Page 87 of Devil’s Disciples

Mentally, I drifted away. My decision to tell Andy that I was an outlaw was the right one, I was sure of it. Believing it didn’t make accepting her absence any easier. If anything, I questioned my reasons behind the justification for the crimes I committed.

As I second-guessed my theories, there was a ticking sound from the living room. A few seconds later, there was another. I rolled off the edge of the bed, grabbed my pistol from the top of the nightstand, and crept into the dimly lit living room.

The metallic tick came again, from the living room window. I lowered myself to my hands and knees, crawled toward the window, and waited. The streetlights cast an eerie glow into the room.

Tick.

I slipped my finger against the trigger guard.

A minute later, another tick.

Something was hitting the glass. I lifted my head enough to peer over the window ledge. Across the street, the normal winter activities were taking place. The coffee shop was filled with patrons sipping festive drinks and working on their mid-term papers.

Nothing, however, seemed out of order.

I lifted my head a little more. Upon seeing her, I exhaled.

Standing on the sidewalk in a pair of jeans, a USC hoodie, and sneakers, was Andy. At her feet was a pile of cardboard. I grinned and shook my head.

She waved.

I set my pistol aside, flipped on the lamp, and waved.

She picked up the pile of cardboard and turned it to face me. On the surface of what appeared to be a piece of cardboard box, two words were hand-written in bold block letters.

WHAT DOES

She swayed back and forth for a few seconds, and then folded the piece over the top of what she held. Two more words were revealed.

A GIRL

A few seconds later, she folded it again.

HAVE TO

And then, again.

DO TO

She tossed the eight-foot long section of folded cardboard aside. It was clear that at one time, it had been a box. Still holding another, she turned it over, exposing yet two more words.

GET SOME

She grinned as she flipped to the next section.

DICK ON

She folded the piece out of the way.

A WEDNESDAY

She flipped to the last section.

NIGHT?

She clutched the cardboard sign and grinned. I raised my index finger.

She nodded.