“Where’s my diamonds?” Leyland snarled as he grabbed Heather by the throat and held her up against the headboard of his bed. Wide-eyed with fear, she grabbed at the hands around her neck and gasped for breath. Catching on she might have difficulty talking if he killed her too quickly, he dropped her back to the bed and smirked: “It’s too bad diamonds are your only best friend because not all the diamonds in the world are going to save your pretty ass this time.” “If you talk fast,” he added, reaching for the champagne beside the bed, “I’ll kill you quickly so you won’t suffer even though I’m an angry man.” “Well?” he said, peering at her over the glass he held to his lips, “I don’t have much patience with pretty girls who try to cheat me.” “In case you haven’t noticed,” he snarled, “I’m not your gutless husband.”
Heather tried to catch her breath and think in the seconds she had left. Coughing and making a big show of trying to talk, she held her right hand to her throat and raised her left hand, wagging her crimson painted index finger at him, keeping her head down, submissive, even while rising to her knees, watching him closely from underneath her long blond hair.
“I’ll tell you what you want to hear, but can’t I have one last drink?” she croaked out. Pushing her hair behind her ear with her left hand and peering up at him with her wide baby blues, she whimpered huskily, “my throat hurts awful bad.” His eyes roving over her half-dressed body falling out of her black Italian lingerie, he smirked, “What the hell” and set down his glass to pour another round. Replacing the champagne in its silver holder, he helped himself to his glass and went to hand Heather hers.
Heather removed her right hand from her throat and reached out as if to take the glass but instead swiftly grabbed the champagne bottle and jumped up, swinging with all her might at Leyland’s head, connecting with his left temple. The force knocked him into the bed and he didn’t rise. With a crimson-tipped toe, Heather nudged Leyland over onto his back and saw he was still breathing. She jumped out of the bed, grabbed her clothes and her shoulder bag with the tiny black pouch of uncut diamonds in it and headed for the door.