Page 36 of Little Red and Her Creatures of Chaos
I bustle around the diner, cleaning tables and dropping off food. I still haven’t figured out if I’m relieved or disappointed that Nash didn’t follow up with his threat about sitting here all night. I find myself looking at the door, waiting for them to walk in. I haven’t even had a chance to pee, much less message one of them to tell them that I’m sorry and to please forgive me.
“Radley is such an interesting name.” I whirl around at that voice and come face-to-face with the guy from the table. He’s staring intently at me, and I swallow past the unease. “Is it a family name?”
“Oh. Uh, no, it’s not.”
He tilts his head to the side. “Are you sure? It’s an unusual name.”
“I’m very sure. Was there something else I could do for you?”
“You have no idea who you are, do you?” When he smiles, it’s not in a nice way. “It’s a shame someone hid something like that from you.”
“What are you talking about? I know who I am.”
“You think you know, but you have no idea. Maybe you should ask those wolves you’re hanging around. I’m sure they would love to enlighten you.”
I feel my face flush, and my palms start sweating. Does he know about the guys? There’s only one way that he would, and that’s if he’s a wolf, too. “Wolves? I think you’re mistaken.”
His smile turns malicious. “Whatever you say…Omega.” He spins on his heel and walks back to his table, leaving me in stunned silence. Omega?
“Order up, Radley!”
I shake myself from my stupor and grab the next tray, my mind going a million miles a minute. Who the hell is that couple, and how do they know anything about me? When I’m clearing the table in front of them, my eyes lock with the woman, and that’s when I realize why she looks familiar. Her son has the same full lips, round face, and proud nose. That’s Mason’s mom. I rush through my cleaning and take off for the bathroom, pulling my phone from my pocket on my way. I lock the door behind me and send a message to Mason.
Radley: Your mom is here.
Mason: I know.
Radley: How?
As soon as I type it, I shake my head with a smile. They have been here, just not inside.
Radley: Never mind. The guy with her is creepy, and he’s saying some weird stuff.
Mason: We’ll take care of it.
I use the bathroom, wash my hands, and rush back just in time to see the guys push through the door. They go straight to the table, and I hang back to see what will happen.
“What are you doing here?” Mason demands.
“It’s a free world, is it not?” the guy answers.
“You need to leave, Rogue,” Mason growls. “You don’t need to be here.”
The guy’s eyes flash to me, and he grins at Mason. “Are you afraid I’ll tell your little girlfriend here that you’ve been lying to her?” Wait. What?
“Get out. Now,” Nash demands, stepping close to the table. “We don’t want your kind here.”
The guy leans back, stretching his arms across the back of the stool. I’ve noticed that Mason’s mom won’t even look Mason in the eye, and he hasn’t even spared her a glance. “You’re causing a scene. You wouldn’t want the locals to see who you really are.”
“Radley,” Mason says calmly. “Get their check.” I dig my pad from my pocket and rip their ticket off, then lay it in his hand. He slaps it on the table. “Leave.”
“Mason,” his mom finally says, and Mason’s entire body stiffens. “We’re just eating, son.”
“You always have a motive,” Mason hisses. “And don’t call me that. You lost that right when you chose this piece of shit over us. Do us all a favor and go back to whatever hole you crawled out of.”
I look around and notice the whole diner is staring at the commotion in front of us. I walk up and grab Mason’s arm. “Everyone is staring.”
They finally slide from the booth and lay a few bills on the table. “Instead of worrying about us, you need to worry about your own pack. It would be a shame if she found out the truth from someone else.”
