Intimate Knowledge Read Free

“Let’s not get the party started too early.”
    Jennifer struggled to breathe, her airways closed off by the man’s large fist. She shuddered, her head spun and for a moment she wondered if she was about to die. The room whirled around her, her vision narrowing until all she could see was Ginger’s face, the wiry, crooked hairs of his beard and the large pores of his skin.
    “Don’t kill her yet, you eager fuck,” came a deep voice, seemingly from far, far away.
    Her assailant loosened his grip around her neck, but didn’t release her.
    Jennifer’s eyes fluttered shut. She choked, coughed. The action rattled her chest. Her body craved oxygen.
    Focused solely on getting air into her lungs, Jennifer missed what Ginger said in reply. She forced her eyes open and struggled to look upon the second man who had entered the room. He wasn’t as tall as Ginger and nowhere near as brawny, but still sleekly muscled in the manner of a man who works out religiously. Blond hair cut close to his scalp, he could have passed for an army man.
    He wore thick leather gloves and held a sheaf of papers. A gun was lodged into the waistband of his jeans near his hip. His eyes were the coldest she had ever seen. Jennifer knew without the least doubt this man was a killer.
    Remorseless.
    Merciless.
    She had to get out of here. Right now. Helplessness beat at her, but she forced herself to pay attention. She’d only get one chance to escape and it needed to be soon, but for that she’d have to concentrate.
    “…I haven’t found it yet but I still need a few minutes,” the killer told Ginger. “Keep her occupied. Ask her some questions. That’s why they hired you after all. Just be ready to move in a few minutes, we have no idea who else she might have spoken to.”
    Jennifer had no clue what he meant, or referred to. They obviously thought she had…something…and she doubted it was the new hardback book she’d bought the other day or her mother’s pearls. It was almost as if she’d entered her home and had stepped into some other universe. Was everyone absolutely crazy?
    The second man turned and strode off in the direction of her bedroom and bathroom. Jennifer huffed out a hysterical bubble of laughter. So much for a relaxing soak in the tub.
    Ginger grinned—an extremely unpleasant sight—and roamed his hands over her body, attempting to remove her satchel and coat.
    Her heart sped up again. The thought of having this man remove even her outer layers was enough to instil fierce panic in her. She knew she didn’t have a hope against two of them, but one on one and with the element of surprise, she at least had a fighting chance. She tried to push him away, struggling as they grappled together.
    Ginger grunted and appeared to enjoy the byplay. His breathing quickened. A light flush of arousal stained his cheeks.
    While he was occupied Jennifer decided it was time to go for broke. She took a hasty breath and before he could react she screamed, “Help!”
    Ginger snapped his head up, his eyes blazing.
    Next door, her neighbour’s large dog, Max, began to bark. It was a deep, ferocious sound and captured Ginger’s attention. With the thin walls and the volume of Max’s barks it was impossible for Ginger to know where, exactly, the dog was.
    Jennifer seized the few precious seconds of confusion. She reached down towards the small table she kept at the entryway. It held a small lamp and the bowl she’d drop her keys in each night. She grabbed the lamp and swung it hard against Ginger’s head.
    She’d hoped the blow would knock Ginger out, but she wasn’t that lucky. His hands froze, his eyes wide and blinking as he tried to gather himself. She used that moment of stunned amazement to whirl around, jerk open her door and flee as if the hounds of hell were at her feet.
     There were no shouts, and no gunshots. It was strange. She expected fireworks, the boom of cannon fire or at the least a raucous barrage of yelling and an