Page 61 of Don't Let Go

“Thanks, Janice.”

He wasn’t even laying it on thick, it was just natural charisma. Started making sense how he waltzed in and out of places.

“Have to admit, I’m impressed, Justus.” The warm compliment in Patch’s words made me wish I’d been the one doing the charming. “Don’t let it go to your head. The waitress is calling someone in the back. I’m trapping the line so I can trace it. Watch your backs.”

And just like that, we were all back to work. The man behind McQuade stared at us again. He yanked his gaze away swiftly when I caught him. The others in the place were making a point of not staring, but not this guy.

Did he know something? I wasn’t getting a bad vibe off of him. If anything, I gotworriedmore than anything else. That concerned me more than anger or claiming territory like the deputy had been doing.

Janice was back with our cups of coffee, sugar was on the table in a huge jar. “I wasn’t sure if you fellas liked cream or not, so I opened a fresh carton for you.” She slid the silver pitcher onto the table. “Be right back with that pie.” She gave Locke a wink.

Her pleasant expression melted as she swung away. The hard-eyed look she gave our neighbor sent a warning along my nerves.

The man was already closing his book and picking up a hat from the seat next to him. He was on his feet before she was behind the counter again. After counting out a few bills hurriedly, he left with the book tucked under his arm and the hat on his head.

I tracked his progress as he headed down the street. I tapped against the table, it was a quick morse code.

“Yes, I can,” Patch added. “I’ve got eyes on him. As long as he’s in range of the cameras. Am I looking for something specific?”

That was a harder question to answer. I tapped out a no, but just to keep watch.

“Understood.”

Having her in my ear was a comfort. All the work we’d done over the past few weeks, it had been the three of us while we watched over her and let her heal. Nearly losing her on that first op had cost us.

Cost her.

But having her in the chair, even if it was a whole new chair, was the kind of reassurance I didn’t even know I wanted to have. Then we got to see her when we returned. It was better than our past.

So much better.

Janice was back in no time with the pies and ice cream. She gave me a frown. “Don’t like the coffee hon?”

Not reacting proved easier than I thought. Coffee was not my favorite, but I could make it tolerable. I signed a swift message that the coffee was fine, I was waiting for the pie.

Bewildered, Janice turned to Locke, but McQuade said, “It’s fine, Janice. He just likes to eat something with his coffee.”

It was a rough translation. I added a couple of teaspoons of sugar and some cream to the bitter brew as Janice hovered over us. The itch in the back of my shoulder blades increased.

Should we even be eating this pie in this sketchy little town?

Locke seemed to have no such objections as he took a big bite of the cherry pie with some ice cream. “Oh, this is fantastic.” He practically groaned the words. I somehow doubted it was as good as sex, but Locke was convinced.

Janice gave him another blushing smile and I finally took a sip of the coffee. Disgusting crap.

“Coffee’s not so bad,” Patch told me. “You just need to find the way you like it.”

I tapped I liked it when it came in a tea bag and had boiling water poured over it.

Her rich, warm laughter settled me. Janice was still hovering. She looked at McQuade expectantly, so he also took a bite.

“This is pretty damn good.” It was a rough compliment from a rough man. Janice was all smiles, then she looked at me.

I didn’t pander to her. I just took a sip of my coffee and ignored her. She stared for another minute, then her gaze slid away. Yeah, it was uncomfortable to be ignored. One of us should stay clean of the pie in case she put something in it.

“I’ll be right over there if you boys need anything,” she said, finally excusing herself.

“Janice Harrold, age forty-two, she’s lived in Juniper her whole life. Single. Was engaged when she was nineteen, but her fiancé went in the army, married some girl back at his base, and had Janice on the side when he came home. She only found out when he told his parents he was expecting a grandchild.”

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