Read Online Bullets Are My Business (9781101616413) by Josh K. Stevens - Free Book Online
Authors: Josh K. Stevens
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deep breath. It feels like Iâm being inflated with a bicycle pump.
âMove it!â I can only muster a half yell, but that seems to be enough to get her in gear. She scrambles from the car, grabbing the keys from the ignition, and tears toward the apartment building. A cold sweat breaks out on my body. It doesnât help cool me down. I feel like Iâm on fire. I canât do anything now but lay in wait and hope I donât get nabbed. Thatâs the last thing I need right now. Knowing my luck, the only cop to show up would be a straight-and-narrow one who would slap a set of cuffs on me. Iâd rather die than go to the joint. I close my eyes and try to focus on anything but the pain. It doesnât work. Everything I think of is spliced with images of the wound on my arm, or the glass beneath my skin, or the bullet lodged in my thigh, or what I can only imagine is a concussion. A shadow falls over my closed eyelids. Iâm caught.
I open my eyelids. My mind is already racking itself looking for a response to whoever is looming outside the car and my arm is trying to make its way to my gun before I realize that Iâm out of bullets. Why did Megan park in front of the building? Thereâs a secluded alleyway out back. It wouldâve been safe there. My mind catches up and I realize that I canât blame her. She couldnât have possibly known that. I wish I had been coherent enough to inform her of the alley. Too late. Not much else I can do at this point. I focus as best I can at the figure before me, but all I can see is a shadowy mess.
âI can explainââ I canât tell if thatâs me speaking. The voice I hear is weak. It sounds like itâs coming from the bottom of a swimming pool. The shadow doesnât respond. It raises what I can only assume is a hand and I see a flash of green before it fades back to gray. The shadow drops something into the car that flutters and lands on my face. Itâs light. I figure itâs paper. I blink just in time to see the figure move away, replacing the darkness with the gray autumn sky. What the hell was that? Who was that? Whatâs covering my eye?
I try to lift my hand to grab it off my face. My hand wonât move for me. I try even harder but it refuses to obey. This is not a good sign. I close my eyes again. The world is spinning. Another shadow falls across my eyelids. I slowly open my eyes again. I wish someone had told me when visiting hours were.
âWhat the fuck do you want from me?â I mumble. I can barely move my lips. My head feels light from the loss of blood. The door opens and the shadow plucks the paper from my face. It leans in toward me.
âYou wanted me, you lousy prick.â I barely recognize the gruff voice. The shadowâs facial features come into focus.
âJacks.â
I think that Jacks smiles. All I can see is a white blur where his mouth should be. âYeah, itâs Jacks. Weâre gonna get you upstairs.â I nod and I can feel his hands grab me under the arms. I wince and my lips draw back in a silent snarl as the pain comes at me from every angle imaginable. Jacks doesnât seem to care. âYeah, this is gonna hurt for a few minutes, pal. Get used to it.â
He drags me from the car. I didnât think that the pain could get more intense, but the second Iâm on my feet, I realize that it can. This must be what it feels like to be struck by lightning. We move to the apartment door quickly. Actually, Jacks moves to the apartment door quickly. Iâm being dragged in tow. I try to move my legs, but they wonât work properly. They seem to be twisted together. Jacks mumbles a string of profanities. I stop helping.
The next thing I know, weâre at the door to my apartment. The trip up the stairs is lost to me. The first thing I think of is Megan.
âIs she all right?â
Jacks bangs once on the door. âThe gal you were
âMove it!â I can only muster a half yell, but that seems to be enough to get her in gear. She scrambles from the car, grabbing the keys from the ignition, and tears toward the apartment building. A cold sweat breaks out on my body. It doesnât help cool me down. I feel like Iâm on fire. I canât do anything now but lay in wait and hope I donât get nabbed. Thatâs the last thing I need right now. Knowing my luck, the only cop to show up would be a straight-and-narrow one who would slap a set of cuffs on me. Iâd rather die than go to the joint. I close my eyes and try to focus on anything but the pain. It doesnât work. Everything I think of is spliced with images of the wound on my arm, or the glass beneath my skin, or the bullet lodged in my thigh, or what I can only imagine is a concussion. A shadow falls over my closed eyelids. Iâm caught.
I open my eyelids. My mind is already racking itself looking for a response to whoever is looming outside the car and my arm is trying to make its way to my gun before I realize that Iâm out of bullets. Why did Megan park in front of the building? Thereâs a secluded alleyway out back. It wouldâve been safe there. My mind catches up and I realize that I canât blame her. She couldnât have possibly known that. I wish I had been coherent enough to inform her of the alley. Too late. Not much else I can do at this point. I focus as best I can at the figure before me, but all I can see is a shadowy mess.
âI can explainââ I canât tell if thatâs me speaking. The voice I hear is weak. It sounds like itâs coming from the bottom of a swimming pool. The shadow doesnât respond. It raises what I can only assume is a hand and I see a flash of green before it fades back to gray. The shadow drops something into the car that flutters and lands on my face. Itâs light. I figure itâs paper. I blink just in time to see the figure move away, replacing the darkness with the gray autumn sky. What the hell was that? Who was that? Whatâs covering my eye?
I try to lift my hand to grab it off my face. My hand wonât move for me. I try even harder but it refuses to obey. This is not a good sign. I close my eyes again. The world is spinning. Another shadow falls across my eyelids. I slowly open my eyes again. I wish someone had told me when visiting hours were.
âWhat the fuck do you want from me?â I mumble. I can barely move my lips. My head feels light from the loss of blood. The door opens and the shadow plucks the paper from my face. It leans in toward me.
âYou wanted me, you lousy prick.â I barely recognize the gruff voice. The shadowâs facial features come into focus.
âJacks.â
I think that Jacks smiles. All I can see is a white blur where his mouth should be. âYeah, itâs Jacks. Weâre gonna get you upstairs.â I nod and I can feel his hands grab me under the arms. I wince and my lips draw back in a silent snarl as the pain comes at me from every angle imaginable. Jacks doesnât seem to care. âYeah, this is gonna hurt for a few minutes, pal. Get used to it.â
He drags me from the car. I didnât think that the pain could get more intense, but the second Iâm on my feet, I realize that it can. This must be what it feels like to be struck by lightning. We move to the apartment door quickly. Actually, Jacks moves to the apartment door quickly. Iâm being dragged in tow. I try to move my legs, but they wonât work properly. They seem to be twisted together. Jacks mumbles a string of profanities. I stop helping.
The next thing I know, weâre at the door to my apartment. The trip up the stairs is lost to me. The first thing I think of is Megan.
âIs she all right?â
Jacks bangs once on the door. âThe gal you were
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