While Goon continued on to the next exit to check on the one motel, Blade, Royal and Hammer peeled off, then split up to canvass the area. Royal went right, while Blade and Hammer went left in the direction of the bulk of the motels.
Royal putted through the Days Inn parking lot but saw nothing. There were several fast food places nearby, with a strip-mall a bit farther on. He struck gold in the strip mall when he discovered a white Ford pickup with a bent front end and South Carolina plates. They had agreed to meet at the Wendy’s, and that was perfect because it was next door to the Days Inn. While it was conceivable they’d walked to one of the other motels, the Days Inn was the most likely.
Goon was first back. “I like that look. You got him?”
“His truck is in the parking lot over there,” Royal said with a jerk of his head. “As soon as Hammer or Blade gets back, we’ll go check it out.”
Ten minutes later, Blade pulled to a stop beside his brothers. “Wait here for Hammer,” Royal said as soon as Blade’s bike fell silent. “I think he’s in the Days Inn. Goon and I are going to check it out.”
“Don’t you want to wait for Hammer?”
“No. I’m not going to try a take down. We’re just going to ask a few questions. We’ll be right back.”
Goon and Royal walked across the parking lot and into the lobby of the motel. “May I help you?” the woman behind the counter asked.
“Antonio, or Tony, Daniels, please.”
The woman typed a moment. “I’m sorry, sir, we don’t have guest registered by that name.”
“Did you have a man check in late Saturday night or early Sunday morning, with a woman, that’s still here?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t give out that information.”
Royal reached into his pocket and slowly began to peel off $100 bills and lay them on the counter. When he reached ten he stopped and tried a more direct approach. “Let me explain to you how this is going to work. I’m going to get the information, one way or another. You can either take the money and help me, or I’ll have this gentleman escort you to the back and I’ll come around there and look myself and you will get nothing. Your choice.”
The woman stared at him a moment, then her eyes flicked to Goon who was standing behind him with a scowl on his face. Her eyes came back to Royal’s and then she reached out and slowly took the money. She didn’t look happy about it, but she looked down and typed a moment. “I have a Danny Richards who checked in Saturday night who’s still here.”
“Where’s he from?”
“Columbia, South Carolina.”
“One or two in the room?”
“One.”
“What room number?” The woman hesitated, and Royal snapped his fingers impatiently. “Come, on! What room number?”
“206.”
“Thank you. You’ve been very helpful,” he said with his best winning smile.
“Now what?” Goon asked as the doors closed behind them. “There’s no way we can get him to open the door before he makes us.”
“We watch.”
Goon looked around as they walked back to their bikes. “Where? There’s no cover.”
“Unless he leaves on foot, he’s got to walk right by the Wendy’s. We’ll watch from there.”
“What if he rents a car or something?”
“Why would he do that? He’s still got to move the safe, and that bitch is heavy. A regular pickup isn’t going to handle it.”
“I just don’t want to miss him again.”
Royal smiled, but it didn’t touch his eyes. “Don’t worry. We’ve got his ass this time.”
***
The brothers moved their hogs into the same parking lot, but well away from Tony’s truck. While there was nothing special about their bikes, the South Carolina plates would be a dead giveaway, and they didn’t want to spook their quarry.
They had lunch of burgers and fries, taking their time, sitting so they could see the parking lot of the motel. Royal was sure Tony and Stella would show for lunch, and when they did, they would bag them. As noon slid into one, then two, Royal’s confidence began to fade.
“What the fuck are they doing in there? Don’t they ever come out?” Blade groused.
“Maybe that’s what they’re doing,” Goon teased.
Royal threw a cold French fry at him, but said nothing. “They’ll show. We just have to wait them out.”
“This is the shit that drives me crazy,” Blade muttered.
Now that he had his target in sight, Royal was like a cat. He could sit patiently for days, waiting for his chance to pounce. But he could understand Blade’s bitching. When he was sitting around, waiting for someone else to do something, that’s when he got the jitters.
“Why don’t you go get a couple of rooms? We may be here for a day or two. We need to start shifts. I’ll take the first one.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Hammer said as he rose. “These fucking chair should be used by the military. After sitting here for two hours, I’m ready to tell anyone who will listen anything they want to know.”
