Page 83 of Moon's Promise

“I don’t have to. I know you.”

“I’m cut to the quick.” Moon put a hand over his heart while making a comical face. “I have been nothing but a friend to you.”

Evie nodded. “Which is the only reason I’ve let you in here. Go take a break and give me one.”

“Cool. I need the sleep anyway.” He rubbed his tired eyes as he moved away from the window. “You need anything while I’m out?”

“You could grab me some burgers from across the street. King would kill me if he saw me walking in there.”

Moon grinned. “I’ll bring enough for both of us. That’ll really piss him off.”

Evie rolled her eyes at him. “Get out.”

He gave in and rode to the club, determined to get some sleep. He had been burning the candle for so long that he nearly rear-ended a car at a red light when it stopped instead of going through the yellow light.

He was about to go upstairs when his growling stomach made him change trajectory, and he headed into the kitchen to grab a protein bar to tide him over instead.

Nickel was behind the counter, talking on his cell phone as he placed dishes in the dishwasher.

“I can take care of that for you. No problem. I’ll see you when you get back.”

Choosing a peanut bar, Moon opened it as he watched Nickel. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much,” Nickel answered. “How about you?”

“Going to take a nap. Someone needing help?” he asked, taking a bite of the bar as he moved to the fridge to get a soda.

“Train needs someone to pick up a part for him before the auto store closes. He’s in charge of the factory today and can’t leave. He said Killyama was supposed to pick it up when she came back from Jamestown, but she called and told him she wouldn’t be back before the store closed.”

“What’s she doing in Jamestown? I thought Train told her he didn’t want her making the drive without him?”

Nickel laughed. “When has Killyama ever listened to anything Train said?”

Moon chewed on the bar reflexively. Jamestown was a short distance from Treepoint, but it was a twenty-minute drive before she would be near any emergency aid if she went into labor.

“She went by herself?”

“No, Beth’s with her. They’re both having lunch and spending the day with Sex Piston.”

“You’re going to get the part?”

“Yes.”

“If you can’t, let me know. I can.”

“Will do.”

Moon left the kitchen with Nickel doing the dishes. Rather than going upstairs as he had intended, he went outside to get on his bike. A ride to Jamestown was probably going to be a waste of time, but it was worth a shot. There were only three cities somewhat close to Treepoint—Jamestown, Rockcastle, and Wattford. Mistberg was between Treepoint and Rockcastle, but it was practically non-existent with many of the residents either dying out or moving away from the dreary town.

When he had returned from seeing Larissa’s mother, he had scouted out each of the small towns and found no trace of Larissa being there. In each of the towns, he had put out feelers for a new woman moving there, and he was using his connections to let him know if Larissa was sighted.

When he reached Jamestown, Moon took out his cell phone to call Stud, one of his connections, to ask where Killyama was having lunch but then decided against it. He didn’t want to humiliate himself more than he already had. Jamestown was only slightly larger than Treepoint, so the restaurant options were limited. There was a barbeque spot, a steakhouse, a burger joint, and a family restaurant.

Picking the restaurant he was closest to, he rode toward the family restaurant, finding it busy, but didn’t see any familiar faces. Next, he rode to the burger place, which only had a handful of customers, who gave him curious glances.

“Can I help you?” a pimply-faced teenage boy asked.

“No, I’m good.”

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