Chapter Three
All the way
to the nearest hotel, Claudia said absolutely nothing to me. She just stared out the window chewing on
her fingernails. I hate to see her
uncertain about anything. It's down
right disturbing. Alright, I may get
sidetracked sometimes, but never like this.
How much could this guy have meant to her? I don't even remember who he was. Did she hide any information from me about him? If so, why?
Ugh. Silence is a bitch.
When we got
to Riceland Hotel, Claudia was completely in her own little world. I almost wanted to slap her out of it.
She stepped
out of the cab and quickly grabbed her suitcase out of the trunk. She strolled almost silently to the door of
the hotel and waited for me to open it.
I walked up in front of her and opened the door. She fell in step behind me and quickly
walked through the door. I went to the
front desk to see an unnerving happy go lucky twenty-year old girl. She had
long brown hair and hazel eyes. Her
lipstick stretched out bright red as she smiled.
"May I
help you?"
"Yeah,
I need a room with two beds."
"Alright. We have one. Room thirty-five. It'll
be thirty-two dollars for one night.
Thirty for any extra night spent here."
I took some
money out of my pocket and threw in on the desk.
She dangled
the keys in front of my face. I jerked
them away from her.
My face went
bitter and said, "thank you."
"Well,
I hope your night goes better, Ms."
I cursed and
stomped off. Why is it some people can
read me?
Claudia
followed me as we went back outside to the rooms. The door was the third on the left. The sign in room, or whatever it is called, was the main
building. Two other long in length wide
building followed it. One on the right
of the large lobby and one on the left.
We were going to the left.
When I first
opened the door, I expected to see two small beds lined up parallel to each
other. The headboard of the bed facing
the left side of the wall and a TV hooked up somewhere there. As a surprise, I got exactly what I asked
for. Two beds and a TV on a tray near
the other wall. The perfect room. Now this is what I am used to.
I stomped my
feet on the white carpet just to do it.
Had to entertain myself somehow.
Claudia almost air walked into the room. She went directly to the bed.
She dropped her stuff on the right side of the bed and set down. She fell back onto the pillows, pulled the
sheets back, and positioned her tiny frame comfortably under the covers. She then placed them over her and closed her
eyes. She didn't even say a
prayer. Please, don't make her that
traumatized.
I woke up
around eleven in the morning that day.
Claudia was already up eating lunch.
At least she looked better. She
began to smile at me while she watched me get up from the bed. Her voice came out as her cheerful self.
"How
was your sleep?"
"Fine. How long have you been up?"
"About
two hours. I had to think about
stuff. I got you lunch."
"Thanks. What did you think about?"
"Um... Actually, about the guy that died last
night. He was my ex-boyfriend."
I
shrugged. So what?
"And?"
She sighed
at me. "Sara, I lost my virginity
to him."
My face went
blank. Damn, I didn't know that.
I sat next
to her on her bed. "Why didn't you
ever tell me?"
She smiled,
"you thought he was a dumb jock."
I
laughed. "So, we are like best
friends. I tell you everything that
goes on in my life."
"I
know."
"This
makes me feel different about you. You
got anymore secrets?"
"No. Not really."
"What
the hell do you mean by not really?"
"Exactly
what I said."
"You
are really starting to irritate me."
She looked
at me and her eyes glittered. "I
know."
I pushed her
off the bed and she rolled on her stomach laughing. Yeah, she really is feeling better today.
When she
finally sat up from laughing so hard, there was a knock on the door.
We stared at
each other and felt a little stiff. Who
the hell would know we stayed here?
The knock
came again and I stood up and went to the door.
"Who is
it?"
"A
friend."
"Either
explain, or get the fuck away from that door!"
"Jonas
told me to come incase something happened to him."
My eyes went
wide. Damn, he expected to die. What the hell did he get himself into?
I looked at
Claudia and made a face at her that only she would know. She shrugged back at me. Okay, I was going to open the door. I looked back at Claud and motioned for the
gun. She nodded at me and took it out.
She stood up
to the side, but made sure she was still in clear view of whoever was standing
at the door.
I placed my
hand on the knob and turned it slowly.
I pulled back a little and was completely shocked with what I saw. He was about six-two with a muscular
figure. When I looked up at him, I saw
beautiful chestnut brown eyes. His hair
was dark brown and slicked back. The
top of his hair was longer than the sides.
The sides were short, but could be combed back. His face was shaped as a square. His jaw was perfect. His face was very smooth. His skin was dark. Naturally dark. He looked
to have a little tinge of Latin in him.
He had full pouty lips. He also
had a vibe about him. Maybe a
lycanthrope. Werewolf? Felt like it. He was wearing casual blue jeans that weren't too tight, a white
button up shirt that revealed a bit of his chest (no chest hair there), and
black semi-shiny shoes. He was perfect.
