Page 3 of Swallow Your Fear
“Waters, please.” We wouldn’t be eating, but the last thing I needed was her complaining we didn’t order anything to her coworkers and bringing us unnecessary attention.
She set the menus in front of us. “I’ll be right back with those.”
Austin noticeably watched her ass sway in her tiny skirt, his head turned her way until she disappeared into the kitchen. Once she was gone, he faced me. “What’s the plan?”
“Not fucking the entire waitstaff,” I said, surveying the diner. It wasn’t in the best shape, but not much in Whiskey Ridge was. Most of the cushioned seats were torn, scratches etched into the wobbly tables, and the windows looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in years. I didn’t want to guess what the state of the kitchen was, and it made me all the more thankful we’d eaten before we came.
“I wasn’t going to bang her,” Austin defended.
I arched a suspecting brow.
“Alright. I thought about it,” he admitted.
I shook my head. He was like a kid in a candy store in these places, and the short skirts were teasing him like samples of taffy. “We’re going to wait until this guy's girlfriend shows her face, then wait to see if he comes by for a visit.”
Henley had brought us up to speed before we’d left this morning. He’d shown us pictures of the girlfriend off Chase’s social media, as well as what he looked like so we’d know who to keep an eye out for. He’d mentioned he had a knife on his belt during the match, which meant he knew trouble could present itself at any turn. We just had to hope he wasn’t prepared for it today.
“I know that,” he said, leaning back in his chair. The metal creaked under the shift in his weight. “But after. Say he does show up. Then what?”
I shrugged. I hadn’t thought that far ahead, butwhatever ended up happening, if he wouldn’t hand the deed back, I had no doubt it’d turn ugly. I wasn’t afraid to get my hands dirty if it meant keeping us above water. We had to stick out for our own out here, and I had no ties to Chase to give a damn what happened to him in the fallout.
I folded my hands in my lap, leaning back against the uncomfortable metal posts of the chair, and kept an eye on both the door and the kitchen. “We’ll do what Henley suggested.”
As Austin shook his head despite the devilish glint in his gaze, the blonde waitress came back with our waters. “Ready to order?”
“We need a minute,” I answered, not glancing her way.
Austin, on the other hand, was practically drooling as he looked up at her. “Thanks, McKenna.”
After she walked away, I shook my head and said, “Typical name move.”
“Her name tag is right out in the open.” Austin surveyed out the windows behind me, watching the street. “Not my fault women are suckers for when a guy says their name.”
“I’m not sure they mean like that,” I stated.
“Oh, yeah? Then what do they mean?”
“When they’re not around you, for starters,” I said as the door to the kitchen swung outwards, blocking the worker from my view.
“Bullshit.” Austin folded his arms, defensive. He was too easy to rile up. He was also too good at getting girls’ attention with his sharp jaw, signature five o’clock shadow, and just-long-enough-to-look-messyhair.
The door swung shut, revealing a familiar brunette with blonde tips. “Brynne.”
“Don’t go testing the name out on your tongue, now,” Austin grumbled.
“No, dumbass.” I nodded in the direction of the mostly empty bar as Brynne took the order of an old, wiry-haired man. “Chase’s girlfriend is right there.”
Austin twisted in his seat, and I slapped a palm to my face.Way to be fucking discreet.
“Oh, shit.” He faced me again. “Guess timing worked out in our favor.”
The front door flung open, its foggy glass making it hard to see who walked through.As they stormed in, I wasn’t sure who I was expecting, but it wasn’t Chase. It was almost too easy. Our target just entered like a bat out of hell, and I was almost glad for the mood he seemed to be in. It’d make this a hell of a lot more fun.
Brynne stood there, finishing writing down the order despite Chase’s blazing glare. He practically shoved the old man off his seat as he braced his hands on the edge of the bar. “Outside. Now.”
She didn’t look up from the notepad. “Little busy.”
His arms, not quite impressive in their size, bulged slightly as he gripped the counter.“Now.”
