“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just thinking about how much my kids are gonna hate me when they find out I traded my comfort for theirs.”
9
ROB
“Civilization!”I shouted, huffing as I stood across the road from yet another motel.
This one looked a hell of a lot better than the previous one, and the diner right next to it had a complete set of working lights. That was a bonus all around.
Storm stood beside me, his tongue wagging as he stared at the motel. With a small yip, he trotted across the street, leaving me behind.
“Hey! You can’t check in without me!” I called, following him across.
Jogging over to the office, I yanked the door open, grinning when I strode over to the counter. “Please, tell me you have a room.”
The man glanced up at me from his magazine, his eyes roaming over the dirt caked on my skin. “Got money?”
Pulling my wallet, I tossed the company card down on the counter. Picking it up, the man ran his nail across the numbers, as if looking for a fraudulent card, then looked at me again.
“Got an ID?”
I handed that over as well, though I didn’t use my real ID. Cap had fake IDs for all of us in case we were caught in a situation like this, where we were on the run and didn’t want to be found. This was the first time I actually had to use it, and pride bloomed in my chest that I was finally in a situation like the others.
It wasn’t often that the IT guy got any real excitement.
“Fifty bucks for the night,” the man said, running the card. “Checkout is ten tomorrow.”
“Got a free breakfast?” I asked sarcastically.
The man slowly looked up at me, his eyes bored and wary. “Yeah. Just call room service.”
Sliding the card over, he grabbed a plastic keycard and ran it through the machine. “There’s a hold of a hundred bucks for damages until you check out. No pets and no smoking in the room. Have a nice stay.”
I snagged the card, tipping an imaginary hat at him. “Oh, I’m sure it’ll be delightful.”
He went back to ignoring me almost immediately. He was a pleasant chap, in that he hadn’t tried to kill me, which I greatly appreciated. As I walked out, I almost went right to the motel room, but my stomach was rumbling, and frankly, passing out in the shower didn’t sound all that wonderful. I was filthy as hell, but right now, the only thing I cared about was filling my stomach.
Storm followed me, his nails clicking on the pavement with every step. I was still wary of the creature, sure he was going to turn on me at any moment and decide I was better as food than a friend. Yet, whenever he looked at me, all I saw was camaraderie in his eyes.
“Okay, buddy. You have to stay out here. See the sign?” I said, pointing to the door. “No dogs allowed.”
A small whine left his lips as he cocked his head at me.
“I would let you join me, but then they wouldn’t serve me. I promise to bring you back something tasty.”
But as soon as I turned, the whining grew louder. The poor guy didn’t want to leave me, and frankly, I couldn’t blame him. We’d bonded out there in the forest, and you just couldn’t come between a man and his dog.
Or wolf, in this case.
Kneeling down, I carefully extended my hand. When I was sure he wasn’t going to bite it off, I rubbed gently behind his ears, grinning when his tongue popped out and he panted in happiness.
“Yeah, you’re a good boy. Alright, how about this? We’ll say you’re my service dog.”
That made him growl, but if he wanted to stay with me, this was the only way.
“Look, I get it. It’s not the best look for you, but if you want to go in that diner, this is what you have to do.”