Siren's Garter: Issue One August 2016 Read Online Free PDF Page B

mother-in-law
holding a gold plated gun at his head and asking a tough
question.
    He’d been in terrible situations,
with life and death in the balance. Or with big money at stake.
Never half naked. Never threatened by the mother of the woman of
his dreams.
    Brad was being no help at all. He
stood behind Gertrude like a kicked puppy, head down, hands clasped
behind his back, teetering from one foot to the other.
    But this was Elsie’s mother. The
woman wasn’t a saint, certainly not in Kevin’s limited experience.
She was a tough cookie when he first met her, squeezing his hand
too hard, staring him down with narrow, piercing eyes.
    Would she kill him in cold
blood?
    Was the revolver even
loaded?
    Palms out, Kevin stepped forward.
Gertrude swallowed, narrowing her eyes. He held his
ground.
    And tried his best to ignore the
sweat prickling on his spine.
    “ I owe Biggins money,” he said,
keeping his voice calm and even, not quite succeeding. All the
practice and experience in negotiating with bad guys hadn’t
prepared him.
    Gertrude kept a quiet poker face
behind her gun, as if she had two aces in her handbag. For all he
knew, she had all the cards.
    “ Bullshit,” Gertrude said. “How do
you even know Biggins?”
    Well. That was complicated. Kevin
opened his mouth, and decided not to spill all the beans just
yet.
    He had to pee badly all of sudden.
Again.
    Gertrude stepped forward, hot
breath in his face, pressing the muzzle to his chest.
    “ You won’t believe me,” said
Kevin.
    “ Try me,” she said.
    “ I’m a spy.”
    “ Government?” Her expression
softened a bit. She was a beautiful woman, with a classy profile
and a well trimmed figure. Like Elsie, Gertrude had a sharp nose,
and a way of staring down people. Like a bird of prey, hunting
small animals.
    “ Corporate. I work for a New York
hedge-fund, stealing secrets from their competitors.”
    The woman’s brows tightened again.
“Oh? I do love a good spy story.”
    “ It’s deadly dull. I swear. I’m
trying to get out of the business. Really. Before I marry your
daughter.”
    Okay, Kevin. Keep it cool,
man. Easier said than done. A lump formed
in his throat, as if somebody had jammed a rock down there and his
gag reflexes weren’t working right.
    “ How are you not already dead?”
said Gertrude.
    Good question. What was into him?
He stood up to bigger foes than Gertrude. Men who did horrible
things to innocent people. But she was larger than life, even if
her pumps made her a inch shorter than Kevin.
    But wow, her hawk face pierced
straight through him. Gertrude’s eyes were steely blue, in contrast
to Elsie’s green.
    Icy cold.
    Everything else—the high
cheekbones, the strong chin, the pointed brows—reminded him of
Elsie. The mother and daughter were carbon copies of each
other.
    Kevin needed to come clean, one way
or the other. With Elsie, for sure, even if it meant losing her. He
couldn’t live with himself any longer, not with this burning
secret.
    “ Please,” he said. “Put the gun
down.”
    “ Why?” Gertrude lowered the weapon
slightly, so instead of pointing at his chest, it was angled at his
privates. Her expression relaxed, and she sighed. “Do you even know
Biggins’s first name?”
    He raised his hands in the air,
shrugging. “My best sources say Mark or Martin. Others claim his
name is Marvin.”
    She lowered the gun all the way,
and released the hammer.
    Brad leaned against the wall, like
he was about to faint. His face was pasty pale, ghoulish. He let
out a long sigh.
    “ Good,” she said.
    “ Good?” Kevin relaxed, shoulders
looser.
    Gertrude dumped the gun in her
handbag. “I’m glad you don’t know. That would’ve implied what I was
afraid of.”
    “ Which is?”
    “ That you’re a hit-man. Clearly I
was mistaken.” She straightened the purse, tugging at the strap.
“I’m sorry.”
    “ Is Elsie in danger?”
    Gertrude wrinkled her nose. “Take a
shower. Be quick. We need to hurry.”
    “