Soulless The Girl in the Box - By Robert J. Crane Page 0,54

a rental place I knew of that would be open in the middle of the night, at least not in Eau Claire. I crossed the lobby of the hotel with my bag on my shoulder, heading toward the bar. I hoped that Charlie would still be there; no one had answered her door when I knocked.

The five of them were still clustered around the table, still laughing. I checked the clock on my cell phone; it was close to 3 A.M. One of the guys had passed out, his head down, and another was leaning heavily on his arm, eyes shut, keeping his face propped off the table. “Another round!” one of the two that was still fully upright called out to the bartender, and he stepped into motion behind the bar, his skinny hands grabbing bottles off the shelves.

I made my way through the tables and over to them. My aunt was laughing, hard, when I got there, but I hadn’t caught the set-up or the punchline, so I was still serious. She caught my eye as I approached, and stopped laughing when I got close. “This is my sister,” she said to the two men who were still awake. They both turned to look at me, and at least one of them came up with an idea that was so obvious it was written all over his sodding-drunk face. His leer made me uneasy, as though I were being undressed by his eyes. “Come on! Drink with us,” she said.

Oddly enough, being literally undressed with James, a near-stranger, had been far more comfortable than this.

“Hey,” I said, leaning over to Charlie. “I have to go.”

“Go?” She looked around in confusion and laughed, a deep, drunken laugh. “You just got here!”

“I have to go to Eagle River tonight,” I said, keeping my voice low. I heard the men muttering to themselves, something about me that I ignored, otherwise I might have had to smite them. “Will you come with me? I could really use your help.”

She met my gaze, her eyes looking into mine, and I caught a fleeting hint of concern that passed in about a second. “I don’t think so, sweety.” She reached up and patted me on the cheek twice. “I’m not done here yet.”

I knelt down next to her. “Charlie,” I said, catching her attention again as she was reaching for the glass the bartender had just set in front of her. “I’m serious. This could be really bad and I need all the help I can get.”

“I said no.” She took a drink, draining half her tallboy glass in one gulp. “God! You’re all work and no fun, Sienna.”

I felt the sting of her words curiously more given what had happened only minutes before, with James. “All right. I’ll leave you be, then.” I stood and started to walk out.

“Hey, wait!” She stood, almost turning over the table, and staggered over to me, shaking her head as though she could get rid of the effects of her drunkenness that way. “You’re just gonna leave me here? In this town?”

I stared back at her, dully. My aunt, my blood. The person who I thought would be in my corner for sure, especially heading into this mess. “Yeah. You said you didn’t want to come with me.”

Her head rocked back and she looked offended. “Well, I don’t have any money to get home.”

I stared at her in disbelief and shook my head before reaching for my wallet. I pulled out five crisp hundreds and handed them to her. She flashed me a bright smile. “Good luck,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll knock ‘em dead, kiddo.” She rolled up the bills and slipped them down the front of her dress, then turned and walked back to the table, where she was greeted with laughter and cheers.

I was still feeling burnt as I walked out the doors of the lobby into the stuffy, hot air of outside. The SUV was only a few feet outside the entrance, already running. I walked over to the passenger door and got in, took a quick look to confirm Reed was in the back seat, and nodded at Scott, who put the car in gear.

“I take it your aunt’s not coming?” This from Reed, who was bathed in the shadows behind me.

“No,” I said, voice tight. “She decided she’d rather drink with her new friends.” I rubbed my face, still feeling the effects of the whiskey I’d had earlier in the night.