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“Yeah, we have enough money.” Nox had taken a few grand from another ATM after they left Dr. Dante at a hospital in Prince George. It was the second time he’d stolen money. If it had just been him, he could have hunted game for food and slept in the cold.
But Luca didn’t have those options. He needed warmth, a soft bed, nutritious meals.
Something Nox had planned on giving Luca once he started work for the construction foreman who’d hired him. The full-time job would let Nox and Luca put down roots and have an actual home.
Would it always be like this? Eating out of cans or cooking over a campfire when they could build one. Sleeping on the hard floor of a van, no peace, no place to feel safe.
Just running.
A few more miles and a motel sprung from a stretch of nothing. It sat back off the road, shrouded by large pines. The second-floor deck sagged, and areas of cracking paint revealed patches of rotted wood.
“Stop here,” Luca said.
“That’s a dump.”
“It can’t be any worse than the van.”
Oh yes, it could.
“Besides, if they have hot water, I don’t care.”
“We’ll be lucky if they have water at all.” Or plumbing. Or electricity. Nox hoped there was a condemned sign on the window.
The neon word Open flashed on the welcome sign out front.
He flicked on his blinker and made the turn into the broken parking lot. Why was everything in this area of Washington so run down? Especially with Seattle less than a hundred miles north.
Broken chunks of blacktop crunched under the wheels. It smoothed to gravel-packed potholes beneath the awning over the office.
A large piece of plywood covered the bottom half of the lobby door. Going by the cracks in the top half of the glass, it wouldn’t be long before it would wind up patched.
“I’ll check us in.” Luca took out a couple hundred dollars from the glove compartment. The rest of the cash Nox had hidden under the seat in a steel box. Luca reached for the door release. “Damn it.”
“I’ll do it.” Nox opened his door.
“No.” Luca rolled down his window. “I can at least check us in by myself.” He reached outside, and the door opened with a plaintive screech.
Luca disappeared inside, and the muscles in Nox’s back tensed with every passing second.
He leaned forward.
Luca stood at a counter. He nodded, waved toward the van, then stepped to the left and out of sight.
Nox started to go look for him, then reminded himself he’d already threatened Luca’s independence once today.
The lobby door opened, and Luca walked out carrying a key attached to a large wooden tab with three digits burned into the surface.
“Let me guess, our room is one-o-one.”
“Yeah. Ground floor. I wasn’t sure if the porch up top was sturdy enough to hold you.”
“I’m not sure if it’s sturdy enough to hold you.” All hundred and forty pounds of him.
“I thought that too.”
If the second floor was as bad as it looked, they could wake up with the upstairs furniture on their floor.
If there was furniture.
