Excerpt (continued)
two shots of whiskey in a glass of beer. He picked up his drink and drained it straight down as though it were plain water. Rennie started to leave because he knew that anyone who drank that much booze had to be mean. He was right. Frankie bellowed, “And just where the hell do you think you’re going, leaving half a glass of beer on the bar?” Rennie didn’t answer. He just kept walking past the big man.
Frankie grabbed Rennie by his arm and spun him around. “I’m talking to you, boy. When you finish your beer and drink one of mine, you can go.” Then he roared with laughter.
“I can’t drink that much, sir,” Ren replied.
“A chicken-shit-lily-livered-little-son-of-a-bitch, are you?” Frankie yelled back. And, without warning, he smacked Ren with an open hand that knocked him so hard that he stumbled backwards for about four feet. Before Ren knew what was happening, the big guy was all over him. He picked Ren up and held him over his head as though Ren were weightless. Then he threw him nine feet through the air until he crashed down on a table full of patrons. A beer bottle hit Ren’s eye, broke under his
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