as he kissed the back of my neck... just as his phone buzzed on the nightstand.
“Do not answer that,” I ordered.
He sighed. “All hands, baby. Need to be ready to go when they find the truck.”
“But I wanted more,” I grumbled as he answered his call.
“Hey, Book. Yeah? No shit? Okay, yeah, I’ll meet you guys there.” He hung up and slid off the bed.
“Did they find it?” I asked.
“Yeah, baby.” He leaned down and kissed me quickly. “I’ll text you when I know something.”
He dressed quickly, and I was left somewhat unsatisfied in our bed. He’d make up for that later, I’d demand it, but I still hated that I had to prepare dinner while still horny.
I sighed and climbed out of bed, dressing quickly and heading downstairs to hang out with my children.
* * *
Hatch
I pulled my truck up to the compound about twenty minutes later. I was glad there wasn’t traffic from Vancouver into Cully, but I was still the last one to arrive, which surprised me a little. Several of us lived on the same street... our own commune, so to speak... so how the hell they got there before me was a mystery. Walking into the compound, I was met with my brothers flooding toward me.
“You’re the last one,” Booker said. “Let’s roll.”
I turned around and followed them outside again, Hawk and Ace climbin’ into the cab of my truck, while the rest scattered. “Where are we goin’?” I asked.
“Beaverton,” Hawk said.
“Shit, it’s that close?”
“Yeah, man.”
I followed Booker, who was on his bike, and the rest of the crew and we headed for the area that the iPad had pinged from. It took several minutes, but we finally located the big red truck in an alley, in one of the roughest parts of town. Parking on the street, we pulled our guns out and approached the truck very carefully.
The alley was located directly behind an old brick building that had originally been a glass factory in the early nineteen-hundreds, but now served as one of the city’s largest homeless shelters. The truck was tightly wedged between the alley walls, leaving only the slightest gap between its bright red doors and the exposed brick. I scratched my head, trying to figure out how the driver could have even gotten out of the cab. Once we reached the rear of the truck, Booker examined the lock on the back door.
“The lock’s still intact,” he said.
“Why the fuck do you think they left it here?” I asked.
Booker shook his head. “I dunno. Maybe whoever took it got spooked and dumped it, or maybe they chose this as a quiet place to stash it for a while.”
“Quiet is right,” Hawk agreed. “This place is a ghost town.”
“That’s good for us,” Booker said. “The cops haven’t seemed to notice this being here, so we can simply take it back without getting law enforcement or anyone else involved.”
“Merry Christmas,” I replied.
He smiled. “Ho, ho, ho.”
“Now, how the fuck are we gonna get in the cab?” Knight asked.
“How did they get out?” Ace whispered.
“You’re wondering that too, huh?” I asked.
“Sunroof?” Booker said.
Hawk piped up, “You don’t s’pose they’re still in there, do you?”
We all looked at each other and in unison responded, “Shit.”
“Hatch, you and Hawk go around the block, to the other end of the alley and make your way back toward us,” Booker said. “I’ll boost Ace up to the top of the truck in case anyone tries to leave via the sunroof. Knight and I’ll cover the rear in case this is all a trap.”
“Got it,” I said, and Hawk and I broke out in a slow jog around the block. The crisp night air felt good in my lungs, and it helped cool me from the burning surge of adrenaline. God knows who or what we’d find at the other end of the alley, but I tried to prepare myself for anything.
As we made our way down the alley, I could barely make out the truck’s grill, reflected in what little light was being cast. I gripped my gun tightly, preparing myself physically and mentally for what I may be forced to do to defend myself. I sure hoped it wouldn’t come down to anything drastic. Gunplay at Christmastime just didn’t seem right.
“I can see Ace on the roof,” Hawk said as we got closer.
I signaled to Ace who gave us a thumbs-up in response. We slowly approached the front of the truck and I tried to position