Knockout by Erica Orloff

Author:Erica Orloff
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2004-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

By morning, taking shifts, we had closed in on the city of Los Angeles.

“We have to be careful,” I told Sovo.

“Of what?”

“Gridlock.”

“What is gridlock?”

“That,” I explained, as we drove over an overpass and I pointed down at mile after mile of stuck, unmoving traffic.

“Accident?” he asked.

“Nope. Just L.A.”

“This is crazy! Why would people live like this? Like rats in a maze.”

“You’ll see.”

The weather was glorious, and I had been to L.A. several times for fights, so I knew my way around. I maneuvered over to Melrose. As we drove down the street, women in miniskirts that rode high enough to see their crotch, and low enough to see the strings of their thongs, walked along perched on stiletto heels, with little dogs in purses.

“This is why people put up with gridlock.”

Sovo’s eyes grew wide. He may have been a sniper, he may have been guarding Destiny and me like a hero, but he was still a guy with a frigging pulse.

We drove along, taking in the sights. We passed the Farmer’s Market, and then I drove until we could see the big Hollywood sign. Destiny was still sleeping in the back, but soon she began to rouse.

Sovo climbed in back and felt her head. He’d been checking her almost hourly. “Just a little warm,” he said cheerfully. “Hello, Baby,” I heard him say to her.

“Hello, Sovo.”

“We’re in L.A. We going to be big shots. Movie stars.”

Destiny giggled.

“You want to watch those worms?”

“The Wiggles, Sovo. The Wiggles.”

“Okay. You watch them? We’ll find a place to stay soon.”

“I’m getting kind of bored with The Wiggles.”

I piped up from the driver’s seat. “Destiny, honey, that’s all we brought. When we stop, I’ll find a place to buy you a few new videos. You’ll have to tell me which ones you like.”

“Oh, no, that’s okay, Auntie Jack. I have some other ones. In the Wiggles boxes. I want to watch the ones with my mommy on them.”

“The what?” Frantically I looked for a place to park. I backtracked to a shopping mall and parked in the farthest spot in the lot. I turned off the car and climbed in back.

“Destiny,” I said, shaking her by the shoulders. “What did you say, honey?”

“I want to watch the ones with my mommy in them.”

“Show us,” Sovo said hoarsely, nervously.

Destiny went over to her pink backpack and produced four Wiggles boxes. She had been watching the same one over and over and over again for days. I hadn’t even thought to ask her why she didn’t watch the other four. Inside the tape boxes, which carried the bright, attractive, colorful Wiggles group on the front, were tapes marked Security 1, Security 2, Security 3 and Security 4. Crystal wasn’t such a dumb blonde after all. She had taken them for insurance of some sort.

I popped the first one in. It was surprisingly high definition for tape from a security camera, but then again, it was from Tony Perrone’s inner sanctum, his office. He’d have the best security money can buy.

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