine as Leo pushed the pedal to the floor. He glanced at his watch.

6:12pm. Sandy wouldn't be out of work for another 45 minutes, if recent habit held true. She should be OK.

He wheeled the car on to Main Street and glanced in the rear-view to see if they had anyone tailing them. He saw no one.

"Can you spare a cigarette?" Her voice was heavy, thick with an accent that he couldn't quite place--but it sounded exotic to him. He retrieved the pack from his breast pocket and offered it. She took one and placed it between her lips, patiently waiting for a light.

Angelic lips curved into a naturally devilish pout. She breathed in deep as he lit the tip of the cigarette, and Leo found his gaze drawn to her swelling breasts. Her low-cut evening gown left little to the imagination.

"Where to?" Leo asked, trying to ignore the dryness of his throat and the familiar tingle in his gut. He suddenly decided that the sooner he could get away from this broad, the better off his marriage would be. She cocked her head and leaned back into the seat, closing her eyes. "Let me zink," she said. "But I can see to it zat you are paid for ze damage to your vehicle."

Is it Russian? German? Leo wondered about her accent.

He was terrible with accents.

"Yeah, thanks," he said. He took a quick left.

"Do you know where ze Regis Arms is?" she asked, finally turning to actually look at her savior. Leo felt like he was on a glass slide under a microscope.

"I know where it is. A real shithole." Leo glanced at his passenger and saw her frown as he swore.

"Sorry, ma'am. Didn't mean to be offensive." The pout slowly curved into a predatory smile.

"Do not worry..." She raised a perfectly curved eyebrow in question.

"Leo," he said.

"And I am Vera," she said. "I have associates at ze Regis Arms who can see to it zat you are paid for your vehicle, and also for your time and...what is ze word, for your trouble?"

"Inconvenience?" Leo queried, and she flashed a satisfied smile.

"Zat is ze one."

His eyes narrowed as he glanced in the rear-view again. "Hang on," he said casually, ripping the wheel to the right and taking a hard turn into an alley. Taken by surprise, Vera was thrown to her left, her body pressing into Leo's and lingering there as the vehicle accelerated through the alley.

"Why Leo," she said coyly, "Do you always resort to such trickery ven in ze company of a beautiful woman?"

But for the first time since she'd entered his poor old sedan, Leo wasn't focused on her. "Nah," he answered. "Keep your head low, doll, just in case." He grimaced. "We've got a tail."