Page 19 of Saving Bonnie

“Well…” Olga’s smile is brittle now. “I’ll try to find her at her mother’s house.” She gives a half turn and walks away, the heels on her ankle boots echoing.

I head to the kitchen, looking at the tables to see if anyone needs a refill. Customers at two tables are whispering as Olga passes the window. Okay, so I’m not the only one to find that weird.

Hours later, after Manny’s left the parking lot, the door opens. Tino’s back, his gaze covering the room with his usual intensity. While I knew he’d be coming at some point, I didn’t expect this urge to make sure my hair’s not all over the place.

“Careful,” I warn, bringing him to a stop as he focuses on the entrance. “The floor’s still wet from the mop.”

He continues into the kitchen, pulling a backpack off his shoulder. I can’t help but admire his muscles rippling as he moves. The guy’s solid, though I haven’t had the chance to explore under his shirt. Not that he’s to blame. He’s been decent, where he could have been demanding, considering everything he’s dished out for me.

“The security system only works if you activate it.” His stern voice interrupts my thoughts.

“I’m not done yet.”

He glares, those dark eyes hooking into me. “You want to try that again, before I put you over the table and make you pay for lying to me.”

My body responds to the heavy handedness with a trickle of moisture. “I’m not used to the new routine yet.”

“Better.” His tone returns to normal, and I can’t help but be disappointed. “This setup is meant to keep you safe, not just the building.”

“I know.” Now I feel like a jerk. Turning, I step away, my face burning.

“You close early,” he says, changing the subject.

“The area slows down after four o’clock.” Untying the apron, I toss it in the laundry bag I set by the broom closet. “There’s no need to stay open unless the bridge calls in a big order.” Unfortunately, that didn’t happen today.

“And you do the cleaning on your own.” He goes past, checking each corner of the dining room. Grabbing a stool, he returns to the kitchen. Like this morning, he sets up at the end of my table, his broad back to the storage room.

“Sure.” I shrug, frowning at the kink between my shoulder blades. “Why not.” It’s not like I have a life outside of this place.

He stops, the laptop still halfway in the backpack. “You’ve been going since five o’clock in the morning.”

“Manny and Noah have put in a full day also,” I point out. “I’m not going to keep them longer than I have to. Manny has a wife and kids at home. Noah has a girlfriend.” I purposely stop there because I don’t need to go into the lack of people in my life. I deal with enough of that crap from Mom every time I talk to her.

“Are you looking at hiring people?” he asks, logging on to a new, larger laptop than the one he used this morning.

My shoulder muscles tighten. I pick up the clipboard, checking totals so I can place tomorrow’s order. “Yes.” I shouldn’t feel like I need to explain myself, yet I do. “In fact, I should have someone coming in tomorrow for an interview.”

“Great. That’s a start.”

Sure. He’d think it’s great since he doesn’t deal with the money aspect. We’ll make enough to pay him, but what happens overall? If Manny’s son has a job somewhere else, I won’t bring him in. I can’t have him lose a long-term job for something he may lose before too long.

“You have anything planned for tonight?”

“Um, no. Not really.” I tighten my hold on the clipboard. With my heartbeat racing, I completely lose track of what I was going to check on. All I can think of at the moment is pickled carrots. Boxes and boxes of them.

“Okay. I may have some security guys coming in tonight to install the cameras in front of the building. I don’t want them getting in the way if you have something going on.”

“Oh. Okay,” I add, deflated. I’m not sure what I expected, but suddenly I feel so disappointed.

*****

Conrado

We pull up to the burger place on San Bernardo, me sitting in the back of the car, like a boss. I learned that from meeting with Dante. Only instead of having a scary ass motherfucker as a driver, I got Iz. He may not be a bodyguard, but he can do this, no problem. And I’m feelin’ like some kind of badass with a guy to fuckin’ drive me around. At least I got one point from the failed deal. I might be in a shitty Camry right now, but that’s gonna change—real soon.

Erica and her boyfriend are sitting on the hood of their car, squinting against our headlights. Checking her face, I can tell she’s been shittin’ bricks. Sergio, hervato, has his hair all messed up, like he’s been putting his hands through it. Yeah, I did good. Letting them wait an extra ten minutes was a bangin’ idea. They couldn’t leave, not after I sent someone to her mom’s house. Bitch knows I can track her ass down anywhere if I got her mama.

I bump the driver’s seat, still grinning. “Remember what you gotta do, man,” I remind Iz.

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