Page 45 of Jig's Last Dance
“I’d stay away from him if I were you,” she says, studying her fingernails.
“Oh?”
“He’s the devil.” She drops her hand and steps into me. “Have you ever played with the devil?”
“No,” I mutter, meeting her thousand-yard stare with a trickle of unease. This bitch is batshit.
“I have. Trust me. If you don’t want your pretty little body to bleed, you’ll stay away.”
“What did you mean about the keys?” I insist, stepping into her space this time. I’ve had enough. She’s jerking me around, and I don’t fucking like it.
“Nothing. You should go.”
“My father’s dead, Iris. And those keys imply Jig was involved. What did you mean?”
“Jig,” she says, looking at me with wide eyes before they narrow, and she turns away. “So?”
“Why are you fucking with me? Who put you up to this?” I ask, my voice hard.
She laughs, her frail body pathetically shaking before she spins to me and spits, “You want answers, ask John.”
“Alice, how can I help you?” We both spin to find John emerging from the hall. Uneasily, I glance toward the door.
Would Marco hear me if I screamed? Would anyone?
“How do you know who I am?”
He smiles, rubbing his chin. “I know a lot about you.”
“Like what?” I say, raising my chin.
“Hm, and what will you give me?” he asks as Iris backs away and shrinks into herself.
“Nothing. You started this, so tell me. How do you know me?”
With his head cocked to the side, he chuckles. “You should go before I change my mind.”
“What?”
Pulling his belt from the loops, I step back when Iris flinches before walking toward the couch and leaning over the arm. John steps up to her, looking directly at me, and raises the belt.
“No,” I whisper, but he just smiles and brings it down on her back.
“Stop, no!” I say, stepping forward as he whips the belt through the air, and it catches my cheek.
“Fuck,” I cry, grabbing the throbbing wound.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away,” he says, turning back to Iris.
I glance at her, tears on my cheeks, but she just shakes her head and looks away, staring into nothing while he beats on her.
Sucking in a deep breath, I hustle out the door before stopping up short when I see Marco is gone.
What the fuck?
∞∞∞
I don’t go to Castinetti’s. Instead, I make the longest walk of my life, but I go home. By the time I get there, it’s pouring rain, and I’m soaked to the bone.