Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
“Who’s going to make me?” he demands.
Cookie must have heard the altercation, because he comes out from the kitchen, his cook’s whites flapping.
“Hey, what’s going on here?” he demands, frowning.
“This man grabbed my butt,” I tell him, pointing at the ringleader. “So I told him to leave.”
“That’s a mouthy little bitch you got waiting tables here, grandpa,” the man drawls at Cookie, clearly not worried in the least. “You need to fire her, talking to paying customers like that.”
“You’re no customer of mine if you’re laying hands on my staff,” Cookie snaps. “Get out of here—we don’t need ‘customers’ like you.”
The man and his friends just sit there.
“I don’t think so,” he says. “We came in here for lunch and we’re not leaving hungry—this is the only place to eat for miles.”
“You should have thought of that before you harassed my waitress,” Cookie says. “Now get out or should I call the cops?”
The man laughs.
“Call the cops? Right—like you have a police department in a little shit-stain of a town like this! We’re not going anywhere until we get some lunch and an apology. Your girl there was pretty rude to us.”
Now we have a stand-off and I’m not sure what to do. The three men just sit there, glaring at Cookie who is glaring right back. He’s a good boss, backing me up like this, but he’s also in his late sixties. There’s no way he could win in a fight against the rude, grimy ringleader—let alone all three of them.
“You gonna serve us old man?” the ringleader demands. “Or am I gonna start fucking shit up around here?”
“How about a third option—you and your friends get the fuck out of here.”
I look over and see that Kane has appeared and is striding towards us. He shoots me a look.
“Sorry, baby—I was out back, taking out the trash. But it looks like we have more trash up here that needs taking out.”
The three men take a look at him and their faces change from arrogance to unease. I can’t say that I blame them. Kane looks huge looming over their table.
He has taken off the apron he had on earlier and the black t-shirt he’s wearing is soaked—probably from washing dishes—and clinging to his muscular torso like a second skin. The sleeves are high enough that you can see his tattoos. His big body is coiled with tension and his hands are curled into fists at his sides. He looks like a man who’s spoiling for a fight.
“Hey, man,” the ringleader says uneasily. “We just came in for lunch—that’s all.”
Kane looks at me.
“What did they do?”
“Talked nasty and grabbed my ass,” I tell him. “Look.” I nod at my uniform where, sure enough, there’s a grimy gray handprint on the powder blue skirt, right over my left butt cheek.
“What?” Kane’s face gets as dark as a thundercloud. “Which one of them laid hands on you, baby? He’s going to fucking die.”
Now it’s my turn to be uneasy. What will happen if he gets in a fight and the authorities are called? Nothing good, I’m sure.
“No, Kane—please,” I beg him softly. “You don’t want to go back to prison!”
“Prison?” The man who grabbed me now looks genuinely afraid.
“That’s right, asshole—prison,” Kane growls, leaning over him. “And I don’t mind going back if it means I get to fuck up the bastard who grabbed my baby sister’s ass!”
The man’s face has turned as gray as his grimy work clothes and he holds up both hands in a “don’t shoot,” gesture.
“Look, man, I sincerely apologize,” he says in a wavering voice. “I didn’t have any idea she was your sister.”
“But if I wasn’t around to protect her, then it was just fine for you to grab her?” Kane demands. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“No! No, I didn’t mean it like that!” the man protests. “Hey, just let us go—we’re leaving, all right?”
“You’re goddamned right you’re leaving, asshole!”
Kane grabs him by the collar of his dirty shirt and hauls him to his feet. He starts dragging the man towards the front door. The guy stammers and begs for his life the whole time and then Kane pushes him out and gives him a boot to the ass. With a muffled scream, the guy falls down the front porch steps and onto the sidewalk.
As soon as he’s done with the man who grabbed me, Kane turns to the other two men who are sitting silent at their table. Both of them look scared to death.
“Did either of you touch my baby sister?” Kane demands, his voice a harsh, almost inhuman growl of rage.
“No, man—no, we swear!” They hold up their hands in protest.
“Gary’s just an asshole,” one of them says. “I told him before he shouldn’t fuck around like he does but he won’t listen!”