Read Gin Palace 01 - The Poisoned Rose for Free Online Page B

give me an edge, nothing that would make a difference when thrown at a man. Finally I found something, a stone, its top barely sticking out of the ground. I dug around it with my fingers. It was an act of desperation, and probably a waste of time, but it was all I could do. I kept looking toward the front of the truck, then the rear, all the while digging. But I was getting nowhere and finally gave up. I turned to search elsewhere for a weapon and in the process looked Augie in the face. It was dark but I could see him well enough.
    He nodded his head to the right once. I knew right away that he was telling me to go. He looked exhausted, his arms hanging at his sides, like a boxer who had lost twelve out of twelve rounds. I said nothing, just looked back at him. He nodded again, this time with his eyes closed. The blood on his face was watery from the rain. He was covered with mud. I waited till he opened his eyes and was looking at me again. Then I shook my head from side to side. I held up my finger, telling him to wait. Then I turned and went back to the buried rock and began to dig again with my fingers. I didn’t think about the pain and just dug, tearing the dirt away. I looked toward the front of the truck, then the rear. Nothing, but I knew they would appear somewhere soon. I felt the under-curve of the rock and wedged my fingers deep beneath it. I hooked my nails against the rough surface and leaned back. The rock gave, but only a little. I readjusted by grip and leaned back again. It broke free and moved a few inches out of the ground, only to stop again. I readjusted the grip one more time and leaned back. The rock pulled free. The sudden give sent my flying backward. I landed on my back next to Augie, the rock on my chest. It was a little bigger than a grapefruit and hit me hard enough when it landed that it knocked the wind out of me. I grabbed the rock with both hands and sat up just as one of the men came around the front of the truck. My eyes searched frantically for a gun but I didn’t see one. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. I looked and looked, time ticking off in my head. And then there it was. The bright beam of a flashlight crossed the ground fast and hit me in eyes. It cast painful shadows inside my head.
    “They’re here,” he called.
    I turned just as the second man appeared behind the truck. I didn’t wait and with my right hand flung the rock at him with all I had. The throw tore my shoulder and I grunted. My eyes found the gun the instant I let go of the rock. The man saw it, saw something coming and flinched, trying to bob like a boxer. But he wasn’t fast enough, and the rock caught him solid on the left side of his face. I heard a good thud followed by a surprised grunt. Then the man’s legs buckled and he dropped to the ground.
    When I turned back to the first man he was rushing me. The flashlight was in his left hand now, a knife in his right. I rose to my knees to meet him as he took a wide swipe at my face. I slipped it by fractions of an inch. I could hear the blade moving through the air as it passed my eyes. Before he could take a backhand slice at me, I lunged toward him and hugged him around the waist, trapping his knife hand between us. I lunged forward, knocking him back. He landed hard and grunted. I landed on top of him and scrambled to grab hold of his knife hand. I wrenched his wrist till he cried out and dropped the knife. Then I grabbed a handful of his hair and struck his nose three times with my open palm. My heart was bursting in my chest. After the palm strikes I grabbed the flashlight and stood up fast. It was a Maglite, three feet long and heavy as pipe, as much club as flashlight. I swung it into his ribs like I was chopping wood, reloaded my swing, and swung it down across his right knee.
    Then I turned to where the second man, the one with the gun, had fallen. It felt as if too much blood was pumping through my veins. I felt lightheaded with fear and