Pale Carnations -ch. 4 Update 4- -mutt Jeff- ... -

“Mutt,” I said, sliding the door shut. The latch clicked with a finality that made his shoulders twitch.

“Both.”

I left the card on the table.

He tilted his head, and a grin cracked his face like dry earth. “You here to threaten me, or to ask me how I train ‘em for that round?” Pale Carnations -Ch. 4 Update 4- -Mutt Jeff- ...

I didn’t take the bait. I pulled the folded photograph from my inside pocket and laid it face-up on the table between us. A girl. Pale hair, dark roots showing. A gaze that wasn’t pleading, but calculating. She’d been a runner, once. Before Jeff got his hooks in. “Mutt,” I said, sliding the door shut

He laughed—a wet, phlegmy sound—and leaned back. The chair groaned under his weight. “Fourth round ain’t about pain, pup. It’s about want . You strip a girl down to her last nerve, and then you offer her a glass of water. That’s the game. The audience doesn’t pay to see her cry. They pay to see her choose to crawl.” He tilted his head, and a grin cracked

“Go on,” he said. “Let’s see if you’ve got your father’s luck.”