Killjoy

"Can't you see I'm busy here, Ke

"Don't know why you didn't think about doin' that earlier. Had to wait till the last minute, didn't you?"

John Paul went back to the entrance and was on the porch by the time Ke

Avery slipped around the corner of the building and ran to stand next to him. He pushed her behind him. He was being protective, and she didn't mind. She was so worried that they might not be in the right place, she couldn't think about anything else.

"Can't you read the sign? We're closed," the man said.

Avery stepped to John Paul's side. "It's an emergency," she blurted.

"Then you got to buy something first."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You got to buy something, and after you pay, I'll let you use the facilities."

Ke

"Did you hear me?" he asked when she didn't respond. "I ain't go

He changed his mind when John Paul stepped forward. If Ke

Up close, Ke

Planting his big hands on the counter, he leaned toward Avery and smiled. One of his eyeteeth had a gold cap that gleamed in the sunlight streaming in through the dirty window. "All right, little lady. I'll tell you what I'm go

She shook her head. "My name's Avery Delaney, and this is John Paul Renard. Has anyone come in here asking for us?"

"No," he answered, a little too quickly. He was lying. All the telltale signs were there. He couldn't look her in the eye, and he was becoming more and more agitated by the second. Hostile too.

He kept glancing up at John Paul as he shifted his weight from foot to foot.

The door crashed into the wall when it was thrown open. Avery and Ke

Three of the four boys sauntered in and staggered to a stop when they spotted Avery. She could hear the fourth boy. He was leaning over the porch railing throwing up.

"Hi there," one of them called out. Another tried to whistle, but he couldn't get his lips to work. Spit sprayed out of his mouth instead.

Two of the boys were obviously brothers, for they looked alike and sported identical eagle tattoos on their forearms. The oldest-looking one of the group had a scraggly goatee and a pierced eyebrow with a silver ring.

"The store's closed," Ke

"No, it ain't," Goatee said. "You let them in," he added, pointing to Avery and John Paul. "We only want some beer."

"Yeah, beer," one of the brothers parroted.

They staggered toward the cooler against the back wall. One of them tripped into a display of cans and sent them careening everywhere. Goatee thought that was hilarious.

Ke

A brother snickered while Goatee gave Ke

"Get the hell out of my store," Ke

"What about phone calls?" she asked, sounding as desperate as she was feeling. "Have you gotten any calls for me?"

"No."

One of the brothers was standing about three feet away from Avery and was fixated on her as he swayed on his feet. His stare was u

"Stop staring at me."

He gri

John Paul was about to pull Avery into his side, but she was already moving. She lashed out at the drunk with a kick that was quick and effortless. Her foot struck him square in the stomach and sent him flying into the wall. He hit with a loud thud, slid down, and landed on his butt.

She pointed a finger at him. "You stay there."

And still the stupid grin remained on the drunk's face. He was too far gone to feel any pain.

She turned her attention to Ke

other brother coming around the corner. Each of them had two six-packs of beer and a bag of ice. She didn't mince words.

"Over there, both of you. Sit down next to your friend and be quiet until I'm finished."

Goatee shook his head. "You can't tell me what to do, sweet cakes."

"We don't have a phone," Ke

"Sure you do," John Paul asserted as he stepped toward Ke

"What happened, Mark?" the other brother asked.

Goatee strode forward, thinking he could elbow his way between Avery and John Paul.

"My turn," John Paul drawled a scant second before he sent Goatee sailing headfirst into the wall. He dropped the beer and

the ice on top of Mark, then fell down next to him.

They didn't have to tell the third drunk to join his friends. He staggered over, put the beer down, and sat. Leaning back, he

opened one can and took a long swallow.

Ke

we do, but it ain't workin'. Line's down and it takes weeks and weeks to get a repairman to come all this way. In case you

haven't noticed, we're sittin' out in the middle of nowhere." He was talking so fast the words were tripping over each other.

Ke

He looked down and too late realized he never should have taken his eyes off John Paul. He heard a click and jerked up to

find the barrel of John Paul's gun pointed at his forehead.

"Now hold on. No need for that," Ke

"John Paul, we need this man's cooperation," Avery said.

"And this is how we get it," he replied. "Ke

She walked around the counter and immediately spotted the Magnum on the shelf underneath. She slowly picked it up and then checked it. The weapon was loaded and ready. She engaged the safety, noticed a box of cartridges, and grabbed that too. She put both in a plastic sack with a picture of a squirrel on it.

"What are you doing with a Magnum? Do you have a permit?" she asked Ke

"That's none of your damn, nosy business."

The good-old-boy facade was gone now. True colors were finally spewing out. Ke

"I can refuse service to anybody I want to, and if I want to keep a loaded gun on the premises, then that's what I'm go

Can I turn around now? I'm getting a crick in my neck. You can use the phone. I was just… worried you was go