“Love you,” she said as she stepped back reluctantly. “See you soon.”
She walked inside just as Kingston pulled up beside me. “I’ll keep her safe, man,” he said as he fist-bumped me. “You know I’ll protect that girl with my life.”
At work, I spent the next few hours doing ink. But as the evening wore on and I didn’t hear from River, I started getting anxious. She’d said she wasn’t going to be at the store all that long, and it was already past dinnertime. Muttering a curse when I checked my phone and found no missed calls or texts from River, my sister, or even Kingston, I was starting to call my girl when my phone rang.
Seeing it was Colt, a feeling of dread made my heart drop into my stomach, and I picked up before it finished ringing the first time. “Yeah?”
“I think I found your homeless
girl,” he said in a cold tone.
“Where?” I was already grabbing my keys and heading out the back door without even telling my dad, who was still working on his own client.
“Motel out by the interstate. After the staff noticed some things off the last few days, Ben got a call, and I was at the station. Told him I would check it out. The front desk guy said they think she might be sleeping in Room 119. Said the bathroom has been broken, so they had it out of commission, and it would have been easy for her to use it without anyone knowing. If there hadn’t been a few things going missing, they might not have noticed.”
“I’m on my way,” I told him as I swung my leg over my bike.
He didn’t answer, just hung up. Telling myself I was just glad that I could follow through on my promise to River, I headed for the highway. There was only one motel by the interstate, and the place wasn’t much to brag about. There were two different hotels in town that got steady business, but the motel was somewhere mostly used by truckers because it had a reputation for having a ready supply of hookers on call.
Not that Ben had ever been able to prove it. There was rarely any trouble from the place, so he didn’t try to shut it down.
When I got to the motel, I didn’t see Colt or his motorcycle. But I had the room number, so I parked right in front of 119 and headed inside. The door was unlocked, and I stepped into the darkened room, reaching for the light switch.
When nothing happened, I took a few steps inside and felt a sudden burning in my neck.
“The fuck?” I muttered, slapping at the spot where it felt like I’d been stung by a wasp. The burning feeling was spreading, and my entire body felt heavy. I blinked, then felt the world sway as complete darkness swallowed me whole.
Twenty
River
“I’m exhausted,” Mila said with a yawn as we finished putting the last of our inventory on the racks.
Between Avery, who was our new hire, Mila, and me, we’d gotten everything done with Kingston’s help doing the manual labor. I wiped the sweat off my brow and pulled my phone out of my back pocket, only to groan when I saw the time.
“Mav is probably worried,” I muttered, calling him. It rang and rang, and I swallowed a sigh, knowing he was going to be upset with me for not calling him. We’d been so busy that time had gotten away from me, and I hadn’t realized it had gotten so late. My plan had been to help out a little before going to the shop.
When my call went to voice mail, I figured he was just with a client, and I hurriedly told the others goodbye before running out the door with Kingston. He gave me a ride to the apartment, where I picked up my car, and I tried not to go over the speed limit on my way to the Ink Shoppe.
Pulling into the parking lot, I saw that Maverick’s bike wasn’t where it should have been. Frowning, I reached for the door, wondering if he’d gotten so worried, he’d gone looking for me. But I hadn’t seen him on the road…
My phone rang just as I was stepping out of my car. Seeing who the caller was, I quickly answered. “Hey, Elias.”
“You know the interstate motel?” he clipped out as a greeting.
I stopped with my hand still on the driver’s door. “Uh, yeah?”
“Get there. Now. Room 119. I’ll explain when you get here.” I heard the ice in his voice and knew it was bad. Elias didn’t do fire and ice; he was like a cuddly teddy bear. Until you pissed him off. Then he could get scary. The fire was for when he was about to beat the fuck out of someone. The ice…when he was trying to control the flames.
Without questioning him, I got back in my car and turned it in the direction of the interstate. But as I was driving, I got a text. Worried it was from Elias or Maverick, I picked up my phone from where I’d tossed it in the cupholder and glanced down at the screen really quick.
Only to do a double take.
“No,” I whispered, my foot slamming on the brake.
The text was from a number I didn’t recognize, but the picture was something I knew all too well. It was Maverick, completely naked, on a bed with two girls lying on either side of him. They were touching him, kissing his bare chest while one of them took the selfie.
I felt physically ill looking at the picture, but in my heart, I already knew it wasn’t what it appeared. Maverick would never cheat on me. I knew it all the way down to my soul. It didn’t matter that we hadn’t had sex in weeks. He would have gone without it for years if I wasn’t able to give it to him.