Page 64 of Something True


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Chapter 28

From the open doorway, I looked from one guy to the other. They were both tall and lean, and wore grubby jeans and long-sleeved shirts. One was blond, and the other had hair so dark, it might as well have been black.

I gave them a perplexed look. I'd already said hello, which wastheircue to tell me what they were doing on my doorstep at nine in the morning. When they didn't, I said, "Can I help you?"

"Sure," the blond said, "You got any beer?"

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Beer," he repeated. "You got any?"

"Uh, no."

"Shit." He looked to the dark-haired guy and said, "Told ya we should've stopped."

Again, I looked from one guy to the other. "And you are…?"

"Thirsty," the blond said, shouldering his way past me, into the house.

Startled, I whirled around to call after him. "Wait! You can't just barge in here."

He stopped and turned back to face me. "Why not?"

Did I really need to explain? "Because I don't even know who you are."

"Sure you do. You got the message, right?"

"What message?" I said. "From who?"

"From Luna. Maybe an hour ago?"

My phone was tucked into the pocket of my jeans. So far today, I'd received exactly one message – the one from Jake. I still hadn't listened. More confused than ever, I pulled out my phone and took a look.

I saw no call from Luna, which was probably a good thing. I could only imagine what kind of message she'd be leaving for menow.

I told the guy, "Sorry, but you're wrong." I held up my phone, screen out. "See? No message from Luna here."

Thank God.

Behind me, the other guy laughed.

I whirled to face him. "What's so funny?"

He was still laughing. "Not fromherphone."

I didn't get it. "What do you mean?"

Now, the blond – who was still inside the house – was laughing, too. Feeling like a spectator at a cartoon tennis match, I kept looking from one guy to the other. Whatever the joke was, I sure as heck didn't get it.

On a more positive note, I finally realized where I'd seen these two guys before. They'd been with Luna, coming out of that elevator in Detroit. I vaguely recalled her threatening to turn the hose on them.

I bit my lip. I had a hose somewhere. Was it time to pull it out?

From inside the house, the blond said, "So, you got a bathroom in this place?"

From the porch, the dark-haired guy said, "Dude, she's probably got twenty. Pick one, and get it over with."

When I turned to look, the dark-haired guy explained, "We've been on the road since five." In a louder voice, obviously intended for the blond, he added, "And he's been griping since Kalamazoo."