body, and she didn’t open her eyes to see why he stopped beating her. She knew if she did he’d most likely start again. But then she heard a familiar voice as gentle hands touched her.
“Candy, get up, honey.”
Candy was trembling, going into shock, but she knew who that voice belonged to. She peeked through her arms and her now wildly tousled hair and saw Lazarus squatting beside her. “Lazarus?” she whispered shakily.
“You alright?” he asked.
She turned over and slowly moved her body. “I think so,” she said, wincing when she realized one of her ribs might be broken.
“You need a hospital?” Lazarus asked.
Candy began to try to stand and Lazarus reached out to take her hands in his and help her get her balance. Once she was standing, she moved her body tentatively in each direction, trying out her muscles and bones. “I don’t think so,” she said.
“Good. Go in your bedroom. Do not come back out,” Lazarus said.
Candy’s tearful gaze wandered from Lazarus to a frighteningly large male who stood behind Frederick with a huge hunting knife pressed against his throat, and a pistol pointed at Frederick’s two friends who were still sitting on her sofa looking wide-eyed at Lazarus and his friend.
“You going to give me trouble tonight, too?” Lazarus asked her calmly.
Candy looked at Lazarus again and then shook her head before wincing and raising a hand to press to her now bruised temple. She turned and walked toward the hallway that led to her bedroom, but stopped to look back at Lazarus. “They didn’t even try to stop him,” she said shakily.
“I’m well aware. Do not come out of your bedroom. If you do, I’m leaving and I’m leaving them here,” Lazarus said.
“I won’t,” she said. She turned and walked out of the room and a moment later her bedroom door closed and they heard the sound of the doorknob being locked.
Lazarus turned and looked at Frederick. “You ready to play?” he asked, smiling.
“You better watch…” Frederick started to say but Lucas pressed the tip of the knife into his neck deeply enough to make him gasp and a trickle of blood to start to run down his neck.
“Shut the fuck up, you piece of shit,” Lucas growled.
Brett quickly decided whatever was happening here, he wanted no part of it. “You know what? I never liked him much anyway,” he said, as he stood. “I’m just going to be on my way.”
“Sit the fuck down,” Lazarus said, pointing his own pistol at Brett. “You think it’s okay to just sit by and watch this motherfucker beat on a woman?”
Brett shook his head and Lazarus leveled the pistol at him. “I said to sit the fuck down!” Lazarus shouted.
Brett sat so quickly his ass bounced on the sofa cushions.
“Who you want to play with first? I’ll babysit the others,” Lucas said.
“First, I want everybody’s wallet right there on the table. Then I want your cell phones beside them, and then, since Frederick was anxious to play when we got here. I think I’ll accommodate him, since I’m such a gentleman and all.”
“Okie dokie,” Lucas said. “You heard the man,” he said, gesturing toward the coffee table.
Within moments two cell phones were tossed to land beside Frederick’s that was already lying there. Both Brett’s and the other man’s wallets were next. Then Lazarus reached around Frederick and into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and threw it onto the table, too.
“That it?” Lucas asked.
“For now,” Laz answered.
“Cool, I’ll visit with his friends,” Lucas said. He shoved Frederick toward Laz who met him with a punch to the jaw that almost knocked him out and certainly dropped him to the floor.
Lucas was standing over Brett and the other man before Frederick even hit the floor. “See, the thing is,” he said, “Laz has a problem with people beating on women. Even if they’re a raging fucking bitch, he has a problem with a woman being beat on.”
“Get up you piece of shit,” Lazarus said, kicking Frederick in the side with the toe of his boot.
Frederick was rolling on the floor, moaning and holding his jaw. “S’Broken,” he whined.
“Is it?” Lazarus asked. “Damn, I didn’t want to break it yet. I wanted to play all night. Aw well, guess I’ll have to find something else to hit next,” Lazarus said, as he reached down and yanked the man up from where he fell with one hand.
“No, you don’t. Just hit the jaw again. Broken ones hurt like fuck when