“Evening, Roger,” I said with a grin. “Long Island?”
The older man behind the counter, who had been working at the hotel since before my parents had died, grinned. “Sure, Dom, weak or strong?”
“It’s probably just going to be the one, so make it strong,” I said.
“Sure thing,” he said.
“Thanks,” I said as he slid the drink across to me, and I slid him a nice tip. I didn’t have to pay for shit while I was here, but that didn’t mean I was going to forget the tip. Roger had been taking care of people’s drink needs for a generation; he deserved tips even though he was paid quite well.
“If you’re running from your mother, you might not want to head toward the lobby,” Roger warned. “She seems to be standing out there, waiting for something. And since you weren’t expected to be here, I’m going to guess it’s you she’s looking for.”
“And you would be right,” I said with a snort. “Thanks for the heads up, she’s being all worried for no reason.”
“She wouldn’t be a mother if she didn’t worry endlessly.”
“I’m a grown ass man, Roger.”
“And you will never stop being her child, no matter how old you get. How do you not know that by now?”
“I’ll figure it out one day, I’m sure, now...I’ll be going.”
Trying not to be obvious, I blended in with the crowd while I shuffled toward the back of the bar, where another door would take me into the employee-only part of the hotel. Ducking into the room, I walked toward the side of the building where I could step out into the night. The alley was lit only at the mouth and at the door I walked out of, but it was enough for me to see.Which included the figure hanging half into the small dumpster we kept.
“Evening, Mads,” I said as I walked down the stairs toward the dumpster.
“Fuck!” came a deceptively strong voice as the frail woman flailed and fell forward with another cry and a muffled curse.
“Uhh.” I came to the dumpster and peered over into her craggy face. “You alright?”
“Damn you to the furthest reaches of hell!” she snapped, shoving her arm toward me. “Help me up, Dominic! Gotta keep an eye on the place.”
I snorted. “Mads, I don’t think we need you watching the place.”
“Why?”
“Well, we have cameras, so that takes care of that. And last I checked, you’ve needed glasses for the last thirty or so years, so what exactly are you watching?”
“My eyes work just fine when they need to,” she said, and I sighed as I watched her pull out what looked like the film from a tub of yogurt.
“Don’t,” I said, taking it from her and tossing it into the dumpster. “Just come inside and let me get you some food. Real food. Not this.”
“Not until I make sure that weirdo is gone,” she said, glaring at the street.
As much as I wanted to point out that the only weirdo around here was her, I kept my mouth shut on that point. “The city is full of weirdos, Mads. That’s not exactly something new or interesting.”
“People watch,” she said, and I suppressed the urge to sigh heavily. “Someone’s watching right now.”
“It’s a big building,” I tried to soothe. “I’m sure there’s a lot of people who stare at it or watch the people.”
“No, no, he’s watching,” she muttered, and I wondered if I had time to get Moira or Matty before things got worse. “They always are.”
“Well,” I began slowly, wondering if it was safe for me to touch her or if it would make it worse. “Why don’t you come inside and after we get you…oh goddammit.”
Mads had already started walking, and you wouldn’t think that a woman her age could move quickly. Mads might hobble around and take her time, usually, but when she was on a mission, nothing short of physical force would stop her once she got an idea in her head. But also like a toddler on a mission, she didn’t pay attention to anything around her when she was locked into whatever had grabbed her attention.
“Mads!” I called, forgetting my drink entirely and hurrying after her as she made for the road. “I know it’s the middle of the night, but there’s still traffic!”
Not that that mattered apparently, because she was hobbling at the speed of light to...somewhere. By the time I got to the mouth of the alley, she was already walking past the few parked cars at the curb and into the street. The problem was that she hadn’t listened to a thing I said, and there were still cars coming up and down the road. Swearing vehemently, I chased after her, hoping to catch her before she got run over. The last thing I needed was to add an ER visit to the night.
