by Tracy Sharp
“I’m not going to kill him.” She held out her hand. She rolled her eyes. “I promise.”
Toby stopped the Escalade and handed her his gun. “This is against my better judgment.”
Robyn stepped out of the Escalade and aimed the gun. She pulled the trigger four times before she shot out the back left tire.
The Rolls came to a screeching halt. Mojo jumped out of the car, already swearing. “What the fuck?”
Robyn lifted the gun and aimed it at his head.
“Oh, lady. You must be out of your damned mind.”
Toby slammed the truck door behind her.
Mojo lifted his arms. “What the fuck?”
“I’ll tell you what the fuck in a second,” Robyn said. “Turn around and get on your knees.”
“What? I’m not getting on my knees. You’re a lousy shot. It took four bullets to get my tire. All I have to do is run.”
Robyn gave Mojo a grin that seemed to stop him cold.
“Then run. I’ll have a blast trying to hit you. I’m sure I could get you in an arm. A leg. Maybe your ass. Maybe I’ll just get you in the spine. Let’s see how fast you are in a wheelchair, if you’re lucky enough to be a paraplegic and not a quad.”
Mojo stared at her. Sized her up. “What do you want?”
“Turn around and get on your knees.”
Mojo hesitated for a few seconds before turning around and slowly dropping to his knees. “Listen, I got no beef with you. Why you doing this? Someone send you?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes.” Robyn kept aiming at Mojo’s back while Toby cuffed his hands behind him.
“Who is it? I’m sure we can work this shit out.” Mojo’s voice held a slight tremor. His bravado was cracking. “We can make a deal.”
Robyn leaned down and whispered in Mojo’s ear. “We’ll see.”
†
At Zed’s barn of fun, Mojo stood and looked around, his eyes bulging. “Look. You don’t need to do this. How much is he paying you, whoever wants me gone?”
“You can’t afford it,” Toby said, reloading his gun.
“I got money, man. I can afford it.”
“No,” Robyn said. “You can’t.”
“How much? Just tell me, how much?”
Robyn walked toward him, stopped a few inches from his face. “Okay. I’ll tell you. But if you so much as smirk, I’ll cut your fucking head off. I know you noticed the bloodstains all over the floor. Believe me, I’m not kidding.”
Mojo nodded his round, clean-shaven head. “Okay. I’m not laughin’.”
“There’s only one thing my boss wants from you.”
“What is it?”
“Your soul.”
Mojo stared at her as if he didn’t understand for a second. His lips twitched, then he grew serious. “Okay. Sure. He can have it. Is this some kind of Satanic thing?”
“Yes,” Robyn said. “It is.”
“So you two work for the devil.” He kept a straight face and his voice level, as if he realized he was dealing with a couple of complete fruit loops.
“We do,” Toby said, a little smile on his face.
“Okay,” Mojo said, nodding some more. “How does it work? Do we have to go through some kind of ceremony or something?”
“All you have to do is repeat after me,” Robyn said.
“Okay. Let’s do it.” Mojo seemed like an expert at humoring crazies.
Robyn was impressed. He must encounter his share of out-of-their-mind tweakers in his line of work. “Okay, say ‘I trade my soul to the devil…”
“I trade my soul to the devil…” Mojo repeated obediently.
“In exchange for this crazy bitch not killing me today.”
He didn’t even crack a grin. “In exchange for this crazy bitch not killing me today.”
And he was serious. Robyn could see it on his face. He probably didn’t even believe in a soul, or God, or the devil, but he really didn’t want to die today. So he gladly traded something he didn’t really believe he had to trade.
But he was wrong, and he’d find out about the collectors soon enough.
“Very good, Mojo. You’re free to go.”
Mojo smiled. “That’s it?”
“Yup,” Toby said, unlocking the cuffs.
“Okay.” Mojo gave them a cautious look before heading out the door. He wouldn’t ask for a ride. He wanted to move as far away from these two crazies as fast as possible.
“Just follow the road. It’ll take you away from here.” Robyn giggled, realizing how insane she really sounded.
Mojo nodded, looking at her with round, solemn eyes. “Right. Okay.”
Robyn stepped out of the warehouse and watched Mojo as he walked faster and faster, turning to look at them every few seconds. “He thinks we’re going to shoot him in the back.”
“Yeah. I’d think that too,” Toby said. He tucked his gun into the waistband of his jeans where Robyn couldn’t grab it.
Like he sensed that she was seriously considering doing just that.
“Let’s go,” he said, heading to the truck.
“Just a second,” she said, watching Mojo as he started running. All pretense of being casual gone.
“They’ll take care of him, Robyn. Let’s go. It’s like tempting fate if we stick around. I don’t want to be here when they show up.” Toby sat in the truck, the window rolled down.
“I want to see,” she said.
“Jesus.” He shook his head.
“Just a sec,” Robyn said, and vanished back into the warehouse for a few moments before coming back out.
“Why’d you go back in?” Toby asked her as she came toward him.
“I thought I forgot something.”
He frowned. “What?”
She shook her head. “I don’t remember.”
He watched as she came up to his side of the truck, her face in the open window. “I want to drive.”
