Page 77 of Bazooka
“Deal,” I said, hoping I wasn’t making a deal with the devil.
I handed him the piece of paper with the address written down.
“The gentleman occupying this room… if he’s still there, I need him detained for the time being. His three friends will probably be with him. It needs to happen now. Text me when it’s done.”
Maddox reached for his jacket, and then he was gone. Luz disappeared somewhere too, so I had some time to go over the plan in my head.
On the one hand, I didn’t want to upset Luz. On the other hand, I wanted to give him the option of choosing what would happen next. He deserved it, and I could give it to him. And maybe, just maybe, I wanted to bloody my knuckles and avenge him for what he’d been through. Then I got a text.
Pest:I’m hungry.
God, he had the worst timing in the universe.
Me:I’m busy.
Five minutes later, Chief Bibb bellowed from across the room, startling me.
“Bradley. In my office.”
I headed there, only to find Luz sitting in the chair across from the chief’s desk.
“Take a break,” Chief Bibb said, looking at me sternly. “And take Zablonsky with you. That’s an order.”
That manipulating little shit.
“Goody, ‘cause I’m starving,” Luz said, jumping out of the chair. “Chief, I have a sandwich with your name written on it.”
“Thank you, but no. Missus made me granola with yogurt and those seeds that get stuck between your teeth.”
“Are you sure?” Luz asked him. “I’m talking about turkey, grilled cheese, gherkins, and extra mayo.”
Chief Bibb made a painful grimace. “Goddamn you, Zablonsky. Bring that sandwich over here. Bradley, you keep your mouth shut about this. If Missus ever finds out, I’ll know who talked.”
“I’m not a snitch, sir,” I said, rubbing my forehead in frustration.
I also didn’t have nerves in endless supply, which I shared with Luz after we reached the nearby park.
“Do something like this again, and you’ll regret it,” I threatened as he spread the picnic blanket on the grass. “I won’t have you messing with my job. I catch criminals for a living, remember?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Luz said, blinking innocently. “Besides, we need to eat sometime, don’t we? And I’mstarving.”
“You have ten minutes,” I said, sitting down on the blanket. “Eat the damn sandwich and stop pissing me off. I have work to do.”
“Yes, Master.”
After we ate our sandwiches, he hoodwinked me into letting him put his head in my lap.
“Please,” he murmured, lying down on his back. “Just ten minutes. Otherwise, my stomach will start acting up.”
He was soo lying, but I relented, because I was a good person and because I had a stopwatch on my phone.
“Five minutes, plus an hour of non-flirting,” I said sternly. “And don’t fall asleep. It’s my final offer.”
“Okay, but only if you touch me.”
“Touch you where?”
“You choose.”
