Page 183 of Calamity Rayne Gets Hitched

I coughed and tried to find a button for the window, but there wasn’t one. “Does this window work?”

“Nah. Old cars.”

The longer he smoked the more I was certain I was getting a contact high. When he pulled over, I was grateful for the chance to open my door.

“I should only be five minutes.” Darnell grabbed a bag from under the seat and left the car, taking the keys with him.

“I need air,” I gasped, pushing open the door and hanging my head out to breathe. Once the smoke left my lungs, I looked at the houses, but didn’t see Darnell. “Where did he go?”

“Inside that one.” Barrett pointed to a row home with a two-flight stoop.

The lights were on but the curtains were drawn. The longer we waited the more the car cooled.

“Shut the door, Meyers, you’re letting all the heat out.”

I closed the door and we waited some more. “It’s been longer than five minutes, don’t you think?”

“At least fifteen.”

“What time do you think it is?”

“Probably close to three.”

Hale was going to kill me. I started to feel sick with guilt. He must have called my phone twenty times by now.

“Do you think we should see what’s taking so long?”

Barrett’s frown reflected in the glass as he watched the front door of the house. “I don’t know. Let’s just wait a little longer.”

“I feel like we’ve been abducted by Snoop Dogg.”

“We weren’t abducted. We were rescued.”

“Oh, come on, Barrett. We’re in a red velvet lowrider waiting outside of what I can only assume is a drug deal.”

“Here he comes.”

I flung myself back in my seat and folded my hands on my lap. “Act casual.”

The door opened and Darnell slid behind the wheel. “One down, six to go.”

Six? Did he say six?

The next five stops were very much the same. Darnell grabbed something from under his seat and told us to wait in the car, promising to be back in five minutes which was always closer to thirty minutes.

I was exhausted, freezing, and whatever buzz I had was long gone. As we waited outside of what was hopefully the last spot, I was bouncing in my seat.

“What’s wrong with you?” Barrett asked, looking over his shoulder.

“I have to pee.”

He glanced at the dark, empty road. “No one’s around. You can squat?—”

“No.”

We looked at the row of houses. “There’s only one other option.”

“You have to come with me.”

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