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The pair were still playfully bickering when she walked away. Kira stepped behind the counter to grab a menu, then poured two glasses of water for them. She looked out across the small, humble diner. It was surprisingly busy, at least by Cal’s Corner standards. The casino would have to shut down after such a slow night, but the little diner hummed with conversation as though there was a party going on.
Kira had come to love nights like this. At first, she’d liked the calm of the empty diner at night—it was a welcome contrast to the go-go-go atmosphere of the Shining Star. It was nice to just lazily pass the hours cleaning tables, washing dishes, and finding other little mini projects to fill the time. But ever since she had been stalked and assaulted by those two awful men down the street, Kira preferred a busier shift. It gave her a sense of comfort to know there were lots of witnesses around, just in case something bad did happen. And surely no criminal would be brazen enough to try something like that with so many people watching, right?
So now she felt much safer on nights like this, when the diner was almost to capacity. There was never a wait for tables, not here, but at least there was a steady stream of customers coming in to fill the tables anyway. Kira loved seeing nearly every seat filled. There were so many conversations to have and eavesdrop on, so many faces to study and personalities to meet. Kira had never been a very outgoing person, but her time in the service industry had definitely taught her how to fake it well.
She swished back over to the newest customers and gave them their waters and a menu. She clicked her pen and held her little notebook at the ready to take their orders. She could remember them pretty well without it, but she knew it was comforting to her customers when they saw her using a notepad; something about seeing her write down their orders made them feel good. Like she was truly listening to them. Kira was quickly becoming the darling of Cal’s Corner, winning over onetime customers and regulars alike. She had a knack for making people feel at home.
“Are you ready to order?” she asked the blue-collar guys.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll have the country fried steak and a side of collards,” said the older man.
“And I’d like a double cheeseburger, hold the onions and mustard, with extra mayo,” said his friend, closing the menu.
“Extra mayo? Now Iknowyou’re crazy,” said the older worker with a wince.
“Hey, we don’t like to yuck each other’s yums here at Cal’s.” Kira laughed warmly. “Extra mayo it is. Now, would you like anything other than water to drink?”
She took their drink orders and happily walked behind the counter. She pushed open the double doors to the kitchen and back of the restaurant. As always, it was eerily quiet back there except for the clinking of dishes in the kitchen.
Kira stared at the shut door of the back office, wondering what was going on behind it. She couldn’t see or hear a thing, but she knew there was at least one ‘supervisor’ in there, presumably working on schedules and paperwork. Kira could never seem to pin down the name and identity of who was actually in charge at Cal’s Corner. It seemed like a revolving door of manager types, most of whom went straight into the back office without a word or glance in Kira’s direction. She still couldn’t keep the staff straight, since her coworkers seemed to change by the day. She rarely saw the same person twice, further cementing her theory that she was the only one getting consistent hours.
She was busily flitting from table to table taking orders when she heard the door jingle open. She turned around to greet the new customer, only to see the older man who’d first helped her get the job. Kira froze up, then grinned broadly as she walked up to greet him.
“Oh, hi! I was wondering when we’d get a chance to work together,” she said.
The man looked startled to see her. He murmured, “Hey.”
His eyes flicked around the diner and up to the fake surveillance camera above the counter. Kira noticed, wondering why he seemed so nervous. As far as she knew, the camera was non-functioning, just a fake one meant to deter criminals. The old man tied on his apron and walked away immediately to address a table of customers. Kira was confused. Even though their first interaction had been so friendly and easygoing, it now seemed impossible to get more than a one-word answer out of him. Throughout her shift, Kira made multiple attempts to make conversation with him, but to no avail.
Toward the end of her shift, Kira finally cornered him near the double doors to the back rooms and asked quietly, “What’s wrong?”
The man just shifted his weight, not making eye contact. He muttered, “Nothing.”
“Come on, you can tell me. Did I do something wrong?” she pressed him.
The door jingled again and both of them looked toward the entrance. Kira was not so surprised to see the man she thought of as the owner walking in with a lit cigarette in his hand, ignoring the NO SMOKING sign on the door. He came by the diner nearly every time Kira was working, though he never said a word to her. This time he was wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled low over his eyes, dark shades even though it was nighttime, and a big, bulky jacket that hid his body. As usual, he strolled right by Kira without looking her way, but he did look at the old man. Kira saw the incognito restaurant owner stare at him for a few intense seconds. Her elderly coworker looked down at the floor, almost like he was afraid of the owner. Kira noticed that the volume of conversation in the diner went down. Several customers were looking at the owner with silent dread. The owner slipped through the double doors, and Kira’s coworker rushed away to clean up a table before she could say anything to him.
It was so strange. He acted almost like he didn’t know her at all. And as soon as the owner disappeared into the back room, conversations resumed throughout the diner. Kira could not figure it out. Truthfully, she had still never gotten a straight answer from anyone regarding the owner. Nobody wanted to talk about him. Kira only assumed he was the owner because it seemed so unlikely that such an unfriendly, weird guy would have risen to the rank of manager. Everyone was afraid of him, he never seemed to do any work, and he always went straight to the back of the diner. Clearly, he wasn’t worried about keeping a job because he already owned the whole business.
Despite her best efforts, Kira couldn’t strike up a meaningful conversation with her coworker. By the time her shift ended, she was still frustrated and confused. What had she done to offend this guy so deeply? What kind of sway did the owner have over his employees? And if he ruled with such an iron fist, why had he never even tried to address Kira? Was she just that good at her job, or was she just not worth his time?
Kira gave her coworker an awkward goodbye, to which he only nodded and continued wiping down the counter. Kira gave up and stepped out onto the street, tucking the night’s tips into her pocket. She kept her eyes peeled and her head on a swivel as she made her way to her vehicle. All the way, she felt the hairs standing up on the back of her neck. She almost expected to be attacked. Luckily, there were no alleyway stalkers waiting to pounce, and Kira made it safely to her car. She immediately locked the doors and took a deep breath, centering herself before turning the ignition. The drive home was uneventful, but when she pulled up to her house, Kira’s heart began to flutter.
There was a car already parked in the driveway. She recognized it instantly, even in the dark. It was Luka’s car. Kira rushed up to the front door and unlocked it, slipping inside to find the big, bad mafia guy sitting on her sofa. His enormous, muscular frame dwarfed the little loveseat. He wore black clothing and a scowl on his face. He stood up when Kira walked in, reaching his full intimidating height. Kira swallowed hard, looking up at him with mingled excitement and concern.
“Luka… Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to see you. But why are you here?” she asked.
“I came straight from a mission,” he answered. “We need to talk.”
CHAPTER17
LUKA
Kira stoodbefore Luka with wide blue eyes and a slight upturn to the corners of her lips. Part of her wanted to smile at the sight of him, he knew, and part of her was afraid to find out why he was there. Luka was just happy to see her alive and well. Kira was always on his mind these days.
“Talk about what?” she asked innocently.
Luka walked up to her and put his large hands on her upper arms. He peered into her gorgeous, upturned face and said, “Your job.”
