John Locke - Vegas Moon

“What’s wrong?”

“Insufficient funds.”

“How much does he have?”

“They won’t say.”

I remove his blindfold.

“How much is in your account?” I say.

“A couple hundred.”

“Dollars?” Lucky says. “You son of a bitch!”

I kick Hampton out of the car. As we drive away, he yells, “Gwen! Call me!”

A few minutes later Gwen says to Lucky, “Now you know what it’s like.”

“What?”

“To get felt up by a slime ball.”

“Actually, I kind of liked it,” Lucky says.

25.

We’re back at the house. Gwen’s in her bedroom, changing clothes. Lucky’s in his command center, with the door locked. He’s settling back into his routine. After missing several days of action, the calls from his savants are piling up. I’m on the phone with Callie, telling her about my morning. When I hear Gwen open her bedroom door, I say, “Gotta run!” and click my phone off.

“Will you take me to the Forum?”

She’s wearing cut off jeans with frayed ends that are short enough to show a sliver of pink panty, and a UNLV cotton t-shirt with rhinestone lettering. A thin, tan leather strap hangs on one shoulder and crosses her chest like a bandolier belt, and is attached to a Chanel purse that hugs her left hip. The purse is high style, but too small to be practical. She’s wearing pink eye shadow, with blue eyeliner, and frosted pink lipstick. Her hair’s in a pony tail and the whole package is put together so well, I don’t give a shit what kind of sandals she’s wearing. But they look great, too.

“The shopping center Forum?” I say.

“The same.”

“What about Lucky?”

“He won’t even know we’re gone.”

“You sure about that?”

“Trust me. He’ll stay locked in there till eight-fifteen tonight.

“Why?”

“Two reasons. First, he’s avoiding you.”

“Why?”

“He’s afraid you’re going to ask for your money.”

“And?”

“He doesn’t have it.”

I shrug. “No big deal.”

“No?”

“I don’t need the money.”

We walk out the back door, lock it behind us, and get in my car.

After settling into the passenger seat, Gwen looks at me with curiosity. “If you don’t need the money, why’d you take the job?”

“Honestly? I wanted to get to know you.”

I glance at Gwen’s face while I start the car. She looks surprised. I drive us down the driveway, wave at the gate goons, and turn right. It’s hot out, and in the distance I can see wavy heat lines coming off the asphalt.

The lots are nice in this area, with oversized houses, and massive iron gates designed to make honest people feel safe.

But they’re not safe.

Each of these homes is a cracker box to guys like me.

“Why were you interested in knowing me?” Gwen says.

“Specifically, I wanted to determine if you were the type of woman who could look me in the face and lie, even when the truth would serve you better.”

She laughs. “And what have you decided?”

“You are.”

She scrunches her nose. “Well, that’s not very flattering.”

“Do you deny it?”

She leans over and kisses me on the cheek. “No. But let me say this: I only lie to level the playing field.”

“That’s well put,” I say. Then ask, “What’s the second reason?”

“For what?”

“Back at the house you said there were two reasons why Lucky would stay locked up in his command center till eight-fifteen. The first is he’s avoiding me. What’s the second reason?”

She turns away and looks out the window.

I try again: “What happens at eight-fifteen?”

“That’s when he comes out for his shower.”

“And why’s there a timetable for that?”

“Because Maddie’s coming.”

“Wait. Tonight?”

“At nine.”

“Maddie, as in threesome Maddie?”

“It’s not a threesome. Lucky doesn’t participate.”

“No?”

“He watches.”

We come to the first light just as it turns red. It turns out to be a long light, considering how little traffic there is out here.

I look at her and say, “Do you enjoy being with Maddie?”

She scrunches her nose again. “It’s not really my thing. I mean, I’m a willing participant. If I’m in the mood.”

“Really?”

“You’re giving me that old guy look again,” she says.

“Oh. Sorry. I don’t mean to.”

“What then?”

“The thing you said about being with Maddie.”

“What about it?”

“I like it. I think. I’m just trying to understand.”

“Maddie’s one of a kind. Teeny Tiny, but a sexual rock star. So when she comes over, it’s like an event. Between the X, the booze, the music, and the sheer force of Maddie’s sexuality, I can get caught up in it.”

“If you’re in the mood.”

“That’s right.”

The light finally turns green. I drive to Capstan Way, take a left, and follow it all the way to the interstate.

“And if you’re not in the mood?”

Gwen laughs. “Maddie doesn’t need me to participate. She just prefers that I do.”

“Maybe I should be there tonight, just in case.”

She giggles. “In case Maddie tries to kill us?”

“No. In case you’re in the mood.”

She smiles. “I won’t be.”

“No?”

She whispers, “Not if things go according to plan.”

I whisper back, “What’s the plan?”

She whispers, “I’ll tell you in the hotel room.”

“What hotel room?”

She laughs again. “You stopped whispering.”

“I got excited. What hotel room?”

“You didn’t really think I wanted you to take me shopping, did you?”

In truth, that’s exactly what I thought. I mean, I’ve seen her closet.

She says, “I was thinking you could drop me off at the mall entrance, park the car, and get us a room at Caesar’s.”

“And then?”

“I’d meet you there.”

“That’s what you thought?”

“Unless you’re chicken.”

26.

Gwen calls from the lobby. I give her the room number, then say, “I’ll leave the door slightly open so you can walk in without knocking.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you,” she says.

Moments later she enters the room, turns her back to me while closing the door, and locks the dead bolt. In the movies, this is where she spins around, holding a gun on me. The audience gasps in shock! But of course this ain’t the movies, and Gwen doesn’t have a gun. Her purse is too small, remember?

She crosses the floor, puts her arms around my waist, holds me tight. Then she tilts her chin and kisses me with good intentions. I kiss her back with bad ones. We go at it awhile, good and bad intentions, moving around the room, backing into the desk, her against the wall, me against the wall, neither of us against the wall, all while making breathless moaning sounds. We sound silly, like teenagers imitating movie romance.

But laughing is not an option.

Success in fighting means not coming at your opponent the way he wants to fight you. Success in lovemaking is just the opposite: you’ve got to come at her the way she wants to fuck you. And tomorrow she’ll want you to come at her a different way. I’d give you the whole seminar, but I’m too busy right now. Plus, she’s asking me something.

“You’ve wanted to do this since the day we met,” she says.

“Yes.”

I decide not to remind her we met exactly twenty-eight hours ago.

She breaks the embrace and backs up to the bed, removes her sandals, and sits down. A small cloud passes over her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I want to say something,” she says. “About this morning.”