Thread of Hope

FORTY-NINE

I slid into the chair across from Derek and said “You’re a fuckin’ pimp.”

The hamburger, a massive concoction oozing mayonnaise and ketchup, froze halfway to his mouth.

I’d watched him leave the bank of elevators and circle the perimeter of the lobby, talking on his phone the whole way. He’d stopped in front of a small open-ended cafe and sat down at a table near the entrance. His food had just arrived and the server had just walked away as I slipped in across from him.

“A fuckin’ pimp,” I repeated.

He blinked once, then set the burger down on the plate. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“And you’re a stupid fuckin’ pimp,” I said. “You passed her over, inside the hotel, to the john, by the elevators. Full view of maybe a dozen cameras.”

He blinked again and glanced back toward the elevators.

“And you took the guy’s money,” I said, shaking my head. “Right here. In the hotel. On camera.”

His eyes flickered nervously. “I didn’t take anyone’s money.”

“Really?” I resisted the urge to rip the pocket off his jeans. “Empty your right front pocket then. I’ll bet everything I own that you’ve got more in that pocket than I’ve got in my wallet.”

He lips pressed together and his cheeks flushed. “Fuck off.”

“Here’s what we’re gonna do,” I said. “We’re walking out of here right now.”

“Fuck you.”

“Either you stand up and go with me or I'll march your ass to security right now and invite them to review the last twenty minutes of tape on their elevator cameras.” I leaned across the table. “You think they’re gonna call the cops? Wrong, Derek. They’ll take you into some backroom or some tunnel beneath this place and make sure you understand that you are never to walk in here again and fuck around publicly like that. I’d be surprised if you ever walked without a limp again.”

I had no idea if that was true. We weren’t in Vegas. But it worked. Fear crept over his face, his eyebrows close together, his eyes a little wider, the muscles around his jaw twitching.

“Get the fuck up and walk, Derek,” I said, standing up.

He stared at me for a long moment, then pushed back from the table and stood.

“Back to the parking garage,” I said. “Now.”

He took a couple of tentative steps in that direction, then elongated his stride, maybe thinking about running or trying to lose me. I stayed even with him.

We exited the hotel and walked up the ramp toward his car. I put my hand on his back and pushed him past the Yukon toward my rental and walked him around to the passenger side.

“Hey, man,” he said, turning toward me. “I don’t know…”

I punched him in the side of the neck and he swallowed his words. His entire body sagged, but I caught him under the arm. I opened the door and shoved him into the car, drilling him in the kidney as he fell into the seat.

His mouth opened, but nothing came out. His face was bright red, as if he was choking on something.

I shut the door, walked around to my side and slid in.

He was coughing now, one hand at his side, the other on his neck. I let him cough it out and the color slowly returned to his face.

When the coughing subsided, he looked at me without turning his head in my direction. “Where are we going?”

“Back in the hotel,” I said.

He turned his head now. “What?”

“We’re gonna go back in and get that girl out of whatever room you just sent her to.”

“That’s now how it works,” Derek said, sitting up a bit. “The guy already paid…”

I slapped him with my left hand, then grabbed him behind the neck with my right and brought his head down on the dash.

“Derek, if you haven’t figured it out, I’m kind of irritated,” I explained to him. “You lied to me about Meredith and now you’re selling out girls for sex. You are a piece of shit.” I leaned down and put my mouth right next to his ear, my voice a controlled whisper. “I don’t care that you’re a kid. Done with that, okay? Groan or something if you understand.”

He made some sort of howling noise that I took for a yes.

“Do not tell me no again unless you like being hit,” I said. “Because I could hit you all day and I think you’ve figured out that I'm capable of kicking your ass with no problem.” I paused. His breathing was rapid fire and his neck was perspiring beneath my palm. “We're going to go get that girl and you are going to stop lying to me. Understood?”

He mewled again.

He wasn’t completely stupid.