Page 91 of Junkyard Dog

The mattress shifted when Ryan sat down. “You can come with us tomorrow,” he offered. “Once we track down the Pirithous online, we can set up shop in the area and deal with this once and for all.”

“And then what?”

He lifted his arm as Ryan looked over at him. “What do you mean?”

“And then what?” Alex reiterated. “We return to the underworld to eat table scraps and listen to the gossip of a bunch of irrelevant gods while they scratch our ears and remind us of our place?” He rose up on his elbows. “What are we gunning for? It’s not freedom. Or money. Just back to the junkyard until the boss sends us on another senseless errand.”

Ryan’s eyes hardened. “We have a duty.”

“And you know I’ll obey orders, so let’s drop it.” He fell back on his pillow. “It doesn’t matter. I’m paid up here until the end of the month, so I’ll jump ship once we figure out where the Pirithous is. Clean break, fresh starts, and all that.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

Alex tossed hisdirty socks into his hamper, balancing his phone against his shoulder. “It’s been a week. Do I bother paying another month’s rent or do I put in my notice?”

Ryan went quiet for a moment as Bo grumbled from the background. “Stay put until we know where we’re moving,” he finally stated. “Bo’s getting back to work here.”

“And you?” he asked, knowing Ryan had been stressing about his own monetary situation in the wake of his absence.

“I’m on probation,” he replied tersely. “Putting in overtime for the next little while. If we get a bead on the Pirithous, we’ll regroup and examine the best location to set up shop.” He paused as Bo muttered something behind him. “Would you feel better relocating now? I have a futon you can crash on for the time being.”

Dumping his quarter collection out to count it, Alex grunted. “I might go grovel at Thomas’s feet and try to score enough shifts to pay the bills.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?”

“Probably not, but a man’s gotta eat. I won’t go against the decree, Ryan. I know our duty, and I know what’s at stake.” He gathered his coins up and tossed the container into the hamper. “I need to hit the laundromat, so call me in a few days and tell Bo he’s a frog-fucker.”

Adding his phone and wallet to the basket, he felt around the sofa cushions for his keys, huffing in annoyance when someone knocked on his door. “Gimme a sec,” he called out, hooking his finger on the keyring and pocketing them before he misplaced them again.

He grabbed on to the frame and pushed his door open slowly to avoid thumping anyone, taking a reactive step back when Charlotte came into view. “Hey.”

She tugged at the hem of her red tank, her thumbs digging into the fabric. “Hey.”

With his brain firing in dozens of different directions, he clung to the frame, knowing he was staring at her but unable to stop.

She always looked so goddamn gorgeous in red.

“Could I come in?”

He blinked, backing into his trailer wordlessly as she gave him a tight smile and followed, pulling the door shut.

She glanced down at his laundry pile. “Is this a bad time?”

“It can wait,” he replied, eying her cautiously. “What’s up?”

She scanned his place intently, craning her neck slightly to peer past him into his bedroom. “Are your brothers still here?”

“Left last Sunday.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against the counter, trying desperately to read her as she looked everywhere but at him. “Were you looking for me or them?”

She pursed her lips and stared at the floor for a few seconds. “I’ve gone over this a thousand times,” she began slowly, tilting her head and finally looking at him. “Probably more than that. I’ve spent way more hours on Google than I should’ve, and I’ve watched some really weird homemade YouTube documentaries.”

His muscles tensed, his head battling with his instinct to run.

But she’d sought him out, and he had to know what she knew, and what she’d said about the things she’d seen.

At least, that was the excuse he would be giving Hades and Ryan for his moment of weakness.

“None of the videos really fit with anything I saw,” she mused, her brow knotting. “But some of the articles I read were interesting. I mean, there was a lot of crackpot to weed through, but at least I knew I wasn’t losing my mind.”

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