“Then why now? Why not sooner?” The idea Koda had been out there all this time left thorns in Luca’s chest. He reminded himself his brother had died and there was no way anything Nox said could be true.
No matter how much Luca hoped it was.
“Because—” Nox rubbed his temple then shook his head “—I think he had to do something bad and he didn’t want it to. But then he did because he was afraid that the people looking for you would hurt you.”
“And you still can’t remember why they’re looking for me?”
“I don’t think I ever knew. But I’m sure Koda did, and that’s why he sent me to protect you. He loved you. More than anyone else in the world.”
A truth Luca did couldn’t refute, which made the ache of loss all that much worse.
*****
At some point, while Nox drove, Luca fell asleep still holding the bag of breakfast in his lap. The bruises on his arms had lost most of their color.
For some reason, an uneasy feeling needled the back of Nox’s mind.
After a while, the winding roads lost some of their curve. A sign on the right welcomed them into another small town. Here the buildings spread out enough to suggest progress was either reluctant or had given up trying to get a foothold.
Nox found a motel nestled in the crook of a valley. Like the first one, it was less than stellar and exiled along with a liquor store, a bar, and strip club to the outskirts of the city. Cars lined the road, parked partway onto the sidewalk in front of overfilled parking lots.
A car pulled into the motel ahead of Nox. The driver bypassed the lobby and found a place between two older model sedans. The three male passengers got out and made their way across the street to the strip club.
Nox put the van in park. Luca lifted his head and rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?”
“Almost eight.”
“How long did I sleep?” Luca stretched.
“About seven hours.”
“Damn.” He sat up. “I’m sorry. You should have woken me up, and I could have driven for a while.”
“You needed the sleep.”
Luca frowned. “Because I’m sick.”
“No, because you’ll probably be up late getting that computer together.” Nox got out. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.” He headed to the lobby.
A short, rotund, balding man met him at the desk. He had a cigarette stuck behind his ear. “What can I do for you?”
“I need a room for a couple nights. A double if you have it.”
“Sure do. But we don’t allow pets or smoking.”
“That’s not a problem.”
“ID?”
“Lost it.”
The desk clerk peered at Nox from over the rim of his glasses. “My wallet was stolen. The only reason I have any money is because I had it in the vehicle.”
“I really need an ID.”
Nox took out six fifty-dollar bills and slid them across the counter. “That’s all the ID I have.”
“You a criminal?”