Royal chuckled. His ass was asleep, too, but this beat standing in the heat. “You’re just getting old and soft.” He had a reputation to keep up of being able to be still for hours on a stakeout, no matter the conditions, but after they left, he would get up and walk around a little to get the blood flowing again.
“Listen, pipsqueak, I’ve got more lead in my pencil than you will ever have,” Hammer growled playfully. Now that he had his eye on his target, the old Royal was back.
***
He’d wandered for almost an hour, hovering in the Wendy’s parking lot, always keeping the Days Inn within sight. He was back inside the Wendy’s, enjoying a Frosty, when he saw a man and woman approaching from the motel parking lot. Business was beginning to ramp up for the dinner crowd, and several people had come from the motel already, but as they approached, he finally made out Stella, then a moment later, Tony.
The Wendy’s was far too crowded to take them inside, but he got to his feet anyway. If they walked past, he would take Tony down, and if they came inside he would wait for them to come back out, then take him down. Either way, he had to be ready to move.
It appeared they were headed for the Wendy’s and he moved to the opposite side of the restaurant, hovering by the door. As soon as he was sure they were coming in, he stepped out, dodging a car passing through the drive through as he scrambled to get out of sight.
As he stepped around the building, he pulled his phone and dialed Hammer. “They’re on the move.”
“Where?”
“At the Wendy’s. I need somebody on the truck, now.”
“Where are you?”
“Still watching the Wendy’s. I can’t cover the motel and the truck without being spotted.”
“Goon is rolling now. You want more backup?”
Royal thought a moment. “No. If you and Blade come roaring in here, he’ll rabbit again. When I hang up, call Goon and tell him to stay on them if they leave in the truck. But I’ve had an idea. When I see him go by, I’m going to plan a little surprise for Mr. Daniels. Be ready to roll on my call.”
“Don’t do something stupid!”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got this so long as I’m sure they can’t slip me.”
“Blade and I are headed down to the bikes now.”
“Hold until I call. I don’t want him to run, and I don’t want to risk him hurting Stella.”
“Remember your license! Don’t do something to get yourself arrested!”
Royal grinned. “Don’t worry. This is going to go down nice and quiet.”
He was moving across the motel parking lot, watching the Wendy’s when he heard a Harley pass on Highway 311 at full chat and then brake hard before heeling over into the strip mall parking lot. It was Goon.
With a grin, knowing his back was covered, Royal ran across the parking lot. He didn’t have a lot of time. He pulled up and walked casually into the lobby and directly to the front desk. There was a guy behind the desk this time, which made things a lot easier.
“May I help you?” the young man asked as Royal approached.
“Danny Richards, Room 206. I locked my key in the room.”
“I can get you another one, Mr. Richards.”
“Sorry to be a bother. I sometimes think I would forget my head if it weren’t attached.”
“No problem at all, Mr. Richards. It happens all the time.” The man worked a moment then placed another card key on the counter. “There you go. Anything else I can do for you?”
Royal slid the card off and pocketed it. “No. This is good. Thank you very much.”
“My pleasure, sir.”
Royal walked out with a smile. The clerk was far too trusting and asked for no ID, accepting his word on face value. The moment he was out of sight, he ran down the hall, taking the steps two at a time, and burst through the door on the second floor. He checked the signs, then hurried down the hall and swiped the card at room 206. He heard the door unlock, then taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open, releasing the held breath when he saw the empty room.
With a smile he closed the door and pulled his weapon. He made a quick survey of the room and decided his best bet was the bathroom. He quickly stepped into the room and pressed his back against the wall so he couldn’t be seen in the mirror. He waited less than two minutes before he heard the snick of the door unlocking then the slam as it closed.
“Would you please stop bitching!” Tony’s voice growled. “If you want to talk to Katrina, convince your boyfriend to give me the combination to the safe.”
“I tried!” Stella snapped over the rustle of paper bags. “You heard him. He cares more about his fucking club than me! I mean nothing to him, so you might as well let me go.”
“Not until I get the combination.”
