Wild by Eve Langlais

squish him, she pushed at the door. It clicked and shifted, but the darned thing wouldn’t budge farther. It was heavier than it looked.
    Crunch . Someone walked outside.
    â€œHey. Anyone out there? Can you help me with my door?”
    Too late did it occur to her that it might be the driver of the other car, the one that had intentionally rammed them.
    But why?
    For a second, she thought she’d perhaps hallucinated hearing steps outside until the car wobbled as something lit atop it. She braced her hands and feet before daring to unclip her seat belt. She squinted through the sunshine-filled window.
    She couldn’t see much. Legs encased in jeans. Black boots. She’d just described a good portion of North America’s population.
    The door to her side was wrenched open. Opened, torn off its hinge, and then tossed to the side.
    What. The. Hell.
    Leering down at her was the thug from the club, the same guy with the friend who’d knocked her out and then set her office on fire while she was in it!
    Not good.
    Some women might have quivered in fear. Some might have begged for their lives. Lulu got pissed.
    â€œYou!” she shouted. “You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up again after what you did last time.”
    â€œDon’t remind me of my failure,” the dude snapped. He reached in and grabbed her by the arm and yanked her from the car in a show of strength that impressed even her. “Because of you, I lost out on a great condo because I didn’t get paid. Although, now the client is offering a bonus to bring you in alive. So in a sense, I guess this is a better deal.”
    What a waste of a handsome face, although his mug provided a good spot to plant her fist.
    Before she could think twice, she reeled back and popped him one in the nose. Something crunched, making it totally worth the sore knuckles.
    A satisfied grin stretched her lips as he bellowed, “You bitch. You broke my damned nose. Do you have any idea how annoying that is to fix?”
    During his tirade, he kept one hand clamped around her upper arm, an immovable vise. His free hand grabbed his crooked nose and yanked. It cracked again but straightened, and as she watched, got straighter, the redness of her blow fading.
    However, it wasn’t the rapid healing that totally freaked her out. It was the …
    â€œMy, what big teeth you have.”
    The thug, with the suddenly pointed dentition, sighed dramatically. “And see, it’s comments like this that prove my theory that ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ was originally written about a bear.”
    Say what? “No, it wasn’t.”
    â€œBecause you’ve been brainwashed to believe otherwise.”
    â€œNo, because that’s how the author wrote it like a zillion years ago. Little Red Riding Hood was stalked by a wolf while the bears got Goldilocks and a much better ending.”
    â€œBah. ‘Goldilocks’ is a joke. It has been perverted from its original intent and commercialized into something feel-good. In the true version of the story, the bears ate the girl. They didn’t become lifelong friends.”
    How utterly serious her wannabe murderer seemed. “Are we seriously debating fairy tales while you dangle me from a wrecked cop car? What exactly is your plan for me?”
    Because she doubted he’d gone through the trouble of smashing into her car to say hello.
    â€œI told you. Taking you in for the bounty.”
    â€œThere’s a bounty on my head?” How astonishing. “What for?”
    â€œBecause of who you associate with.”
    â€œYou mean because I’m a cop? How do you figure kidnapping me and attempted murder are going to benefit you? I mean, is there seriously enough money to account for the hassle this is going to cause?”
    â€œThere is.” His smile was too charming. So she punched it, and then screamed as, in retaliation, he jumped from the top of car, dragging