Page 9 of Point of Infinity
“Anyway.” He knocked on the counter. “Where’s the pie you promised me?”
“What?” I blinked and leaned forward.
“Day-old pie.” He pointed to the stand behind me. “Whatcha got?”
“Don’t you have to be going?”
He leaned forward. Our faces were a few inches apart, too close for my comfort.
“Becky.” Murray waddled down the middle of the diner toward us, waving the stack of cash in his hands. “You give this young man anything he wants.” He took a sharp left turn, upending a chair, and stepped out the door. He paused to inhale the fresh air. “Millie’s heading out. Clean up the place and take the weekend off.” He continued counting the money.
“What?” I ran out from behind the counter and followed him. He sauntered toward his truck. “The weekend is the only time we have traffic in this shithole.” I needed those two shifts to get me over the top and ready for my plan.
“Don’t need to.” He shoved the money into a plastic bag and shoved it under the driver’s seat. “I’ll see you on Tuesday.”
“What about my tips?” He owed me for the week.
He climbed into the dilapidated truck. The door screeched as he shut it. I opened it. “Murray. I need my tips for the week.”
“We’ll settle up next week.” He yanked the door out of my grasp and rolled down the window. “Or you can come by my place tonight.” He reached out with his meaty fingers. I hopped back. “You know where I live.” He sucked his teeth and laughed. He turned the key. The engine coughed a few times before catching and turning over.
“Fuck!” I whispered.
“Yep.” He winked. “I’ll be home all weekend.”
I stepped back. No way was I going to meet him at his place. I was crazy but not stupid. And if that man touched me, I would go completely feral on his ass.
“I’ll see you later.” He reached for the gearshift.
“Not so fast, Murray.” Reid had rounded the truck and had slid into the passenger seat. I didn’t even hear him walk out. He must have feline in his genes. Murray would have wondered the same thing if he didn’t have more important things to worry about. Like the foot-long knife currently digging into his fatty jaw.
“What the fuck?” Murray’s eyes grew wide. He turned his head slowly to see who had interrupted his hero’s exit.
“Give the woman her money.” A trickle of blood made it way down Murray’s neck. “Now.”
CHAPTER 3
REID (RATCHET)
This fucking night.
I flexed my grip on the rubber knife handle and twisted the blade a little. The pain would do him some good. Give him an incentive to make the right decision. He stared straight ahead but reached underneath the seat and pulled out the bag of money. Impressive that a man with his girth was relatively flexible.
“How much does he owe you?” I peeked over at Becky.
She leaned forward, taking in the scene as if she were watching a movie. I expected to see fear in her eyes, but the violence didn’t scare her. She’d seen it all before, and that made me sad for her. Yeah, fear wasn’t in her vocabulary. She seemed more annoyed than anything. Annoyed and beautiful. The wind whipped her curly hair into her face. She tucked it behind her ear and stood with her hands on her slim waist. The ill-fitting, baggy pink-and-white waitress uniform did nothing for her sexy figure. Her perfect tits rubbed up against me when I hugged her to me, and I couldn’t help but notice her firm ass and curved hips whenshe sat on my lap. My cock sprang to attention the moment I laid eyes on her.
Her soulful hazel eyes did something to me. But she was young, barely eighteen if I had to guess.
Patrick was right. She looked familiar, but in a woman you see in your dreamstype of way. But when you run into her in real life, the strongest sense of déjà vu smacks you in the face.
“Business has been slow.” He counted out a few bills.
“Good thing my crew pulled in when they did and made your week.” I grabbed the bag and pulled out about a third of the wad of hundreds and shoved the rest back in the bag. I slid out of the van and shut the door behind me.
The passenger side door window was already down.
“Have a good night.” I saluted him with the knife.