Royal tightened his grip on his weapon and then stepped out of the bathroom, leveling his weapon in the general direction of their voices. “Hearing you say that hurts my feelings, Stella.”
The two looked up and froze, Stella’s hand still in one of the food bags. He couldn’t shoot Tony on sight because he needed him alive, he didn’t want to bring in the cops, and he was standing too much behind Stella for him to risk taking the shot.
“Gabriel?” Stella said, her surprise clear in her voice. “What are you doing here?”
Tony was frozen for a moment, then grabbed Stella and pulled her in front him to use her as a shield.
“He has a gun!” Stella cried, twisting and squirming to get away.
Tony saw Gabriel stiffen and take a more formal shooting stance. He grabbed her around her throat and held her tight to him, her struggles stopping as he clamped his fingers around her throat. There was no way he could clear his weapon from under his shirt before Gabriel shot him, but his knife was much more accessible. He pulled it from its sheath on his belt, flicked the blade open with his thumb, and pressed it into her neck.
Gabriel watched, ready to pull the trigger if Tony gave him half a chance, money be damned. Stella whimpered as the point of the knife pressed in. “Remember what I told you? Remember what I said I would do to you if you hurt her?”
Tony licked his lips. “Unload your weapon. Do it!”
“I’m going to kill you,” Gabriel muttered, pointing the gun up and pressing the button to eject the magazine of his pistol. He still had one in the pipe, and he would make it count if he got an opening.
“Rack it.”
Gabriel gritted his teeth and did as he was told, the final bullet flying out. He tossed the now useless gun onto the bed. “Give me Stella and I’ll tell you the combination.”
Tony grinned and shook his head. “No deal. Open your vest so I can see.” Gabriel did. “Is that a knife? Take off your vest, remove your knife, then turn around slowly.”
“Tony! Please!” Stella begged, as Gabriel complied, then gasped as a trickle of blood oozed from the point of the knife.
“I wasn’t going to hurt her. All you had to do was give me the combination. I was going to leave her tied up, here, in the room. Once I had the money, I would have called you and told you where she was. Now you’ve ruined everything. Now I’m going to have to take her with me.”
“You’re not leaving this motel with her.”
“How are you going to stop me?”
“I don’t have to stop you. Blade, Hammer and Goon will. They’re outside right now, waiting for me or you to come out. If it’s you, you’re a dead man.”
“You’re lying! Nobody was out there when we came from Wendy’s.”
“You’re right. They hadn’t had time to get here after I called them. But they have by now.”
“I guess I’ll have to take my chances, then. What’s the combination?”
“47 03 75,” Gabriel rattled off.
“Write it down!”
Gabriel moved to the table between the beds, picked up the pen, and wrote the combination down.
“Back away,” Tony ordered. He backed up to where he was then Tony inched Stella toward the table. “Pick it up.”
She picked up the pad. The three numbers were written on it, along with I love you and I’ll be there for you, always.
“This had better be the combination.”
“That’s it. How’d you get the key?”
Tony froze. “What key?”
“It takes the combination and a key. You have to turn the key before the combination works. You don’t have the key?”
Tony thought furiously, trying to remember if he saw a key on the door or not. “You’re lying! There’s no key!”
Gabriel shrugged. “You’ll see when you get there. Since you didn’t ask for the key, I assumed you already had it, but I guess not. Hoss, I think you’re fucked.”
Tony began to back toward the door. “I think you’re lying. I don’t remember seeing any key.”
Gabriel grinned, following them across the room but not getting any closer. “Like I said, you’ll see when you get there.”
“Open the door,” Tony growled.
Stella swallowed hard. This was her only chance. Gabriel hadn’t given up on her. He knew Tony didn’t have the key all along and knew even if he’d told him the combination he couldn’t open the safe. He’d played him until he could track him down. He loved her and he’d come for her. She reached behind Tony and fumbled the door.
“I can’t reach it,” she whimpered.
Tony growled and released her throat, fumbling behind him for the door knob, but still held the knife to her with his other hand.
“I love you,” she said before grabbing Tony’s arm and pulling it down and away with every ounce of strength she possessed.