Chapter Forty-Three
FORTY-THREE
“It’s not like I’m taking any joy in this, you understand,” Charlie said from behind the gun.
Shepherd sat in one of his restaurant’s chairs, with his hands in his lap and his jaw tense, as Ginny tied rope around his wrists.
“I don’t like holding lawyers and their grumpy boyfriends hostage.
I don’t like aiming guns at anybody! But I really need this money, and you two were the only suckers desperate enough to go get it for me. ”
The rope around his wrist bit into his skin. Shepherd hissed. “Too tight.”
Ginny tied it off and glared at Charlie over her shoulder. “Consider this your notice that the Kents are dropping you as a client, Mr. Cardello.”
The ex-gangster’s face fell into an expression of disbelief and sadness. “Aw, don’t be like that, Ginny! This is a one-time thing. You can’t hold it against me.”
“You are literally making me tie up my boss at gunpoint, Charlie! I can be however I want!”
Ginny finished tying the rope around Shepherd’s chest so he was strapped to the chair.
Charlie waved his gun at the seat beside Shepherd, which Ginny took with a glare so fierce it scared Shepherd more than the gun.
Charlie checked the binds around Shepherd before shoving his gun in his waist band and grabbing a length of rope to tie up Ginny.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Shepherd told his kitchen ceiling. “Robbed bikers no problem. But a canned-cheese-eating loser got one over me.”
“Hey!” Charlie stepped away from Ginny and wiped his palms. “I know I’m robbing you right now, but that’s no reason to be hurtful.”
Ginny snarled. “You know what I’m going to do the second I get out of here?”
“Well, not call the police,” Charlie replied. “What are you gonna say? ‘Hey, my stolen biker money got robbed?’ C’mon.”
“No, I am going to find your ex-wife.”
Charlie stilled. “So?”
“So, I’m going to tell her exactly what you’ve done to us.”
He shrugged a shoulder, struggling for nonchalance. “She’s a con artist. She’ll be proud.”
“Oh, yeah, real proud of stealing the ransom money that would save a kidnapped grandmother.”
Charlie pointed a finger, got right up in Ginny’s face. Her snarl remained unaffected.
Shepherd, pointlessly, tried to kick a foot out in the direction of Charlie’s shin. “Back off, dude!”
“You know what?” Charlie snapped, and started patting Ginny’s torso.
Shepherd kicked harder and more pointlessly.
“Now I’m taking your car. OK?” He reached into Ginny’s jean pockets.
She stiffened, inhaling sharply through her nose.
Shepherd inflated his chest to try to get some purchase with the ropes, but nothing budged.
Keys jingled as Charlie extracted them from her pocket.
“I’m taking your car now. That’s on you. This is all on you.”
Ginny sputtered. Shepherd kicked. But Charlie grabbed the duffle bags and left out the backdoor, cackling like a fairytale witch, hot air rushing in and bringing with it the smell of the dumpster outside. “See you later, losers!”
“You’re the loser!” Shepherd shouted. “You and your cheese!”
“Yeah!” Ginny called out. “You’re gonna be in so much trouble once I find Bee!”
“No more free pizza! In fact,” Shepherd yelled, on a roll now, “you’re banned! Banned from this restaurant for life!”
“Banned!” Ginny repeated. “Banned!”
The door slammed shut. Leaving Shepherd and Ginny alone, tied up, in his kitchen. There was a single light on above the sink. The faucet dripped water slowly, plop plop plop, unceasing and loud in the quiet of the room.
The light sparked out.
Total darkness.
Shepherd sighed. “Any chance Noah was right about Hector? I’m thinking, it might be a nice change of pace to get eaten by an evil clown painting.”
Ginny snorted, laughed hard, and then dissolved into tears.