Vance got up and walked to a desk. Monty leaned forward and flipped some switches and some monitors came on. On the monitors, I could now see Brody working, the empty hall and a room with a bed, a toilet and a sink, a guy lying on his side on the bed. I couldn’t see much of the guy and then Vance was in my way. He had a gunbelt doubled up in one hand, he put it behind his back, opened it and strapped it on. It had the same stuff mine had, plus a real gun and cuffs.
He lifted his hand, his dark eyes locked on mine and flirty look was gone. He pointed to the door.
I walked out behind Lee, Vance followed me and closed the door.
Lee walked down to the end of the hall to the last door, the only door Lee hadn’t opened to show me what was inside.
“You know where your weapons are?” Lee asked.
I felt around my belt and nodded. I felt like Super Idiot with the belt on, not Super Cool like Vance looked. Lee wore no gunbelt, just the killer dark brown leather one holding up his faded brown cargo pants.
Lee jerked his head at Vance. Vance used a fob and a light went green.
“Follow me in,” Lee said to me, opened the door and walked in.
I did as I was told and, once I was in the room, I saw Terrible Teddy, Coxy’s goon who hit me what seemed like years ago. He turned in the bed and stood.
I sucked in air.
He had a bandage across his nose and a wicked black eye, both nose and eye were grotesquely swollen to almost Rocky-Balboa-post-Apollo-Creed-fight size.
Teddy spared me only a glance, then he turned cautious eyes to Lee.
Vance stood in the door, one hand resting on his taser.
“You’re free to go. Vance’ll escort you from the building,” Lee declared.
Teddy’s glance swung to Vance. Vance had unholstered the taser and was gesturing with it for Teddy to leave the room.
My mind was reeling. I was trying to count the days since I’d had my brief encounter with Teddy, remembering that Lee told his boys to pick him up. Had he been in this little room that long? And furthermore, how did his face get like that?
“Free to go?” Teddy asked.
“Yep,” Lee answered.
“Just like that?” Teddy went on.
No one said anything. Teddy looked at me. I didn’t say anything either. Lee told me to keep my mouth shut but even if he hadn’t, I was too shocked to speak.
“I don’t get it,” Teddy said.
“Rumor’s spreading that you talked,” Lee told him. “I don’t know how that happened.”
Lee looked at Vance, Vance shrugged.
They were playing with him.
Lee kept talking. “Coxy’s at war with me and he’s tryin’ to impress Indy. You remember Rick?” Teddy nodded slowly. “Coxy put a bullet in Rick’s brain. He fucked with Indy and hurt her. Yesterday, Coxy gave Indy Rick’s body as a present, half his head blown off. You hit her and marked her. Now you’re out. Good luck.”
“Fuck,” Teddy cursed, looking at me like I could help him out. He hit me and I was pretty sure he was a bad guy, but I had to say I felt sorry for him.
“Let’s go,” Vance put in.
Teddy turned to Lee.
“I talk, he kills me, I don’t talk, he kills me,” he said as if trying to explain.
“Life’s a bitch,” Lee replied, turned his back on Teddy, jerked his head to me and I walked out of the room, followed by Lee. Vance went into the room after we left it. I kept walking until I got to Lee’s office and he stopped me, opened the door, pushed me in and lifted his fingers, stared me in the eyes giving me a three, two, two. I nodded and he closed the door.
I locked it.
Holy shit, shit, shit.
Not five minute later, the knock came. Three, two, two.
I opened it and Lee walked in “He’s gone, time for lunch. Let’s roll.”
*
I waited until we were rounding the Brown Palace when I asked, “How did Terrible Teddy’s face get like that?”
“Me.”
“You hit him?”
“He touched you, you said it hurt. I found him and beat the shit out of him.”
Oh… my… God.
“Please tell me you didn’t do it in that little room,” I said quietly.
“It was before he was put in the holding room.”
At least that was something.
I was silent while Lee drove. I’d taken off the gunbelt and put it in the trunk with the one Lee took from a drawer in his desk. His was stocked like Vance’s.
Lee parallel parked the Crossfire in a choice spot in front of Las Delicias.
I loved Las Delicias, it was the best Mexican restaurant in Denver if you didn’t count El Tejado. Though, I really didn’t have to choose since El Tejado was officially in Englewood.
I was also silent while they sat us in a booth and Lee slid in beside me rather than across from me.
I turned to him, looked down at the seat then up at him.
“Let me guess, you aren’t much of a booth sharer?” he remarked.
I shook my head.
“Me either but I’m attempting to control the environment.”
I looked beyond him. He was turned toward me, his back to the restaurant.
“Wild Bill Hickock got shot with his back to the door,” I informed him.
“I’m not controlling the room, I’m going to attempt to control you.”
Uh-oh.
The waitress came and slid a basket of chips and a bowl of salsa on our table.