Page 368 of A Matter of Time

I gave him my burner number and the address of my favorite Chinese restaurant in Oak Park.

“I want to see you in two hours, you understand?”

What I understood was that I got to take Zach and Billy with me. It was all that mattered.

Outside, Billy grabbed my arm before I could reach the curb to get us a cab.

“What?”

“Did you fuck him while I was sucking that guy off?”

I shook my head.

“I’ve never seen him wait.”

“I’ve never seen him have to.” Zach shrugged. “We both fucked him when we met him.”

“I’ll give you both a hundred if we can just go now.” I sighed heavily. “Please.”

All argument instantly ceased, and I was thrilled that we didn’t have to talk about Rego James anymore.

The cab ride to Oak Lawn took forty-five minutes, but as I stood with Billy and Zach in the parking lot of the strip mall, I felt like something had been accomplished. They had stolen the car from point B; I just needed to find point A. I needed a car to get around in, and I had to get back and pick up my stuff from the hotel. It was time for the hard work to begin.

I was surprised by how into the detective work Zach and Billy got, and on the ride back, they asked me all kinds of questions that I got to answer honestly, since I really didn’t have any idea who had kidnapped me. Back at the hotel, Billy gave me the address of Rego’s place and warned me not to blow the man off. If I valued my life, I would show up. I pretended to take it all very seriously and watched them cross the street back to the liquor store to buy their drugs.

I ducked into the hotel, gathered up all my things, returned the key, and walked out without the manager knowing anything about me at all. I made sure that Zach and Billy were nowhere to be seen when I caught a cab to the airport to rent a car. I had to get back to the strip mall as soon as I could and start looking for the man who had kidnapped me.

FIFTEEN

Icalled Caleb Reid because I had an idea.

“Hello?”

“Caleb? It’s Jory, are you awake?”

“I’m awake now,” he grumbled. “For crissakes, J, do you know what time it is?”

“No, but listen. Do you remember anything at all about the place we were kept?”

“What? Why are you⁠—”

“I found the guys that stole the car with me in it.”

“What?”

“The guys that stole the car? Remember? I found them.”

“Bullshit.”

“No, it’s true.”

“You found those guys?”

“Yeah.”

“Seriously? You did?”

“Yeah, and they led me to Oak Lawn, but now I gotta try and find the—oh, wait…I just thought of something else. I’ll call ya in the morning.”