Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 28259 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 141(@200wpm)___ 113(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28259 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 141(@200wpm)___ 113(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
Before we can ride off into a sunset of any kind, I need to make sure Roy’s not going to be a problem for her. I won’t make her leave that apartment, but I don’t want her staying there as long as Roy gets unlimited access to the building and the tenants’ belongings.
Thankfully, Hayden’s been doing what he does best, finding people and getting answers. After a few rounds of making love to Havana, I have a few appointments around Conklin.
She’s moving around the kitchen, humming and cooking up breakfast for us. Hash, bacon, and eggs go down easy with fresh coffee and Havana eating with me. I have every thought to put Havana on this table to have her for breakfast.
She notices the gleam in my eye. “You know you should wait at least 20 minutes after eating before performing strenuous activity.”
“That’s swimming, baby girl. Eating you is not strenuous at all. As a matter of fact, I think it’s dessert for breakfast.”
She giggles and blushes, “You are never going to get enough are you?”
“Of you? Never.”
“I don’t want you to be late for work. I feel like I’m already putting you out. You’ve been my repairman and bodyguard–”
I cut her off. “And there’s nothing I won’t do for you. You’re welcome to anything of mine, baby girl. As far as work goes, I can afford to take a day off here and there. Besides, I can send one of my guys out if there’s an emergency. What we should do today is head over to this pawn shop.”
“A pawn shop?”
I nod. “Yeah, those phone calls from my brother, Hayden, this morning were about a pawn shop that fences stolen property. I think we should go there and see if anything of yours is in the shop.”
“Is it dangerous?” she asks.
“It’s only dangerous if we’re trying to rob the place. I promise we’re only going to take a look.”
It takes a few minutes to clean up the kitchen and get ourselves to the west side of Conklin. There are a bunch of warehouses and junkyards on this side of town. We pass an impound lot that Hayden swears is run by human slime and make our way down the road to one of the few businesses on this side of town.
The sign is huge, black with gold lining every letter—Castle’s Pawns. The front window has a variety of items in it—from a record player to a mannequin wearing a wedding dress. I hate the feeling of this place, but Hayden insists that we might find Havana’s necklace here.
The bell chimes above the door when we go inside where a guy looks nervous. Glancing around the shop, it looks like there’s been a fight, with some display cases broken and others moved out of the way.
I look at him, wondering if Havana’s question is going to come back to haunt me. “Mornin’,” I say to the man. “Name’s Hendrix. You okay?”
He nods gingerly. “Yeah, sorry. Some guy tried to rob me this morning. Police just left, and I’m still shaken up a bit.”
“That’s bad business. You should probably close up for the day,” I tell him. I can feel Havana gripping the back of my shirt, trying to get my attention. I look over my shoulder where she points toward a jewelry display case. “Go ahead, baby girl. Have a look.”
I walk over to the guy behind the counter, making sure to scan the room for any surprises.
“Sorry ‘bout your shop, buddy,” I tell him. “My lady was robbed the other day, and we’re looking for her necklace. Someone may have brought it in here for a quick buck.”
“All the jewelry’s in that case over there where the young lady is looking now,” he says, still with nervousness in his voice.
I continue to look around and something isn’t sitting right with me. “Listen, are you sure you’re okay? For someone trying to rob the place, they left every flashy piece of jewelry here, didn’t touch the gun rack back there or anything. What’s going on?”
“I don’t want any more trouble,” he says.
I’m adamant as I tell him, “I ain’t gonna cause you any trouble.”
“It’s here, Hendrix. Look,” Havana interrupts and pulls my attention away from the jittery guy near the perfectly intact register.
Something’s definitely fishy about this shop. I walk over to the display case where she points out a slender gold necklace with a flower pendant. It’s a gold flower holding a small pearl in the center.
The guy at the register walks over, forcing a smile. “That’s a darling necklace. It’s worth about five hundred, but I can let it go for half that.”
“And if it’s stolen?” I ask him.
He blanches, closes his eyes, and tries to hold his smile steady. “My business is a respectable establishment and we don’t deal in stolen goods.”