He hesitated.
“What, you don’t trust me?”
“Not all the way.”
“Whatever. I want to drive for a change. So move your ass.”
He blew out a breath and climbed out of the car. “Don’t make me regret this, Robyn.”
“I just want to drive, Toby. Chill, would you?”
He moved into the passenger seat. Lifted his hands. “Okay. Let’s go.”
“Thank you.” She headed down the driveway and turned in the direction Mojo took.
“Aw shit, Robyn. Turn back. Go the other way. I told you, I don’t want to be around when they show up. They could come after us.”
“I don’t see them around, do you?” She was scanning all directions. There was nobody in sight. Just Mojo, jogging down the road, looking back at the truck and trying to run faster.
“They will get him. Just leave it.”
“I just want to make sure. I don’t want him to get away with what he’s done,” Robyn said, a strange, serene quality to her voice. She followed Mojo slowly, leaving several yards between the truck and him. “Where the hell are they? They never take this long.”
“What, like they don’t know where he is? They’re Hell’s minions, Robyn. They’ll find him.”
“What if they don’t? What if he gets away?”
“Maybe they don’t want this one. It’s not for us to decide.”
“He’s going to get off scot-free for what he’s done? All the lives he’s ruined? All the people he’s killed? The overdoses? The murders that happen because of the drugs he sells? The kids he gets hooked, who will do anything for a hit?” Her face was red, her voice rising.
Toby carefully placed a hand on her arm. “No, of course not. He won’t get away with it. Just let them do it in their own way. Maybe they have something special planned for him.”
She shook her head. “No. They’re taking too long. It never takes this long.” She sped up, coming up behind Mojo.
“Don’t, Robyn. Don’t!” Toby tried to grab the wheel from her, steer the truck a
way from Mojo. “You can’t mess with the way they do things. It’ll come back on us.”
She came up beside Mojo on the left. She could almost touch him if she reached out the window. “He can’t get away with it.” She reached into her jacket pocket with her left hand. “Hey Mojo, I forgot one thing!”
He turned his head, looked at her, and headed away from the truck.
She drew her hand back and threw something at him.
“Aw, fuck!” Toby watched, eyes wide as the fun ball landed between Mojo’s feet and exploded, covering him in flames in seconds.
Chapter 20
Toby stared at the fiery shape staggering across the road behind them. The moment was surreal. He saw colors in hypervivid clarity. Then time slowed. Images warped. The edges of his vision began to grey.
The sound of Robyn’s laughter brought him back to reality.
“Got him!” she cried, slapping the wheel. “That was fantastic!”
“Are you out of your fucking mind?”
She turned to him, eyes questioning. “What?”
“What?” he yelled at her. “Are you kidding?”
“Look, someone was supposed to take care of him. They didn’t. So I did. What’s the big deal?”
“Stop. Just stop. Do you even give a shit what happens to anyone else involved in this? Do you care about May?”
That seemed to sober her. “Nothing will happen. The collectors didn’t come. What were we supposed to do? Let him get away?”
Toby shook his head. Rubbed a hand over his eyes. “You’re out of control. You’re jeopardizing us all. I don’t know if you’re lost your mind, or if they’ve gotten into you somehow… but you’ve gotta stop.”
Robyn glanced at him and grinned. “No. I think I know what’s going on here.”
“Really? Feel free to fill me in.”
“I’ve been promoted.”
Toby frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m one of them.”
“You aren’t making sense, Robyn.”
“I’m a collector.”
†
“Look, you can keep the knives near you, but your hands are pretty small, and your body is small. You won’t have the weight behind your throw to actually hurt someone with these things. The best you can hope for is to cut them. That won’t do much except to distract them. We’ll work on these when you’re a bit bigger.”
May looked down, her face disappointed.
“But I have something special for you that I think you’re going to like.” Juno reached behind her and pulled a small gun from her waistband. “This is the smallest derringer ever made. It’s tiny and lightweight, and it should fit your hand pretty well.”
May smiled, looking at the small gun in awe.
Juno squatted down and looked May in the eyes. “My daddy gave me this gun when I was younger than you. Now I’m giving it to you. You need to take extra special care of it, okay?”
May nodded, her face solemn. “I promise.”
“Look,” Juno said, holding the gun out. “It’s very easy to use. You just point and pull the trigger.” She held it out to May. “It’s not loaded right now.”
May turned the compact gun in her hand. “Wow.”
“You have to be very careful with this. It’s small enough to keep around your waist in a holster. I made you one last night to go with it. This gun takes very small bullets, much like pellets, but causes much more damage.” She knelt in front of May. “You need to aim for the head.”
May nodded, a wide grin on her small face.
“Okay. Let’s do some shooting practice.” Juno set up some targets and placed May several feet away from them. “We’ll start out close, then move you back as you get better, okay?”
“Okay,” May said.
Juno stood behind her and positioned May’s arms to aim for the target. “That’s a bad guy’s head.”
“One of those monsters that looks like a person?”
“Yes. Exactly. Pull back on the lever.”
May did as she was told and hit just outside of the target.
