Bad to the Bone

Bad to the Bone Read Free

Book: Bad to the Bone Read Free
Author: Stephen Solomita
Ads: Link
part of overcoming the carelessness that had characterized her life before she’d met Davis Craddock), and she resolved to fix it as soon as she got back to Hanover House. In the meantime, she removed the small bulb, carefully wrapping her fingers in Kleenex tissue before sliding the bulb from its socket. Then she took the syringe, still warm in its black plastic wrapper, and moved to the back of the van.
    In some ways, the rush of anticipation was better than the rush of the drug that Davis Craddock called PURE. There was a fear, like a memory, that always managed to push its way into Flo Alamare’s consciousness before she injected herself. It whispered of what might follow in a few hours if…The fear didn’t vanish when she took the full syringe into her hand, but the certainty of relief transformed it into a physical tingling, into what could only be called arousal. Flo felt it in her breasts and her groin as she wrapped her arm with a piece of rubber tubing.
    Alternately closing and opening her fingers, pumping the veins up, she examined herself closely. Her arms had remained practically smooth, as Craddock assured her they would. Hanoverian Therapists always used clean syringes and unadulterated drugs, carefully moving the site of their injections before veins were damaged. The end result was entirely predictable—whereas street junkies suffered every kind of infection, from a simple abscess to full-blown AIDS, Hanoverians radiated health.
    The 25-gauge needle slid easily into the vein running along the outside of Flo Alamare’s wrist. With a small sigh, she pulled back on the syringe, drawing a single drop of blood into Davis Craddock’s PURE, then pushed down on the plunger. She felt the expected rush of pleasure for a second, but then her universe turned upside down. The ecstasy became a sharp pain which began to burn, hotter and hotter, as it ran through her body. She felt it surge up through her spine and instinctively tried to close her brain off, to confine the agony to her body, to keep her mind alive.

TWO
    J IM TILLEY WAS LATE for the celebration, but neither Jim’s wife, Rose, nor their guests, Stanley Moodrow and Betty Haluka, were waiting to begin the party. Jim Tilley was a New York City cop. His time belonged to the NYPD and the two friends sitting comfortably in Rose and Jim’s living room were well aware of it.
    “It’s cop macho,” Moodrow explained to Rose and Betty. “Sleeping in the station house. Drinking fifteen cups of coffee a day. Wearing the same clothes. Detectives brag about it in the bars. Even if you know it’s a lotta crap, you still have to do it. Backing away from a hot investigation is like backing away from a suspect on the street.”
    “Actually, there isn’t any hot investigation,” Rose said. “Jim was only supposed to go in for a few hours to prepare some evidence for trial. They’ve got him doing paperwork.”
    They went on this way for a long time (well into their second drink) before Jim Tilley made a weary appearance. He managed to greet his stepchildren, Lee and Jeanette, as he came down the hallway into the living room, but then sank into a chair and began to rub at reddened eyes with both fists. Rose, who would have liked a hug, settled for a quick peck on the cheek before heading into the kitchen to give a bowl of Irish stew the three-minute, microwave special. Moodrow had called for the impromptu party (the friends were close enough to call and enjoy spur of the moment parties), but he knew that Tilley would have to unburden himself before the celebration could proceed. He settled back in his chair and took a healthy pull at a glass of Wild Turkey bourbon. Maybe Tilley’s story would be a good one.
    “Rose told us you were only going in for a short time,” Betty said. “If we’d have known you were going to work twelve straight hours, we’d have had our celebration tomorrow night. There’s really not that much to making a firm decision not to live

Similar Books

The Singer's Crown

Elaine Isaak

After the War Is Over

Jennifer Robson

Becoming Sir

Ella Dominguez

Crush Depth

Joe Buff

Blue Stew (Second Edition)

Nathaniel Woodland

House of Shards

Walter Jon Williams