“No.”
“Warrants?”
“No, sir.”
“Got any dope on you?”
“Sorry.”
“Damn, I could have used a joint.” He took the money and tucked it into his pocket. “Just fill out this piece of paper with your name and address.” He handed Nox a form and a pen.
Nox jotted down random information and handed it back.
The clerk scanned it. “Well, Mr. Nixon, I hope you enjoy your stay with us.” He tapped the form. “Give me a minute to program your keys. Two, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
He waddled over to the computer.
Luca watched Nox through the windows in the front. He regretted telling Luca about his brother. Even though Luca didn’t seem to believe him, despair had flowed from his every exhale. But lying to Luca felt as much of a violation as lying to Koda.
And lying by omission didn’t change that.
The desk clerk returned with the key cards. “Check out is by eleven o’clock. Keep the noise down after ten.”
Nox saluted him with the key cards.
“Remember, no pets, and no smoking.” The man pointed.
“Got it. No pets, no smoking.” Nox walked back out to the van.
“Everything okay?” Luca watched the desk clerk out the van window.
“He was just reminding me that we’re not allowed to have pets or smoke.”
“I think we can manage that.”
Nox found a spot several cars down from where their room was located. He grabbed the shopping bags, and Luca carried the computer and phones. For a roadside motel, the inside was surprisingly neat. No peeling wallpaper, no leaky faucets, and fresh vacuum tracks on the stain-free carpet. The TV was old, and so was the dresser, but the beds had clean linens.
“You were able to get a double this time.” Luca set the boxes on one of the beds.
“Yeah. I booked the room for two nights.”
“You plan on stealing the sheets again?” Luca grinned.
“No, but I thought you might need more than a day to get everything set up. Plus, it’ll give us time to rest and give you time to do your research. While you do that, I’ll get a map and try to decide where to go.”
Luca held up one of the boxes. “Lucky for you the cell phones come with built-in map apps.”
Nox picked up one of the boxes. “I should have gotten three nights.”
“Why?”
Nox thumped the package with his finger. “It’ll probably take me a day or more to learn how to use this thing.”
“C’mon, you’re not that old.” Luca bumped him in the shoulder. Even the momentary contact tightened Nox’s chest and sent heat flooding his veins.
Luca was not Koda. There was no reason for him to feel like this around him, yet it was there. Different and the same. Luca’s scent flared, filling Nox’s lungs. The room brightened, the beat of his heart rippled the air, his very being hummed a siren’s song. Warm brown skin, a slender yet strong neck, shoulders, graceful, sloping, begging to be bitten.