“Holy crap, May. You’re a natural.”
“This is fun.”
“Okay, I’m gonna stand back. Go for it.”
May aimed for the target and took a deep breath, slowly blowing it out. She squeezed the lever and hit the target, closer than before.
Juno laughed. “Oh, my God. You ever do this before? Target practice?”
“I did it with a water gun before, and bottles, when Spider did his target practice.”
“I bet you were just as good as him, huh?”
May grinned. “Better.”
Juno chuckled. “I believe it. Listen, I need a bathroom break. Come on in the house for a minute.”
“Can’t I stay out here?”
“Noooooo. Those things can show up at any time, May.”
“But I’m a great shot.”
“You are that, but this isn’t negotiable. Come on, kiddo.”
May sighed and followed Juno into the house. Juno locked the door behind them.
“Stay in the house. You hear? I’ll just be a minute.”
May nodded. She sat at the kitchen table and looked through the bars on the kitchen window. The sky was blue and cloudless, and the weather was starting to warm up. The leaves were budding on the trees, and some flowers were popping up on the grass.
Something moved in May’s peripheral vision. She frowned. Jumped up and held her gun out, toward the window.
A small puppy ran into her view, chasing a butterfly.
May smiled. “A puppy!”
“What?” Juno called from the bathroom down the hall.
“There’s a puppy in the yard!”
“Wait until I come out and we’ll take a look at it!”
“But it’s going to run away,” May said to herself, watching as the puppy chased the butterfly closer and closer to the edge of the woods surrounding the house.
She walked to the door and snuck a peek over her shoulder before unlocking all the locks, one by one, and stepping out onto the porch.
A young girl of May’s age came walking out of the woods, her blonde hair shining under the sun. “Milo! There you are!”
May blinked. Was this girl alone? “Hi,” she said. “Are you by yourself?”
The little girl looked at the ground, her chin trembling. “Milo and I are the only ones left of my family. We’re looking for a safe place, and I saw your house through the trees.” When she lifted her gaze to May, her clear, grey eyes were filled with tears.
“You can stay with us. I’ve found really nice people.” May turned toward the house. “Come on.”
“Milo!” the little girl called, her face stricken.
May turned back to see Milo had stopped and was looking toward the woods, his ears lifted as if he heard something. He trotted past the little girl and into the woods. “Milo!”
The little girl turned to May. “He’s all I have left. Can you help me?”
May looked toward the house.
“Please hurry!” the little girl pleaded, starting to cry. “I don’t want anything to happen to him.”
May gripped her gun and followed the little girl into the woods.
†
Juno came out of the bathroom. May wasn’t in the kitchen. “May?”
No answer. The locks on the kitchen door were unlocked. Her blood turned to ice in her veins. “May?”
She searched the house, calling her name. Dread crawled up her spine and lifted the small hairs on the back of her neck. Sweat popped out on her forehead as panic set in. “May?”
She ran through the kitchen and whipped the door open, flying through it. She stood in the yard. “May!” Her eyes scanned the woods surrounding the house. Please, no. Please, no.
Juno ran around the house, searching. There was no sign of May. She fumbled in her jeans pocket for her phone as she headed toward the woods.
“On our way back,” Tob
y said.
“May is gone,” Juno told him, breathless. Fear clawed at her, making it hard to breathe.
“What? What do you mean, gone?”
“She’s gone, Toby. I went to the bathroom, and she must’ve walked out while I was busy doing my thing. I’m heading into the woods.”
“Find her, Juno.”
That’s when she saw it. She’d almost missed it, but there it was, lying on a patch of weeds.
May’s gun.
†
Toby had barely stopped the truck before Robyn was launching herself out of it. She ran toward the woods. “May!”
“Robyn!” Toby was close behind. “Robyn!”
Robyn ran into the darkness of the woods. Tree branches leaned over, blocking out most of the daylight. “May!”
Toby caught up to her and grabbed her by the arm. “Wait.”
Robyn twisted away. “Let go. We have to find her.”
“Robyn, this might be a trap.”
“I don’t care. They can trap me. I just want her back.”
“What are you going to trade her for? Your soul already belongs to them.”
Robyn’s eyes shifted around, trying to see in every direction at once, but seeing nothing. Suddenly she stopped fighting, and became almost calm. “You can trade yours.” She looked up at Toby, pleading. “Toby, please. Before they kill her, if they haven’t already. Please.”
Toby blinked. Stared at her.
“Please. She’s just a little girl.” Tears sprang in her eyes and rolled freely down her cheeks. “I’ll do anything you say. I’ll behave. Please, Toby,” she whispered. “Please.”
Toby looked up at the trees, at the bleak light between the branches. “What the hell. I’m in this too deep to ever get out now, anyway.” He sighed heavily. “I would sell my soul to have May back. Please bring her safely back to us.”
Robyn gave him a quivering smile. “Thank you.”
“Sure. Let’s go get her back,” Toby said.
†
“I’d trade my soul to get May back. Please give her back.” Juno kneeled on the damp ground, her face tilted up to the skies, her eyes squeezed shut. “Now give her back.”
Something snapped a few feet away.
