Page 51 of Never and Always
“Okay, he’s short on money, clearly,” Allie said. “Where would he stay? Does he have friends here?”
“No, not that I know of.”
“So, a cheap hotel,” Sierra said.
Tessa snapped her fingers. “There are some nasty ones out by the highway. We could check them, show his photo around. See if anyone has seen him.”
I sat up. “That’s a good idea.”
“And he likes to gamble,” Sierra added.
My chest tightened. “Card games, mainly.”
“I know a couple of bars in town that hold, let’s say, not-so-legal card games with gambling involved,” she said.
“You do?” Tessa asked, surprised.
“I run activities, I hear things. Plus, I dated this guy once who took me to one. So, let’s go. We can take my car.”
“Wait,” Allie said. “People out there want to snatch Piper. If we’re galivanting around, they might see her and try again.” She lowered her voice. “And I know a few men who’d be very pissed off.”
My stomach coiled. Everett had warned me to stay in the hotel.
But I couldn’t just sit around. I couldn’t let my brother get hurt, or worse. Plus, I was an adult and had a brain.
“She needs a disguise,” Sierra said.
“I know.” Allie snapped her fingers. “A wig.”
“Yes, we have some left over from the Halloween Spooktacular. From the staff costumes.” Sierra popped to her feet. “Let me go and grab one. I’ll be right back.”
Soon, I was wearing jeans and a dark-green corduroy jacket, with my blonde hair tucked under a black, chin-length bob wig.
As a group, we hustled out of the hotel, working hard not to run into anyone.
By anyone, we meant Ro, Caden, and Everett.
We piled into Sierra’s Honda SUV.
“Hotels first?” the blonde asked.
I nodded, looking at my phone. “Let’s try the Comfort Stay Inn first.”
Thirty minutes later, we’d checked the three cheap hotels near the highway. Tessa had not hidden her horror at being near hotels so beneath her standards. Sierra had proven she could make anyone talk to her with her wide smile and beautiful face. I’d shown the bored receptionists a photo of Chance on my phone. No one had seen him.
My burst of enthusiasm had started to wane.
Maybe he’d left Windward? I swallowed. Maybe he’d left to save himself, and tossed me under the bus.
“Okay, we’re going to the Red Moose first.” Sierra turned a corner. “It was the place I went to before, and I know it’s popular with some locals and intrepid tourists.”
The Red Moose exterior featured lots of wooden posts, a carved wood-and-red sign, and double wooden doors covered in lots of stickers.
We walked in, and the place wasn’t busy. I hid my grimace. There was one wall of hewn logs, the floor was stone, and the bar was made of river rock with wooden stumps topped with red leather cushions for stools. They’d really leaned into the mountain vibe. Several sets of antlers hung from the walls. I guessed the place would get busier when people finished work and the skiers came in from the slopes.
There was a young bartender behind the bar, but a door at the back of the bar opened and an older woman stepped out. Her dark hair had a few streaks of gray in it, but she rocked the look. Her killer curves filled out her tight jeans.
She eyed us and her gaze narrowed. “You girls lost?”
