Page 12 of Demons and Debts
I could nope out of here now. Chuck will have slipped my money in the locker before he left, so there’s no reason to stay. But I think about the clip full of cash thatStackerhad yesterday. I sure could use that to set myself up in wherever I end up next ... A half-assed plan starts to form.
I smile at them as I lock the door behind them and turn the sign to ‘Closed’.
‘Sure.’
I seat them in my section out of habit even though there’s no one here but Sarge and me now.
Truth be told, I’m glad the diner’s cook is here with me.
I mean, Sarge is pretty out of shape and I can hold my own when I need to, but Shar told me once that he used to be a ‘deadly killing machine’ (her words) when he was in the SEALS back in the day.
He helped me out once when Chuck got handsy too.
One night, I was at the diner late and Chuck cornered me, smelling of Bourbon. He didn’t get the chance to put even one of his pudgy fingers on me though. Sarge came out of fucking nowhere, silent as snow. He knocked Chuck out coldwith the blade of his handlike a freaking ninja and then he picked him up and put him back at his desk with the whiskey bottle in his hand.
All he said to me was, ‘he won’t remember,’ and he never brought it up again. But he did make sure that I was never alone with Chuck at night after that.
Sarge is one of the good guys and while they clearly exist, they’re about as frequently seen in Jane-land as fucking unicorns.
As soon as the guys sit down, I’m doubly thankful Sarge is still here with me. The guys have alcohol on their breaths and are acting more rowdy than usual, lunging across the table at each other and rough-housing like kids.
I wait for a minute while they look at the food options, hoping they’ll just choose now so Sarge can cook whatever they want quickly, and we can get out of here … but also grateful that they seem to have forgotten about yesterday’s entertaining throw-the-menus-down-and-make-the-waitress-pick-them-up game.
They order drinks and food without much prompting, and I give Sarge their order. Nothing major, so I might actually be home by 1AM to get a few hours’ sleep, pack up, and get to the bus station.
I bring their food out when the order’s up and stand in the hallway watching them eat quickly. When they look done, I start clearing the plates. They seem to have sobered up from the food so they’re a bit more subdued now too, I think as I take the dishes. They’re balanced precariously, but I’ve been doing this awhile, so I know they won’t fall … at least until someone’s foot shoots out from under the table, tripping me.
I go down hard with a cry, hearing the plates hitting the tiled floor and shattering around me. Groaning, I take stock of my body. My knees hurt from the impact, but nothing seems broken besides all the plates.
‘Clumsy, clumsy. You should really be more careful, Jane.’
The guys at the table are laughing and I turn to look at them, not bothering to hide my fury.
‘Think we’ve worn out our welcome, boys!’ Stacker chuckles, throwing some money down on the table. They leave me on all-fours on the floor as they crunch past me, and I stand up carefully, so I don’t cut myself on the broken China.
Then, I look at the table and see two things. One, that one of them has forgotten his jacket and, two, that they left just enough money to barely cover the bill.
Fuck. That.
I grab the jacket and run for the door, throwing it open and yelling, ‘Wait!’ into the parking lot. ‘You forgot this!’
Stacker and the others are by a blue BMW, but I don’t know my cars well enough to say what model.
‘What is it, sweetheart? Can’t get enough of us, huh?’
I trip on a rock as I get close to Stacker, falling into him with a cry.
‘Whoa, dude, you treat ‘em like shit and they still throw themselves at you.’
Cue more laughter.
Stacker pushes me back hard and I teeter on my heels before I regain my balance.
‘You guys forgot this,’ I say sweetly.
‘Is this bitch for real?’
Someone at the back murmurs something about me being pathetic and thirsty, but I ignore all the comments as I hand the jacket over and go back into the diner to clean up without a backwards glance.
