AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I practically drag her out of the room and around the front of the motel to the office. A woman wearing a Hawaiian muumuu sits behind a glass wall, smoking one of those thin, brown cigarettes. She gives me a once-over, followed by a smirk when she sees Emily. And yeah, while I’m most likely going to fuck the girl beside me, I’m not here to rent one of her rooms by the hour. For some reason, it pisses me off that she’s looking at Emily that way.
“Can I help you?” she asks, her voice muffled by a layer of bulletproof glass. Freaking proof this isn’t a safe place to stay.
“Yeah, this woman wants her money back.”
Emily tugs on my shirt. “Jack…”
“Why? What’s wrong with her room?”
I plant my hands on the counter and lean in as close as I can get. “Is that a trick question?” I ask. “We don’t have all night to go over everything that’s wrong. Let’s just say it’s disgusting and unsafe for a woman on her own to have to access her room in the back of this shithole.”
The woman narrows her eyes. “Long-term guests are designated rooms in the back. It’s company policy.”
“I don’t give a shit about your policy.”
The woman hefts herself from her chair and leans on the counter, mimicking my stance. “There’s nothing wrong with her room. Looks like it’s a you problem, not a her problem.”
Emily keeps tugging on my shirt. “Jack, it’s okay. I don’t mind.”
The woman folds her arms over her ample bosom. “See, yourgirlfriend…” She has the nerve to use air quotes, which makes me want to put my fist through the glass. “…doesn’t mind. So you need to back off. There’s nothing wrong with her room.”
I turn and face Emily. “How much money did you give them?”
“Why?” She’s starting to panic.
“Because I’m taking you to a different motel.”
“Jack!” she whispers heatedly. “I can’t afford another motel.”
“Don’t worry about that right now. You can’t stay here. It’s not safe.”
The muumuu matron glares at me with a smug look stamped across her face. She’s damn lucky she’s behind that glass. I wouldn’t lay hands on her, but I wouldn’t hesitate to get right up in her face.
“How much, Emily?” I demand. I’m being irrational. Where she stays is not my problem. After tonight, I’ll never see her again. But I can’t, in good conscience, let her stay here.
Emily fidgets and folds her arms in front of her. She looks at the woman, the parking lot, the night sky.
“C’mon,” I say, trying to control the anger in my voice. It’s not directed at her. Just life in general and the bitch behind the glass. I move closer. “I’m going to get your money back. And then I’m going to take you somewhere safer and make sure that you get a better room. I promise. Okay?”
She toes the gravel on the sidewalk with the tip of her flip-flop.Jesus, I hope she wasn’t wearing fucking flip-flops when she walked here from the bus station.
When she speaks, her voice is so low, I have to lean down to hear her. “Come again?”
“A week,” she says a little louder. “I had to pay a week in advance.”
I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. I don’t have time to count to one hundred, so I just proceed and hope the beast behind the glass doesn’t push all my buttons.
I turn, rest my hands on the ledge again, and look her dead in the eye.
“Listen up, ma’am. This is how it’s gonna go.”
* * *
I roll Emily’s suitcase into her room at another motel. It’s closer to the center of town and within walking distance of almost anything she might need. It’s only a few dollars a day more than she was paying at the first place, but the property is well lit, her room is on the second floor, and faces the front. It’s smaller but has a king-size bed. It doesn’t smell, and the curtains are in one piece. It also has a small refrigerator, a microwave, and a coffeemaker.
“I can’t believe you got her to give me most of my money back.” Emily drops her backpack on the bed and plops down beside it. “You’re a good negotiator.”
I rest my butt on the dresser in front of her. “That, and I happen to know a lot of drug deals take place in that back parking lot. I overheard a few guys I work with talking about it. It’s small potatoes shit, but the police might still be interested in hearing about it.” I smile and it feels good. “Given the way she responded when I mentioned questionable activities, I’m betting she’s fully aware of what goes on back there.”
