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I nursed my drink, not wanting to leave him behind in case the woman decided she wanted nothing to do with him after all.
And while I waited, my mind traveled back to Shale. To how off she’d been. To the strange, niggling feeling that things were more serious than your average, everyday mini crisis.
About half an hour later, though, I saw the woman slide off her stool, then motion for him to take her arm as they started out of the restaurant.
And this fool gave me a fucking thumbs-up as he passed.
But, hopefully, he got laid and started obsessing about this older woman instead of me.
With that, I headed home, took all my fucking plants out of the tub, showered, and dropped into bed.
I woke up to a text from Barry, saying he was going to come over and tell me ‘all about it.’
I never fucking dressed and got out of the house so fast in my entire goddamn life.
And where did I go?
Straight to Deja Brew.
Where I got the confirmation that my instincts had been spot on. That something had gone horribly wrong.
CHAPTER THREE
Shale
I didn’t sleep.
How could I?
With the threat of the strong arm of a cocaine cartel hanging over my head?
I paced my apartment.
I drank too much coffee that only managed to increase my nerves.
Then, when it was late enough in the morning, I went back to the docks to meet with the manager.
Who promptly told me that there was nothing they could do, that it was my signature on the document, that the coffee was long gone, and that I should just order another pallet of it.
When I pressed that I hadn’t picked it up, he’d relented and scrolled through the video feed.
And there she was.
A Shale lookalike. Except her hair was the same pale purple mine had been a week ago, instead of the multiple colors I had now. And she was a little too short, a little heavier, but with a big black puffer jacket on, the hood mostly obscuring her from the cameras.
She was… close enough.
She could have fooled just about anyone.
Except me.
Because I knew I hadn’t been there.
There was no arguing with the dock manager, though. And he was getting aggressive enough to make me anxious.
So I did the only thing I could do.
I retreated. I went back to my car. And I cried the whole way to the coffee shop.
