Free Duke City Hit by Max Austin Page B

grinning.
    Tina punched him in the shoulder. The hard muscle there hurt her hand, but she tried not to let it show.
    “Spill it, mister.”
    “It went fine. We ate New Mexican food. Talked about Mom.”
    “Was that real emotional?”
    “Come on, Tina. We’re
guys
. We stared at our food until we felt better, then we moved on to other subjects.”
    “Like what?”
    “His business, stuff like that. The conversation was a little stiff, to tell you the truth.”
    “He’s probably just being cautious. Making sure you’re for real. You hear stories all the time about older people getting scammed and abused and stuff.”
    Ryan laughed.
    “How is that funny?”
    “I can’t see anybody taking advantage of Vic. A guy who’s spent thirty-five years in the bail bond business? He’s heard
all
the scams by now.”
    “Doesn’t matter anyway. He believes he’s your father. He said so.”
    Ryan looked away. “Guess I’m being cautious, too. I don’t want him messing up our lives.”
    Tina smiled. “He seemed pretty harmless to me.”

Chapter 20
    Ryan was sound asleep when someone pounded on the motel room door. He snapped awake and sat up in bed, tangled in the sheets. Sunlight streamed through a gap between the musty drapes.
    He checked the clock on the bedside table. 7:48 a.m.
    “Son of a bitch.”
    Tina moaned. She was curled up on the far edge of the bed. He didn’t want to wake her. The sooner she awoke, the sooner she’d resume her questions about Vic and Ryan and the past and the future. He’d had to feign sleep the night before to get any peace.
    Wham
,
wham
on the door.
    Mad now, Ryan bounded out of bed. He wore only flannel pajama bottoms, but he flung the door open and squinted out at the asshole who dared to knock at this time of day.
    Vic. Dressed in a gray suit and black sunglasses. Bulge under his arm. Smile on his face.
    “Good morning. You’re still in bed?”
    “What?”
    “Get some clothes on. We’re going for a ride.”
    It was too much too fast. Ryan said, “I need coffee.”
    “Got some in the car. Come on, shake a leg. I want to beat the rush-hour traffic.”
    The bed squeaked as Tina sat up, holding the covers to her chin. “Who is it?”
    “Go back to sleep, hon.”
    “Is that your beautiful young miss?” Vic stood on tiptoe to look past Ryan’s head. “Hello in there! Sorry if I woke you!”
    Tina fell back onto the bed with a groan.
    “Why don’t you wait in the car, Vic? I’ll be right there.”
    “Okeydoke. I’ll pour you a cup of joe. Have it waiting for you.”
    Ryan shut the door and rested his forehead against it. He could hear Vic on the other side, whistling cheerfully. Then the
whump
of his car door.
    “Jesus Christ,” Ryan muttered. “It’s too early for this shit.”
    From bed, Tina said, “Are you going with him?”
    “Do I have any choice?”
    She pulled the covers over her head.
    Ryan picked up the clothes he’d taken off the night before. The jeans needed washing, but the T-shirt wasn’t too bad. He put them on, and was stepping into his boots when Tina peeked out.
    “Where is he taking you?”
    “No idea.”
    “When will you be back?”
    “Your guess is as good as mine.”
    “Will you bring me a Starbucks?”
    “I’ll try.”
    Boots still unlaced, he clumped around the end of the bed so he could stoop over and kiss her forehead.
    “Be careful,” she said.
    “We’re probably going to breakfast so Vic can flirt with waitresses.”
    “Everybody needs a hobby.”
    “I kinda like the way he does it. He joshes with people, but he never laughs at his own jokes. He smiles sometimes, but it’s like he’s reading off a script and it says, ‘Insert smile here.’ ”
    “You think that’s a good thing?”
    “He’s always in control.”
    “That’s not the way emotions are supposed to work.”
    “I’m not talking about emotions. I’m talking about conversation.”
    “With waitresses.”
    “Yeah.”
    Tina pulled the covers over her