Love Is Always Write Volume 4

in a ponytail, so I just wear a beanie. I hate it, though." He combed his fingers through his black hair again. "I much prefer having my hair loose."
    Bob shook his head. How had he not recognized the hot boy he had admired a half-dozen times? Granted, he did not often travel to the coffee shop on Sixth, since it was out of the way, but still….
    "Skinny vanilla latte," Jory said and cocked a finger at him.
    Bob nodded and looked away, flattered that Jory had recalled his drink order even though he had only been to the shop a couple of times. Bob remembered Jory was beautiful; he was even more so with his hair down.
    "How do you like working at…?" Bob paused, forgetting the name of the establishment.
    "How do I like wasting my life, you mean?" Jory asked with a trace of bitterness. He shrugged. "It's all right. I like coffee and my coworkers are great. Plus it really annoys my father." The door opened, and Jory walked out. The hallway was marble-lined, and the exit doors were glass. Outside, Bob could see three men, one of whom had brandished a gun in Bob's face earlier. Bob hung back, but Jory beckoned to him.
    "It's all right. Come on."
    "Where is the damn thing?" Gun-boy demanded when Jory and Bob stepped outside.
    Jory shrugged. "Dunno. It was here, but now it's gone. I thought you guys had it."
    "Liar! It's up there, isn't it?"
    Bob glared at the man, remembering the splintering of his doorframe. "Did you break into my apartment?" he demanded.
    The guy looked away, and one of the others piped up. "No, man, we stopped him. There is a little damage, though. We figured…"
    "You figured I'd take care of it. Thanks," Jory said and sighed.
    "Sorry, we—hey, isn't that Mallory?" The one speaking lifted a hand and pointed across the street. Bob followed his gesture and saw two men talking and gesticulating in their direction. One of them spoke into a cell phone.
    "How did they know about this? Shit! Did one of you spill the beans?"
    "No, Jory! Fuck, they must have tapped one of us again. Goddamn Snyder!"
    "Split up!" Jory said and reached out to grab Bob's wrist with a cold hand. "This just got serious. We need to find that cactus and Bob and I are the best bet for locating it."
    "How do you know Snyder doesn't have it already?" one protested.
    "Because then Mallory wouldn't be headed this way. Go!" With that, Jory took off at a run, Bob's wrist sliding free of his grip after the initial tug. Bob found himself running after him. The rain stopped spitting and began to fall in earnest.
    "Where are we going?" Bob yelled as Jory rounded the corner and pelted up the sidewalk for a short distance before ducking into an alleyway and then shoving through a battered metal door into an old parking garage.
    "I don't know!"
    They raced up an incline and then through the main garage entrance. They crossed the street in the direction that displayed a green light and then pelted down the sidewalk. Thankfully, this one had an overhang that kept most of the rain off the sidewalk. Bob glanced behind them, to see if they were being followed. Jory turned the next corner and headed back downhill before ducking into a coffee shop.
    There was a short line, and the windows were small and covered in reflective film. Casual passers-by would never notice them without walking inside.
    "We'll be safe in here for a minute. Plus I'm freezing and can use a coffee. Want one?"
    Bob shook his head. He was already pumped up on adrenaline; he did not need to augment it with caffeine.
    "Why don't you call Alyssa and ask what she did with Mariah?" Jory suggested.
    Bob frowned and pulled his phone from his coat pocket. To his surprise, there was a message. He punched in his passcode and listened to it, drifting toward the back wall of the shop while Jory placed his order with the barista.
    Bob shook his head and tucked his phone away before crossing the shop to wait with Jory near the PICK UP YOUR ORDER HERE counter. "Alyssa took Mariah—the cactus —back to my place. She left for the coast with Scott. I can't believe I forgot."
    Jory let out a sigh of obvious relief. "Thank goodness. We can go grab Mariah from your place and figure out where to go from there."
    "She wanted to know why my door was fucked up."
    Jory giggled, and Bob gave him a threatening glare, but Jory stepped away to retrieve his coffee. To Bob's surprise, Jory handed him a steaming paper cup. "Skinny vanilla latte half-caf with a sprinkle of cinnamon."
    Bob took it, feeling more