Page 26 of Diesel
He let out a long, exacerbated sigh and hung his head. I had an idea that I was getting somewhere. Finally. I leaned closer, bouncing hopefully on the edge of the seat. He knew something. But was he going to help me?
“Will you help me, please.”
“What’s a girl like you need to get mixed up with people like that?” So, hedidknow something.
“I need to find him. This,” I pointed to my belly as I pulled up my shirt to show my tiny bump, “is his. And I don’t even know what to do anymore.”
His eyes went wide for a moment and he blew out a shocked breath. He leaned forward and his pointer fingers made a steeple in front of his mouth. He stayed frozen, staring at my belly long after I’d put my shirt back down, lost in thought. I could see the war inside his unfocused eyes. He knew who I was talking about. And if he didn’t know Diesel, he at least knew about the club he belonged to. He had a direction to point me in. The seconds ticked on silently. Finally, his fingers tapped together three times as his eyes drew back up to meet mine.
“I hope I don’t turn on the six o’clock news tomorrow and regret this.”
I didn’t miss the undertone in his statement. Would Diesel really hurt me? I didn’t believe that for a second. It took everything in me not to jump up with excitement. I was getting somewhere! He jotted something down on the bottom of the paper then tore it off.
He held the folded slip out to me between his pointer and middle finger. I reached for it, but he snatched it back before my fingers could grab it. His hard look bore into me.
“You don’t know me and you never got this from me. Do you understand that?” He made a point to speak each word in the question pointedly. I gulped and gave a tight nod.
He moved his hand back out to me and I quickly plucked the paper from his fingers before he could change his mind. I sat there and opened it up. There was an address. I knew the small town, but only by name. It was about an hour south of here. I had never been there and had no idea where I was going. He must have seen the look on my face.
“There’s a road off the two-lane highway about ten miles after the Old Mill Road sign. Careful, or you will miss it. It’s the back way into the town. Follow that road until you see a high chain link fence. Can’t miss it. There’s a gate in the middle of the fence. What you are looking for is inside that fence.”
“Thank you,” I said as I pushed to my feet with urgency. I pulled out three hundred bills and set them down on his desk. He looked pained and regretful as he stared down at the money. But eventually, he put his hand over it and slid it off the desk with a firm nod.
“I hope you are sure about what you’re getting into.”
I heard his words as I walked out the door, unsure if he really meant for me to or not. I was too excited that I had something. This would lead me to Diesel, and if I was lucky, I would have a place to stay. Then again, maybe I would be thrown out on my butt. But at least then Diesel would know. And I would no longer have to wonder what he would do.
I drove back to the motel thinking of what I was going to do and everything I wanted to say.
