Willow Smoke (99 page)

Daisy
didn’t
know
if
she
should
be
more
angry
at her sister’s disbelief or frightened
that
she’d
been
found
out.

“Come
here
and
show
it
to
me,
baby.”

Daisy
stepped
toward
her
sister
and
held
out
her
hand,
but
her
concentration
was
focused
on
Reggie,
whose
eyes
glassed
over.
He
was
high
on
something.

“God, that must be worth
a small
fortune!”
Maxine
shrieked.
“You
sure
are
the
lucky
one;
you
always
have
been.
But
I
am
happy
for
you,
Daisy.
You’ve
really
made
something
of
yourself.”

“Bullshit.
She
just
must’ve
screwed
the
guy
blind,”
Reggie
declared,
taking
a
step
closer.
His
eyes
narrowed,
his
chin
jutted
out
and
his
hand
shook.

Daisy
shrank
from
his
outstretched
hand
until
the
gas
fireplace
prevented
her
from
moving further back.

“I
should
never
have
let
him
get
to
you,”
he
mumbled.
“He
took
what
was
mine
all
along.”

Daisy
had
a
hard
time
understanding
his
slurred
speech.
It
wasn’t
the
first
time
he’d referred to her as his. Her skin
crawled
at
the
thought.
She
took
a
step
to
the
side;
her
right
hand
grazed
the
diamond
willow
stick
she’d
carved
and
she
grasped
it firmly.

A
crooked
smile
swept
across
Reggie’s
face.
It
was
as
if
he’d
received
an
electric
jolt.
He
moved
with
new
energy.

“You
did
real
fine,
darling.
You’ve
got
a
helluva
lot more brains than your
sister.
Sometimes
I
forget.”
Reggie
reached
for
Daisy’s
hand. “Let me look at that rock.”

Caught
between
wanting
to
flee
and
not
wanting
to
cause
a
fight,
she
let
him
lift
her
hand.
His
eyes
shone
with
unvarnished
greed.

“A
small
fortune,
all
right.
I
could
take
it
now,” he sneered. “But there’s a
lot more
where that came from. You
got the right
idea,
darling.
You
marry
the
rich
son
of
a
bitch.
As
soon
as
his
insurance
is
changed
to
name
you
as
the
one
to
collect,
I’ll
see
that
he
meets
with
an
accident.”

“No!” Daisy screamed. “I
won’t marry him.”

“Oh,
yes
you
will,
bitch.”
Reggie
shoved
her
hard
against
the
fireplace.
“In
the
meantime,
I’ll
take
care
of
your
druggie
sister.
With both of them out of the way, we
can
get
married.
It
will
be
great.
Just
you
and
me.
Me
with
a
gorgeous
broad
and
tons of money.”

Daisy
glanced
quickly
at
Maxine,
who
had
turned
chalk
white.
Her
mouth
was
ajar
and
her
eyes
had
widened
into
raw
terror.

“Until
death
us
do
part,
bitch.
Give
me
a
little
something
to
seal
our
vow.”
Reggie
leaned
into
Daisy,
crushing
her
legs
against
the
fireplace.
His
lips
came
down
hard
on
hers.
She
jerked
her
head
to
the
side.
He
swung
it
back
with
one
hand
and
crushed
her
breasts
with
the
other.
Her
eyes
squeezed
tight.
She
had
to
do
something; she had to get out of there.

Reggie
dropped
a
hand
to
her
crotch.
When
he
pulled
on
her
jeans
zipper,
Daisy’s
brain
surged
into
overdrive.
She
focused
her
energy
on
that
willow
stick.
Reggie
had
the
zipper
down
and
was
totally
absorbed
with
clawing
at
her
panties.

With
all
the
might
she
could
muster,
Daisy
crashed
the
willow
stick
onto
Reggie’s
head
and
brought
her
knee
up
sharply
between
his
legs.
He
stumbled
backward
and
fell
to
the
floor
with
one
hand
reaching
for
his
bleeding
temple
and
the
other
for his crotch.

Daisy
saw
him
writhing
on
the
floor
and
spun
toward
the
entryway
where
she
grabbed
Bear
to
her
chest
and
ran.
She
hit
the
sidewalk
in
a
full
run
and
swerved
left
heading
for
the
El
station
a
block
and
a
half
a
way.

She
neared
the
corner
and
heard
what
sounded
like
firecrackers
coming
from
behind
her.
Glancing
over
her
shoulder,
she
saw
Reggie
firing
a
gun
toward
something across the street from her apartment.

It
must
be
Clint’s
people.
She
didn’t
slow
her
stride.
She
couldn’t
count
on
them
stopping
Reggie.
The
man
was
a
crazed
animal.
She
wasn’t
even
sure
a
bullet
would
stop
him.
He
wanted
her,
and
if
he
couldn’t
have
her,
he’d
kill
her.
Life
had
become that
simple.

The
entrance
to
the
train
station
loomed
ahead.
Should
she
risk
it?
If
there
wasn’t
a
train
soon,
she
might
be
trapped
on
the
platform. Mercifully, she heard the
screeching
of
the
train
and
ducked
under
the
turn-style
hoping
no
one
would
notice
her.

Gasping
for
air,
she
stepped
into
the
open
door
of the train just before it closed.
The warmth of the car hit her full force.
She
stumbled
into
a
seat
and
trembled,
clutching Bear to her throat.