A Time for Hope (Lexi, #3)(64)
“Fine, spoil sport!” Sydney returned to her desk, poking her tongue out at me on the way.
I tried to focus my attention back to the work at hand but my mind continued to wander. I had no idea what was in store for me tonight. I didn’t know if it would help me or if it would send me running hysterically in the opposite direction. One thing was sure; I was done being on this manic carousel of emotion. I needed to once and for all move on. I no longer wanted to be a victim. If I had any hope of being a decent wife and someday a mother, then I was going to have to be decent Lexi first. And if Manny Ortiz could help me achieve that, then I was willing to give it a try.
Chapter 15 - And one for the Corps
If you take three spirited, independent and opinionated women and put them together things are bound to be interesting, but when you throw those same women into an Escalade and drive them to a nondescript location in Queens, the best you can hope for is to make it out with some semblance of sanity.
It was with a massive sigh of relief that DarNell announced “Ladies, we’re here.”
The car came to a stop in front of an unremarkable black warehouse in an industrial estate somewhere in Queens. It was nestled in-between an auto mechanic and a UPS depot. It looked completely nondescript and had no identifying numbers or signs. In fact, there was nothing distinguishable about the place at all. It was the kind of place you could expect to see on a nightly news bulletin accompanied by the broadcast headline “Dismembered bodies found in derelict warehouse. Suspect still at large.”
“Thanks D-Man! You wanna do a quick sweep of the locale? I can back you up if you like, I have a can of mace and zero hesitation.” Taylah offered as DarNell walked around and opened our door.
“You have mace?” I asked, wondering what else she had tucked away in her gym bag.
Taylah and I stepped out onto the footpath. “Lex, you’re Australian so I’ll forgive your ignorance but honey we’re in Queens. This is where Martin Scorsese was born, have you seen the man’s films?”
“Taylah, I think it might be wise if you hand the mace over to me. I’m sure Mr. Scorsese is not in town. ” D held out his hand, waiting for the offending object.
“I’ve got a nail file and the bugger is sharp. Could easily take someone’s eye out,” Sydney volunteered as she leapt out of the car to join us.
“Ladies, please! Leave all weapons and anything else that could potentially be a weapon in the car.” DarNell rubbed his hand across his forehead in frustration.
“Sorry D.” I knew the three of us were working his last nerve.
D shook his head as he pressed the remote for the central locking and walked us to the front of the warehouse. A lone flickering streetlight added to eeriness of the surroundings. Yep, this was definitely horror movie material. Maybe the can of mace and a sharp object wasn’t such a bad idea.
“This place gives me the creeps. Is there a door bell?” Sydney asked as we approached what I could only assume was the front entrance.
“That’s a negative.” Taylah confirmed as she inspected the door. “Either they have a huge issue with Jehovah’s Witness’ in this part of town or unexpected guests are not welcomed.”
“Both of you need to chill, we’re fine.” I rapped my knuckles against the black metal door. D stood tightly at my side and while he may have instructed us to leave our weapons in the car, I had no doubt his .45 was securely holstered under his arm.
The door slowly swung open without making a sound, the bright interior lighting flooded the entranceway, momentarily blinding us.
“You Lexi Stone?” A tall, tanned, athletic man stepped out of the blazing light tunnel that was the doorway.
“Yes, I’m Lexi Stone.” I offered him my hand, thinking it was the only greeting that seemed remotely appropriate.
He didn’t take my hand, instead looked at Taylah and Sydney before nodding to DarNell. “Is this your six?”
I looked over at D, confuse. “Sorry? I thought we agreed to be here at nine? Were we supposed to meet at six?”
“Your six, your back-up.” He clarified impatiently.
“She’s my point.” D responded in an obvious understanding of what the tall, athletic stranger was asking.
“Good, step inside then.” He moved to the side and allowed us to enter the light-flooded doorway.
“We are so going to die,” whispered Taylah as she shuffled in step beside me.
“Shhhh.” The last thing we needed was for the walking, talking action hero to overhear us.
We were led through a short passageway, the space then opened to a cavernous expanse. The interior was so much large than it had looked on the outside. Three separate levels were fully lit and fitted out with various apparatus and gym equipment. Judging from the size of this guy, he believed in quality assuring the product he was peddling, cause he was stacked!
“Leave your shit in the locker room. Meet in the main gym in five.” He pointed to a door I assumed to be the aforementioned locker rooms and strode off to the main part of the gym where a few people had already assembled.
“Ladies, I trust you can store your items and not get into trouble?” D looked pointedly at Taylah as he held the door open for us.
“We’ll be fine D, we’ll meet you over in the gym.” I was sure we would be relatively safe within the confines of the locker room, even with Taylah.