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“Great,” the hostess smiled. “I’ll send a waitress over to take your order.”

I didn’t have to look at the menu to know what to order. Kenzi and I always ordered a large supreme pizza with pepperoncini peppers on the side. Kenzi, on the other hand, stared down at the menu like she was deciding on what to order. “Do you want to order something different than our usual?” I asked.

“No. A large supreme is fine.”

Her response came over unsure, but instead of replying, I sat back and scanned the restaurant. It amazed me how often we came to the Pizza Barn for dinner, yet I didn’t know anyone. Not until my sights fell upon a tall man with a crew cut sitting at the bar. It was Wilkerson.What the hell was he doing here?

When the hostess returned with the pitcher of beer, I didn’t waste any time pouring myself a mug full. This shit had to stop now. It was one thing to do a job for him, but stalking was low even for him. Pushing from the table, I downed half of my beer and looked at Kenzi. “I’ve got to go to the head. Be right back.”

It was a good thing that Kenzi was with me; otherwise, I might have dragged Wilkerson out of the restaurant and beat the shit out of him. There was no love lost when I stepped up behind him. “What the fuck are you doing here? Has stalking become your new pastime?”

“I would have to ask you the same thing,” Wilkerson answered before taking a sip of his half-gone bottle of beer. “I was here way before you and your pretty little girlfriend walked in.”

As I looked down at the half-eaten pepperoni pizza sitting in front of him, I knew my accusation might have been uncalled for. Given how packed the restaurant was, I could have missed seeing him when we walked in. Gazing back at our booth for no other reason than to see if Kenzi saw me talking to Wilkerson, I found her gone. I was about to head back to the booth and deal with Wilkerson later when I felt a light tap on my shoulder.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” Kenzi asked, her hands propped up on her hips.

I was so absorbed in my questionable thoughts of what I wanted to do to Wilkerson that I hadn’t noticed Kenzi walk up to me. The temperature in the restaurant just got ten degrees warmer, and I felt like the lining in my gut was going to rip in two. The very last thing I wanted was to introduce Kenzi to Wilkerson. What choice did I have?Walk away from him, Riley.“Nobody,” I said, turning away from Wilkerson to face Kenzi. “I think our waitress just brought our pizza to the table.”

Kenzi turned her head toward the table long enough to confirm that our pizza was waiting for us. Instead of pressing me for an introduction, she allowed me to lead her back through the crowd and to our booth. I was sure that once we sat down, she would be drilling me on who Wilkerson was.

Telling the truth was the best policy, so once we were seated, I quickly grabbed a piece of pizza and spoke without any push from Kenzi, “The man at the bar was my recruiting officer when I enlisted in the army. He isn’t one of my favorite people, and I don’t plan on being his friend.”

Kenzi brought her slice of pizza to her lips and took a healthy bite. “Why? Is he that bad?”

If she only knew just how bad Van Wilkerson was. “Let’s just say he isn’t a man you’d want to have your back in a dangerous situation. He can’t be trusted.”

“Did something happen between you two? I always thought the military was there to protect people.”

“Most are, but not him. I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t step in front of a bullet for me, or anyone else for that matter.” The more I thought about Wilkerson, the more pissed off I became about my situation with him. “Let’s enjoy our meal and forget about him.” This conversation needed to go in a different direction. “How’s your mom doing?”

“She’s fine. Why don’t you want to talk about this guy?” Kenzi pushed.

“Because he isn’t worth talking about,” I snapped unintentionally.

I would have left the restaurant if it had been me on the receiving end of my shitty attitude. Kenzi wasn’t me, so instead of leaving the table, she took another bite of her pizza without saying a word. Kenzi’s body language didn’t need words. She cowered as she lowered her head. Reaching across the table, I placed my hand on her wrist. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for my response to come out that way. It’s just that Van Wilkerson has a way of ruining everyone's day, and I didn’t want him to ruin ours.”

After practically making an ass out of myself, my conversation with Kenzi centered around her mom. Even though the conversation shifted, Wilkerson didn’t. My attention was on him not moving an inch away from the bar and toward the restaurant door. I wasn’t sure what he was waiting for since the bartender brought him the check for his meal and a box for his leftover pizza a while ago. Maybe he was waiting for another victim for his arrangement.

As much as I wanted to wait and find out what his deal was, I wanted to get out of there more. When the waitress delivered our check, I wasted no time paying for it. Taking a quick look at the bill, I handed her three twenty-dollar bills and said, “I don’t need any change.”

“Thanks,” the waitress smiled, knowing that she just got a fifteen-dollar tip.

Kenzi looked over to the bar where Wilkerson was still seated before sliding across the bench. “He must really like this place, or he could be waiting for someone.”

I wasn’t sure if it was a question or an observation. Either way, it was very suspicious that he was still here, but not worth my time to stick around. “All the more reason to leave.”

I took Kenzi by the hand and led her through the crowded tables and to the front door. As I reached for the door, some asshole ran into me without so much as a “sorry,” or “excuse me.” By the time I turned around to tell the dude where he could go, I only saw the back of his head. His inconsideration wasn’t worth my time, but then I saw him take a seat next to Wilkerson. The way they talked to each other made it evident that they knew one another. Holding the door for Kenzi, I hesitated a moment and let her go through the door first so I could get a longer look at the jerk. I knew that face, but from where?

~11~

Levi

What the hell was I thinking to even consider entering the Pizza Barn knowing full and well that Mac and her jackass boyfriend, Axe Riley, were inside? I should have stayed in my truck and told Van Wilkerson tonight wasn’t a good time to meet. Either way, I was screwed. I wasn’t sure what his game was, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t a coincidence that he happened to be at the Pizza Barn when Mac and her boyfriend showed up. My only hope was that they wouldn’t see me walk inside the restaurant. Mac didn’t know Van Wilkerson, but Axe did, which could create a big problem for me.

Sucking up whatever would happen, I put on my ball cap and headed toward the entrance, trying to get past how I got mixed up with Van Wilkerson in the first place. I should have never trusted him five years ago. As far as Mac was concerned, I got out of prison six months ago, when in fact, I was in Texas doing a job for Van. I had only spent three months in jail thanks to the deal I made with him. Van knew people who knew people. It was crazy what he could do with the right connections. The five years I was supposed to be in jail never happened. It had only been a cover. Only Van, myself, and Warden Risler knew the truth. The cover was so good that it made me invisible until now.

I wrapped my fingers around the long brass handle and pulled the door open. While keeping my head lowered, I accidentally bumped shoulders with none other than Axe. He had never met me; therefore, he had no reason to stop me from entering. Mac wasn’t paying attention to me either, so she didn’t give me a second look when I walked past her. I only looked at her for a moment, but in that split second, what we had years ago came rushing in. More than that was the guilt of what I had put her through.