Page 8 of Wild Ride

“First or second floor,” she snaps, not looking up from said book.

“Second floor, please,” I whisper.

I have no idea if the second floor is safer or not than the first floor. I feel like for a fire, it would definitely be the better place. However, if someone was going to break into a room, I feel like the first floor is where they would focus their attention.

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

“You got your pick of the rooms. There’re six to choose from. They’re all the same,” she says, and I halfway expect her to pop some gum at the end of her sentence, but she’s not chewing any.

“I guess the middle one?” I ask.

I’m not sure why I’m asking, but I’m also not sure which room I should choose, so here I am. She nods her head, scribbles something down, then holds out her hand. I stare into her palm, wondering what I’m supposed to be doing.

“Driver’s license and credit card,” she snaps.

Well then.

Reaching into my purse, I take out my small wallet and produce my driver’s license and credit card, which is really my debit card with aVisalogo, because I don’t have enough credit to apply and be approved for a real credit card.

I watch as she scribbles some more things down, then spins around on her stool, hops down, and walks over to a machine. She copies my license, then turns back and walks over to what I assume is a computer, but I’ve never seen one so big before.

She moves her fingers over the keyboard with ease, then slides both of my cards back to me before she reaches beneath her counter again and hands me a key.

“It’s the only one I got, so if you get locked out, we gotta call the locksmith, and that’s gonna cost you a couple hundred bucks 'cause he’s gotta come all the way from Greensboro.”

I don’t understand half of what she’s saying. I don’t know what Greensboro is or what a locksmith is, but I promise I won’t lock myself out and pray that I can keep said promise as I reach out and curl my fingers around the key.

“You wanna stay longer than a week, just let me or Krista know, and we’ll charge your card. Don’t got extra towels. You want a towel. You gotta come down here and get one. Same goes for sheets.”

I gulp, realizing that this is nothing like any of the other places I’ve stayed at along the way. And I’m also wishing for something nicer than this, but this is where I am. and this is what I need to do to figure out what is going on with my father, with my past, with my life.

“Thank you,” I whisper as I take a step backward.

She narrows her eyes on me, watching me as I spin around, and I can feel the heat from her gaze on my back as I walk back out to my car, even as I take the luggage out of the trunk, plus mylaptop bag, and the sensation doesn’t stop until I’m inside of the room, the door closed and the locks all locked.

Flipping on the light, I look around the room and frown. It’s old, scratched up and in tatters, but as I move into the space and really take it all in, it’s clean. When I slide my fingers across the scarred-up dresser, there isn’t even a speck of dust to be seen.

This room is like me.

Scarred, tattered, and torn, but doing its best.

And I’m doing my best, too.

BULLET

Sitting in the parking lot of Ivy’s firm, I watch and wait to see this bitch walk into the building for her meeting. I have no clue what I’m going to do or how I’m going to play this, but I know I have to be here.

Piggy is supposed to be working on getting her background information, but it is taking him longer because he doesn’t know her name. After today, I’ll have that for him. Then he can give me anything and everything he can find on her. I’m also going to set up a little surveillance of my own.

A dark four-door sedan pulls into the lot. I watch as she swings wide, parking at the very end of the lot, the car all alone. Giving herself a wide berth but parking crooked as shit anyway. My lips twitch into a smirk as she backs up and then tries a second time, no less crooked.

Fuck me.

If Shade knew this bitch, he did not teach her to drive worth a goddamn. The door swings open, and she unfolds from the car. I’m not sure what I expect, maybe an ogre of a bitch, but that is not what greets my gaze.

This woman is fucking beautiful, even from afar.

And she’s a woman.

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