Page 21 of Jack

The perfect flirty tone, we have used it so many times over the years.

“No one will know,” he tries.

She still looks unsure, so I step in.

“We would never get a young lady like you in any trouble…” I pause. “Unless you like some trouble in your life, Noelle.” I wink.

Her eyes dilate, and I swear to fuck she sways back and forth, ‘swooning’ as the ladies of the club call it.

“Okay, what is his name?”

We give her the fucker’s name, but she shakes her head, already letting us know that he didn’t check in with his real name.

Royal looks to me, laughing.

“I knew he would do this. He is hiding from us so we can’t find him and make him go home to his surprise party.”

“Little shit,” I joke, adding a wide smile.

We wait, knowing that she will ask for a photo of the guy, lapping up our lies to help find him.

“Do you have a picture of him? Maybe I checked him in.”

Bingo. Fucking boom.

This is not our first hunt.

Royal shows her a photo and her eyes light up.

“Oh, I did check him in. He is in room 24.”

“You have been a great help, honey. We will make sure to tell his family that you helped to bring him home to celebrate his birthday.” She beams with pride from the praise that Royal is giving her.

I wink at her again, then leave, with Royal right behind me.

We make our way to the room, and with each step I scan the area, making sure that we are not in for any surprises. Been there, done that shit, and it hurt like a bitch. Being in the Rugged Hunters comes with a lot of risk and it comes in different levels, but each of us lives for this shit.

Royals slows his steps when we reach the second level of the structure. I nod at him, letting him know that I am ready. My gun is tucked away in the waistband of my jeans, but I think this guy will piss his pants and cry like a fucking bitch.

My brother knocks on the door.

“I have a delivery for I. P. Freely.”

I bite my lip to stop the laugh that bubbles up. Yeah, my brother is a Simpsons fan, so of fucking course he would use this shit to get the guy to open the door.

“I didn’t order nothing,” gets called from behind the door.

“Sorry, man, but I have a delivery for I. P. Freely. Are you sure it is not you?” Royal calls back, the smile in full force on his face as he holds his own laughter back.

“No, leave.”

“Mr. Freely, you will need to come to the door and confirm that you are not this person.”

We hear shuffling and my brother winks at me before mouthing,got him.

I nod and prepare myself for how ever he will react. We know never to take things for granted. The one time that you may think they will be harmless, they could pull a gun and fire out of fear.

The door swings open, and his eyes go wide when he clocks us, his gaze dropping to our patches. He goes to slam the door but Royal pushes his way through, making the guy fall backwards.

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