Lost and Found

Chapter Twenty

Trubel's POV

As I slept, I had nightmares of Rosalee and Monroe getting their throats ripped out by Balam and Weten Ogen. When the attackers woged back into their human state, I saw that it was Orion and Zach. They were grinning at the bodies on the ground before they looked up at me and asked, "Who's next?"

I was startled awake by a metallic clang. I jumped off the couch that I had been sleeping on and turned around in the direction of the sound. I saw Orion standing behind the table next to the couch.

"Food," he said, pointing to a stainless steel dog food bowl that was sitting on the table. It was full of cereal and had "TROUBLE" written on it in sharpie.

I narrowed my eyes and glared at Orion, and he smiled back at me. I pointed to the bowl. "Your idea?" I asked.

"Eat up," he said smugly, disappearing up the stairs and locking the door behind himself.

I was pissed and eventually gave into my anger.

I marched up the stairs holding my bowl and kicked the door open. All the guys were hanging around the couch in front of the TV in the living room. I didn't see Roy.

They all heard me escape from the basement, so they all looked up with the same expression of nervousness. I walked into the kitchen and pulled a jug of milk out of the fridge. I looked around a few drawers for a spoon while the other guys watched me like I was some mystical and dangerous creature. I found a big spoon and set it in my cereal bowl, causally poured my milk, and put the jug back in the fridge when I was finished. I waved at my audience and said, "See you guys later," before heading back downstairs to the basement.

I started eating my cereal when I got down to my room. I was sitting on the couch, looking for something to watch on TV.

Then, I heard someone come downstairs. I didn't even look to see who it was, I just took another bite of my cereal.

"You broke the door!" Andre said angrily.

"Oops," I said with a mouthful of cereal.

I heard Andre give an irritated sigh. He walked around the couch to stand in front of the TV. He pressed a button on the TV, and it went black.

"Can I help you?" I asked nonchalantly.

"I give up," Andre said angrily. That worried me. He could mean all kinds of things. Was he giving up on me? Was he going to kill me? Was he going to let me go? Was he going to do something to make sure I never disobeyed him again?

He looked like he was thinking deeply before he continued. "Come with me."

Damn. I wasn't done with my cereal, yet.

Andre held out his hand, and I didn't take it. He took my cereal bowl and set it on the table before grabbing my wrist and leading me upstairs. When we got there, the group of men around the couch were grinning like they were about to start laughing. Andre pulled me into the living room and let go of me. I crossed my arms in an attempt to look less worried than I was.

"Orion, Marcus, and Julian," Andre began. This was looking worse and worse for me.

"She's coming with us on our mission," Andre said.

"What?!" I asked at the same time as Orion, Marcus, and Julian.

"That's right," Andre said authoritatively.

I was confused. I didn't even know what I was supposed to be doing. "What mission?"

"We could use a little more cash," Andre said. "So we're going to get some."

"We're robbing a place?" I asked.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "And you're going to help us."

Uh-oh.

*************

Roy's POV

Trubel was still asleep when I left the 7th Street safehouse. I decided to go for a drive just for something to do.

As I cruised around downtown Portland, I looked out for any signs of the North End Crew. I may not be as crazy as Andre, but I still wanted revenge.

Eventually, I saw an interesting store called the Exotic Spice and Tea Shop. I normally wouldn't have paid any attention to it, but something about the name reminded me of something.

I realized why. After trying to break Trubel's phone and not succeeding, Andre gave it to me to dispose of it. I ended up burying it in the woods this morning before my drive through North End territory. But, before I got rid of it, I scrolled through the contacts. I saw names like Nick Burkhardt, Bud Wurstner, and the names of places like the Spice Shop.

The Spice Shop? Was that the shop I was looking at right now? Probably not, but I had to know. I wondered what it would be like to meet people from Trubel's past.

I pulled my car over on the curb and entered the store. I found a man and woman sitting at a counter in the back with papers in front of them. They both looked incredibly tired and unhappy. They looked awful.

"Hello?" I asked. They hadn't even looked up when I came in, despite the bell that rang when I opened the door.

The woman and man looked up with the same, dead and depressed expression. The woman stood up and walked around the counter. "Hello," she said. "How can I help you?" she asked tiredly.

"I'm sorry," I said. I felt like I was interrupting something. "I just saw the shop and was curious."

"It's no problem at all," she said, smiling weakly.

"I don't mean to be rude," I said. "But are you okay?"

The woman's smile persisted, still weak. "Trying to be," she answered sadly. "My husband and I are planning a funeral for a dear friend of ours. We have to get everything prepared by Friday."

"I'm sorry," I apologized again. "I know how hard it is to lose someone important to you."

"Thank you," she said.

"So, where's the funeral?" I asked.

She looked at me like I had asked a strange question before she told me the location.

"That's a good place," I said. "It's beautiful there, especially right after sunrise." I knew that I was asking weird questions and saying strange things, but it was the only way I could find out when and where the funeral was going to be.

"I know," the woman said. "We've been there a few times. We actually scheduled the funeral for early in the morning."

"I think that's a great idea," I said. "I really am sorry for your loss," I added. "I'll get out of your hair now. It was nice meeting you..."

"Rosalee, and this is my husband Monroe," she said, gesturing back towards the counter where her husband was still sitting.

"Roy," I said, shaking her hand.

I had a feeling that they were talking about Trubel's funeral. Now, I was almost positive. Monroe and Rosalee's phone numbers were in Trubel's contacts.

I smiled at her sadly before leaving the shop, already thinking about how I was going to tell Trubel about her own funeral.