“Colette,” she said. “Did you come for a drink?”
“No, you little bitch. You know why I’m here.”
No,” she responded. “You’ll need to enlighten me.”
Lilly palmed the small paring knife that she’d been using to slice limes earlier and slid it into her apron. She walked around the bar, grabbed the rag, and moved toward a table, desperately trying to keep her calm.
“Over the past couple of days, I’ve learned a few things,” she said, glancing around the bar in disgust.
“Oh?”
“Stefano broke up with me, you know,” Colette remarked.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Lilly lied smoothly.
“One of the things I learned,” Colette continued, ignoring Lilly’s fake sympathy entirely, “is that Stefano has an odd sense of compassion where humans are concerned. He got very angry at me about dinner the other night.”
“I’m not sure what you expect me to say,” Lilly admitted, eyeing the door.
“Another odd thing about Stefano is that he’s exceedingly trusting. The other night he used my computer to sign in to his e-mails. Didn’t log himself off. When he broke it off, I admit I thought maybe he was seeing someone else.”
“And?” Lilly asked, her heart pounding in her chest so loud that it could no doubt be heard.
“I checked his e-mail. That’s when I realized that you and I have a history. Don’t we, Lilly Ferguson?”
Bluffing desperately, she asked, “We do?”
Colette rolled her eyes and said, “I know who you are, and I know you know who I am. Don’t play dumb. It’s actually a little impressive that my voice has haunted your dreams, don’t you think?”
Lilly ran. She tried to make it to the door, but Colette moved too quickly. She just slapped a hand against the door and asked, “Where do you think you’re going?”
Her voice shaky, Lilly said, “I need you to leave. Now. You’re not welcome here.”
“Why?” Colette asked with a smug little grin. “Because I drained your family dry?”
Revolted, Lilly said, “For starters.”
Colette leaned against the door, blocking Lilly’s only chance for escape. The manager’s office didn’t even have a door. Christ. Talan and his open-door policy. She prayed Daniel had gotten the message.
“You know,” Colette said almost conversationally. “Of your entire family, the one I enjoyed killing the most was the child. He wiggled and cried the whole time. He screamed for your mother. Though I imagine she was already incapacitated by that time.”
The look in her eye turned predatory as she stepped away from the front door. She looked Lilly dead in the eyes when she uttered her next words. “I really enjoyed the little squeal he made. He kept crying until I drank almost every drop of his blood. The young ones are the best. You can taste the fear.”
“You bitch,” Lilly screamed as she grabbed the closest chair and threw it at her. “That was my fucking brother. You killed my entire family. Isn’t that enough for you?”
A sadistic smile slid onto Colette’s face as she knocked it away with a swat of her hand. She said, “I missed one. Don’t worry. I’ll fix my mistake.”
Adrenaline pumped through her veins now. She knew she was no match for her strength or speed, but Lilly refused to let her win. She would fight with everything she had.
Lilly picked up another chair and tossed it at her. When Colette shoved it away and laughed, Lilly cursed herself. Why had she cleaned off the tables? There were no beer bottles or buckets. Nothing she could throw. She needed to either make it to the door or she had to use the knife.
Before Lilly could make a full step, Colette grabbed her by the throat.
“I don’t normally play with my food,” Colette said through clenched teeth, dangling her in the air. “For you I’ll make an exception.”
Lilly gasped for breath as Colette tightened her hand around her neck. Before it even fully registered, she sent her sailing through the air with considerable force. Lilly braced herself for the impact she knew was coming. With a sickening crunch she hit the back wall of the bar and then slid down to the floor.
Sharp, intense pain radiated throughout her entire body as she gasped, trying to catch her breath. She slumped over, groaning in pain, desperately trying to dig the knife out of her apron pocket.