He scanned the address. “You know that’s just a couple of miles from here.”
She nodded.
“Lady, you could take it over in a limousine cheaper than this is gonna be.”
“Still,” she said, pleasantly.
He scratched his head. “Okay, but I can’t send it without a return address.”
She filled in the townhome’s address—if the package wasn’t picked up and found its way back to her in Atlanta, at least she’d have reading material for a while. When the clerk told her the delivery charge, she coughed, then swiped her beleaguered card. “What time will it be delivered?”
“Guaranteed by 10 a.m.”
Carlotta thanked the man, then left, thinking of the supplies she would need for a stakeout. Binoculars, portable phone charger, snacks, water…
Chapter 9
“DUDE, IT’S BEEN twenty-one hours,” Chance said, abandoning the joystick of the Mortal Kombat console. “Isn’t that close enough, considering the different time zone and all?”
Wes looked up from the NBA Live game he was playing and squinted. “It doesn’t work like that.”
“Sniff it and see if it smells.”
A cute girl walking by gave Chance a lethal look.
“He didn’t mean you,” Wes offered, but she was gone.
He shook his head at his snickering friend, then fished out his wallet and removed the fake driver’s license. After glancing around to make sure no one was watching, he ran the plastic card under his nose and inhaled.
“Well? Does it stink?”
“I can’t tell. Maybe.”
“Let me take a whiff.”
Wes handed it over. Chance held it under his big schnoz and inhaled deeply. “Mmm…smells like French fries.”
“You mean like the fries you had for lunch?”
Chance sniffed again, then frowned. “Yeah, maybe I’m smelling my fingers.”
“Wash your hands sometime, how about it?”
“I don’t smell the card, though, so maybe it’s okay to use it.”
“And maybe I don’t want to risk it,” Wes said. “The guy specifically said to wait twenty-four hours.”
“Dude, I’m dying here. Let’s go gamble.”
“Nothing’s stopping you from playing.”
“It’s not as much fun by myself,” Chance whined. “And normally I’d kill time by going out and getting laid, but now there’s Hannah, so…”
“Where is Hannah?”
“She said she went shopping with Carlotta.”
“You don’t believe her?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to text her.” He pulled out his phone.
Wes kept playing, with one eye on the clock, counting down the minutes until he could hit the poker tables. His backpack vibrated. Hoping it was Meg reaching out, he checked, but it was the phone Mouse had given him. Disappointed, he ignored it—it was nice Mouse wanted to stay in touch, but he’d ping the man back later. He’d ignored Liz’s call, too—that whole fatherhood scare was still a little fresh.
“She’s not responding,” Chance said.
“Maybe she’s busy.”
“She hasn’t responded all day.”
Wes heard the injured note in his buddy’s voice. He wouldn’t be surprised if Hannah was out following Coop around the city, but he didn’t want to dash Chance’s dreams. “Don’t get worked up about it.”
“I love her, dude.”
Wes abandoned his game. Chance looked like a little boy who’d lost his blankie. “That’s cool, man, really. But you’re not going to land Hannah if you act all needy and shit.”
Chance worked his mouth from side to side. “But I do need her.”
“But you can’t act like you do, understand?”
“I guess so. But I’m miserable when she’s not around. I think about her, like, all the time.”
Wes could relate. Meg sat on his mind like a hat. “I get it, but you need to relax, man. Hannah digs your fat ass, don’t mess it up by being a pain. She’s on vacation, too.”
“I know. I just can’t shake this feeling that she’s hiding something from me.”
“I don’t think she could get anything past you,” Wes lied.
Chance nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m being hemorrhoid.”
“I think you mean ‘paranoid.’”
“Huh?”
“Never mind.”
Wes’s backpack vibrated again. He reached inside with the intention of turning off the phone Mouse gave him, then realized it was his main phone. He pulled it out and grinned. A text from Meg.
Hi. I’m guessing you put the bracelet on my teddy bear? Very pretty. Thank you.