Leslie Cowan sat confidently at the metal table. She’d interviewed hundreds of people and had a bit of a smug attitude about the upcoming interview.
She’d caught wind of this story through a friend of a friend and thought it would go great with Rolling Stone’s expose on celebrity bikers. She’d spent most of the last couple of months interviewing the other main character in this story, and she had exactly one hour to wrap it up with the sole person who would not be around to answer any questions in the coming weeks.
Jason Talbot was to be executed in a matter of weeks. She wasn’t going to put much credence in what he had to say. She felt she’d gotten the meat of her story already. She was really here out of sheer curiosity.
She’d heard of his brutality, but she was not the type to be intimidated by anyone. She’d interviewed street gang members, drug dealers, rapists, murderers. The worst society had to offer. This would be a piece of cake.
She wanted to ask him about his relationship with Ginny Lemon, now Ginny Dillon. It would be interesting to ask the man, who was so cruel to others, why he’d had such tender feelings for a fifteen-year-old girl? Why didn’t he kill her? Why did he keep her with him as long as possible? Why would he go to the lethal injection table for her?
She was pretty sure Ginny had exaggerated his feelings toward her. Leslie wanted to find out what he really thought. She would be able to get the truth out of him. She was a top-of-the-line investigative reporter. She could wrap the worst interviewee around her little finger. She’d done it before, and she’d do it again.
A man who was facing death in a couple of weeks would be so vulnerable. He would be putty in her hands and spilling his guts in a matter of minutes.
She looked up when she heard the door open. A guard came in, followed by a man of incredible size. She’d seen pictures and knew he was big. But she didn’t expect him to be this big.
Behind him was another guard. The prisoner, wearing an orange prison-issue jumpsuit, was handcuffed and shackled around the waist. He took small steps, and she could hear the shackles around his ankles clanking. Her gaze wandered up until she met his eyes.
The mesmerizing, green eyes Ginny had mentioned more than once. She had only seen pictures that didn’t do them justice. She thought that, too, had been exaggerated. She was wrong.
Without taking his eyes from hers, he slid into the seat across from her as the guard unshackled his handcuffs from the chain around his waist and re-shackled them to a steel bar on the table.
She looked away then and said to the guard, “Thanks, I can take it from here.”
The guard refused, told her under no circumstances was anyone ever to be left alone in a room with Jason Talbot.
“But he’s shackled,” she replied with dismay.
“Doesn’t matter. You got a problem with that, you leave. We’re staying here with you.”
The taller guard locked the door behind them, and they both leaned up against opposite walls.
She started to argue, but it was no use; the guards calmly and firmly expressed the rule one more time.
“This is for your own safety regardless of the shackles,” the shorter guard said.
She huffed like he was being ridiculous, and the guard said, “Then consider this interview over.”
He started to unshackle the prisoner but she stopped him. “Fine. Stay. Whatever.”
She looked back at Jason then, and a chill ran down her spine. She had never been the focus of such a penetrating look. His eyes were cold, and she was trying not to tremble.
“Thank you for agreeing to see me, Jason,” she began. “You know I’ve been interviewing Ginny the last few months. Seems you two have an interesting past. I was hoping you could tell me more about your relationship with her.”
“I’m sure Kit told you everything. I don’t have anything to add.”
She was starting to feel something she had never felt before in an interview. She was getting a little giddy. There was something about his power and intensity that was extremely attractive, and she was losing her focus. She felt silly that he could make her feel this way. He exuded raw sexuality like no one she’d ever met.
She tried to imagine being only fifteen and having to deal with him. It’s a miracle Ginny survived.
“Well, why don’t you tell me something then that Ginny didn’t know. Surprise me.”
“Oh, I’d like to surprise you, darling.”
A shiver ran down her spine. Could she actually be enjoying herself flirting with this murderer?
She pasted on her coyest smile and kept asking questions. He replied with one-syllable answers. These were questions she already knew the answers to, thanks to Ginny. So Ginny had been telling her the truth. Well, well.
“Jason, this is all pretty standard stuff that I already know. Can’t you give me something else here? Something to shock my readers?”
He stared at her for a minute. “I’ve answered every question. What exactly do you want to know?”
She swallowed back her aggravation. “For one thing, I cannot believe that in all that time you spent with Ginny, there isn’t one secret that you kept to yourself. Something she never knew. Doesn’t know, to this day. I know the real-name secret already. That obviously had to come out.” She leaned in provocatively. “What else is there?”
“There’s nothing. Why would I keep a secret from Kit?”
“Um, because she kept a secret from you?” This was the moment she’d been waiting for. She’d been baiting him along this whole time to lead up to this.” God, I’m good.
This got the rise out of him she was hoping for. He was such an egomaniac. There was no way he could fathom Ginny keeping something hidden from him.
In a split second, the doubt in his eyes was gone, replaced by his natural arrogance.
He gestured with his hands, motioned for her to bring it on. They were shackled to the table, but he still had some leeway.
“Let’s hear it, then, reporter lady. What’s this supposed secret that Kit kept from me?”
“If I tell you, then you’ll tell me something? Something you never told Ginny. You promise?”
“Yeah, sure. Let’s hear it first.”
“Okay. How about that Ginny lost her virginity to Grunt?”
He laughed out loud then. “Stupid bitch. I knew that. I’m the one who told him to do it!”
“You’re not listening to me, Jason. Ginny lost her virginity to Grunt. Not that disgusting billy-club you told him to use.”
She knew she was wrong to tell him. But, as she quickly reminded herself, she’d promised Ginny it wouldn’t be in the article. She’d never promised Ginny she wouldn’t tell Jason.
Leslie knew she’d surprised him. She knew instantly this was one thing he definitely never found out. Well, screw him. Stupid idiot. Let him chew on that for a minute.
With the look of someone who’d just devoured her victim, she leaned toward him and, in her haughtiest tone of voice, purred, “So, now, you owe me—”
Faster than lightning and before the guards could intervene, Grizz used both feet to kick Leslie’s chair out from under her. This quick action and the fact that she was already leaning toward him caused her to fall face forward and within his reach. He was able to grab her head and smash her face into the metal post that was keeping his hands fastened to the table. There was the sickening sound of teeth breaking as blood spurted everywhere.
The guards got to them as quickly as they could. One pulled Leslie out of his grasp as the other started beating him down with a stick. He never flinched. He just laughed.
“You motherfucker!” she screamed.
She was bleeding profusely from cuts on her forehead, nose and mouth. It was hard for her to talk. She was definitely hurt, but she hadn’t started to cry. She was in shock.
The guard got her on her feet and started half-walking, half-carrying her toward the door.
As she was leaving, she heard Grizz call out, “You wanna know something? I’ll tell you something. Come back and see me.”