With a massive eyeroll, Auggie popped a few more shake-coated fries into his mouth.
“Except,” Theo added, “be sure to use lube and protection when your lover gives tender caresses to that velvet heat.”
Auggie began to choke.
The door chimed, and a squirrelly guy with a thatch of brown hair stepped into the restaurant. He was wearing half-moon glasses with brass frames, and he swept a grinning glance across the empty dining room. After checking out the whole place, he made his way over to them. He had a walk that actually, literally looked like a mosey: a kind of arrogant, leisurely slowness to his movement. He slid into the booth next to Auggie, bumping him along the bench.
“Hi, guys. You the ones looking for Robert?”
Auggie had gone very stiff, and the color drained from his face.
“Looking for his family,” Theo said. “What’s going on?”
“Show him, boyo. Nice and slow.”
Auggie inched up in the booth to reveal where the guy was pressing the muzzle of a revolver into his ribs.
7
The muzzle of the gun jabbed Auggie in the ribs, and he struggled not to wince. He was hyperaware of every movement. The tremor in his thighs seemed like it might be enough cause for this asshole to pull the trigger. Rolling his eyes, Auggie tried to get another look at the man, but he couldn’t bring himself to move his head.
Opposite him, Theo slowly brought up both hands. “Hey, I don’t know what someone told you, but we’re not looking for trouble.”
“No,” the guy said. “You’re looking for Robert’s family. And I seem to recall both of you getting tagged in a video of him getting murdered.”
Theo shook his head.
“That’s not—”
“Blondie, be quiet.”
Auggie worked his tongue over chapped lips and managed to say, “He’s just my ride.”
“Let’s go outside,” the man said. “We’re going to take a drive.”
“Not him,” Auggie said. “I’ll go with you, but he doesn’t know anything about Robert. He doesn’t know anything about the night Robert was murdered. He’s just my ride, and he was unlucky enough that he got tagged in the video.”
“No,” Theo said. “Nobody’s going anywhere. We’re going to sit and talk like normal people. Hell, I’ll even buy you a burger.”
“Boyo, you’re going to have plenty of time to talk, and I’m going to have a lot of questions. Until then, just shut your hole.”
“I’ll go,” Auggie said. Part of him was trying to pass out, panic nibbling away at the edges of his vision. But his voice was loud and hard. “I’ll go with you. I’ll tell you everything I know about Robert. But he’s just my ride; you don’t need him. If you leave him alone, I’ll walk right out of here with you, and we can go wherever you want.”
“Stop it, Auggie,” Theo said.
“I hate to break it to you,” the guy said, “but that’s what we’re doing no matter what.”
“Or I can scream, kick, fight, and make your life hell until you’ve got me duct taped in the back of your car. I’ll throw my phone away, and then there’s no way you’ll see what really happened to Robert.”
“Make me mad, boyo, and this won’t just be about Robert anymore. I loved my cousin. I’d like to know what happened to him. But piss me off, and you and I will be spending some quality time together that has nothing to do with Robert.”
“Jesus Christ,” Theo said. “He’s a kid. Can’t you see that? We’re here because we’re trying to figure out why we got roped into this. We didn’t have anything to do with what happened to Robert. We’re just looking for answers.”
“I think it’s time we took this somewhere else,” the man said.
“What’s your name?” Auggie said.
“Come on,” he said, seizing Auggie’s arm.
“Tell me your name. What’s your name?”
Blowing out a breath, the man looked at Theo. “Is he always like this?”
“Leave him alone,” Theo said. “He’s a kid.”
“It’s just your name, that’s all I’m asking,” Auggie said.
“Les. Now come on. We’ll get to know each other a lot better on the ride.”
“Les, I know where the flash drive is. Leave Theo here, and I’ll get it for you.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Theo shouted. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Well,” Les said, “that’s very interesting.”
“He’s just my ride. Leave him here. He’s just my ride, that’s all. I just bummed a ride.”
“Don’t listen to him,” Theo said. “Look, if this is about making a deal, we can make a deal. I’m sure we’ve got things you want, and we can—”
“Mister,” Les said, tugging Auggie along the bench. “I think you ought to stay right there and be quiet. And in a few minutes, you can drive home. You have a good night’s sleep; your boy is going to be in good hands. We’ll have him back in one piece, as long as he’s telling the truth.”
“This is kidnapping,” Theo said. “That’s a federal offense. You’ve got a lot of smart options here, but this isn’t one of them. We can sit here, talk about this, for fuck’s sake just sit the fuck down and let go of him.”
Auggie stumbled out of the booth, and Les tugged him toward the door. They were still alone in the dining room. The girl, Lindsey, hadn’t come back. Had she known this would happen? Or was it just bad luck? The rational, critical part of Auggie’s brain had locked up; his sneakers slipped on the tile; his shallow breaths brought the taste of raw onion; the muzzle of the revolver dug into sensitive
