Out in my cage, I put in a call to Prez.
“Speak to me.”
“You get a prospect on Patience yet?”
“No, did something happen?”
“No, but I’ll do it.”
“What prompted your change of heart?”
“She’s Gus’s teacher, man.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah. I don’t want that sick fuck anywhere near my nephew or any of them kids.”
“You need anything let me know. Keep close to the school today. Got word his chopper was seen at the apartments by the bowling alley last night.”
“That’s not far from the school.”
“No, it’s not.” Rebel let’s out a sigh. “Keep me posted.” The call ends and I shove my phone in my back pocket. I climb in my cage and drive toward the low-income apartments. There’s three buildings but only two parking lots. I circle around the block twice and drive through both parking lots but there’s no sign of Choke or his chopper.
Next on my hunt for the asshole is the trailer park but nothing turns up. He could have left town but it’s early and he doesn’t strike me as an early riser. I swing by Patience’s house and do a sweep of the property looking for fresh tracks and hiding spots. She inherited a lot of land from her old man. Lots of old buildings he could hide in. Smokehouse, storage shed, barn. He’s got plenty to pick from.
I stare the two-story home. It’s a lot of house for one woman and a cat.
At lunch I’ll be asking her about her security. Doesn’t look like she has any. No cameras up. Not even a fence or gate to the driveway. Single woman living out here alone, needs protection.
By the time I get back to town, I have enough time to grab lunch and make it back to the school. I find Patience in her classroom waiting for me. She has a bottle of water and a bag of fat free pretzels from the vending machine. I knock on the open door to her class.
“Come on in and pull up a chair.”
The only chairs are the multicolored plastic ones the kids use. I snort. My knees will come to my ears. “Babe, we really gotta do something about your diet. You eat nothing but junk.” I place the plastic carryout bag on the end of her desk. “I brought you some real food. Chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, sugar snap peas, and cornbread.” I start setting the containers out on her desk.
“This smells delicious. Thank you. How much do I owe you?”
“Don’t offend me with that shit. I said I was bringing you lunch. I brought you lunch.”
Her lips tip into a smile. “Right. Okay.” She pops the lid off the dumplings and blows over the spoonful she has gathered. “You’re a bit bossy, aren’t you?”
“I don’t want to scare you, but Choke was spotted around town last night. I drove around but didn’t catch shot of him. Did a look at your place. What kind of security you got in place?”
“Um…I never had a need and my guess is my father never had a reason.” The spoon dips between her lips and she moans. Fucking moans all sweet and sexy. The sound travels straight my dick. Which makes me a complete bastard because she was almost sexually assaulted the other night and here I am thinking about the things I could do to her to illicit that same sound.
“I know a guy. I’ll give him call. You need an alarm. A gate to driveway wouldn’t hurt either.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Not asking, babe. I’ll take care of it.”
“First of all, I’m not your babe. Second if I want or need a gate, I’m a big girl and can take care of myself. I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I don’t need a hero.”
“That’s how you wanna play this. Have it your way, but I’m telling you now if he shows up, you’ll wish you’d taken me up on the offer.” I grab her spoon. “Gimme’ a bite of that.”
“Hey.” She smacks at me and reclaims the white plastic spoon. “Rude. Didn’t you get your own?”
“Do you know what I went through to get this for you? Lunch specials at the Dairy Bar sell out before ten. I didn’t get there until ten minutes till eleven.” I didn’t have to do shit because Denny’s family owns the place, but she doesn’t know that. “Had to sell half my soul for them dumplings.” I pinch off a piece of the cornbread and shove it in my mouth.