Page 8 of Vendetta
Oak Grove looked the same as it always did on the surface.He didn’t know until he came over from Abingdon that this new town pulsed with something putrid, like a wound beneath the surface that never quite healed, just festered.In the six months he’d been there, he’d seen deals made out in the open like nothing mattered.Cash moved in broad daylight, and people looked the other way like they’d been taught not to ask questions.Maybe they were too afraid.The deeper Vendetta dug, the more he came to realize that the town wasn’t just turning a blind eye.It was bought and paid for.
There were meetings that didn’t show up on the schedule and unmarked vans parked behindNed’s Sundown Loungearound the clock.There were young faces that he never saw twice, just a glimpse through tinted windows before they were gone.It made him sick to his stomach and more determined to put an end to the rotten fucking bunch of them.
He’d been tailing a few of the Cottonmouths after hours, always careful to stay at a distance.Trucker and Creep.Eagle and Grudge.He couldn’t decide if they were cocky, or they just didn’t give a shit.They didn’t know they were being watched yet.But they would.
Vendetta hadn’t been back toNed’s Sundown Loungesince that night when he’d met that gorgeous, curvy little waitress who had told him it was her first night on the job.He thought about her, more than he ever should.He couldn’t allow himself to get distracted.But, fuck, he sure wanted that distraction.
She was curvy in a way that made a man want to slow down and take his time.Her honey-blonde hair had been pulled back at work.He couldn’t help but imagine what it must look like falling around her shoulders.She had the biggest blue eyes that were too damn honest for a hellhole likethatbar.She watched the room like she didn’t miss a thing, even when she pretended not to notice anything at all.She carried herself with purpose, chin high even when facing down a table full of patch-wearing bastards without blinking.
He hadn’t gotten her name.He just knew she didn’t belong in a place like that.That made her even harder to forget.
The number he left her?His phone still hadn’t rung.He tried to convince himself that was good thing.It was safer that way.But part of him had to wonder if she’d tucked it away.Or if she’d already thrown it out.Maybe it didn’t matter.
He had a trap to build.And when that trap snapped shut, every single fucking one of them -- Eli and the whole Goddamn operation -- were going down.
As if his thoughts had conjured it, his phone buzzed just as he reached the motel parking lot.One short vibration and a number he didn’t recognize.
Was it her?
Vendetta glanced at the screen, thumb hovering for half a second before he tapped it open.
Hey mystery guy, u coming back to the bar?I’m working tonight.Did i do something wrong or u just not that into beer and awkward charm?
Vendetta stared at the screen, the faintest pull at the corners of his mouth.But he knew exactly who it was.It washer.He could just picture that sassy smile on her face when she hit send.He remembered that body he’d love to take a slow tour of.
As he walked to his motel room, he couldn’t help grinning.Well, that answered that question.Honestly, he’d assumed he’d never hear from her and that she’d tossed out his number that night.Now that she had reached out to him, instinct told him it was a bad idea.Maybe he needed to take a step back.Getting involved with her could be dangerous for them both.
But ignoring her?That didn’t sit right with him either.He read the message again, slower this time.Setting the phone down on the cheap motel table when he walked in, he took a seat, leaning back in the chair.He stared at the screen like it might offer him an easier answer than the one in his gut.
Getting involved with her was risky.But she’d been on his mind all fucking week.That smile.Plus, he loved a big-eyed girl.
But getting closer to her might be a way of getting information faster, getting him closer to the truth.Ned’s Sundown Loungewas a prime Cottonmouth hangout.Guys like Trucker and Creep came and went like it was their clubhouse.If there were side deals happening, drop-offs being arranged, or names being passed around, just maybe it would start there.And the waitress?She worked on the floor.She struck him as observant.She’d hear and see everything while she was there.
Vendetta tried telling himselfthatwas the reason he was going to text her back.But as he picked up the phone, reading her message once more, the knot in his chest said otherwise.His thumb hovered over the screen for only a second before he typed out a reply.
didn’t do anything wrong.been busy.might stop by tonight.
It was short and to the point.He kept it neutral.Then he hit send before tossing the phone on the bed and rising from the chair, stretching.
Vendetta hadn’t planned on going back to the bar yet, much less tonight.But something about her message stuck with him.Was it curiosity tugging at his chest?Or that he couldn’t admit to himself what he really wanted wasn’t part of his strategy?
Stripping off his work clothes, he took a quick shower and pulled on a clean hoodie with a heavier denim jacket.He slid the knife into his boot more out of habit than worry.By the time he stepped out into the chilly night air, he’d made his decision.Vendetta was going toNed’s Sundown Lounge.And he’d be lying to himself if he thought he was just going for information, for his revenge.But he wasn’t ready to admit that to himself just yet.
* * *
Ned’s was quieter than usual when Vendetta arrived.There were no Cottonmouths now.No loud laughter or obnoxious posturing from the back tables.Just a low hum of conversation, a few locals nursing drinks, and an old country song drifting from the jukebox that sounded like heartbreak wrapped in twang.Maybe it was ordinary for a weeknight.
Out of habit, he scanned the room as he headed for the bar.The waitress he came to see was behind it, wiping down the counter with a rag that had seen better days.Her hair was up again, a few blonde strands falling loose around her face.She only wore a hint of makeup, but she didn’t need even that.She was one gorgeous little lady.He just had to make sure she didn’t end up being a gorgeous distraction for what he was back in Oak Grove to do.
She’d spotted him when the door opened, and her entire demeanor shifted.The fatigue in her eyes faded.It was just a spark instead of a big leap.But he saw it.And for whatever reason, it hit him harder than he expected.
“There you are,” she said, setting the rag aside.“I was starting to think I imagined the whole ‘mystery guy with a beer preference’ thing.”
Vendetta leaned an elbow on the bar.“Didn’t want to spoil the mystery too fast.”
That earned him a grin, and damned if it didn’t stop him cold for just a beat.“Well, I’m glad you’re here.It’s slower tonight.Less chaos, more time for conversation… Unless that’s too forward.”
He shook his head.“Conversation sounds good.”
