Page 43 of Very Special Forces

"Maybe,"I said, but I didn't like it. Why would a smart, capable woman likeJulia Atwater need to check with Bryce before she said anything? Myimpression was a classy woman who was friendly and polite. Thatwasn't something that needed to be curtailed. If anything, she wasa great guest.

"Twentyminutes and the party is over," said Lily. She checked her watch."People are already leaving. Please encourage people to take aflyer and tell them we're available for more bookings. I need tohead over to the main bar and help with serving."

"There'ssomeone asking for Lexi at the main bar," said Ruby, nudging me."Looked like an Army type. Big, muscle-bound, starved of femalecompanionship."

Thatsounded promising. "Great. I don't think I need to observe anymorehere so I'm going to head out there. Can you handle everything fornow?" I asked, not wanting to leave Ruby single-handedly servingthe last of the party guests.

"Go.I've got it. I think more people are going to leave soonanyway."

Iglanced at the small crowd. The cake we served had disappeared andthe conversation still looked strong but I noticed a couple ofpeople checking their wristwatches. Bryce still held court acrossthe room and Julia was talking quietly with a smattering of herfriends. As I watched, Bryce shot a hand out, caught her by theelbow and maneuvered her next to him, not even checking to see ifshe wanted to leave her conversation. It was both entitled and rudeand my initial good impressions of him were rapidly dissolving thelonger I observed him.

"Thanks." I nodded to Ruby as I ducked out of the room. Ideposited the tray of empty glasses in the stockroom, then hurriedthrough to the main bar. When I first arrived it was fairly quiet;now most of the booths and tables were filled and the talking ontop of the music bursting through the sound system made for alively atmosphere. It wasn't hard to see why Lily's Bar was rapidlybecoming the hot place to go in Montgomery.

Islipped behind the bar and moved over to Lily. She finished makingthe pitcher of cocktails and handed it to one of the waitresses."Did you get what you needed?" she asked during a lull in thepatrons.

"I thinkso. There's something strange going on there," I toldher.

She gaveme a sad smile. "That's a shame. He seems so nice."

"Heripped into Julia about the cake incident."

"Really?" Lily's eyebrows rose. "I offered to refund him apercentage and he declined. He said it didn't matter."

"Itdefinitely mattered to him when he was yelling at Julia in therestroom. Then he just switched over and was all smiles andlaughter again."

"Itcouldn't have been a moment of stress?"

"I don'tthink so. Plus, I believe Julia is paying for the whole party. Hestarted to get mad at her for being careful about their budget forthe alcohol."

"Juliapaid the deposit," Lily confirmed. "But the rest of the balanceisn't due until I total up what they spent. Your friends arrived. Ireserved them a booth at the back. Why don't you take them thecocktail menu? Not that they look like cocktail guys but you neverknow what a pretty woman can persuade them into buying."

"You'reso cynical," I said as I grabbed a menu.

"Thankyou."

Ipaused. "Do I actually need to do anything else?"

Lilylaughed. "No, we're covered. You can work that table exclusivelyand I'll just get another waitress to handle anything else thatcomes in."

That wasgood news because my feet were already aching from standing so longin my heels. I rounded the bar, menu in hand, and quickly spottedthe table where my buddies were seated. Five men were wedged intothe booth, beer glasses in front of them. Their uniforms were gone,replaced by jeans and shirts or t-shirts but the buzz cuts andtough, square jaws, gave them away immediately. There was a timewhen Kafsky suggested I get a buzz cut too, a thought that stillfilled me with dread. Instead I dyed my hair blond on the way homeand kept it that way for years until an unfortunate encounter withtwo hitmen ensured I needed a new look.

"Hey,guys," I said, my smile reaching from ear-to-ear in what I hopedwas a vacant but welcoming smile. "I'm Lexi; I'm your waitress forthis evening. You don't look like regulars? Let me guess." Ipaused, placing a finger on my lips, like I was thinking. "You mustbe from Fort Charles," I said, grinning again like I was pleasedwith my own cleverness. "Am I right?"

"Yes,ma'am," said the man in the middle. "These boys are stationed thereand I'm visiting for a few days."

"Thatso?" I peered at him, wondering if he was Simmons, the transporterdriver. "Like vacation?"

"No." Heshook his head. "I'm a driver. I made a delivery and in a few days,I'll head back to my own base."

"We'reshowing him the local nightlife before he heads home," said Harriswithout giving away that he knew me. "What do yourecommend?"

"Dependswhat you're looking for but I can tell you, you're in the best barin town and it's a pleasure to meet you all." I stuck out my hand,leaving them no option but to politely shake mine and introducethemselves. I was right, the man in the middle was Simmons, but theother two, Dan Willacy, and Frank DuPont, weren'tfamiliar.

"I seeyou already got some beers but can I get you anything else? We havea great cocktail menu and I can bring you some tasty snacks too." Iplaced the menu on the table and waited, the vacant smile still onmy face. In my previous bar jobs, vacuous worked well. Usually, Ijust hoped that the customer became uncomfortable enough to ordersomething if only so I would go away. This time, I simply wanted tostay but be assumed to be so dim that they could say anything infront of me. It wasn't a smart ruse, but one that would probablywork.

"We'lltake another round of beers and a round of shots," said Kafsky,without looking at the menu.

"Comingright up." I grinned again and scooted away to collect theirdrinks. Since they didn't specify which kind of shots, Iscrutinized the bottles lined up behind the bar for the most potentalcohol. I didn't have all night to spend standing up in theseheels so the sooner Simmons' lips loosened, the better.

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