Page 70 of Loco

I made sure the door was locked behind me when I left. I’d planned it just right. By the time I reached The Eatery for lunch with Lulu it would be noon. It was too bad that V and Lissa had to work regular jobs and couldn’t join us. They were both nurses and seemed to enjoy working at Morning Glory, an assisted living facility. Soon enough Lulu would be on a schedule, too. I knew what that was like and didn’t miss it.

As soon as I pulled into The Eatery parking lot I recognized it as the restaurant Loco had taken me to when we’d first met. I hadn’t paid attention to the name at the time. I’d been too fixated on the man. But I did recall the waitress and her obvious flirting with him. Then that night at Grinders, she’d been there, too. I wondered if that had been a coincidence.

When I opened the door and saw her, another memory came to mind, this time of the woman I’d seen talking to Loco at the mall. At the time I’d thought that she looked familiar, but I hadn’t been able to place her. Now I knew that she was the same woman making eye contact with me now. An uneasy feeling began to churn in my stomach, especially when the look on her face was less than friendly.

Huh. Did Loco have his own stalker? Jesus, I had to tell him about Stuart, the man that I’d killed. That wasn’t the kind of secret you kept from someone important in your life. I doubted it would make a difference, considering that Loco belonged to an outlaw MC, but telling him would ease my conscience.

“Millie! Over here!”

I followed the voice to see Lulu waving at me. She looked as put together as always. Even casual in a lacy tee and cut-off shorts, she managed to look beautiful and classy. Her long hair was pulled up in a ponytail, her makeup was perfect.

I sat down opposite her. “I feel like a frump next to you,” I laughed. I was sure that I had cat hair on my shirt, my hair was forever wild, and I was makeup-free.

“Oh, stop! You’re a beautiful woman, Millie. You just don’t see it. Believe me, I’ve seen how men look at you when we’re out.”

I glanced around at the customers in the restaurant. Most of them were either elderly couples or men who looked like they’d seen hard times.

“AtGrinders,” she clarified, catching my perusal of the room. “Loco can’t take his eyes off you when you’re in the same room.” She grabbed a menu.

The mention of his name had the usual effect on me. Warmth spread over me like a favorite blanket, and I wished that he was there with me. A wistful sigh escaped me. “He left on ’club business’ this morning. We won’t be able to talk on the phone while he’s gone, and can you tell me why I can’t text him either? I mean, Loco told me, but I think I got the condensed version.”

Lulu had been looking over the menu and raised her eyes to me. “Honey, when those men are on a job, it’s usually dangerous and they have to focus. They kind of go into the zone. The last thing they want is for their women to text them at the wrong time and break their concentration.”

I frowned. “Well, that’s a little better than the condensed version, but not by much. Zone? What kind of zone?” I knew that she wasn’t talking about the Twilight Zone. I reached for my own menu but waited with my gaze on her.

She thought for a minute. “Okay, say that you’re a stripper, but you don’t like taking your clothes off in front of strangers, but you really have no choice because you need the money. Right before you go up on stage you go somewhere else inside your head long enough to get through your routine. Some girls I knew used drugs, others drank. Just depends on what helps you get you up there to shake your booty.”

The waitress came over, and I was happy to see that she was a different one from the woman who’d waited on me and Loco. “Welcome to The Eatery. Are you ready to order, or do you need a few minutes?”

Lulu and I exchanged a quick glance. “I’m ready,” she said.

“Okay.” I glanced up at the waitress. Her smile seemed genuine. “I had the best Reuben here the first time I came. I think I’d like to have that again, please. And with an iced tea.”

“You know, that sounds good,” Lulu chimed in. “Make it two, and I’ll have a coffee.” After the waitress walked off, Lulu said, “She must be new.”

“How do you know?”

“Look at her uniform compared to Leslie’s.”

Since there was only one other waitress, I searched out Leslie. I could see immediately that her uniform was slightly worn and faded, while our waitress’ was crisp and bright. “You’re observant.”

Lulu shrugged. “I learned to be, living with the Desert Rebels for so many years. It can save your life.”

We both looked when the bell on the entrance door rang, indicating that someone had opened the door. It occurred to me that we weren’t the only ones looking.

“Oh, shit,” Lulu swore under her breath, not taking her eyes off the men entering the restaurant. “What the hell are they doing here?” she mumbled to herself.

The four men were bikers, but I got the impression from Lulu’s reaction that they weren’t Desert Rebels or even a club that they were friendly with. As others began to look away nervously, I continued to stare. They just stood there for a minute and looked the place over before deciding on a table by the window.

“I’ve got to let LD know,” Lulu said quietly. She was glancing down at her lap, and it was then that I realized she was texting on her phone. “Don’t look at them,” she warned. “To men like them, that’s an invitation.”

Okay. I wish she hadn’t said that, because now I was having a hard time keeping my eyes off them. The waitress came over with our drinks. When she was gone, I leaned across the table to ask, “Are they bad news?”

“Not sure.” She finished her text and looked up. “Let’s just eat our lunch and get out of here.”

Okay then, that didn’t scare me at all.

Chapter 32

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