A kiss to tell ( jenlisa ) (GIP)

Part 26

L

I can't stop staring at the note on the counter. It's only a Post-it with the words, "Leaving for the weekend – Lisa" written on the yellow square. Eddie will get it on Monday, or maybe this weekend if anyone comes in. The shop is supposed to be empty, with most of the guys going down to the docks for Romano this weekend. There's a large order of coke coming in. And the butcher shop isn't needed for that.

I'll leave a note and I'll ghost. He can try to find me all he wants, but I'm done with Romano and this place. Just as the thought hits me, I hear the bells chime at the front door and a chill seeps into my veins.

"Eddie," I greet him with a grin, hiding the fact that I didn't want anyone to know I was leaving until I was gone. I didn't want anyone to ask questions. "What are you doing here?" I ask and casually lean against the counter. The spool of butcher's cord is right below me. All of us who work in the shop are familiar with it; we use it to secure packages and orders.

I don't reach for it yet, but with the pounding of my blood, I know it's going to end like this. The desire to get it over with forces a numbness through my fingers and I shake it off, smiling as he answers me.

"What am I doing? How about, what the fuck are you doing here?" He shoots me a twisted grin as if he's being friendly, but the look in his eyes is filled with the psychotic glee he's known for. "I heard Romano wants to talk to you," he adds as he walks to the counter, the sound of his boots slapping against the floor in time with the pounding of my heart. He tosses the keys to the shop down on the counter and leans closer to me just as I reach for the cord.

I wind it over my fingers under the counter. The dumb fuck is so hellbent on letting me know my days are numbered in the darkened butcher shop that he doesn't realize his own imminent demise is only a moment away.

"Seems he thinks you have something to do with those assholes coming up dead," he tells me, eyeing me and then glancing out the window as the headlights of a passing car shine through the glass.

Dread rips through me, thinking it's someone else and I won't have time to finish Eddie off, but it's not. The lights flash and keep on going, heading down to the mechanic shop behind us.

"Why would he think that?" I ask him, wrapping the rope around once more and then starting on the other hand. I leave less than a foot of cord between the two. Enough to get the thin rope over his head, but not so much that it'll be too loose when I choke him out.

"Someone said Marcus came looking for information and was directed to you."

My lungs halt and a harsh thud slams in my chest. I ask him quietly, knowing the smirk on my face is dimming and finding it hard to swallow, "And who would that be?"

"Yours truly," he gives me the answer with his grin widening. "It was kind of a test," he tells me as I take in a single deep breath and grip the rope tightly with both hands, my thumbs running along the rough bundles that are fastened around both my hands. "And you failed, Lisa." For the first time, his smile fades and he shrugs. "I'm sure there's a reason though," he says, feigning sympathy.

I nod once, making it look like I'm full of regret. And I am. I regret not killing this fucker sooner.

In one swift moment, my arms are up and around his head. He tries to turn and get out of my reach, but all that does is spin him around, so his back is to my chest as I get the rope right where I want it.

His feet come back first, trying to kick me as his hands reach up and try to grab the rope before it tightens. He gets the tip of two fingers in the loop, but I don't give a fuck. I'm squeezing so tight I can't breathe, I can't move. My muscles are on fire and my teeth grind together as I grunt out the pain. His large body slams into me, shoving me against the back wall. I grit my teeth as his boots squeak against the floor as he throws his head back into my shoulder.