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“Take us to Nancy’s Diner.”
I felt Molly’s gaze on me, but I wasn’t ready. Not yet.
I wanted to question her where we wouldn’t be interrupted for a long time. A very long time. And I shared this with her through a heated look. Her lips parted, reading me right, and she slumped down in her seat, a soft sigh leaving her.
She knew what was coming.
I didn’t know if I was looking forward to it or not . . . that was a first to me too.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
MOLLY
I had no idea why we were here, but I was also not going to push my luck with Ashton.
I’d done something stupid, let my emotions run me off, and he was quiet, but the fury was simmering under his surface. It was there. I could feel it, but I also couldn’t lie and say I didn’t want to make sure Amy and Nick were okay.
When we got there, Elijah went inside to check the place first. He came back, and Ashton had me go first. He didn’t touch me, like he had when we went into Katya or when we left our floor. I missed his touch. Even a simple graze of his finger would’ve reassured me a little.
Nothing. He kept a firm distance behind me as I walked in.
Amy and Nick were there, and Amy gasped when she saw me. “Oh my—” She stopped, paling, and her mouth dropped when Ashton stepped in after me.
The whole diner went quiet, more than a few mouths dropping to the ground.
A guy stood up from their table, starting to approach before stopping and moving back a foot. His hands folded in front of him. “Uh. Mr. Walden. Sir. Hello.”
Ashton gave him a nod before turning toward the counter. An older woman was coming from the kitchen area, an apron tied around her waist. She had gray hair, but it was her eyes that made me pause and take her in again. She wasn’t nervous with Ashton, not a bit. She inclined her head a little. “Ashton. It’s nice to see you.”
He moved past me, meeting my gaze, before turning to her.
As he stepped toward the counter, Amy rushed over to me. “Hey. Hi. Are you okay?”
I nodded. “How are you? I was worried about you.” Nick was watching us, but he remained sitting. He was watching Ashton too. “I’m really glad you guys are okay. I’m so sorry for pulling you into my mess.”
“No. I mean, it’s okay. I have no idea what’s going on, but wow. You actually know the boss boss man. We—we heard rumors when Jess quit about who really owned Katya, but we weren’t sure. Then yeah, he and Mr. West both started showing up on the main floor. They never used to do that, not till Jess. And you know him. I, uh, I’m kinda in shock.” She touched my arm. “We went to the police. We weren’t sure what to do. You ran into traffic, but you yelled for us to leave and Nick saw the guns, and we’re so sorry we didn’t stop and help you more.”
I shook my head. “No, no. It’s fine. I’m just glad you guys got away, and you’re okay.”
She was nodding, her eyes big and scared, but she gave me a faint smile. “The officer at the station said they already had you. They told us to go home.” She motioned behind her. “Nick, uh, he wanted to go home, but I was shaken up. I wanted to be here, with the rest of the group. We didn’t tell them about, you know, about you. I don’t think they know you.”
Oooh no. She was still operating under the assumption I worked at Katya. “No. I—I don’t work at Katya. I was there, and I—” I looked Ashton’s way; he was now moving to sit in a back booth. Elijah remained just inside the door. The other guard was outside. “I overreacted to something tonight, but I don’t work at Katya. I’m really sorry I pulled you into my mess. I’m just grateful you’re okay.”
“Yeah. Of course. Yeah.” She looked back at where Ashton was sitting. “Do you, do you think you guys would want to join us?”
“No!” I gentled my voice. “No. But thank you for the invitation.”
Her head was bobbing up and down. “Oh. Yeah. Cool. I mean.” She giggled a little. “That’s cool that you know him. He’s—yeah. You know. Wow.”
I did. I really did, and giving her another smile, then one to Nick, too, I moved toward Ashton.
He was sitting with his back to the wall, his front facing the rest of the diner, and his eyes were on me. They pinned me down as I slid into my side of the booth. I could feel Amy’s and Nick’s attention on us, probably the rest of them, but I reached for the menu.
