Hammer blows rained down but Stacey didn’t let go. Biting, her teeth torn his flesh. They thrashed against the kitchen table. His fist smashed her face. Groceries crashed to the floor.

This was supposed to be easy money. Jimmy already had a hammer. Raul had dropped him off on the corner. He had the layout to the house in his back pocket. While waiting for the broad to come home, he even found two bags of Doritos.

Wrestling for the hammer, Stacey screamed. She wrested it away and swung hard. A bone crunching crack rang in the kitchen. Her attacker collapsed. Slipping on broken dishes, she raced to her front door. Her hand touched the knob as the stranger slammed into her. Pain snatched her breath away.

Damn, this bitch was strong. Raul’s rules had been simple: kill his wife, stage to look like a robbery gone wrong, no contact until the insurance company pays out, collect beaucoup bucks. Nothing to tie Raul to the crime. Nothing to tie Jimmy to Raul. Jimmy even wore gloves.

Stacey flung back her head, breaking the stranger’s nose. Bloodied, they hit the floor. He wasn’t there to rob her. He wanted to kill her. Her hands found his neck. Squeezing, her fingers sank into his throat. She didn’t let go.

“I broke the rules for you, Jimmy. No contact after the hit but I never saw you come out of the house. Waited like hours, man, hours. Call me back,” Raul said on Jimmy’s voicemail.