Page 4 of Roman

He was the quiet one out of them.He never looked her over like she was a piece of meat and never laughed along with the other two.But he was just as creepy.He looked at her differently… like she was a dead woman walking.

“Enjoy your meals,” she said, retreating behind the counter.

Charlotte was about to sneak off to the staff room and get ready to leave when she noticed Kate, her co-worker who was eight and a half months pregnant, leaning on the counter, looking exhausted as she rubbed her hand over her enormous belly.

“You okay, Kate?Do you want to go sit and have a rest?Hal’s in his office, so I could cover for you.”

She was only eighteen and about to become a single mother.The dead-beat dad did a runner months ago, and the poor girl was struggling to make ends meet.Ava and Charlotte had taken her under their wings like an adopted little sister, watching over her as much as they could.

She shook her head, her light brown hair falling out of her messy bun.Her snow-colored skin seemed paler than usual.She looked on the verge of passing out.

“No, I’ll be fine.Go on and get the hell out of here while you can.I only have half an hour of my shift left, then I better go home and rest before I start my early shift tomorrow.”

I hate him,Charlotte thought angrily.

Hal wouldn’t care if someone was on their deathbed.He would still make them come to work until they collapsed.And that was exactly what Kate looked like she was about to do.

“What do you mean, early shift?You’re not supposed to be rostered back on until Monday morning like me.”

Tears welled in Kate’s eyes.“I was, but Hal pulled me into the office a few hours ago and told me I had to start at five a.m.tomorrow or he’d fire me.”

Charlotte’s blood boiled.She could imagine exactly how the conversation would’ve gone, with Hal inappropriately trying to touch her.The weasel had a thing for young girls, and he’d taken a particular liking to poor Kate.

Charlotte shook her head, gently placing her hand on Kate’s shoulder.“No, you don’t have an early shift tomorrow because I’m going to take your shift, and don’t even try to argue about it.You know you won’t win.”

“Oh, Charlotte, thank you so much.I’m so tired, but what about Hal?”she said, wide eyes looking over her shoulder.

“Don’t worry about him.I will sort it out in the morning.It won’t be a problem.Make sure you go home and relax.And you better have a sleep-in tomorrow.You need to, for yourself as well as your baby,” Charlotte told her with a smile, giving Kate’s giant belly a loving rub.“I will see you on Monday.”She headed into the staff room to grab her sweater and bag.

Charlotte didn’t have long till she needed to be at her next job to help set up and serve for a cocktail party up in the Hollywood Hills.She threw on her sweater and slung her bag over her shoulder, ready to head out past the customers and through the front door.She stopped, peeking around the corner, looking over to the corner booth.The three men were still sitting there, gazing around the diner.She knew they were looking for her.They had touched none of the meals she’d given them.They were just sitting there, watching the entrance to the corridor she was hiding in.Fear slowly crept up her spine as goosebumps broke out over her arms, making her hair stand on end.

Charlotte had a bad feeling.She didn’t trust she would be safe going out the front door.She didn’t know why, but a voice in the back of her mind was telling her they would follow her this time and that she wouldn’t be safe from these frightening men.

Slowly, Charlotte backed up, heading down the small corridor leading to the back door.She would leave that way, and they would be none the wiser.Charlotte would be long gone before they realized she wasn’t in the diner anymore.If they came back and were hanging around again tomorrow, she would call the cops, she decided, as she headed out the back door, racing off so she wouldn’t miss the bus.

2

Roman stood in the backyard of a wealthy socialite’s home, owned by someone whose name he’d already forgotten.On the other side of the perfectly manicured lawn from where Roman stood, a live band played classical music, and the guests mingled amongst each other.Everyone in attendance reeked of wealth and beauty.It was, to date, the most boring charity party he’d ever been to in his life, he thought, as he gazed out over the view of Beverly Hills twinkling brightly in the dark.

Not bad, but mine’s better.He smirked as he gazed around the party in search of his brother, Maalik.

He tugged on the collar of his shirt, wishing he could undo the buttons and take off the annoying tie and jacket.This was not his type of scene; he couldn’t wait to donate some money so the people living in the Hills would leave him the hell alone for a while.Humans asked too many questions, so he kept his socializing with them to an absolute minimum.

Just as he was about to call his brother and see where the hell he was so he didn’t have to suffer through this boredom alone, he saw him working his way through the crowd.

Men stopped him to shake his hand, and the women seemed to melt as soon as he smiled at them.His emerald eyes and golden hair seemed to be a panty-dropping combination with every lady, married or not, in LA.His brother was the complete opposite of Roman.He lived in the limelight, loved to brush shoulders with the elite of the town and party the nights away like a playboy.

Roman shook his head as Maalik finally made his way to where he stood.His brother greeted him in a tight bear hug before releasing him and giving him a crooked smirk.

“Well, brother, you look excited to be here.”

Roman rolled his eyes.“I don’t know why you sign me up for things like this when you know I hate them.We have more important things to be dealing with right now.”His mind briefly drifted to the demon they currently had tied up in his basement, or dungeon, as some of the others liked to call it.

“Come on, think of the children your donation will be helping.Plus, people were getting suspicious.Everyone’s been sending you invitations for the past twelve months, and you have declined every one of them.It’s all about appearances, brother.If you want these snobby, opinionated people to keep pretending you don’t own the most elite and sleazy nightclub in town, then you need to make an appearance now and then so they don’t think you’re a drug dealer or something,” Maalik told him, scanning the crowd.

Roman shrugged his shoulders.“I have seen almost three-quarters of the husbands at this party enter the VIP rooms of my club.I don’t think I have anything to worry about while they are receiving the questionable services my club provides, and as long as you continue keeping the wives entertained, they won’t complain about what their husbands get up to, either.”

Maalik’s eyes widened in shock.“How dare you try to insinuate that I sleep with married women.I am highly offended right now.”

---