Page 60 of Knox Unleashed
I take the keycard from North, and I don’t bother knocking. Neither of those trucks in the lot match the one I saw them riding. So, they’re either long gone or out for the day. Havoc and Vandal raise their weapons in precaution, but I unlock the door and shove it inward with a loud bang.
“Housekeeping,” Ridge calls out, and everyone chuckles at that.
The room smells stale, like sweat, and motel soap, and warm beer. The two beds are unmade, and there’s an open container of Chinese food gone cold. A couple of flies hover over it like it’s a feast.
Ridge checks out the shower. “Empty, but they’ve not been gone too long. Still wet in there.”
“‘Bout forty minutes since we got here and called you guys to come,” Vandal says. “They weren’t here then.”
“Miss by a minute, miss by a mile,” North mutters.
“Unless you’re Havoc, and then you can miss by eleven seconds,” Sunny says.
Vandal shoulder checks Havoc.
“For fuck’s sake,” Havoc mutters. “Are you gonna be like this all day? I’d had at least twenty drinks. Wonder my cock was even hard, let alone functioned.”
“Not every ejaculation needs to count,” Reaper says. “Right, Prez?”
I think about how many times I came last night, and each time I wondered, once more, what it would feel like to fuckMaren without a condom. How it would feel to know my cum was knocking her up. “Don’t drag me into this. I don’t want to know where Havoc’s cum goes. Check the room before they come back. Don’t want to scare ‘em. In fact, Sunny and Ridge. Can the two of you split out of here, north and south? Call it in if you see them coming.”
“On it,” they say in unison and leave.
“The rest of you. We’re looking for proof of who they are. Anything that might give us a lead.”
Lock grabs the trash can and tips it out on the floor to separate anything paper from the general trash that was in there.
I take the duffle bag on the floor and poke around. What I find is a surprise. Contrary to the laid-back jeans and plaid vibe they were giving, in the bag are designer clothes. Black suit pants. A nice shirt. The rest are a few T-shirts and ratty underwear. Even the socks, though bundled, have dirty soles. “How can people not know how to launder clothes?”
“I ask myself the same question about the use of bleach,” Reaper says.
“Jesus,” North says. “It’s like living with Mom and Dad, listening to you two.”
Reaper flips him the bird. “Do you know how many deaths are related to hygiene-related causes?”
“No clue,” North says. “And I really don’t want to know.”
“I got some receipts,” Lock says. “Partial credit card numbers, but it seems there’s a diner they’ve taken a liking to.” He pulls out his phone and searches for its location. “Looks like it’s just a few more minutes north of here.”
Havoc pulls a wrinkled envelope out of the second duffle bag. “There’s a name and address typed across the front of this.” He tugs the paper from the envelope he’s holding. “Looks like this guy is a little behind on the rent. Dean Mercer.”
“There’s too much here for them to leave behind,” I say. “Reaper, I want you and Lock to keep watch from outside. I’ll send a couple of prospects to back you up. Call as soon as they return, but don’t engage unless they try to leave permanently.”
“Where are you going, Prez?” Reaper asks.
“To the diner. See if they’re there. If they are, we’ll deal with them. If not, we can grab some food.”
Reaper huffs. “So, we get to miss lunch.”
Havoc grins. “I’ll get you some takeout. Message what you want.”
It only takes a couple of minutes to recall Sunny and Ridge and ride to the diner with them. It sits in a small but popular strip mall. There’s the usual: a gas station, laundromat, liquor store, and the diner. But there’s also a craft store and a clothing store geared towards workmen.
We park the bikes, and I can see the owner of the diner isn’t thrilled about our arrival. I get nervous glances from an older woman holding a coffee pot while wearing a pale blue dress and white apron.
“We’re not here to cause any trouble,” I say. Although, the truth is anything but. If those two men are in here, I’m gonna take ‘em outside and gut them for…shit, I was about to say for hurting Maren. But what I need to gut them for is for information.
“Look around,” I encourage the others, but I’m not convinced they’re here given there’s no sign of their truck in the busy parking lot.
