Chapter 19:
"Shit, these ones have guns on them," Katrina said as she and Bo scoped out the four young men.
Leaning back on his heels, Bo nodded. "We'll have to be careful, then." He stood up, dusting off his jeans. "I'll go back and get things ready. Try and stall them, if you can."
She pouted. "But what if they try to hurt lil' ol' me?"
He laughed at her. "Then I'd feel pretty fucking sorry for them. Not only would they have to deal with your skinny ass, but they'd have to deal with three men who love you."
Katrina's eyebrow rose. "Three men who love me, eh?"
"After those pancakes, darlin', I should bow down and worship you."
She stood up and crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently.
"What?" Bo asked.
"I'm waiting for the bowing and the worshiping."
"Shut the hell up," he chuckled, pushing her towards the road. "Get out there and do what you're told."
Sticking her tongue out at him, Katrina turned around and sauntered towards the road. She ran stealthily up a path just behind the trees so she could get ahead of the four men and then composed herself. Plastering a sexy smile on her face, Katrina walked out into the road, pretending to be surprised.
The four men stared at her appreciatively. "Hey there, what's up?" one of them said, a tall boy almost out of his teenage years with dark hair and eyes.
Katrina looked up. "I'd have to say the sky's up right now," she said with a smile, then glanced down at the guy's crotch. "Unless you've got somethin' else that's up?"
The boy smirked. "Not unless you want it to be up, babe."
As the other boys snickered, Katrina licked her lips. "So who are you guys anyway, and what are you doing out here?"
The tall boy made a face. "Our car broke down. We need a tow truck. I'm Spooky, by the way." He held out his hand.
Katrina's eyebrow rose. "Spooky, eh? What's so spooky about you?"
"He's a scary guy," one of the others laughed. "I'm Bullet." The boy shook Katrina's hand before removing the blue bandanna from his bald head. He wiped the sweat from his face and smiled at her. "This is Killer . . ." he pointed towards the shortest guy in the group who had pimples all over his face, ". . . and this is Grumpy." He nudged a tall young man with black hair and grey-green eyes.
Katrina laughed. "Let me guess, he's a grumpy guy."
Everyone except Grumpy laughed along with her. "Ever heard of South Side Crazies? The gangsta' gangsta's from south of the Lou?" Killer asked.
"I can honestly say no, I've not," Katrina said, smiling and walking down the road, trying her hardest not to make fun of the young man.
"So what is your name?" Bullet asked.
"Katrina."
"Do you live out here? Like in that wax museum town?" Spooky asked. "There's a mechanic there, right?"
She nodded. "Yes. I live in Ambrose. Trudy's House of Wax is our claim to fame. And yes, there's a mechanic there. His name's Bo. He's really good."
"Fuck yeah," Bullet said, giving Spooky a shove. "See, your car will be just fine."
"So do you have a boyfriend?" Spooky asked, jogging to keep up with Katrina.
She shrugged. "Why do you want to know?"
"Because you're fucking hot," he said, leaning closer to her.
She smirked. "I hear that a lot. But sorry." She pointed to the boyfriend necklace.
Spooky sighed, but said nothing else.
By this time, they were coming up on the washed out strip of road that was right around the bend from Ambrose. Katrina hurried along, the guys behind her, until they came into Ambrose. She turned to the boys and smiled. "See that gas station right there?" she asked, pointing.
Spooky nodded. "Yes."
"That's Bo's place. He'll help you out."
"Aren't you coming with us?" Bullet asked.
She smiled at him. "Do you want me to?"
He and Spooky nodded. Katrina shrugged. "All right," she said. "I'll go."
They followed her to the gas station, which stood empty.
"There's no one here," Spooky told her.
"I'll go find Bo, he's probably up at the house. You guys just wait here," she said.
Killer and Bullet leaned up against the building, taking out cigarettes and lighting them up. Spooky spit on the ground and began pacing. Grumpy stared at her as she walked off, a menacing look in his eyes.
She hadn't gone far when she heard footsteps behind her. Turning, she saw Grumpy standing a few paces away. "What?" Katrina asked.
His lip curled. "I know you're a hillbilly and all that shit, but I just thought I'd let you know that where I'm from, it's not fucking cool to talk shit about someone's name."
Katrina's eyebrow rose sharply. "Really. So your mom named you Grumpy? I'm sorry. She must really have not liked you."
Grumpy's eyes narrowed. "Where I'm from, bitches know their fucking place. Guess I'll have to teach you yours."
She began to laugh, watching as his face grew angrier. "I'd like to see you try, you stupid fuck."
He reached into his baggy blue jeans, pulling out a small handgun. "All right, I will. Get your fucking bitch ass on your knees. You're going to give me a blowjob or I'm going to blow your fucking brains out."