“At least they were entertaining,” she muttered as she carried the wheat water back to its rightful home.
Truth was, she fucking hated this job, but she’d needed something to keep food in her belly and shelter over her head. While she’d expected to be back in Oklahoma by now, Orianna had found herself stuck here in Nowhere, Colorado, still in hide-and-seek mode. A couple of leads had led her up to Boulder, another right back to this hellhole, and still, no sign of Amber anywhere.
She’d been about to pack it up when she’d gotten word there was an underground gambling gig in town. Since she’d figured that dead asshole from the alley had been attempting to hassle her father for whatever money he probably owed them, Orianna hoped that would lead her where she needed to go. Unfortunately, while her source had known about it, he didn’t know where it was going down. According to him, they moved the party every couple of days to stay off the local PD radar. Always just out of reach. Something she was oddly familiar with.
The sound of an engine had her looking up into the two-pump parking lot.
Speak of the devil.
A redneck rig pulled up, parked in front of the doors. A guy sporting Wranglers and boots hopped down from the cab, and Orianna had to wonder what was the point in jacking up a truck that high. Seemed kind of pointless to her. How did you get anything in the bed of the truck when you needed a ladder just to get in the cab?
The door swung open, bells jingled, and Howdy Doody strolled in, offering a wink and a tilt of his hat.
“What’s up, Jed?” she greeted, leaning a hip on the counter and crossing her arms over her chest.
The wannabe cowboy smiled, his eyes instantly dropping to the low-cut shirt she wore.
“You find anything out?” she asked, the same as she had the last time she’d seen him, over at the club.
“I mighta.” He winked, then bent down all chill and shit, resting his forearms on the counter. “What’s in it for me?”
A punch in the snout, she thought, even as she said, “Depends on how good the intel is.”
“Oh, it’s good.”
Orianna rolled her eyes. “Where’s the gig?”
Jed stood tall, crossed his skinny arms over his chest. “Word is they’re settin’ up in an abandoned warehouse.”
“That right?” Did the fool not know there were at least two dozen abandoned warehouses in and around Telluride? “Probably need to be a bit more specific.”
“Down off Maple Street.” His grin widened, arms lowering as he pressed his palms to the counter.
She offered a smile, playing him up a bit. “And the guy I told you about? You see him around here?”
Jed shook his head. “Ain’t seen no guy fittin’ that description.”
“But you’ll keep an eye out, right? Let me know if you do?”
“Course.” Jed cocked one dark brow. “So … ’bout that payment.”
“You know the rules,” she told him, mirroring his stance. “Once I find the game, you’ll get paid.”
Jed huffed, dropped his arms. “Fuckin’ dick tease.”
Yeah, not even close. More like wishful thinking on his part. Jed was about as useful as a lamp on a deserted island. However, she figured at some point his lead might pan out, and until she’d exhausted all efforts, Orianna was willing to dangle the line in front of his face.
“I’ll check it out tomorrow night,” she told him. “I’ll hit you up if I find it.”
She could tell the nonchalant shrug was meant to make him look cool, but the frustration on his face was evident.
Orianna knew the feeling. She’d found herself crushing on some stranger, but she’d yet to find a hint of the ridiculously hot man she’d encountered in the alley back in August. And the good Lord knew she’d been trying to track him down, but like Amber, no one seemed to know anything about him.
Six hours later, Orianna stepped into her apartment and locked the door behind her. She flipped the security latch for good measure, then took a quick stroll through the space, ensuring she didn’t have any uninvited guests. She’d learned her lesson the hard way back when one of her landlords thought her desire to pay cash meant she was easy prey. The jackass had been waiting for her one night when she came home from work. He’d taken a bullet in the leg for his efforts, and she’d learned to always double-check before she got settled in.
Of course, there wasn’t much to peruse here. Five hundred square feet of nothing fancy was all her limited finances could afford her. The upside was the place was furnished, albeit sparsely and with shitty, secondhand furniture, but since beggars couldn’t be choosers, Orianna was dealing with it as best she could.
“It’s temporary,” she reminded herself for the millionth time.
