Lacey was a breath of fresh air for me, and there was something different about her that I couldn’t quite place, but I knew it was only a matter of time before I had the chance to find out for myself.
Twelve
Lacey
I had to have been a little too drunk, because sitting across from Moves filled me with the kind of urge I'd never felt before. My entire body was on fire, and the tension between us was undeniable, but before I could allow myself to get wrapped up in him, I had to at least get some information about Ortega’s Autos, otherwise I would be waking up the following morning feeling like I had completely failed in what I had set out to do.
I dialed it back a bit, looking him in the eye as I told him I could use something to sober me up, and he went over to the bar to get us two glasses of water. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to get the answers I needed, and I had to focus. I had to remember that I was there to collect information, and as much as I felt the urge to kiss Moves, I couldn’t let myself stray too far away from what I needed.
“You know, I was out on the highway around this part of town, and my car started acting all weird, so I pulled into Ortega’s. The man there was really nice in helping me out, and I was just glad to get the thing fixed. I don’t have much luck with cars unfortunately,” I said, and I watched his expression change completely, coming back down to earth for a moment while he tried to find a suitable answer.
“Yeah, Ortega’s is a good place to go. I can put in a word for you if you ever need car assistance there again,” he said, and I thought that was quite nice of him. I decided it was a good opportunity to do a bit of fishing, and I knew that it was the best time to take advantage of whatever information I could get my hands on.
“That’s really nice of you, Moves. Thank you. Trust me, I’m just glad I’ve had this car for this long. The last one I had got stolen, and anyone I told about it said that there are places that tear those cars to pieces and sell them for parts. Though I have a hard time believing that,” I said, trying to play dumb without letting him in on the fact that I suspected Ortega’s of that very thing.
“I don’t know of any chop shops around these parts, but if there’s one thing I’m sure of, Ortega’s isn’t one of them. Though there’s a place on the other side of town that does stuff like that. It’s run by a guy by the name of El Diablo,” he said, and I sat on his words for a moment, wondering where I had heard that name before.
“Well, let’s just hope I manage to keep my hands on this one. It’s starting to get a bit hot in here, don’t you think? Would you like to join me outside for a bit of fresh air?”
That was as much information as I was going to get for now without him getting suspicious. The mention of Ortega’s Autos had made his expression change, but I couldn’t figure out why. He didn’t seem like the type to be hiding something, and from what I’ve seen, Ortega’s didn’t seem like the place where cars got dismantled and sold for parts.
Maybe I need to broaden my search, look into that place that he told me about. Maybe there are some answers there.
We ventured outside, and I noticed there were back entrances to the bathrooms, probably for a quick stop before heading back out on the road. This place had been right off one of the major routes leading into La Playa, and I expected it got quite a bit of \traffic just about any time of the day or night.
I felt the tension return the minute Moves and I were finally alone, but I couldn’t put into words what I had been feeling. My face heated up as he inched closer to me, and I watched while he scrambled to make a bit of conversation before we both jumped into something we couldn’t get ourselves out of.
“It amazes me that you and your friend could come to a place like this just to have a bit of fun. I don’t think I’d ever seen anyone come around these parts that weren’t just passing through or spent a good chunk of their days here, but I’m glad that I was able to run into you today, Lacey,” he said, inching closer to me again, and I could’ve sworn I was about to feel his lips press into mine, but I just had to go ahead and say something stupid.
“Yes, well, this is completely out of character for me being a lawyer and all,” I said. I watched his expression change completely, going blank at the mention of my career, but I couldn’t figure out why. I thought his friends would’ve told him what I did for a living.
“I, uh, I’m just going to head to the bathroom for a moment,” I said, trying to break the awkward silence, rushing in with my heart pounding, trying to calm the urges that were welling up inside me.
Is being a lawyer really that bad? Or is there something that Moves knows that he isn’t telling me? Something that would make him scared at the sound of me being involved with the law?
I leaned over the sink to catch my breath for a moment, reaching into my pocket for my phone to text Mona, because I needed to get this off my chest. I hadn’t seen her for quite a while, and it dawned on me that I completely abandoned her the moment that Moves made his way over to me.
I sent the text, heading back out to see that Moves had left, and my heart sank into my stomach.
Maybe there really is more to the story after all.
Thirteen
Moves
Lacey is an attorney? Did she tell anyone else about this?
I was sitting at home trying to figure out how I could’ve missed the signs. I’d seen her at Lily and Bailey’s thinking that she was just a neighbor that they’d extended an invite to, but now I realized that she was an attorney, heavily involved with the law, and could possibly be a problem for us.
I was looking for a quick hookup, trying to blow off steam last night at the Blue Dog, but I didn’t think that I’d run into Lacey. I didn’t think that I would’ve ended up feeling that way about her either, especially seeing as we were clearly both from very different worlds. I couldn’t get involved with her, not until I knew exactly what kind of attorney she was.
I hated that I had to scope her out, but I was so worried that she was going to be a problem for Chalupa’s case that I had to know for sure. I had to get some information about where she worked, and I needed to know if she was anywhere close to Chalupa’s case, because that would make things much more difficult.
I decided to give Hawk a call, because we needed to get a move on finding out as much as we could. At least now we had somewhere to start.
“Hello?”
“I think I may have found us a lead that we can follow up to get some answers of our own,” I said.
