Here Comes the Night by Linda McDonald Read Free Book Online Page A

what the hell the hottie next to him
was talking about, but he could see down her blouse and if she got any drunker,
he felt pretty confident he could get her to leave with him.
    “And he…” Angie lost her place for a moment. “So if somebody
said they’d be somewhere and they’re not…what the hell do you do?”
    Wrangler maneuvered his arm around her back, getting his
hand closer to her breast, and whispered in her ear. “You find somebody better.
Like me.”
    “He lost his nerve,” she said, still caught up in her own
world. “And he’s afraid to come tell me. That’s it.”
    Wrangler could nearly cup her breast with his long arm.
“That’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.” He moved in to see if she’d
kiss him. He’d used some breath spray last time he’d gone to the bathroom,
hoping it would mask the chili dog with extra onions he’d gulped down just
before she walked in.
    She let him kiss her but didn’t really participate in it.
Still, he took it as a positive.
    “Listen,” he said, breathing in her ear, “wanna go somewhere
else? More private?”
    Angie looked up at him as though she’d just realized he was
there. He kept it up.
    “Whadda you say? We could go to—”
    “I want another drink,” she said flatly.
    “Or we could have another drink,” Wrangler quickly agreed.
“Bartender?”

Chapter 26
    Vivian had taken over the driving from Dell so he could
offer their guests a couple of lines of cocaine. Tony sat across the bar from
him as Dell took his own sweet time, meticulously cutting and recutting the
lines. It seemed like at least a half hour he had been at it. Tony sucked on a
cigarette and beer as he watched, about to scream from the wait.
    “Here, Erika, help me out,” Vivian called from the driver’s
seat, holding up a half finished joint. Erika was still sniffing around the
mobile home. That and a glass of champagne had kept her preoccupied.
    Tony didn’t mind. He was glad she didn’t look too
conspicuous to the couple.
    “They’ve got a shower right on board, Tony,” Erika said.
“And it’s enormous.”
    “I’ve seen a shower before,” Tony called to her, showing
Dell a bored look to illustrate how much more sophisticated he was than his
date.But Tony was starting to wonder if she was going to suck up to
these people all night.
    “Isn’t she the cutest thing you’ve ever seen, Dell?” Vivian
asked, following Erika in the rear view mirror.
    “Sure is,” Dell agreed, then turned to Tony. “So what do you
do, Tony?”
    “I’m in livestock,” he lied. When Erika let a giggle slip,
he gave her a sharp glance.
    “Huh. What kind of livestock?” Dell asked.
    “Cows, mainly.” Tony looked disinterested in continuing. He
was ready for the coke lines.
    Erika plopped down in the passenger seat opposite Vivian and
took a delicate hit off the joint. “What do you all do?”
    “Dell’s a lawyer, so I don’t have to do anything.”
    Dell shook his head with a smile. “Now honey. Don’t let her
kid you, Erika. I may be a lawyer, but she’s got her own money.”
    Tony jumped in. “We gonna do those lines? Or is that just
for show?”
    “Sorry, I almost forgot what I was doing. Let’s see if I got
a bill.” Dell casually pulled out a C-note and handed it to Tony, who rolled it
into a straw and quickly snorted up two lines.
    “Whew,” Tony’s eyes popped with surprise. “Talk about the
good stuff.”
    Suddenly Erika yelled, “Watch out, Vivian.” The Safari had
drifted out of its lane. Vivian quickly jerked it back in.
    Dell rose from his stool and moved forward. “You alright?”
    “I’m fine, baby,” Vivian said. “I’m sorry. Maybe getting
just a teensy bit high.”
     At that moment, a sign appeared through the wraparound
windshield: OLD CIMARRON TRAIL R.V. PARK - 5 MILES
    “Oh look, isn’t that the same place we stayed last year and
then you drove in for that trial the next day?” Vivian asked.
    “Might not be a bad idea to stop