Read Stand of Redemption for Free Online

of the young, drunk men raised his hand in the air toward her, almost falling off the stool in the process.
    Ria laughed and steadied him then reached up to smack his hand still in the air.
    “Go, Tigers!” he slurred.
    “Go , Tigers,” Ria replied, and the group laughed.
    Ria attended to her other tables and went to stand by the bar to take a breather since she had just delivered everyone fresh drinks. She looked toward Chris, and he winked at her as he poured a shot of tequila for one of the customers in line. Ria smiled back, used to Chris’s flirt atious ways. He winked at all of the waitresses.
    The rest of the night went well, and when Chris counted the money out for the girls, he handed Ria eight hundred dollars. It was one hell of a night. She wished the team won every weekend. Ria sighed and felt herself relax. The money would help get her through the next two months.
    They all cleaned the bar and walked to their cars for the night as Chris stood watch. Once he saw them safely into their vehicles, Ria watched him walk to his car where the woman from earlier was waiting for him. Ria was proud of herself for calling that one. She watched Chris open the door for her and then get in to take off to who knows where.
    Ria put the keys in the ignition of her car and went to start it, but nothing happened. She tried again. It wouldn’t start. She looked around to see if anyone was around; however, she had taken too long to try to get her car started, and now the parking lot was empty. She looked down to see if there was anything to indicate why her car wasn’t starting and cussed at herself. She had left the fucking lights on.
    She tried to figure out what to do. She knew Lacey would be asleep and would have called Chris, but she didn’t want to interrupt him. There was a gas station a couple of blocks away. She stopped there many times on her way home and knew the friendly, elderly man who worked there. She could ask him if he could jump her car.
    She looked around and felt safe enough to get out. She hadn’t heard of much crime in the area and knew she didn’t have very far to walk.
    She stepped out of the car and locked it. She then turned to walk to the gas station, keeping her phone in her hand, and enjoying the fresh air after being in the bar all night.
    As she thought of the money she’d made, she saw a shadow come toward her. She tried to hit send on her phone to call Chris, but it was knocked from her hand. Then she was dragged into an alley between two buildings.
    She felt herself thrown against the wall, and her head bounced off the concrete. She whimpered from the pain as she tried to see who was attacking her, but it was too dark and her vision was blurry from the blow to her head.
    “You fucking thief. Did you think I wouldn’t notice the extra money you stole for yourself?” She heard a deep voice growl in her face.
    “What are you talking about?” Ria was shaking with fear. She hadn’t stolen any money; she’d earned that eight hundred dollars.
    The man shook her again and shoved her against the wall. He then wrapped his hand around her neck, slowly constricting her airway. “Don’t play dumb, bitch. I saw the copy of the receipt with the extra three hundred.”
    In her haze, Ria’s mind jumped to the previous weekend. Oh, no , she thought to herself. Chris hadn’t credited the money back . She should have known tonight when her tips were excessively high that he must have slipped her the money back. She had thought the college students had left her the extra-large tip.
    “I’m sorry! I’ll give it back. Please, please, let me give it back.” Ria strained to say the words as his grip tightened on her throat.
    “Oh, I’ll get it back… and more.” His other hand slid under her skirt, grabbing her roughly. “You piece of trash, showing your tits and ass, but playing hard to get. Girls like you are meant to serve men like me. You think you can take what’s mine? I’ll get what you