“And there’s nothing quite like the scenario you’ve already been through to highlight all the danger and to make you realize just what’s important in life.”
“Exactly,” Ryland said. “It’s all good though. And she’s totally okay to be there temporarily.”
“Will you bring her back to the compound?”
“We’re discussing options,” he said, laughing. “She’s a nurse.”
“Well, if we can get Linny to come over and run Bullard’s clinic,” he said, “we’ll need a nurse.”
Ryland looked at him in surprise. “Wow,” he said. “I didn’t even think Lindsey would be interested in that. What is she looking at doing?”
“Sounds like she’s a matter of a few months from getting her general surgery credentials, and you can bet that Fallon’s trying to get her to land here.”
He chuckled at that. “Now that makes sense. And those two, they’re really an item?”
“Finally.”
“I know, right? After all that bickering? The last time I was here, and they both were around, I wanted to just lock them up in a room, until they got it out of their system.”
Quinn chuckled. “You’re not the only one, and they weren’t very amiable to such a concept. But they got there eventually.”
“Good. That should make Fallon want to live here too.”
“Yes, especially right now. He’s pretty soft and malleable.”
At that, they had a great chuckle at their friend’s expense.
Ryland parked on the street. Quinn said, “It’s bad enough of a neighborhood that I almost don’t want to leave the vehicle here.”
“Well, this one we can leave quite happily,” he said. “Any of the others, I’m not so sure about.”
“Right. Still pretty rough to see this though.”
“It is. But let’s go see if she’s here.”
Quinn pulled out his phone to check the address, then said, “She’s on the third floor.” Shaking his head at that and still not quite believing the circumstances here, they got out and locked up the vehicle. They headed up to the apartment. There was no elevator.
Ryland swore at that. “Good thing it’s only the third floor.”
“What’s the matter? Didn’t you eat your Wheaties?” Quinn teased.
Ryland snorted. “I did, but some of the injuries are still a little stiff,” he said, glaring at him. “I’m fine,” he said. “So don’t try sending me back.”
“Like hell,” Quinn growled. “You should take the time you need to heal up completely.”
“Everybody is coming home,” he said, “and it seems like most are dinged up, to one degree or another, so don’t get your panties in a twist. We’ll all be here to make sure we all get through whatever’s going on. The problem is, whatever is going on, makes no sense at all,” he said.
“You would think that it would have been a lot easier to run down.”
“Too many people involved,” he said.
“That’s the truth.”
So, as they made their way up the stairs, Quinn entered the third-floor hallway and immediately wrinkled his nose.
“Wow,” he said. “It seriously reeks in here.”
“Not exactly an awe-inspiring place to live, is it?”
“It’s disgusting.”
Quinn glared at the surroundings, as they found the number on the door. With a shake of his head, he rapped hard on the wood, which seemed to be rotting in its frame. When he got no answer, he looked at Ryland, then knocked again. On the third time, they still got no answer, but somebody across the way opened the door and glared at them.
“If nobody answers, nobody’s home,” he said. “Are you freaking stupid?” It was some young guy with his hair standing up on end, looking like a Mohawk that may have been wonderful the previous night, but it was now showing the decay of a rough night.
“Do you know who lives here?”
“So, let me get this straight. You’re waking me the hell up, and you don’t even know whose door you’re knocking on?”
Quinn wanted to shake him by the neck and rattle something loose, but instead he asked, “We know who we thought was living here, but it doesn’t look like an area we thought she’d be in.”
“She? Dude, no woman lives there. You need to get your information updated.”
“Well, we’re trying to,” Ryland said, exasperated. “So can you give us a hand or not?”
“It’s a guy,” he said, as if that explained everything.
“Do you know what guy?”
“No clue, I think it’s her old boyfriend.”
“Who’s her?
“Jesus,” he said. “Isabella, of course.”
“Well, that’s good. That’s who we’re looking for.”
“Well, she’s not here,” the guy said, completely unhelpful.
“Do you know where we’d find her?”
“Nope, once she let that idiot move in, she pretty well had to move out.”
“Do you know how long ago?”
“A long time ago,” he said. “I don’t know, man, I can’t keep track of time.”
“Okay, you got anything else you can tell us? About where she went, where she works, anything?”
“What do you want her for? She’s a nice girl, and you shouldn’t be bothering her.”
“If she’s a nice girl, what’s she doing here?”
“It was the boyfriend,” he said. “I don’t think she realized what she was in for, but you know? That’s what happens, and our slumlord’s been making this place a hell of a lot worse, every step of the way.”
“She didn’t have to stay in a place like this though, did she?”
“Hell if I know,” he said. “I didn’t know her that well.”
“Did you know the boyfriend?”
“Yeah, a loser. He still owes me money. So, if you find him, tell him that he still owes me twenty bucks.”
“Well, I will, but who should I say he owes it to?”
The guy snorted. “It’s Ozzie, man.”
“Ozzie, okay, great,” Quinn said, nodding his head.
The guy snorted again and walked back into his apartment and slammed the door.
At that, Quinn turned and looked at Ryland. “Nice area.”
“You think?” he said. “Not exactly what I would call a nice area.”
“Nope, but still she’s not here, so where the hell did she go? And where’s this guy?”
“He didn’t give us a name, did he?”
“No.” They looked at each other, looked at the door to Isabella’s, and Quinn quickly picked the lock, letting them in. Immediately the smell hit his nose. “Good God, I wonder if he ever cleaned this mess.”
“Probably not since Isabella left, which was a long time ago, whatever that means,” Ryland said, with half a sneer.
“This place might have been nice, at one time. But it’s been a very long time.”
“You can’t do much if you’re poor,” Ryland said.