“Here,” Tommy said.
Eddie took the napkins and pressed them against his nose. His eyes were glossy and he was anxiously watching Tommy’s every move.
“I got your attention?” Tommy asked.
The kid nodded ardently.
Tommy gestured to Jennings and the guy came over with the bag of ice and towel, then returned to his seat at the bar.
The few people in the room seemed to miss the action, but were paying close attention now. The minimal staff was too busy to notice.
Tommy handed the towel to Eddie and said, “Here, put your head back and hold this.”
“You didn’t need to do that.” Eddie sobbed openly. “It wasn’t even loaded.”
Tommy took the bag of ice and covered the knuckles on his right hand, pressing it down on just the correct spot.
“Let me ask you something,” Tommy said. “You ever shoot a gun before?”
“Uh uh,” Eddie mumbled through the towel, his head back now.
“See, that’s your problem,” Tommy said, wincing as an ice cube found the tender part of his hand. “You’re a beginner pretending to be a professional. Anyone with experience sees you’re a virgin. That’s a single action revolver you got there. You gotta have the hammer back to shoot the damn thing.”
“Aw, shit,” Eddie said, feeling his nose with his free hand. “I think it’s broken.”
“Of course it’s broken, you idiot.” Tommy lifted the kid’s chin. “Keep your head back,” he said.
Large tears trickled from the corner of Eddie’s eyes and meandered down the side of his face while his torso shuddered.
Tommy rubbed the kid’s back. “It’s okay, Killer. I need you to breathe.”
Eddie tried to take a full breath and coughed into the towel.
“You know, Eddie, there’s Payson tough and then there’s West Baltimore tough. I’m sure you’re a real handful in Payson, though. Maybe you could steal some milk money tomorrow and get right back on the saddle, huh?”
Eddie’s eyes were wide and frightened. “What do you want from me?”
Tommy removed the bag of ice from his knuckles and flexed his hand. “Apparently you came into some cash not long ago and there’s an ample amount of evidence to suggest you may have found some easy money.”
There was nothing but fear on the kid’s face.
“And,” Tommy continued, “at this very same time a delivery of Turkish cigarettes was stolen from a delivery truck outside of town.” He raised his eyebrows. “You putting it together yet?”
Eddie’s entire body shook, which made him appear to be nodding.
Tommy got closer to him and lowered his voice. “I need to know some information about the heist.”
“A … a … are you the law?”
Tommy put his hand on his forehead. “Good grief, Eddie, you think I look like the law?”
“N … n … no.”
Tommy shook his head. “I’m not. I need this info so I can track down some bad people. People who are much worse than me even. And that’s hard to do.”
“But I don’t know anything,” Eddie pleaded. “Please, just let me go. I won’t ever steal anything ever again.”
“Here’s the problem,” Tommy said. “The people you did the job for are terrorists. You’ve been watching the news, right? The KSF? That’s who you’re dealing with.”
A flicker of recognition crossed Eddie’s face.
“It’s all making sense now, isn’t it?” Tommy said.
Eddie pulled the towel down and examined the large red spot.
“Look at me, Eddie.”
The kid turned with glossy eyes and a mangled nose.
“Here’s how it works,” Tommy said. “We’ll bring you to the sheriff’s office and take a statement. He’ll announce it to the press that they’ve discovered the cigarette thief and have found valuable information about the KSF from this thief.”
“N … No,” Eddie stammered. “You can’t. I thought you weren’t the law?”
“I’m not, but my cousin is the sheriff, and he’ll make sure the KSF knows about your little visit with him. Then he’ll release you.” Tommy raised his eyebrows. “How long before these terrorists come by to pay you a visit? Only with guns which have bullets. And I promise there won’t be any counting when it happens. I’d give you good odds you don’t live to eat lunch.”
“You would do that?”
Tommy rolled his eyes. “Eddie, I just broke your nose. You don’t think I’d give you up to these terrorists? Shit, I’d give them your home address and sleep like a baby.”
Eddie’s eyes roamed around the bar searching for something, maybe thinking of a way out. Tommy wasn’t about to spoon feed him the answer. It was always better if it was the mark’s own idea.
“What if I can help the sheriff find these guys?” Eddie blurted, his nose beginning to leak again.
Tommy took the kid’s hand with the towel and placed it up to the leaky nose.
“That something you can do?” Tommy asked while applying pressure to Eddie’s nose.
“Uh huh,” Eddie murmured through the towel, excited about seeing a positive ending to his dilemma.
“Okay,” Tommy said. “Let’s see what you got.”
Tommy grabbed Eddie and pulled him from the booth. As he headed toward the door, he noticed Norm Jennings was no longer sitting at the bar. He looked around but didn’t find him. A loose thought entered his mind. It wasn’t something he wanted to think about.
Chapter 22
Nick lay in bed next to Julie and wondered if she was asleep. He glanced over at the digital clock on the nightstand. It was only a minute later than the last time he looked. She was turned away from him. He reached over and touched the small of her back.
“Will you find him?” Julie’s voice came out of the dark.
Since she didn’t know about The Russian, he knew she was talking about Barzani. “Yes,” he said.
She took a long breath. “I believe you, Sweetie.”
A few seconds passed while Nick’s mind raced with dire thoughts. He needed to keep Julie safe, physically and mentally.
“Do you think they’ll be more after he’s gone?” Julie asked.
“No. His crew is the last cell they have here.”
“But what about others from Turkey?”
“It would take years to develop enough soldiers to infiltrate the states.”
“But …”
He knew where she was going. It only took one maniacal terrorist to destroy her world and take the father of her baby away from her.
“It’s a long shot, Honey,” he said. “There’s a better chance I’ll get hit by lightning.” Or killed by a Russian assassin, he thought.
His words seemed to hit the proper note, however, because he could sense her breathing slow down.
“You need to sleep,” Julie said.
“I have lots of needs,” he said.
Julie turned to face him. Even in the dark he could see her teeth smiling back at him. “Oh, really. Care to name one?”
“Yes. I have the insatiable need to feel your belly.”
This made her eyes twinkle as she pulled up her sleeping shirt.
Nick placed his hand low on her stomach. She was soft and warm. “I feel something moving.”
“That’s the chicken quesadilla,” she said. “I’m too early to be able to feel the baby.”
“Still,” he said. “A guy can dream can’t he?”
He felt her fingernails caress the inside of his thigh. He tried to turn, but his damaged shoulder kept him on his back.
“I’m a little immobile at the moment,” he said.
“The better for me to take advantage of you,” Julie said as she sat up and pulled off her shirt. A slice of moonlight cut across her naked body and exposed her smooth, shiny skin.
She straddled him, then leaned forward, her lips brushing against his ear. “You just stay right there, sailor,” she whispered. “I’ll do all the heavy lifting.”
• • •
“Who were those girls you were with?” Tommy asked Eddie as he drove the sheriff’s car down an empty two-lane road. Eddie was in the passenger seat pushing buttons on his phone with his thumbs.