Deadly Embrace

luscious lips. ‘Sorry, sorry, sorry!’ she exclaimed, grabbing Madison in a bear hug. ‘Gettin’ out of the studio was a total nightmare. Wow!’ she added, flopping into a chair. ‘I need a drink.’
‘Me, too,’ Madison agreed, signalling to a waiter.
He came over. He was slight of build and very Italian-looking, with shaggy black hair and an appealing accent.
‘Wine,’ Natalie said. ‘I’m desperate.’
‘Red or white, Signora?’
‘House red for everyone.’
‘Good idea,’ Madison said.
The waiter hurried off.
‘Hmmm…’ Natalie said, to his retreating back. ‘Nice booty.’
‘Yeah, I noticed that,’ Cole said. ‘Wonder what team he plays on.’
‘Mine!’ claimed Natalie. ‘I can always tell.’
‘I wouldn’t be too sure,’ Cole said, grinning.
‘You two!’ Madison exclaimed. ‘Nobody’s safe around either of you.’
‘That’s not true,’ Natalie objected. ‘Old people, and anyone under fifteen.’
‘Shocking!’ Madison scolded.
‘No, merely honest,’ Natalie said.
Suddenly their attention was taken by a huge commotion at the front desk.
‘What the hell is goin’ on?’ Natalie said, peering over.
‘Dunno,’ Cole replied.
And then the unthinkable happened. Three men burst into the centre of the restaurant brandishing guns. ‘Dontcha move, assholes, or I’ll blow your mothafuckin’ heads off.’ The chilling words, yelled by a ski-masked male holding an Uzi machine-gun, immediately silenced the busy restaurant.
Madison stared at them in disbelief. It had been a tough week, and now this. No way, this couldn’t possibly be happening.
But it was: Mario’s was under siege and they were right in the middle of it as the three armed bandits, dressed all in black with face- and head-covering knitted ski masks, commandeered the room, blocking the exit and the entrance to the kitchen.
‘Jesus Christ!’ Cole muttered, while Natalie sat perfectly still, frozen with fear.
Madison knew why. Ten years ago when they were college roommates, Natalie had experienced a traumatic gang rape. She’d got over it and gone on to succeed in her profession as a celebrity interviewer–but this random hold-up had put her into shock.
‘Stay cool, both of you,’ Cole warned. He was ready to deal with anything, although even he knew it wasn’t smart to argue with a gun.
Automatically Madison leaned over to comfort Natalie, murmuring, ‘I don’t believe this,’ as she pushed back her long dark hair, her green eyes darting round the room, her journalist’s mind taking in every detail.
‘You’d better believe it,’ Cole said in a low voice. ‘This is L.A. Shit happens.’
‘Shut the fuck up!’ yelled the leader, the one with the Uzi. He was nervous and jumpy, moving round on the balls of his sneaker-clad feet like a stoned runner at the end of a particularly invigorating race. Madison noticed his eyes staring at them through the slits in his mask. They were angry eyes filled with undisguised hate. She reckoned he was young, probably still in his teens.
Young, agitated and pissed-off at the world. Just what they needed.
‘Empty your fuckin’ purses, take off your jewellery, an’ do it now!’ he screamed.
A second bandit, armed with a handgun and a crumpled black garbage bag, began running from table to table collecting money, wallets, watches, rings, cellphones, anything of value, while the third masked man herded the kitchen staff into the centre of the room.
Madison willed herself to remain calm, but her heart was already pounding. She had no desire to be a victim, she was in the mood to do something, anything–not just sit there and hand over her stuff like an obedient sheep.
The elderly woman at the table next to them was attempting to remove her pearl necklace. Her hands were shaking so much that she couldn’t quite manage it. The younger woman with her leaned over and tried to help.
Whack! The bandit collecting the loot hit the younger woman in the face with the butt of his pistol. She slumped over, blood pumping from a vicious cut to her temple.
‘Oh, my God!’ gasped the elderly woman. ‘What have you done to my daughter?’
Madison couldn’t help herself, it was an unprovoked act of violence and she wasn’t about to stand for it. ‘Coward,’ she hissed at the ski-masked robber. ‘Big man with a gun in your hand.’
‘Don’t go there,’ Cole managed, his voice an urgent command. ‘Stay cool–stay quiet.’
Too late, the guy turned on Madison, waving his gun recklessly in her face. ‘Keep outta my business, ho, an’ gimme your watch.’ He jerked his gun towards Natalie. ‘You too.’
Natalie was still frozen to the spot, her brown eyes wide with fear.
‘Give him your watch, Nat,’ Madison urged, in what she hoped was a calm and steady voice.
Natalie didn’t move.
‘Come on, sweetie, do it,’ Madison cajoled.
Natalie still didn’t move.
Without warning, the gunman grabbed Natalie’s arm and tore the gold Cartier watch off her wrist.
Natalie screamed, a loud, piercing scream that almost drowned out the sound of police sirens in the distance.
‘Mothafucker!’ yelled the leader, turning on Cole, eyes glinting dangerously through the slits in his mask. ‘Which one a you shit-ass fucks called the cops?’
‘Hey, man,’ Cole said evenly. ‘Don’t look at me.’
As he spoke, the burly-looking man at the next table made his move, suddenly producing a pistol from under his jacket and aiming it at the ringleader.
‘Drop your weapon,’ the man commanded, in a salty voice. ‘Give it up now before you get into even more trouble.’
For a second, Madison thought the ringleader was about to comply and instruct the other two to do the same. But no–even though the lights of police cars now flashed outside the shuttered front windows, he was not prepared to give up. ‘Drop your fuckin’ weapon,’ he sneered. ‘Or you got any fuckin’ idea what I’m gonna do?’
The burly man stood his ground. He was a retired detective ready to make his final stab at being a hero, and no punk with a gun was about to stop him. ‘Listen, sonny, don’t be dumb—’ he began, in a patronizing tone with the slightest hint of an Irish accent.
The word ‘dumb’ triggered immediate action from the gunman, who let loose with a sudden burst of gunfire. Everyone screamed. The burly man fell to the ground, a look of complete surprise