Sometime between the witching hour and now, the rain lashed against the motel window, creating an eerie rhythm that matched the thudding of our hearts.
Artemisia had shoved me from the bed, and I peered out through the rain-streaked glass. The neon sign flickered, casting an ominous shadow.
The knock echoed through the room, sending shivers through my already sensitive skin. My breath caught as I approached the door, the creaking of the floor beneath my weight amplifying my tension. With each step, the unknowns on the other side of the door became more daunting. Had Artemisia's rivals found us?
The knock persisted, slow and deliberate. I'd be lying if I didn't say my hand trembled as I stood off to the side, gun in hand. I reached for the handle to unlock a floodgate of fear. Throwing it wide, the door swung open, only the empty night, with its downpour.
I continued to scour the area with my gaze. Instinct honed by experience, a sixth sense told me something felt off.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spied a pimple-faced youth, adjusting a pizza box under his arm. The uniform seemed ill-fitting, something I'd been trained to look for early on in my days at the academy. I raised my wrist only to find my watch missing, lost in the melee of lovemaking.
I estimated it to be close to five o'clock in the morning.
Pizza, this early?
I heard a sharp rap tap on another door and listened to his voice.
"Top of the morning to you folks. Got a piping hot pepperoni and mushroom with extra surveillance for you."
I grunted. Another undercover officer. Two stings at one motel, though? I stuck my head out the door. The guy was probably at the wrong damn door. I was the one who called in for food and fizz yesterday, but I hadn't called it in for such a ludicrous hour.
"Artemisia, get dressed," I whispered, finding her head beside my shoulder. She'd already done so.
Outside, the other couple stood in various stages of undress and exchanged puzzled glances. "We didn't order any pizza?"
I watched as the greenhorn leaned in and lowered his voice. "Special delivery from law enforcement pizzeria. Mind if I come in and discuss the toppings?"
The woman eyed him more skeptically than the man. "Is this some prank? My husband and I are from Winnipeg. We're visiting my family for a few days." I could hear the fear, and the slight Canadian inflection in her voice causing a wobble.
"What kind of family doesn't let family stay at their house?" The officer eyed them. His voice was firm now, thinking they were having one over on the rookie.
"The kind of family that has three kids and two large wolfhounds," Artemisia muttered, echoing the man who spoke. "Too many kids, pets, and not enough beds, buddy."
By that point, Nis grabbed his shirt from the floor where Artemisia had thrown it and was loosely working his way up the row of buttons she had all but bitten off.
Nis drawled a friendly hello, introducing himself to the parties involved. "I think you got the wrong door there slick. I ordered a meat market and a side of antacids. Some ginger ale, too."
All heads swiveled Nis' way.
"Oh," said the greenhorn. It is his order. So sorry for the confusion."
The other man closed the door, but not before having a jab at the young officer.
"Maybe you surveil the right room next time you're on surveillance duty? Eh?"
The officer turned bright red, pivoted on his heel, and walked toward Nis and Artemisia.
Artemisia looked at the two men and rolled her eyes. Pizza? Could you possibly get any more cliche? "Don't tell me it's from... Actually. I don't want to know." She threw up her hands and retreated.
"What do they call you?" Nis asked, opening the door wide.
The guy muttered a common sounding name.
"Is that your actual name?" Nis cocked an eyebrow.
"Yes."
He grabbed the young man's shoulder, pushing him through the doorway. "Get your ass inside, greenhorn. You had no idea who you were rolling up to, you went to the wrong door, and if I had been someone else..." Nis let the sentence hang while shaking his head at the absolute fiasco the night had been.
I'd slept with our only asset, and this asshat had blown my cover to a couple of Canucks next door.
Artemisia coughed and looked pointedly at me with a look of mischief in her eyes.
"Think you found your new partner."
I cut her with a look. "A blow up doll would have been less conspicuous."
As the Greenhorn stepped inside, the aroma of genuine pizza filled the air.