Page 74 of Sacrifice the Knight (Checkmate 6)

Mac slams the table again and shuts his friend up. I turn to them and frown, because though Mac has always been kinda weird, he’s bordering on crazy tonight. “There was a bee, and Benny has a life-threatening allergy. That little fuc–” He stops when his mother pops a hip. “I mean, if that little bug pops him in the face, he could die. Or, ya know, cry. I was just shooing it away, because as his best friend, I’d probably be sad if he died.”

“Probably,” Ben huffs. “Asshole.”

“You boys have eaten.” Katrina stuffs her notepad and pen into her apron pocket and steps away from me as though she’s forgotten my existence. She starts stacking plates and shooing the boys. “You’ve eaten, had dessert, and watched me for as long as you’re allowed. I love you.” She presses a red kiss to Mac’s cheek.

“And I love you too, even if you’re a smart-mouthed asswipe that teaches my kid all the bad swears.” She pulls Ben down and presses a lipsticked kiss to his cheek. He busily wipes the smudges away with the sleeve of his black sweater.

“Now, go back to Oz’s place. I will call there in twenty minutes. It should take only fifteen to run there.” She lifts a precarious pile of dishes, but stops and pins Mac with a glare. “Make good choices, baby. Straight to Ben’s house; do not leave again until you’re coming home tomorrow.”

“I’ll be good. I promise.” The boy grabs the pile of dishes from Katrina and whisks them to the kitchen. “Call the house in fifteen. We’ll be there. I swear.” Mac’s eyes flicker to me just for the briefest second, then back to his mom. “You’re good tonight? Not gonna get too lonely?”

“Um…” And again, she’s forced to pretend she’s scrubbing an already clean table, just so she can curtain her face with her hair. “I’ll miss your face, baby. But I’ll be okay. I’m going straight home to bed just as soon as we mop and close up here.”

“Alright.” Again, Mac’s eyes flicker to me, then away before I can figure out what his curious stares represent. “Love you, Mommy. Sweet dreams.”

She accepts his squishy hug and presses a final kiss to his cheek. “Love you too. I’ll call the house in seventeen minutes. You better be in your jammies when I do.”

He chuckles and makes his way to the diner door with Ben by his side. “I’ll race you to the phone.”

“Ready?” Katrina smiles.

“Set. Go.” He dashes out the door and misses the way his mother stares longingly after him. She craves sleep and less stress, but she can’t let go of the exact life she leads. It exhausts her, but she wouldn’t change it. Not for all the riches in the world.

“Katrina?” I wait a minute, then lift a hand and click my fingers like a total douche. “Hello, Katrina?”

Dazedly, she comes back to me. “Hm?”

“Burger?”

“Ugh!” She whacks my shoulder with her notebook, but her smile remains as she huffs off to the kitchen.

* * *

I sitin my booth until my ass goes numb. I collect ago get ‘emfrom Ray, a shoulder squeeze from Gloria, a thumbs up from Stefan, and a beady glare from Franky as he packs himself up for the night and closes his office door. Everyone in the world except Mac seems to know there’s something going on between Katrina and me, and though Katrina isn’t weirdly obvious about it, she still smiles at me all night; she slides her fingertips over the column of my neck when she passes to serve someone else, and I could swear, makes sex eyes when I hurriedly bus a table when shit gets busy and she needs an extra pair of hands.

The alternative is to give up my booth, and I’m not moving my ass anywhere.

I was brought cookies and hot cocoa after my burger; I ate pie around nine, and because I’m a sucker for pain, coffee at eleven. The tables filled and emptied. Food was delivered with speedy efficiency, and customers were complimentary and thankful. Katrina didn’t stop one single time all night except for a fast meal she ate standing against the kitchen doorway. She stuffed a,wait for it, lemon zesty burger into her mouth in no more than three large bites and washed it down with a cup of water. Then she was back again, with a rosy flush to her cheeks and dancing eyes each time she passed me and we connected.

I fell in love with the woman who might be the hardest and most stubborn worker in the history of the world. The men she loves love her fiercely. George and Mac Blair are the only people who matter to her, but here I am, wondering if maybe she can make a little room for me. I swear I won’t take up too much space. I just need my side of her bed, a kiss in the mornings, a kiss in the evenings. I could provide for her, so she never has to sling a double – or even a single – shift again for the rest of her life. Though I doubt she’d allow that. I could be who she wants in a man. Notneeds, because Katrina Blair doesn’t need a man. But wants… I could be that person for her.

The diner empties as the hours tick over and the cold outside creeps against the windows. Franky often stays until close, if only to keep watch over Katrina, but once the kitchen is closed and the diner is empty but for staff and me, I make my way to my feet when Katrina rushes a bag of trash out into the back alleyway.

I step forward when Stefan and Franky emerge in the sitting area with hard eyes. They want to know my intentions; they want to know I mean well. I never mean to bring her harm or hurt, but I don’t intend to discussuswith them until I’ve had a chance to discussuswith her. And with the way she so vehemently detests the idea of something more than a sexual affair, I’m not sure when that conversation will take place.

“I could help her close up.” I respectfully bow my head when Franky snarls. “Honorably. I swear.”

Franky is a harder nut to crack. Katrina is his baby in a lot of ways, and he’s watched her grow for half of her life. But Stefan, while older than her by double, seems to fill more of a brotherly role. He nods to me and moves his boss forward. “We trust you, DeWhit. Do good by her, and we’ll be okay.”

“I swear I will.” I turn and watch the men leave through the front door. They close and lock the glass door from the outside, then Franky does the fingers to his eyes thing through the glass.

I’m watching you.

Chuckling, I nod and turn when I hear the back door slam closed. I search for the spray for the tables, snatch up a clean hand towel from the pile I constantly see Katrina taking them from, and my brain oscillates between anxiety andfinally, we’re alone. We’ve been alone a bunch of times, but tonight feels more charged. It feels important. Or maybe it’s because my heart went and got involved.

With a shake of my head, I begin at the far end of the diner and begin spraying.

“Oh.” Katrina stops at the entrance with a furrowed brow as she looks around. “Where’d everyone go?”

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