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She hitched her bag higher on her shoulder. “I won’t be there much longer. I’ve been looking at other places.”
“Within walking distance of the bar?” Chris countered, immediately. He knew there was no such place.
He watched her chin jut up, defiantly. “I can take the bus during the day,” she told him.
“And eat up half your tips with cab fare clear across town at night?” he asked. “At least my place is only a few blocks from here. It wouldn’t burn so much of your money.”
“I- No. Just no,” she insisted, attempting to outdistance him. But he was taller and in much better shape and it wasn’t even much of a race.
“Why not?”
“Because you’re crazy!” she snapped, crossing the street. “You followed me home! And…and what are you doing now? Are you going to follow me all the way to the motel?”
“Yes. If that’s how long it’ll take to convince you that you can’t stay there anymore.”
She stopped short. “You can’t follow me!”
He grinned at her. “Obviously, I can and I am. You need to stop busting my balls. I already apologized. You are one stubborn woman,” he mused.
They finally reached the parking lot of the Rainbow. “I-” she told him. “If I say I’ll think about it will you leave me alone?”
He pretended to consider. “Not really. How ‘bout you think about it for 30 more seconds and then we get the hell away from this rat trap?”
Hayley looked exasperated. “You know you-”
“Hey!” came a voice from behind them. Chris heard Hayley mutter a curse. “Hey, you owe me twenty bucks!”
Hayley and Chris turned and Chris spotted a woman well past her prime with teased blond hair, black at the roots, haphazardly applied lipstick, and a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. She was marching toward them. Hayley sighed. “No, I do not.”
“Bullshit,” the woman snapped, eyeing Chris like a slab of beef. She held out her liver spotted hand. Then she smiled sweetly. “I ain’t ripping you off, honey,” she told Hayley. “It’s the same deal for all the other girls.”
“He’s just walking me to the door,” Hayley insisted, and began to turn away.
The woman’s extended hand grabbed Hayley’s arm and yanked her back. “Don’t care what you call it, girlie. I get my twenty bucks.”
Hayley struggled to jerk her arm out of the crone’s grip. “Hey,” Chris said, “get your hand off her.”
The crone gave him a dismissive look. “Stay out of this, John. Ain’t interested in your opinion.” She pulled Hayley in closer. “Got your tits,” she observed. “Got your pretty face. Bet your snatch is still tighter than a drum.” She jerked her head toward Chris. “Charge him extra if you want. He looks like he can afford it and he for damn sure won’t find better around here. But I get my cut, missy, or you’re out on your skinny little ass.”
Hayley finally jerked free and Chris saw her face turn red, either from anger or embarrassment, he wasn’t sure, probably both, he figured. “I’m not a hooker!” Hayley hissed. “And you know it! You know damn good and well I’ve never had a man in my room!”
The crone’s eyes narrowed. “Had two of ‘em in your room last night, or so I heard,” she countered. “One was a cop, messing up my business. Folks don’t like badges too much around here. I’d kick your ass out for that, but your rent’s regular. Bit more of it coming in, too, if you take him upstairs. Could be good for both of us. You’re way too old to make any serious cash, but you could still earn a pretty penny.”
“Enough,” Chris growled in a tone that finally got the old lady’s attention. “Get the fuck out of my face,” he told her.
The lady sneered. “Or what, John?”
He leaned in as close as he dared trying to flinch at the stench wafting off her. “Or I call my cop friend back and he starts knocking on doors.”
The old lady did actually pale slightly, but then recovered her resolve. “I want my twenty bucks,” she told Hayley. “Twenty or you’re out.”
“Fine,” Chris replied for Hayley. “She’s out.” To Hayley he said, “Come on, Slick. We’re leaving. Now.”
Hayley hesitated. “But-”
“Now,” he repeated, putting an arm around her shoulders and steering her away from the crone and apparently her brothel. When they were well enough away, she stopped on the corner of the sidewalk and looked back at the motel. “Forget it,” he told her. He took hold of her chin and directed her gaze back to him. “I don’t pay for it, Slick. And you don’t sell it. And neither one of us is giving that beast another dime.”
At that moment two men attempted to pass them to cross the street. Hayley shrank back from them and Chris maneuvered to put himself between her and the pedestrians, shielding her. When they had passed, he said, “You don’t know me, but your boss vouches for me, and anyone else at Maria’s if you’d care to ask them about me. You’re not gonna get a safer offer. Now are you gonna stop being so damn stubborn and move in next door?”
