Page 9 of Vendetta
She reached for a clean glass.“Beer, right?Same as last time?”
Vendetta nodded, watching her move confidently behind the bar.But now that he was looking closer, he noticed the tension beneath the surface.Like she was carrying a secret weight no one else could see.And didn’t he fucking know that feeling?
Setting the glass down gently in front of him, she smiled.“I was beginning to think you weren’t coming back.”
“I wasn’t,” he said, though he wasn’t sure that was entirely true.Lifting the drink to his lips, he said, “Then I got a text,” before he took a drink.
Her smile was just short of playful.“Sounds like whoever sent it must’ve been pretty persuasive.”
Vendetta didn’t smile, but he’d play along.“Yeah, she was.”
Leaning her arms on the bar, she watched him.“So, mystery man, what do you do when you’re not ghosting small-town dive bars?”
Vendetta tapped a finger on the rim of his glass.“Independent courier,” he said after a moment.“Medical supplies.”
Her fair brows lifted.“Like hospitals and clinics?”
He nodded, took another sip.“Rehab centers.Some pharmacies.Anything under theINeeda Medicalumbrella.”
Her mouth parted slightly in surprise.“That’s the place that used to be a tire shop, right?”
“Yeah.”
“We get stuff from them sometimes,” she said, polishing glasses while she had the time.“First aid kits, sanitizer, gloves.Boring stuff, I know.But they keep the health inspector from shutting us down.”
“Boring’s not so bad,” he said, his gaze on her hands.For how pretty she was, hair and makeup subtle, but enhancing what she already had.Her hands were an interesting counterpoint.Her fingernails were short and unpainted.It showed she wasn’t afraid of hard work.
“Maybe not,” she agreed, then tilted her head.“Will you be making any of our deliveries?Usually, not always, they send Alan.Do you know him?”
Vendetta nodded.“Alan trained me.And maybe so.”
The waitress leaned in a just a little closer.“If you are, I might have to start using a lot more gloves.”
Why the fuck did he have to meet her now?While he was on a quest for revenge?Why couldn’t he have met herafterthat?
Vendetta’s gaze held hers for a long beat.Oh, he fucking liked her.Alot.But this was dangerous.Those big blue eyes would make it way too easy to forget the reason he was really here.
Or was it possibly a good thing?Whatever was going on between them, it was real enough to make him forget the mission for half a second.Since his own MC tried to fucking kill him, he’d been totally absorbed with his need for revenge.The constant drag of it left him feeling broken, like his quest for payback was the only thing holding what was left of him together.It left him drained most days, emotionally and physically.
Once he had his revenge, he was going to guaran-damn-tee every part of Cottonmouths and the motherfucking criminal network who bought them was dismantled, the victims set free.
But right now?The way she smiled at him, the way those big eyes took him in?It was the first time in a while he’d felt anything close to being human again.
Vendetta knew that the last thing he should be doing right now was to involve an innocent woman in the mess that was his life and resurrection.But maybe he could take it really slow, keep her out of everything until it was done.
“What time do you get off?”he asked her.
The smile she rewarded him was beautiful.“Nine tonight,” she said.
It was 8:45.
“We could go back to my place,” she said, as she finished with the glasses.“It will take me twenty minutes to help close everything down.”
Vendetta nodded.Going to hers was perfect.Pulling another twenty from his pocket, he slid it across the counter, finished off his beer.
She took it, getting in the register and appeared to be making change.
“Keep it,” he told her.“I can wait in the parking lot.What do you drive?”
