Page 46 of Ride the Lightning

The drive to Jonah’s didn’t take long. He got out and ducked down to look at Rocky. “I hope Drew calls soon.”

Rocky waggled his brows. “Me too.”

Jonah shut the door, and Rocky drove off. Instead of going into his house, Jonah got straight in his car and drove to The Dive Bar. He was expecting a run-down structure with a seedy interior, but the bar was quaint and had a fun vibe in the air. Even though it was early afternoon, there were several patrons inside eating and enjoying the live entertainment.

The bartender looked to be the right age for Willie Monahan, so Jonah strode over and sat in a seat. The bald man with bulging biceps ambled over. “What can I get you?”

“Are you Willie?”

“Depends on who’s asking. Are you the IRS?”

“Not even on my worst day,” Jonah quipped.

The grisly bartender laughed. “How’d you get the scar?”

“Snagged my face on barbwire when I was fleeing vicious dogs.”

The bartender chuckled. “Did the husband come home too soon?”

“Nah.”

“Wife?” he asked Jonah.

Chuckling, Jonah replied, “Burglary gone wrong.”

“Uh-huh. What do you really want?” Willie asked.

“Marla sent me.”

“Well, hell. Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” He reached across the bar and shook Jonah’s hand. They talked for a long time, and when the performer finished singing on stage, Willie waved her over to join them. The singer turned out to be Brandy, the final person on his interview list.

The pair turned out to be great company but didn’t offer any new information. Jonah stayed much later than he’d anticipated but switched to soft drinks after one glass of bourbon. The sky was starting to turn dark with the promise of a rainstorm by the time he said his goodbyes and headed out to his car.

Jonah jerked to a stop when he saw someone had slashed all four of his tires.

“Son of a bitch,” he said, running his hands through his hair as thunder rumbled in the distance.

Jonah had a Triple-A membership, so this was more of a nuisance than anything. They’d send a tow truck out to haul his car to a body shop of his choice, and Jonah knew there was a Tire Discounters nearby. He just needed someone to drive him home. Rocky and Kendall were out. Marla didn’t own a vehicle. He could try Felix or order a ride on his Lyft app.

Or…

Jonah grinned as he dialed.

Avery answered on the second ring. “Hello, Jonah. How was your day?”

“Well, it was going great until I came out of my last interview and discovered some prick had slashed my tires.”

“Oh, no.”

“I need a ride home. Think you can come and get me?” Jonah asked.

“It depends,” Avery said.

“On?”

“You are aware that I’m not just going to drop you off at your house and leave, right?”

“I fucking hope not,” Jonah said.