Page 18 of Not the Punk

When we walked into the front of the hotel to get our keys, Kai stopped me. “Oh, Joe. Almost forgot, the front desk has a package for you.”

“Me?”

“That’s what they said.”

I jogged over to the desk and gave my name, and the attendant handed me a small package. I looked it over, and while it didn’t have a return address, I recognized Trent’s handwriting on the hotel’s address. That alone was disturbing. How did he know where I’d be?

I walked back to the elevators where Kay, Matty, and Kai were waiting, and Matty bumped his shoulder into mine. “From the hunky firefighter? Hmm?”

“Uh, no.”

His peppy smile fell into a scowl. “Oh. Sorry. Uh…”

“It’s fine.”

Kay swiftly changed the subject and I could have kissed him for it. “Did you hear the sound check, Kai?”

After that, we chatted about music and the show until we got to our floors. Kay followed me to my hotel room. “Uh…gonna talk about that?” He tapped the box.

“No. Not really.”

“If it’s not from Colten, who’s it from? Did you order something? Sex toys?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“I don’t know. I’ll open it in a few. If it’s significant, I’ll let you know.” I wasn’t planning on telling him anything. “Maybe something from an overeager fan.”

“Okay, Joe. I’ll leave you alone but just remember I’m here. You don’t have to face hard shit alone.”

“Go call your men.”

He smiled wide and dashed down the hall, yelling, “Bye, Joe!”

I went into my room, shaking my head. I should have started with that.

But what was in the package? I opened it, and there was a note on top.

I tossed the note aside and looked in the box. It was snakeskin. My stomach turned like I was going to throw up.

I grabbed my phone and searched social media, but Kai had squashed the snake story. There was nothing for him to find. That meant he had been there, or he had hired someone to put it on the bus.

There was a knock at the door before I could do anything with the package, which freaked me out. Rushing over, I looked out the peephole and saw Jinx standing there. I had no choice but to open the door. “Hey. What’s up?”

“I wanted to talk to you. I’m concerned.”

“Nothing to worry about.”

He looked around my room. “You’re acting funny, and what was up with your delivery?”

“Nothing. It’s cool.”

“Joe. You’re not fooling me. I can see you’re lying. It’s all written right here.” He waved his hand around my face. “I’m here to help. That’s my job, but beyond that I consider you a friend, and I don’t let friends flounder. So what the hell is up?”

He was a good friend and my boss. It was a lot harder to lie to him than I thought it’d be. Resigned, I opened the door wider, letting him in and gesturing to the desk where I’d left Trent’s gift.

Jinx read the letter and looked in the box. “Son of a bitch.”

“I was about to throw it away.”

“You will not. This is serious. This is something I needed to know. Not cool, Joe,” he scolded.