Page 26 of Final Sins

She pulled the toothbrush from her mouth. “Gravy?”

“Yup. He took his go bag and left this.” Jason thrust out a note scrawled on motel stationery.

This is all my fault. I’ll handle things from here. Stay chill, my friends. G?—

Alex blinked in surprise. When had he slipped out? She hadn’t heard a thing.

Jason ran a hand through his tousled hair. “That little sneak,” he added, a mix of annoyance and grudging admiration in his voice.

Alex felt a headache brewing behind her eyes. This day was already off to a fantastic start.

She scanned the bustling track area. Men in work clothes swarmed around the stables, but there was no sign of Gravy. The guy’s misplaced guilt twisted her stomach into knots.

Expression stony, Jason grabbed a jacket out of his go bag and put it on. Concealing his Sig Sauer in the right pocket, he then swiped one of the key cards to the room off the dresser and headed for the door. “I’ll track him down.”

“Not without me.” She hurried to grab her own jacket and weapon. “We’ll have better luck together.”

For once, he didn’t argue.

The stable area directly across the street was under heavy guard. Understandably. No way Gravy had walked in. The track sprawled north and south, butting up against the interstate for almost a mile in each direction.

“He’d try to find transportation,” Jason guessed. “We need to head toward the main drag.” He pointed east.

Side by side, they hurried down the narrow back street, checking every window they passed.

They were almost to the main street when Jason spotted him in a nearby diner.

Alex shook her head. Window seat. Not the smartest move.

“We might as well join him.” Jason held the door for her.

The place was packed with tiny men in sweatsuits—jockeys, obviously— and others in sweat-stained shirts and muck-covered boots. The smell of bacon and coffee hung thick in the air.

Alex slid into the booth on Gravy’s side, trapping him in. The man’s eyes darted between them, wariness evident in the hunched shoulders beneath his tangled mop of hair.

“Morning,” he mumbled, clearly anticipating their anger. “Before you say anything, I was hungry. I didn’t want to wake you guys up.”

Jason gave him a hard look. “Right. Why the note, then?”

Gravy hung his head. “I feel bad putting you guys to all this trouble.”

“We have no evidence those attacks had anything to do with you,” Alex was quick to insist. “My money’s on Army here. He’s our troublemaker.”

Gravy pushed a fried egg around his plate. “Maybe. Sure. I can buy that. I’m nobody. Who’d come after me?”

“Not what I meant.”

He smiled sadly. “I know. You’re way too nice to say it. Anyways, I’m glad you guys found me. I already decided I’d head on back to the motel after I ate. I don’t really have much of an escape plan.”

“We’re leaving. Now,” Jason said, his voice low but firm.

Gravy’s fork clattered against his plate. “Can’t we finish breakfast? You haven’t even ordered. Can’t start the day without java, dude.”

Alex sighed, the aroma of pancakes weakening her resolve. “He’s right.”

Jason looked pained. “Fine. But eat fast.”

As they ate, Gravy steered the conversation to lighter topics, drawing out childhood stories and favorite foods. Alex found herself relaxing despite the circumstances. Intentional or not, Gravy had a natural way of bridging the gap between her and Jason.

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