Love and Gravity Read Online Free Page A

about you. But I dropped a bottle and
it broke outside their door. I’m sure they heard it, I’m sure they knew it was
me. Pop said the girls had some information on him, that they were blackmailing
him, and that he can’t afford for anyone to know that he had them killed, or
for anyone to find out the information they had. Something about the Lacey
fight being rigged and that he was afraid that someone named Grandino would
send his people after him if they knew.”         
    “Jesus. Did they say what girl
they are going to kill next?”
    “No, Pop just told Lenny to get it
right this time, as though he tried and failed before. Look Detective...”
    “Please, just call me Jack.”
    “Jack. I have nowhere to go. I
live above the bar, so I can’t even get a change of clothes. I’m really afraid.
    “Well, first thing’s first,” said
Jack. “We need to go find Lola. She’s a pro that got attacked last week. I saw
the marks on her neck. She wouldn’t talk about it, but they were the same marks
on the dead victims. She must be their target. I know a flop where she stays
with some of the other girls when they aren’t working.
    “As for you, I want to ask if
you’d be willing to testify to what you heard. I’ve been gathering evidence
against Pop for a long time. Practically every cop at the station is in his
pocket, but I have a buddy from the service, Frank, who works for the Feds. I
want to turn all my information over to him and let the Feds prosecute Pop. If
I can connect him to these murders, they can put him away for good. And if you
can testify against him they’ll protect you, probably put you in witness
protection. That’s a chance at a whole new life Margot. It’s the best thing I
can offer you.”
    Margot sat thoughtfully in the
booth across from Jack. Witness protection. A whole new chance at life. They
would expunge her record; maybe even get her a good job. She could get out of
Gravity and never look back. She’d been looking for a chance at freedom for a
long time, but witness protection wasn’t exactly the kind of freedom she
wanted. It seemed like it could just be a prettier cage.
    Then Margot heard a popping sound
before something hit the large glass window beside them. She felt Jack’s hand
on her arm pushing her down into the booth just as she heard the sounds of two
bullets being fired from the dark street in front of the cafe.
    “Stay down! Get on the ground,”
Jack whispered violently at her and, scared, she grabbed her purse from the
table. She slid off the plastic seat of the booth onto her hands and knees on
the short carpet. She was shaking madly. Jack was on the carpet across from
her. He had a gun in his hand that Margot hadn’t even seen him draw. He was
looking towards the front door.
    “We need to go through the kitchen
and out the back. Come on, quickly and keep low.”
     Jack began crawling towards the
kitchen door behind the long bar counter. Margot followed him and saw their
waitress cowering behind the counter with her head in her hands.
    “Lady, don’t worry. They’re not
after you. Just stay down,” Jack said to her.
    The waitress raised her head and
looked at him through terrified eyes. She nodded, but said nothing. Jack and
Margot crawled ahead through the swinging aluminum kitchen doors. Once the
doors had swung shut behind them Jack pulled Margot to a standing, crouched
position.
    “Alright, we’re going to take a
different car and get out of here. They must have seen mine outside the cafe
and found us that way. Stay here for a minute. I’m going to run out and unlock
a car, then I’m going to wave you over and you need to run towards me and get
in as fast as you can. Okay?”
    “Okay.” Margot looked at Jack. He
seemed hurried but collected. He looked unafraid, and very determined. She felt
small next to him.
    Jack opened the back door that led
outside. There was a row of parked cars on the side of the street. Margot
watched as Jack ran