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“He was an electrical engineer down at the plant. Had a stroke about ten years ago on his way to work. The poor fucker ended up in a coma. Maude tried to take care of him at home, but it was just too much for her. He’s been at the nursing home for a while until he died last month.”
“She visited him every day until his passing,” a woman says, drawing my attention to her.
I look over, giving Sunshine a smile.
“She’s a really nice lady,” she says.
Sunshine works at the nursing home here in town, and although she doesn’t come in to drink, she likes the food for some reason.
“Heading home?” I ask her, after bidding Bill a goodnight and handing back his change. “Let me check the back for your order.”
Before I can make it to the kitchen, the door swings open, nearly hitting me in the face.
Joey stops short, his eyes wide. It takes him a long moment to look at me.
“Is that the order for Sunshine?” I ask him, indicating the bag in his hand.
Another few seconds pass before he nods, pulling his eyes from something behind me. I figure he’s looking at Sunshine. I want to tell him to get back in the kitchen, that the woman at the bar deserves better than him, but it sounds shitty and judgmental even in my head.
“Thanks,” I tell him when he holds it out to me. “Are there more orders?”
“Yes,” he says. “Sorry. Back to it, boss.”
I hate the way he says boss. It sounds more like an insult than a term of respect, but I’m not going to waste my time splitting hairs.
Sunshine has her money ready, telling me to keep the change when I pass her the food she called in.
“Be safe getting home,” I tell her, watching Ugly watch her walk out of the bar.
I ring her order up in the cash register and deposit the money before turning back to Ugly.
“Leave that woman alone,” I tell him, hoping the man understands the warning in my voice.
“Sunshine?” His grin grows wild, telling me they know each other already.
“Really?” I ask, my head shaking.
“Nah, man. She’s too damn good for me. I don’t go after the ones that get their hearts broken easily. Besides, she takes care of Big Daddy, Spade’s old lady’s grandfather. My friend would kick my ass if I hurt Sunshine’s feelings much less broke her heart. Who was that by the way?” Ugly asks, nodding his head in the direction of the kitchen. “Looked at me like he saw a fucking ghost or something.”
“Just a new cook,” I tell him.
Joey’s story isn’t mine to tell, and I don’t know what kind of reaction I’d get from Ugly if I let him know that Joey just got out of prison. It’s not like I could answer his questions anyway. I didn’t dig into the man’s life when Jake hired him, and I don’t plan on doing it now.
“How are things at the clubhouse?” I ask, barely holding back the cringe when the question slips out of my mouth.
Ugly looks me up and down as if he’s trying to decide how to answer the question.
“Boomer hasn’t talked to you?”
I narrow my eyes at the challenge in his.
“I have no reason to speak to Boomer unless he comes to the bar for a drink,” I hedge. “I haven’t seen him.”
Ugly cocks an eyebrow as if he thinks I’m lying, and it rubs me the wrong way.
“I don’t think he’d appreciate you making speculations behind his back either.”
A slow smile spreads across his face as if he approves of something I’m not understanding.
“How about that refill?” Ugly asks, pointing to his empty glass.
I go back to work, making sure to keep my distance as best I can until the bar slows down so much, it grows increasingly obvious that I’m ignoring Ugly.
He chuckles when I stand directly in front of him with a hand on my hip.
“Is there a reason you’ve been sitting here, watching me like a hawk all night?”
I let myself for just a flash of a second think that Boomer sent him here to keep an eye on me, but that thought faded nearly as quickly as it came. Boomer is more likely to show up himself than to tell his secrets and ask one of his teammates to watch me all damn night.
“I was wondering how you feel about camping?”
Chapter 31
Boomer
I growl in frustration, shoving at the pack for the third time, but my anger doesn’t make it stay in the back of the SUV any more than shoving at it the first two times.
I was incredibly excited when a Cerberus camping trip was mentioned—the great outdoors, hiking, evenings by the campfire with people I’d consider family. But now, I don’t want to be around people. I want a chance to lick my still-bleeding wounds in private rather than having to pretend I’m perfectly fine when I still ache and hurt from the pain Drake caused me. Betrayal cuts in a way that leaves lasting scars, but despite them being invisible to all those around me, I’m still suffering immensely from them.
