Chapter 82
LIZZIE NUNEZ HAD to stop and catch her breath about halfway to the Garden Spot.
It may have only been a couple of blocks, but she was trotting as best she could in hiking boots.
When Lizzie was leaving the runaways shelter, she’d seen the boots in the back corner of the closet.
They fit her perfectly. Nice red and black Columbia boots that went over her ankle.
But she hadn’t accounted for the extra weight.
She figured that’s why she was so winded.
Soon she was back on track. The front of the Garden Spot always looked like a music festival at night, with a lot of young people around and usually music blaring from somewhere.
As she hurried along, a rowdy group of guys in their early twenties rolled out of an Irish pub. At least that’s what it looked like. They were laughing when they stepped onto the sidewalk. They looked up and saw Lizzie.
The tallest of the men, a blond guy in a nice, casual jacket held out his hands to stop his friends.
He looked at Lizzie and said, “Well, hello, beautiful.” He looked to each of his friends and said, “We gotta take this one with us to Hooligan’s for our next round of beers. ” He waggled his eyebrows at Lizzie.
Lizzie said, “Sorry. Can’t.” She tried to squeeze past them.
The guy closest to her moved to block her path.
Lizzie backed up a step, getting ready to try the other side. Then all the frustration in her built up. Instead of moving to the side, she kicked the man who blocked her path between the legs.
He instantly doubled over and she skittered past him quickly. She didn’t turn around to answer any of the shouts being directed at her. She almost wanted one of them to follow her so she could deliver another kick. It revitalized her. It made her feel powerful. At least for a few seconds.
She finally made it to the block of the Garden Spot. But when she turned the corner, she noticed people running. A lot of them were shouting.
What’s going on?
She realized, in this wild melee of people, she wouldn’t be able to find Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome. She’d failed once again.
She might as well see what was going on at the Garden Spot. Lizzie waited in the doorway of a hipster clothing store, with tie-dyed tees and bowling shirts in the window, watching as the flood of people ran past her. When it slowed to a trickle, she stepped onto the sidewalk.
Lizzie saw a girl about her age walking by and asked her what had happened.
“Someone shot up the Garden Spot. It was crazy!” Then the girl just walked on.
Lizzie peered down the street and saw that people were starting to gather again on the sidewalk in front of the old hotel. It looked like the action was over.
She decided to walk down and check it out for herself.
She slipped into a group of people standing directly across the street from the hotel.
Lizzie could see a couple of people on the ground.
At least one of them looked like he was handcuffed.
A big guy with a cowboy hat in hand was sitting a few paces away from the people on the ground.
Just as she was thinking of going back in the direction she’d come from, Lizzie noticed the men who had blocked her way. The one she’d kicked in the balls was walking funny. The others were scanning the area, probably looking for her.
Lizzie decided she was safer right here in the big group, where she could hide behind people if she had to. She also wondered if maybe it was time to move back to San Antonio.