"I don't know who he is or what he does. All I know is that he's temperamental, and you'd better stay away from him."
Allen stared at her for a minute, as though confused. Then he started for her. "Don't give me that. You've been staying with him long enough to know him."
She darted around him and ran for the door, but he caught her half way. He forced her onto the couch and straddled her. "Get it through your head. You're not leaving here until I get the information I came for."
She glared at him, anger taking possession of her body. She kicked her feet and swung at him with her fists. "I don't know anything. And if I did, I wouldn't tell the likes of you."
The fingers of one hand clutched her throat, while the other warded off her blows. "You'll stop fighting when the breath is gone from your body!" His eyes were like burning balls of fire.
She gurgled and choked, engulfed in terror. She beat him with her fists until finally her vision began to fail. Even if she had been willing to talk, she was unable.
"GET OFF OF HER!" a voice boomed.
Allen let go of her and jumped off. "She won't talk," he said as he backed away.
The muscles in Howard's jaws worked with rage. "Get out of here before I kill you." His voice was low and ice cold.
Lisa rolled over, coughing and gagging, unable to get enough breath at a time to fill her lungs. For a few minutes she thought her windpipe was crushed. Yet the scene continued in front of her.
Allen walked toward the door, his attention divided between Howard and Lisa. Finally he left. Howard made no move to help her. He merely asked if she was alright.
An answer was impossible, even if she could stop coughing long enough. She had neither the breath nor the voice to talk. It was several more minutes before she was able to take deep breaths - even longer before she was able to utter more than a strangled sound. And yet, Howard made no move to call for help. Finally she leaned back sucked her lungs full. Her eyes were filled with tears and her face felt flushed. "How . . . did he . . . know I . . . was here?"
Howard finally came to her side and helped her to her feet. "I don't know."
Her mind was beginning to function somewhere near normal. "How did you know I was here."