Axel placed the clothing in a hamper, grabbed his gun out of his closet as he always did, and put it inside his holster. He snatched his phone from off the bed and called Gee, an old friend of his, back.
“Circle K, Gee speaking.”
“Gee, it’s Axel. Got your message. What’s up?”
“Yeah, man. Some short guy came up in here buying some beer, then asked if you lived ’round here. I asked why? And he got an attitude and acted like I was just supposed to—”
“Did he say his name or what he wanted?”
Axel leaned over his nightstand, pulled open the drawer, and grabbed a lighter, then a pack of his Marlboro cigarettes.
“He told me and Henry that his name was Len, but that was probably a lie. He ain’t say what he wanted beyond where you like to hang, thangs like that.”
“All right.” He lit the cigarette. “If he comes by again, call or text me right away. Thanks for the heads up.”
“No problem. We look out for each other ’round here. I know dem dudes from Texas ain’t tryna catch no trouble with you after you showed ’em better than you can tell ’em. Catch you later.”
Axel ended the call and sat quietly for a while, staring off into the distance. Picking up a bottle of water from the nightstand, he drained it, then smoked his cigarette for a few moments before checking out the cinema times on the website he pulled up on his phone. As with his job, Gee’s call didn’t cause him much alarm. It was the nature of the beast.
If you stay ready, you ain’t got to get ready. Let me call this cutie. I want to see my Olde English 800 malt, tonight…
“What’s up, Ms. Doctor?” He smiled as soon as she answered her phone.
“Nothing much! Did you get your new tattoo?”
He’d told her about his intention to get one of the Greek Gods, Hermes.
“Not yet. I had to work. Got a couple of calls. I’ll probably get it next week. What are you doing right now?”
“Uh, just got home a few minutes ago, actually.” He heard a door close. “Was about to make myself a little dinner, warm up these leftovers, and call my mama to see how she’s doing. What are you up to, handsome?”
“You want to check out that new Tom Cruise movie?”
“Tonight?”
“Yeah.”
“I have to take care of a lot of stuff tonight, Axel.”
“You said you were going to warm up leftovers and call your mother.”
“Yes, but after that, I need to go over this book that was given to me last minute today by the museum, and it’s almost four hundred pages. The damn thing is falling apart. I’m going to try and see if any of it can be salvaged. It’s only one of fifteen copies, and on top of that, there’s water damage and—”
“Come on, baby. If it’s raggedy today, it’ll still be raggedy tomorrow. One more day won’t change that. Nothin’ you can do to save it right now, anyway.”
“You’re being selfish. You know that’s not the point.”
“You’re being selfish by not jumping on this opportunity. You know how my schedule has been this last week, so whenever I have some time for myself, I try to make good use of it. Spendin’ time with you is good use of it, if you ask me.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. I’ll swing by around seven-thirty?” He tapped the cigarette ashes into the ashtray. “It starts at eight-fifteen at Rave Cinemas. Let me come see you…”
“…Okay.”
“I’ll be there soon, beautiful.” He disconnected the call, got to his feet, smashed his cigarette in the ashtray, then slipped his gun back out. He checked the chamber of his Glock 19. All fifteen rounds were ready and able.
No one is going to make me walk around my own hood in fear. These bastards aren’t even from ’round here, trying to tell folks what to do and how to do it. You’re not going to try and kill me twice, and then have the family jewels to wage some war against me because the police are investigating your asses for some bullshit YOU did. I’ve seen death too many times in my lifetime to be afraid of it, or to just lie back and let that shit happen to me, too. My life hasn’t been sunshine and roses, but it’s mine, and I will protect it—come rain, sleet, snow, or blood…
He grabbed his truck keys and headed out the door.
Chapter Seven
Axel smiled at the screen, looking a bit like Josh Turner under the spell of the theater’s ambiance. They’d both been fairly quiet during the film. Shared a few glances, and at one point, he winked at her and intertwined their fingers. As usual, he smelled good, looked practically delicious, and she didn’t miss the big ass bulge in his pants when they’d first sat down, taking their seats. Something about the way his pants wrapped around his groin allowed her to see the full outline of his dick and balls, and if looks aren’t deceiving, Axel was packin’ like he was leaving on a midnight train to Georgia.