Free Generation Dead (Book 3): Beyond The Gates by Joseph Talluto Page B

arm and leading me up to the building. 
    I smiled and allowed myself to be led, stepping into the lobby.  Two feet into the place, and I nearly stopped short.  The main area was huge, extending into the second floor.  An arching stairway curved upward from the edge of the polished mahogany wood of the main desk.  Several leather chairs were scattered around the well-lit room, and a large fireplace on the far wall added a warm glow to the overall effect. 
    “Damn,” said Jake.
    “Yep,” I said. I noticed a man look us over before he stood up from a chair and hurry out of the building.  I didn’t think much of it, since it could have been he had someplace to be.
    “May I help you?” a young clerk over at the desk called out, and we made our way over.
    “Looking for a couple of rooms if you have them for the night,” Jake said.
    The clerk, a bookish looking soul who couldn’t have been a day over twenty, looked us over before tipping his head back ever so slightly.
    “We have rooms, certainly.  Are you married couples? We are a respectable place,” he asked, with a slight arch of his eyebrow.
    Well, that was a question I hadn’t been asked before.  And before I could answer, Julia and Kayla were stepping forward displaying their wedding rings very close to the man’s face.
    “To answer your question, yes,” Julia said.  “These are our husbands, and before they kill you, you might want to reconsider being rude.”
    The clerk looked at the rings and then over to Jake and me.  We must have had some serious scowls on our face because the clerk turned visibly white and stammered.
    “N-no offense i-intended!”  he blurted out. “The o-owner w-wants to k-keep this a h-higher class p-place than the other h-hotel!”
    Jake reached forward and gently pulled the wives back. “Ladies.  Let’s just get to our rooms.” He looked at the clerk.  “Keys?”
    The clerk broke a speed record getting our keys to us and had a single request before we went upstairs.
    “C-could you please sign our register?” he asked quietly.
    Jake looked at me and I shrugged.  Things were different everywhere.  Jake signed his name, and we started for the stairs.  About halfway up, the clerk looked at the book and blurted out.
    “Jake Talon?”
    My brother turned and gave the young man a cold stare.  “Something wrong?”
    “You’re Jake Talon?” the clerk asked, with a weird smile on his face.
    “Yes.  What about it?”  Jake turned and fully faced the clerk.  His hand rested casually on the hilt of his knife.
    The clerk shook his head.  “Nothing, just heard the name before.”
    Jake gave the man another look before turning back up the stairs.  Down the hall, he looked at me.  “What do you think that was about?”
    I shook my head.  “Beats the hell out of me.  Let’s get washed up and get some dinner.  We have some planning to do.”

Chapter 17
     
     
    An hour later we all met back out in the hallway.  Julia and Kayla had put on some of their nicer clothes in anticipation of a decent meal in a nice restaurant.  Kayla was wearing a form-fitting shirt and vest, with tight fitting jeans tucked into her signature boots.  Julia was in a similar outfit, but without the vest.  Her shirt was open at the throat, and she stuck out in all the right places.  Jake was in a black shirt and pants, and I wore a simple flannel shirt and jeans. 
    If anyone thought we were defenseless, they would have found out differently in a hurry. Julia and Kayla both had knives in their boots, and Jake had a knife up his sleeve in a sheath attached to his forearm.  My blade was in a sheath on my back, and a quick grab behind my neck would bring it out in a hurry. 
    I looked over the girls.  “You ladies look fantastic,” I said smiling.
    Kayla and Julia beamed.  “You two clean up well,” Kayla said.  “Love the shirt, Aaron.”
    “This old thing?  Some old house find, I think.” I winked at Julia.
    “Huh!”