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He didn’t even look at her as he replied, “Sorry babe, not tonight. Find yourself another sucker, and leave
me alone, please.”
“Bummer,” she responded. “Not sure you’re giving me the attention I deserve, big boy. You might want to
loosen up a little bit, fella.”
Dennis Zeiba wasn’t used to people ignoring his requests. At 6 foot 3 inches, he had less body fat than most
guys registered in last year’s Mr. Universe contest. He didn’t hold much respect for the mirror-hogging zealots,
either. He had yet to meet a body builder that he couldn’t lay out cold with one right-handed punch, and he was
primarily left-handed. Still, it seemed there was always one in every crowd, and it appeared this young lady was
going to have to be told point blank to leave him alone.
“Look.”
He managed to get only the one word out when he caught the smell. It made sense, after all. She
approached him with an air of arrogance, and if he were more rested, he probably would have noticed her a little
quicker.
This was the girl he’d been searching for over the past three years. Now he was staring directly at her, and he
couldn’t find the words. He never was much for speaking. Her beauty caught his breath in the air and held it
there for a few moments, as if caressing it with her full, luscious lips. Her eyes were dazzling with the light
sparkling from deep inside her poor, tortured soul. What she must have gone through growing up, he thought.
“Dude, you’re starting to creep me out a little bit,” Stefani said. “Can you talk or has all the blood rushed to
other parts of your body that quickly?”
“Let’s go in the back,” Dennis said. “Money is not a problem.”
“First, a couple of rules,” Stefani countered. “I just need to make sure you and I are on the same page. I
don’t…”
“Whatever, just get your butt up, and let’s get going. I will make sure my hands stay by my side at all times.
This is your show, let’s just get moving. Now!”
All he really wanted to do was get her alone. He had to tell her she was in danger. This girl had no idea who
she was or what was really happening. He tried to recall her file and remembered she was 21 – so young and so
inexperienced. He was pretty sure he’d done things in his lifetime that might shock her. God, it made him a
little nauseated to even think about some of his past activities. How far would a good person sink in order to
fight for a greater cause?
“Crap,” he muttered to himself. “It’s too late.”
With that, he grabbed Stefani by her hair with his right hand, jerking her head straight down and kicking the
chair out from underneath her at the same time. She fell hard, hitting the solid floor with her elbow first. A
tingling sensation of pain shot up her arm, and she screamed, “What the heck…”
Then, there was chaos.
Dennis spotted three of them. There were two by the bar, which ironically served no liquor, and the third
one had already pulled out a 9MM Berretta and clipped off two rounds. Both shots barely missed Stefani.
One of the bullets found a home in the guy sitting at the next table, and the other one ricocheted off the
brass stage railing and hit the spinning glass globe overhead. It shattered, spraying shards in all directions.
The activity took less than a few seconds, and everyone was screaming, running in all directions at once.
Dennis still held Stefani’s hair, balled up in his right hand. He lifted her head and said, “Is there a back way
out? We’ve got to move, now!”
She raised the index finger on her right hand and pointed. Dennis lifted her with his arm, shoving her
forward, knocking two women out of the way as he did. He had so badly wanted to get out of here without an
incident. He knew with every passing second the situation grew more and more dire.
How tired could he have possibly been? It had taken Stefani sitting down, right next to him, before he even
noticed her. And, there had been three Roguls sitting in the same bar. Was he really this pathetic? As they
pushed their way to the back door, the table in front of them crashed into pieces as one of the men jumped clear
across the room, stopping them in their path.
“Dennis, you’re slowing down, old man.”
He seemed to growl as he grabbed Dennis’ neck, flipping him into the wall. Ironically, Dennis landed next to
the door that could lead to their possible escape.