I blinked slowly. I’d never had the pleasure of meeting bikers, but now I was curious. Maybe I would have to pay them a visit and see what the fuss was about. “Right. Of course it was them,” I said, glancing back at the screen. The news went on to a different subject, and I was disappointed I didn’t get to see a good view of my artwork again. I’d spent time on that one and they barely showed anything interesting.
I paid and left, heading back toward A Home for the Heart. Donny was at the reception desk and winked at me when I entered. Fortunately he was with a woman, who waved me through because I already had a room. I nodded at her and ignored Donny as I walked down a narrow corridor, passing a few men and women as I headed toward my assigned room. I’d made a promise to Rogers not to suck Donny off again and I planned on keeping my word. I wouldn’t follow orders for just anyone, but Rogers was different.
What was his first name? I should’ve asked him, but I’d been too focused on my prey and his reaction to it. I’d been delighted at the interest in his eyes, and it only confirmed my belief about him.
He was one ofus.
I’d come to one conclusion: I wanted him.
Not for romance or anythingemotional, I wanted to possess him and learn from him. No one had ever looked at me like I was doing something good. His approval had practically shone from him like a divine light. He wasmine. I would claim him, and no one else could touch him or I’d cut off their hands.
I paused when I got into the room, past the wobbly door that creaked, and saw Tyler, my temporary roommate. He’d been here longer than what should’ve been allowed and seemed to have a permanent spot in the bed he was lounging on. He was younger than me, I was sure of it, but had scars. The right side of his face was covered in healed wounds, and one had ripped into his bottom lip, making his mouth misshapen. His right eye was half closed, but it was always like that. I thought he might be blind on that side. I didn’t know what had happened to him, but I also didn’t care. It was none of my fucking business.
Tyler fiddled with a quarter, rolling it along his fingers, and then he glanced up, shoving a pair of damaged headphones off his head. His shaggy blond hair went everywhere with nothing to weigh it down. “Hey, man.”
“What’s up?” I asked, kicking the door shut behind me and sitting on my bed.
He waved the little silver disc at me—it wasn’t a coin like I’d thought. “Something I stole from my stepdad’s before I fucked off. It’s a tracking device.”
“Why did he have one of those?”
“He was a detective. Thought if I took it, I’d get some cash for it, but Nike will only give me twenty-five for it. Cheap bastard.”
I hadn’t met Nike, but I’d heard all about him. He was the guy people around this place sold stolen shit to for some extra cash.
“Said he knew my stepdad was a cop, and that it was too much of a risk. What if he wanted the tracker back? Fucking stupid, this shit wasn’t even for detective work. He bought it to follow my mom. The nosy asshole found out she was fucking his brother because of it.” He rolled his eyes. “All it needs is a phone app, nothing advanced, but Nike wouldn’t budge and now I’m stuck with this thing, and I’m outta money. I should’ve just accepted the twenty-five bucks.”
An idea formed in my head, and smirking, I pulled out two twenties I had in my pocket and flashed the cash at him. “I’ll give you this for it.”
Tyler blinked at me in confusion and sat up in his bed, then swung his legs over the mattress and placed them on the floor so we were face-to-face. “What’s the catch? Why do you want a tracking device?”
I shrugged. “Does it matter? You want the cash or not? You could always take Nike’s twenty-five instead.”
Tyler frowned but held out the device, and I shoved the cash into his hand and took the tracking chip from him, staring at it in curiosity. It wasn’t much to look at—small, round, and silver—and there was a thin film on the back I flicked with my thumbnail. Below the film was a sticky substance, and it wasn’t hard to deduce that’s how it could be attached to something. Once I replaced the film, I glanced back at him.
“What’s the app?”
“The Tile app. You’ll be able to track it from your phone. You got one?”
I nodded and pulled out my beaten and battered iPhone. I didn’t use it much, and my credit was running low, but I usually managed to steal money somewhere to buy a phone card. I had no one to call, which meant I mainly used it for apps anyway, so I kept the credit for a long time.
But now my phone was about to do the most important job of its life—it was going to help me track Rogers.
I flashed Tyler the first real grin I’d given him, and his eyes widened. I didn’t know if it was because he thought I was cute or terrifying. “Thanks.”
He hesitated, then nodded with a small smile of his own. “You’re welcome.”
* * *
The next day, I realized that I didn’t know when Rogers was working again. He hadn’t left me any way of contacting him, and he’d acted as though we wouldn’t see each other again, but he’d done the same thing when he’d warned me to leave town, too, and he couldn’t keep away. This time, I wanted the advantage. I wanted to know more about him.
Where did he live?
Did he have a partner?
What did he do in his spare time?
So, I did the only reasonable thing—I hitched a ride downtown with an elderly gentleman, who could barely see, even with the thick glasses he had notched on his large nose. After I’d arrived, I went inside the station and asked if Officer Rogers worked there. Luckily for me I had a great memory and I’d seen his badge number more than once, and the cop at the front desk confirmed Rogers didn’t, in fact, work in that station—he worked at Lakeside. It took me some time to walk there, and when I arrived, I made the decision to sit up on a rock half wall that was used as a pretty fence in front of a restaurant, on the opposite side of the street to the police building. No one came out to ask me to move, and even if they did, I wouldn’t.