When his
eyes saw the gun Claudia was holding, he waved his arms in the air as if trying
to prove he was innocent. I looked back
at her and motioned for her to put the gun down. She hesitated, but did it.
I didn't have my gun, why was I putting trust into him? Because Jonas is a good guy. I just don't understand why he's dead and
what he did to get himself that way. I
hope this guy has answers.
He reached
out his hand to me and I shook it. His
hands were large, but then I'm a small woman, so there you go. He looked back at Claud, but she had already
gone into the bathroom. She trusted
him. Damn.
"May I
come in?"
I looked
back at him and wanted to tell him no, but had to say yes. I doubt that the information he had would
pass out here in the light.
"Yeah,
there's no chairs, so grab a bed."
He smiled,
strolled briskly into the room, and sat down on the bed I slept in. Claudia came back out of the bathroom and
went directly towards me.
"I'm
sorry, but I've got to go call my sister.
Even though I know she's gonna be rude to me, I still have to
call."
"Okay. I'll make sure and tell you the information
Mr.," I looked at him for a few brief heartbeats before he realized that I
was talking him.
"Lopez."
"Mr. Lopez
tells me."
Claud smiled
then left us alone. Oh gosh. I can handle myself though. Right?
Maybe he wasn't as tough as he was cute. Let's hope.
"So,
Mr. Lopez."
"Call
me Cameron."
"Alright,
why did Jonas tell you to come see us if he died?"
"Because
he has crucial information on a new type of lycanthrope."
I folded my
arms over my chest. "Yeah, like
what?"
"He
knew their location, habitat, leaders, and sexual. Well, you know," he bent his head down as though he had said
something too embarrassing for the light of day.
"So,
what's so great about all that?"
His head
bounced back up and his eyes glittered with enthusiasm, "their leader is
trying to keep them silent, unheard of.
I honestly don't understand why.
I did however meet the leader before."
"What
was he like?"
"She."
My mouth did
an o expression. I thought leaders had
to be male. See that. Learning more and more each day.
"She
was a bit rude."
"Nice
to know that."
"No
really, she was. She's in porn. She was an ex-cop, but they sort of kicked
her out. I don't know why."
"Let me
guess. She was probably propositioning
the pigs. I mean cops."
He placed
his left hand on his stomach and laughed slightly. "Probably. Here in
this file is everything you'll ever need to know." I hadn't even seen it in his hands when he
walked in. Maybe I was too busy staring
at his looks. Might be it.
"Question."
"Yes,
Sara."
"Jonas
died over this information. Do you
think that the bitch and her squad would know where I am?"
"Probably."
"Well,
thank you for the help Mr. Lopez. Nice
to know I've got a bitch on my trail."
He shrugged
his shoulders. "She knows you are down here Sara. She must have felt you as you closed in on
her environment."
"Well,
damn. I can't honestly be that powerful."
"Either
you are or she is. I'm betting on
you." His eyes were so boyish and
perfect. Damn, he's cute. Now this is my type of man. Alright, Sara. Down to business. Geez.
"Well,
it's nice to know that." I smiled
at him. I was actually telling the
truth.
"I've
heard the stories of the 'slayer'."
"What
the hell?"
He stood up
and stretched. Damn, he was tall.
He turned
around and went to the table between the beds.
He placed the folder on it and sat back on the bed. He turned towards me with a smile that meant
he knew something I didn't.
"I
don't know you Cameron, but I hate people that hide shit from me."
He put his
hands out in front of him as if trying to prove it, "I'm not hiding
anything. I just heard some
stories."
"Like?"
"Like
vampires stories."
He smiled at
me. I rolled my eyes and stood up.
"Well, Mr. Lopez, if you have no other useful information for me, I think
you ought to go."
"Yeah,"
he looked down at the ground. Now, I
felt bad. "Cameron, I'm sorry for
being rude."
"It's
okay. I will live with it."
I laughed,
but he looked at me, eyes all confused.
"Want to go eat somewhere?"
His face lit
up. He wasn't expecting that. "Sure. Where would you like to
go?"
"Somewhere
besides Taco Bell." I looked back
at the food Claudia bought and wanted to throw up. Taco Bell was good, but only for so long. After a while, it was damn well annoying.
"I know
of a great restaurant. Casa Ole."
"Yeah,
I love that place. Let's go."
I looked at
him and searched his face. I was trying
to find something that was familiar.
Something I could work with, but nothing came to me.
"How
long have you lived in Texas?"
"About
two years. I've finally settled down
here. I used to travel from place to
place. My job required it."
"What
kind of job do you have?"
"I am a
photographer."
I had to
laugh. That's how he knew Jonas.
