Ruthless Creatures by J.T. Geissinger

“Jesus, Nat. That guy? Are you kidding me? All you have
to do is look at him to know he’s bad news!”
I take a deep breath. Then I hand him back the sketch and
take my purse from him.
“Goodbye, Chris.”
I shut the door in his face.
I stand there listening for a few moments, but he doesn’t
leave. Finally, he curses under his breath.
“Okay, I’ll go. But I’m gonna be keeping an eye out for
you. This isn’t over.”
His boots make heavy thuds as he walks off.
I wonder if by “keeping an eye out” he actually means
“keeping an eye on.”
I have a bad feeling he’s decided to make it his personal
mission to keep tabs on me.
I go into the kitchen, sit down at the table, and open my
bag. Everything is there as it was, my wallet and phone,
lipstick and keys.
I’m shocked when I realize I didn’t lock the front door last
night when Kage and I left. I didn’t notice the door was
unlocked when we came back, either.
If I’m going to be a mafia king’s queen, I’ll have to be
smarter about things like that.
When my cell phone rings, I jump, startled. I don’t
recognize the number, so I’m hesitant when I pick up.
“Hello?”
“The leader of the Russian mafia in America is a dude
named Maxim Mogdonovich, a Ukrainian. Isn’t that
interesting, a Ukrainian in charge? You’d think ethnic
Russians would be a little pissed.”
“Sloane! Oh, thank god. Are you okay? You’re safe?
Where are you?”