Tall, dark, and dangerous, Reny Stark is from the wrong side of the tracks. A criminal, a thug, and a brawler, he’s the best at making bad choices, until one such choice landed him in prison for five years. Now Reny is out and has a great big chip on his shoulder. Having lost everything, he has no future. He’s unemployable, and the only place he can afford to live is in a cheap rundown room in the plague pit of New York City called Gangland. At one time he didn’t care what he had to do to stay alive, but now he’s trying to stay clean -- but the gangs won’t let him. Since he’s not a member of any gang, they’ve fingered him as their assassin, and one night he is forced to honor a contract on someone’s life, or die. Having little choice, he haunts the city streets until he finds his target, and hates him on sight. He’s everything Reny is not. He’s young, ambitious, good looking, and with a great future ahead of him. This man is so clean he squeaks while Reny is covered in the dirt of the ghetto, stuck with a prison record, and no hope of ever getting out. Because his target has had an easy life, Reny expected a soft, prissy guy that wouldn’t put up much of a fight, but instead he looms hard and tough, and refuses to go down. Ric Ferrand may be young, but he knows all about living a hard life and the tough choices that come with it. Although he’s always had kind of a yen for the wild side of life he’s tried not to let the evil of the city pull him down. But now the streets are fighting back in the person of Reny Stark, the scariest, sexiest, and most complicated ex-con this big city has ever produced -- and this tough guy wants to kill him. Then something happens that Ric didn’t count on. He slowly gets so know and understand the brute whose next stop is Death Row, and begins to have feelings for him. Taking a big chance, he invites him home where the contract killing gets lost between the sheets making Ric realize some guys are just better when they’re bad.

Walk on the Wild Side

“Oh, my God!” a jumbled-up chorus of voices shouted.


Ric quickly stepped up, and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s okay. Reny is okay.”


When Reny quickly got up to show everyone he was fine, the audience began clapping, and laughing, relieved that it was only a show.


“Reny was hit with a paint gun, that’s all. All we wanted was to bring you a little bit of drama to go along with the theme of my new restaurant. I hope you enjoyed it.” Ric indicated for the man who played the gangster to come forward. “Peter Lembeck here is an actor who helped me put on this little skit, and of course Reny is my chef. There’s no danger at all. I hope you were entertained by this little bit of playacting, as well as the meal this wonderful chef prepared. Let me encourage you to spread the word, and let your friends know how much you enjoyed your evening.”


The people, more relaxed now, rushed forward and began shaking hands with Ric, Reny, and Peter while giving some breathless comments.


Chapter 26