Here Comes the Night Read Online Free Page B

giggled and half-heartedly pushed him away.
    “Come on,” he teased, “tell me you don’t love it. All this.”
    “Just make sure we don’t get caught.”
    “I’m gonna take this out in the country and throw you in the
back seat. That’s what—”
    A phone ring of the Boomer Sooner fight song
made both of them jump. After a second Erika figured out what it was and
started checking the front seat. She found the cell where it had slid under the
crease of the seat back and looked at the screen.
    “Don’t answer it,” Tony warned.
    “I’m not, silly. I just wonder who it’s from.”
    “Does it say?”
    “No, it’s an UNKNOWN number, it says.”
    “Wipe it down and put it in the glove box.”
    “Okay.” Erika wiped the phone off on her uniform, then
discovered the glove box was locked.
    “Now why would it be locked?”
    Tony thought about it a few moments, then pulled the car
over into a parking meter spot. He killed the motor and handed her the keys.
    “Open it.”
    “I don’t know, Tony.”
    “Hey, how many people you know really lock their glove box?”
    Erika thought a second then shrugged.
    “Right. So let’s see what this fucker’s got to hide.”

Chapter 15
    Angie stood at the pay phone, listening to it ring on the
other end of the line.
    “Dammit,” she muttered to herself and gulped down the rest
of her double martini before stepping back into the bar area. As she glanced
toward the street, the hair on her arms shivered.
    She couldn’t believe what she was looking at. Buck’s Mustang
was sitting right there in front of the bar, parked not fifteen feet from the
entrance. Instinctively, she ducked back.She leaned back against the
hall wall, sighing with relief that at least he was there.
    Angie slowly stepped out for a quick surreptitious look.
This time she froze at what she saw.
    There was a young woman talking in the passenger seat. Angie
couldn’t see Buck clearly, just his silhouette on the driver’s side. The girl was
doing something by the dashboard, but she couldn’t tell what.
    The ground dropped out from under Angie. She had to brace
her hand against the wall to keep from sinking to her knees. She couldn’t very
well go to the car and find out what was happening, so she just stood inside,
trapped and immobile.
    After a minute, the Mustang fired up and drove away, leaving
her more confused than ever. She knew better than to call him again. There
could be something here she wasn’t getting. But she had to do something.
    After a few minutes, she headed back to the bar for another
double.

Chapter 16
    Rough hands yanked Buck out of the SUV and dragged him
inside. The big man said, “Here on the cot. Leave his hood on.” They dumped him
without ceremony and moved away.
    The Hispanic voice whined, “Man, what have we got here? My
tooth is on fire.”
    Buck could hear a rustling, and then Meatface said, “Here,
take a couple of these. You’ll feel no pain.”
    “Oxy? Shit, she’ll know.”
    “You kidding? She’ll be high herself.”
    The sound of a bottle opening and closing. Then nothing.
Buck waited, totally spooked. It seemed unnaturally still.
    Then a loud voice jumped into his ear. “Don’t you fuckin’
look at me.” Buck nearly went through the roof. He could hear the man cracking
up at his expense.
    The laughter dried up as a set of high heels clicked across
the concrete floor. A dry as dust female voice asked, “This guy shit his pants
yet?”
    Meatface sounded like a dutiful soldier with his response.
“He was late leaving the bank. We just got him here.”
    “Fuck, Meatface,” the female voice said. “And you didn’t
think to call me? Christ, I cancelled drinks at the Petroleum Club for this.”
    “Sorry, jefe . I was just getting ready to call.”
    “Well, let’s take a look, long as I’m here,” the female
said.
    Buck felt the hood being pulled off his head. He sucked in
the air as fast as he could. He was barely aware he’d been holding his