Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
When Nolan got back to the room, Pete and Hunter were still at the table drinking beer. Judging by the empty bottles lined up on the counter next to the sink, they’d downed a lot of alcohol in a short amount of time. The bottle of Korbel had been opened recently and was now half-empty. Surveying the scene, it suddenly struck him—his cousins weren’t only screwups, they were most likely alcoholics. Or at the very least, they had a drinking problem. How had he missed this? He supposed that it was because this was the longest stretch of time he’d spent with them since the twins were teenagers.
Without the gloves, their foolproof plan for leaving no trace behind was no longer foolproof. One good thing, the sound was down on the computer monitor, so they hadn’t heard what Dana had said in the video that would keep him from being implicated. Their soundtrack had been the seventies music they loved so much. When he walked in, Pete reached over and turned the volume down.
“Okay,” Nolan said, joining them at the table. “Turns out this thing is completely worthless for taking photos.” He set the burner phone on the table. “So I had to use my own phone to take a photo of Dana. It’s already been sent.”
Hunter brayed out a burst of laughter. “We saw it, dude.” He pointed to the monitor. “You didn’t just take one picture. It was a whole photo shoot.”
“Yeah,” Pete added. “What the hell, Nolan? You two going to prom together?”
Rude, especially considering he was the only one trying to fix their mess. “I don’t see the point in treating her badly,” Nolan said.
“So we noticed,” Pete said. “You’re her own personal DoorDash.”
Hunter said, “When’s it spa day? You gonna do her nails? Rub her feet?” They both laughed at that one.
Nolan ignored them and got out his phone, finding the response to his message. “As I said, I took the picture. I sent it with your instructions, and I heard back. They need more time and said they’ll have the money tomorrow.” Nolan slid his phone across the table so they could read the exchange, but they barely glanced at it.
“Tomorrow?” Pete’s voice was irate. “No way!”
“We’re not waiting another day,” Hunter said. “You get back to them and say if they want her back, it’ll be tonight or nothing.”
Nolan said, “You guys need to be reasonable. It’s Sunday. The banks aren’t even open. It takes time to get that much money together.”
His cousins shook their heads in perfect synchronization. It would have been comical if they didn’t look so pissed. Pete said, “Tomorrow is a no-go. They’re just stalling. They have the money in the house.”
Hunter’s head bobbed in agreement.
Nolan made an attempt at reason. “Dana said she doesn’t have the money at home. People get that mixed up all the time. It’s the character in the book who keeps that kind of cash on hand.”
“Dana said,” Pete mocked. “You gotta stop talking to her, Nolan. We have it on good authority that the money is in the house.”
“Yeah, on good authority,” his brother said. “So it’s tonight at sundown, just like we spelled out.”
Pete aimed a finger at Nolan. “You get back to him and tell him we know he has the money, and it has to be tonight.”
Nolan felt a sudden shift inside him. Despite being younger, more impulsive, and dumber, the twins had somehow manipulated him into getting involved in this crazy scheme, and now they wanted him to fix their problem? “No way. I’ve done all I’m going to do. Your turn.”
The twins exchanged a look, and then Hunter said, “We still have the recording of you talking about the kidnapping. It made you sound guilty as hell.”
And he had a video of Dana exonerating him, but he wasn’t going to let that one slip. “Yeah, but I decided I’m no longer worried about it and I’m going home.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Before it’s over? You can’t do that!”
“I can and I will. I’m going home right now.” He grabbed his ski mask and the motel key card, pushed back his chair, and stood. “First I’m going to say goodbye to Dana, and then I’m out of here. You boys are on your own.”
What he didn’t say was that this would be the last time he’d ever see them again. They were connected by blood, but that was all they had in common. He’d helped them out time and time again, giving them rides when they totaled their car, lending them money so they wouldn’t be evicted, serving as a reference for jobs they were invariably fired from. Worst of all, they’d now embroiled him in criminal activity. He’d be lucky to escape this without any retribution. It was the last straw. His promise to his grandfather no longer weighed on him.
He was done.