Page 4 of Sinful Deeds
Chapter 3
Raven
It was a long nightof indecision. Tossing and turning, weighing my options, but I played the odds. However, I’ve spent the last twenty minutes in the car convincing myself I made the right decision to stay and fight. Only to have regret close in around me the minute I walk into the bar.
“Girl, I love what you did to your hair.” Gabi, another waitress, blurts out from across the kitchen.
I lift my hand to the back of my neck where my hair used to hang. It’s the only decision I’ve made in the past twelve hours that feels right. “Oh, thanks.”
“You must have had one wild night. You left looking like the ‘innocent girl next door’,” Gabi says, crooking two fingers into air quotes, “and returned ready to kick ass and take names. Tell me everything.”
I wrap a black apron around my waist and laugh. “I’m far from innocent, but there’s nothing to tell. It was time for a change.”
A change I should have made when I first stocked up on boxes of hair dye. If I did, maybe my cover would still be intact, and Fuel wouldn’t be dead. I just couldn’t bring myself to sever the last attachment I had to my old life, the old me. A simpler time before my innocence shattered, and I lost everything.
“Yeah right,” Skyler, the bartender, chimes in passing the cook an order. “We saw you leave with that biker last night.”
“You’ve got a vivid imagination. Fuel gave me a ride home. That’s all.”
“Don’t be embarrassed, we’ve taken that ride before too.”
“Some of us, more than others.” Gabi laughs and tosses a towel at Skyler. I try to force my mind from drifting back to how my body reacted to the photo Skyler caught of Chainz.
“How many have you been with?” I ask Skyler. She knows how to use her body to get what she wants. I’ve seen how she drapes herself all over the members of the club. It shouldn’t surprise me she’s fucked them too, even though she favors one more than the others.
Skylar touches her fingers to her thumb one by one. Then waves her hand dismissively in the air, pretending she lost count. “A few,”
“Chainz?” The word slips through my lips before I can catch myself. My cheeks blush with embarrassment. I can’t believe I just asked that.
“Nah, Chainz isn’t interested in me, but when he sees this fresh look, he won’t be able to take his eyes off you,” Skyler teases and slips back behind the bar.
“Don’t get your hopes up, honey,” Gabi whispers, “men like that will share whores but never their old ladies.”
I roll my eyes and give up. Nothing I say will convince them I didn’t sleep with Fuel, and the last thing I want to do is talk about it.
“I’m not paying you girls to stand around and gab about your sex lives. Get out there and serve the customers.” Chuck yells. Chuck is the owner of the Gryphon. It’s a dive bar that doubles as a diner, serving lunch and dinner before the heavy drinkers turn out. This place is as run down as the rest of the town. It’s the type of town people spend their entire lives trying to leave. Everyone but me.
I slide an order pad and pen into the apron pocket, turn on my heels, and head out toward the dining room. The tables are filled for the lunch rush. I take orders and serve chicken wings, fries, nachos, and burgers to a crowd that only orders food as an excuse to drink early. My stomach rolls from the smell of fried and greasy food. I can’t help but glance at all the faces, wondering if I’m being watched. The man from last night could be here right now. How often did I serve that murdering prick?
My nerves are frayed. I’m constantly looking over my shoulder. My heart thuds in my chest. Every clinking glass, every loud voice sends me further into a tailspin.
This was a terrible idea. I’m an hour into my shift and all I have to show for it is lousy tips and broken dishes.
“What is wrong with you?” Chuck drills into me as I dump the bucket with pieces of broken plates into the garbage. My palms are so sweaty, they slip right out of my hands. “You break any more dishes I’m taking it out of your tips.”
I don’t know whether to cry or laugh. There’s something funny about the fact the only thing cheaper than the customers are the plates I serve food on.
“I just need a break. I’m gonna take ten and pull myself together.” I wrap my hand around a pack of cigarettes in my apron pouch and turn towards the back door.
“Ten minutes. Get your mess under control or go home.” Chuck sneers and heads toward his office.
Climbing on top of the picnic table outside the kitchen door, I pull a cigarette from the pack and light it. The smoke burns my lungs, but I inhale another drag. What in the hell possessed me to stick around? I can walk out of here, pack what I need and hit the road. It’s not like I haven’t done it several times before. Sure, I like it here, but there’s nothing tying me to this place. Why take the chance for a dead-end job I can do anywhere?
