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She looked around as if to make sure nobody was listening and lowered her voice, “You know the guy that’s a ventriloquist, Jeff Durham. Well…” She looked to the left and right again before continuing. “Don’t you think Walter looks like his dummy Walter?”
Dozer blinked, considered it, and then couldn’t help the laughter that erupted from his mouth. She’d nailed it. His laughter startled her and then she joined in at a much more polite level. Their eyes met and her smile widened. “That’s a much better look on you. You should smile more often.”
Said smile wavered and settled back into his usual snarl. She shook her head as she watched the transformation. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell a single sole that you actually know how to smile. Your secret is safe with me.”
He huffed and got back to his original question. “What are you doing working here? What happened to Carrie and Rita?”
“If Carrie and Rita are the usual waitresses, they are out sick with the flu. At least for a week. My cousin and I came in to eat a couple of days ago and Walter was struggling to keep up. We offered to fill in.”
If she expected him to believe she was a waitress before she moved to town, he didn’t. Doing Walter such a solid was a kind gesture. Not everyone would just pick up and help when needed.
“Dozer,” he reluctantly said. At her confused expression, he clarified. “Name’s Dozer.”
Again she hit him with her smile. He had to stop enjoying it so much. “Well, Mr. Dozer, it’s nice to meet you. I’m not sure you remember, but I’m Jane and my cousin is Ree.” She pointed over her shoulder to the other woman, who was busy refilling drinks.
“No Mister. Just Dozer,” he corrected.
“Okay, Dozer. That’s an unusual name. Maybe sometime you’ll tell me why your mother gave you that name.”
Sometime meant she’d see him again and that wasn’t going to happen. At least not more than a casual nod as neighbors. They both needed to stay in their lanes. “She didn’t. I earned it. And don’t count on it. Just get my food and go on about your business.”
Her smile fell and he felt like a heel, but it had to be done. She nodded and walked away, but his eyes followed her as she worked the dining room. When she delivered his food, she set it in front of him, told him to enjoy, and left him to eat. And still he knew every table she was at, refilling drinks or delivering orders.
As he was looking his fill, he noticed two men on the other side of the dining room who seemed as out of place as Jane and her cousin. If he had to guess, he’d say they were undercover FBI. He also noticed they appeared to have just as much fascination with watching the two women as he did. Were they in trouble?
No. Not his problem. However, if those men were there for other reasons—like because of the KOC—then it most definitely was his problem. They were on his radar now. He’d mention them to Prez and go from there. The two men probably meant nothing more than stopping for a bite to eat or they could be Janel’s security detail but he didn’t think so. Being cautious had kept him alive more than once.
When he finished, he tossed a few twenties on the table and left, but it felt more like he was escaping. He didn’t want to look too closely at why eating his dinner with her in the room felt more dangerous that the fight he’d gotten into earlier that day.
* * *
Demonte
Demonte stared at Elio in disbelief. He was sure he’d misunderstood his man’s update. “She’s working where?”
“The Stardust Diner. She and the other one are waitressing. Doing a pretty good job of it too from the looks of things.”
Pulling the pictures out of the folder, Demonte studied them one by one. Each showed the inside of the diner with clear views of both SuMartra women. In one, Janel was taking an order. In another, she was balancing a tray of drinks and in the next, she had plates in both hands in the process of delivering them to customers. He only had one question. Why?
Princess, what are you doing?
Now he had two puzzles to solve. He needed to know not only why she was in the States, but also why a royal princess was waiting tables at the Stardust, a diner owned and protected by the Kings of Chaos. Not even KOC would be enough protection if certain people got wind of the princess being here, within their reach. Then he’d have two deaths to avenge.
His gaze went to her face. She was a beautiful woman. At the age of sixteen, she’d been a fresh-faced colt of a girl with classic beauty even at such a young age. She didn’t deserve what had happened. Back then, he hadn’t known what his father’s plans had been until they were already in place. Hell, he was too young then to have changed anything. If only he had been older, then maybe… no, he wasn’t playing that game. He had no place in his life for weakness and remembering what could have been was exactly that.
The princess needed to leave. The sooner, the better. In order to make that happen, he had to find out why she was here and hurry her along.
“One more thing, boss.”
“Spit it out, Elio. I haven’t got all day.”
“It’s your father. He knows you’re not in town and has started making calls. So far, nobody has visited him and the calls have been…suspect, but curious.”
Demonte rubbed his chin. The news wasn’t anything he wasn’t expecting. Meaning his father was trying to see who was still loyal to him. He’d find a few of the old-timers, but would they cross the line? The line Demonte had drawn after his father had led them into a bloodbath.
He needed just a little more time to be able to completely take over. He tossed the pictures in his hand back onto the table. First, he had to deal with the princess. His time was running out.
“Keep the detail on her, but I think it’s time I paid the princess a visit and got this show on the road.”
