Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 27182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
I’m twenty-three and I haven’t done much besides holding hands and a few awkward kisses. I wouldn’t even know what to do if I got my hands on one of these big hunky mountain men. My heart would probably seize up with panic.
Her words echo in my head as I pass my last customers who refuse to leave.
Be Bold.
I thunk the water pitcher down onto the table loud enough to get their attention.
“How are we paying?” I ask in a firm tone as I pull the credit card machine out of my apron.
The man gives me his credit card without a fuss, so I charge it, wish them a good night, and get the heck out of there.
That was easy… I guess I could have done that thirty minutes ago.
I sit on an upside-down milk crate and calculate my cash while Abby’s offer lingers in the back of my mind.
Should I date? What kind of guy would I even go for?
I’ve always had a thing for big, strong, protective guys, but those types of guys are so intimidating. I just can’t see myself approaching someone like that or walking hand-in-hand with someone twice my size. I fantasize about a scenario like that, but I never think it will actually happen in real life.
Just as I’m finishing up and tucking my receipts into an envelope, Jenny pops her head into the back. “Lucy, there are some guys at table seventeen asking about you.”
My stomach drops. My blood goes cold.
No…
“They’re hot,” she says, fanning herself as she gives me a salacious grin. “I didn’t know you were into bad boys.”
“Bad boys?” I ask with a gulp.
“Yeah,” she says, nibbling her bottom lip. “The cutest one has a scorpion tattooed on his neck.”
Oh shit!
It’s Angelo. How did he find me?
My mind races as I shove the money and the rest of my receipts into the envelope. I leap off the milk carton and grab her by the shoulders. “Did you tell them I was here?”
“I said I was going to check,” she says, looking at me funny. “I wasn’t sure if you had left. Why?”
“Oh crap,” I mutter as I rush over to the serving station. I peek into the dining room and get chills when I see Angelo sitting at the table with one of his goons.
“Who are they?” Jenny asks, following me. “Are you okay?”
I grab her wrist and pull her into the back. “Tell them I left. No. Tell them I quit and moved. No, tell them you’ve never heard of me. That you don’t know who I am!”
“What’s the matter?” Jenny asks, looking concerned. “Are you in danger or something?”
”No, nothing like that,” I lie. I don’t want to get her involved. “Just…” I shove my envelope into her apron. “Give this to Jacob and don’t tell those guys anything about me.”
“Are you in trouble? Should I call the cops?”
“No, it’s fine,” I say with my heart racing. They don’t know where I live. They can’t know. Can they? I mean, they did find out where I worked. How the heck did they do that? “Just… Stay away from them. They’re bad news.”
She doesn’t know what to say as I turn around and race to my locker. I grab my purse and bag, not even bothering to change out of my uniform. She’s still watching me with a look of confusion on her face as I rush out the back door and run to my car.
“No,” I whisper as I drive out of the parking lot, my stomach sinking. Everything was going so well… It was all coming together. My job, my town, my house, my dog, my new friends… Now what? I have to pick up and leave again?
Angelo is going to kill me if he finds me here with Cutter. And there’s no doubt he’s here for me. Killers like Angelo don’t vacation in cozy little mountain towns with their murderous buddies. I doubt they’re here to stay in a cute B&B and shop at the jam store in town.
I spot a parking ticket on the floor of my passenger seat and my shoulders slump.
“Oh no…” I whisper as I grab it. It has my name, license plate, and new address on it. Maybe that’s how he found me? Maybe when I got this ticket, my name popped up in the system? A system that one of his corrupt cop buddies monitors?
I don’t know… It doesn’t matter. He’s here and now I have to deal with that terrifying reality.
God, I hope they haven’t been to my house yet. I hit the gas and race home, thinking of Cutter the whole way.
It’s only when I pull onto my quiet street that I realize they couldn’t have. They would have taken Cutter and he would have been barking his head off in their car in the parking lot. I would have heard him when I left.