Following Slim through the side entrance of the hotel I tried to steady himself for what was to come.
A confrontation with A.J. and Brian.
It was happening again.
Could it be possible that the last three years had been nothing more then wishful thinking on my part? Wishful thinking that A.J. and Brian had given up their life of crime in favor of being drooled over by girls as we danced and sang our way all over the world?
Or maybe it was all a joke and the two of them were trying to make me look like a fool? After all it had been exactly three years ago that I had stumbled upon their little operation so maybe they were playing a prank on me to remind him of the insanity of those days in Germany?
Walking up to the safety of the fourth floor Slim and I came out of the stairwell, making our way single file down the long hallway towards the elevators.
“You okay?” Glancing over his shoulder Slim addressed me with a smile in his voice.
“Huh?”
“I asked if you were okay?”
I nodded.
“You thinking about that girl I caught you locking lips with on the street?”
I smiled.
Eva.
Why the fuck did all this have to be happening now……now when I’d finally found her again after years of wondering if she had been nothing more then a mirage in the desert when my life had been turned upside down.
“I wasn’t…..but now I am.” I said pushing up my sleeve to make sure the phone number was still scrawled on my arm in dark purple ink.
Once to the elevator we stepped inside and rode it up the fifteenth floor in silence.
There were so many things I wanted to tell Slim but I stayed silent.
As we stepped off the elevator and walked down the hall towards my room Slim dropped a hand on my shoulder stopping me.
“You know you can tell me anything Nicky right?” He asked in a low voice as I turned to face him, avoiding direct eye contact.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I know.”
“Do you wanna tell me who made that cut on the back of your head?”
Yes I do want to tell you.
“You know you can tell me anything Nick. No matter what it is I’ll believe you and I’ll do my best to help you.” He tried to catch my eye letting out a sigh when I looked away.
“Yeah I know Slim. But it’s like you said …..just a bunch of teenybopper girls gone mad." I answered, doing my best to show interest in the bland watercolor on the wall behind him of some sort of shrub on a hill or something?
“You sure kid?”
No Slim I’m not sure. I’m not sure of anything anymore.
“Yup I’m sure.”
“Hey you found him?” Kevin’s voice echoed loudly in the hallway, shutting the door forever on the conversation with Slim, which could have changed the course of my entire destiny.
* * *
“Where the hell have you been?” Grabbing my arm like we were two chicks headed for the restroom to talk about our dates, Kevin dragged me down the hall towards his room.
“I’ve been out.”
“No shit Sherlock. How’s your head?” Opening the door to his room he hauled me inside pushing me down in a chair by the window.
“It’s okay.” I rubbed at the back of my head as he walked around the back of me to inspect the wound.
“So where did you get this?” There was amusement in his voice as he came back around the front of me tapping on my lips.
“Get what?”
“Go see for yourself.” Gesturing to the mirror on the wall Kevin sat in the chair across from me as I stood up.
Pale pink lipstick.
Smiling at my reflection in the mirror I wiped the lipstick off with the tip of my index finger.
“I ran into an old friend.”
“Yeah well you got two old friends looking for you down in the lobby.”
Turning my face fell.
“Brian and A.J. are still in the lobby?”
“They went out on the street looking for you after you took off. Then they came back here. When Slim was dispatched to find your ass the two of them went down to the lobby to meet you.” Kicking his foot up on my vacated chair Kevin sighed.
“You gonna tell me what’s going on?”
“You sound like Slim.” Wrinkling up my nose I waved a dismissing hand through the air.
“Do I need to worry about you?” Leaning forward Kevin snapped his fingers. “Hey, I’m over here.”
“What. I know where you are.” Forcing my eyes to meet his I smiled.
“Do I need to worry about you Nick?”
Why don't you ask Brian and A.J. I thought to myself.
“Nope. I can take care of myself.” I answered tossing him a wave as I strolled casually to the door.
* * *
“Brian and A.J. are still in the lobby.”
Walking down the hall to the room I shared with Brian I slipped my key into the door and turned the handle.
They had been in this room in the early morning hours while I was lying on my face, sucking on my own alcohol-tainted salvia in the bed by the wall.
Standing in the middle of the room I was looking for something? But what I wasn’t quite sure what it was until my eyes set on a heavy plaid blanket pushed over a large object in the corner of the room next to the nightstand beside Brian’s bed.
Making my way through the piles of Brian's wadded up Levi’s and discarded t-shirts that I knew had been strategically placed to keep people away from his side of the room, I stood above the blanket covered object, my mouth going dry.
Pausing a beat I waited for my conscience to tell me what to do.
Tapping the side of my head with my fingers I figured my conscience must have been taking a nap.
I was going to have to figure this out all on my own.
Kicking out my right foot casually I missed the first time, but the second time I was successful in moving the blanket.
Beneath it sat a metal suitcase with a single handle and a lock.
Bending down I ran my fingers over the lock wondering to myself….if I were Brian and A.J. where would I hide the key?
Walking to the door I flipped both deadbolts secure before beginning my rampage. Ransacking the room like some rock star out of control I overturned the mattresses, tipped over the chairs and emptied the drawers out one by one running my hands along the bottoms before tipping them onto the floor.
Standing in the middle of the room, hands on my hips, perspiration dotting my face I surveyed the damage I had done.
Where the hell was that key?
And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. If I was A.J. and Brian and I was trying to hide something from me where would I hide it?
I would hide it right under my nose.
Picking my way through the overturned furniture and piles of clothing littering the floor I pulled the mattress away from the walk in closet with a smile.
Sliding back the closet door I stepped inside grabbing my suitcase which I then carried to the box springs of my bed.
Slapping it down I unzipped both side pouches running my hands around inside, coming up with nothing. Then turning my attention on the main compartment I grabbed the zipper by the bright orange luggage tags and pulled it open slowly.
Flipping back the suitcase I shook my head. Lying at the bottom of the suitcase was a single gold key.
Walking back to the metal suitcase by Brian’s nightstand I hesitated before sliding the key easily into the lock and turning it until I heard a snap and the case fell open.
Son of a bitch.
“You fuck up you die.” Devin’s words echoed loudly through my head as I looked over the clear bags filled with jewels in every shape and size.
Apparently they hadn’t fucked up.