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“Interesting…” Con mused. “He never gave off any kind of evil vibe, other than being an oddball stalker. Every time he came in, he would order one beer or a rum and Coke, ask if you were working, and leave when he was done. It got to the point of us just telling him no, though tonight I actually gave him some false hope.” Con’s brow furrowed.
Theo stared at Con. “You neglected to tell me this when I showed up in your backroom?”
“Ya did surprise me,” Con rebuked him.
Acknowledging said truth, Theo grimaced. “So… anything else you can tell me about him?”
“Nope, sorry. You might want to check with Leo, though. When Daniel asked for you by name, I mentioned him to Leo. He probably followed up. Him or Ari.”
“I will. Tomorrow. Tonight, I’ll let them have their celebrations.” Theo turned to head back out into the casino.
Con gripped his arm, holding him in place. “You’re leaving?”
Theo gazed at Con, a slow smile forming. “For now. Hold my spot for me, okay?”
“Will do.” Con beamed. “See you later.”
Once Haven’s manager returned to the bar, Theo looked up. “I’m ready,” he whispered, and Heaven’s light took him home.
Sunday: Sunrise
Daniel
Daniel dragged himself into work at Mr. Troy’s insistence. Calling it work was ridiculous. This was Hell with a capital H just without the fire and brimstone. His boss had left several texts, each one nastier and more demanding than the one before, when Daniel hadn’t responded quickly enough. Of course, he hadn’t. He’d had the full attention of the one angel (the only one he knew of personally, at least) he’d been searching for. Add in the fact that said angel was fucking gorgeous… Yeah, the jealous stares of the women around them hadn’t escaped his notice as they talked.
At two o’clock in the morning, Troy expected him to be wide-eyed and bushy-tailed. Nope. Mentally not happening, but he was a “fake it till you make it” kind of guy. It would be a unique change if he ever stopped faking it.
“Wonderful!” Mr. Troy cheered. Daniel gave his boss what he hoped was at least a semblance of a smile. “Just the man I need for this job.”
“Job?” Daniel ambled over to the knockoff coffee pod machine, allowing him to have his back to Troy and hide the twist of his grimacing lips. “What kind of job?”
“Nothing too hard, just a little collection from a hairdresser on Atlantic Ave, by The Walk.”
“Extortion,” Daniel murmured, then turned slowly, sipping his coffee to hide his distaste for the job.
Troy glowered. “Protection… and you better watch your tongue.”
Daniel almost let slip, ‘Are you high?’ but thought better of it. He valued his life, meager though it was. Instead, he stifled the retort and apologized. “Sorry. I’m tired. It’s not even the ass crack of dawn. This couldn’t have waited until, I don’t know, ten or eleven?”
“No. I want you there when they open. In and out before any of her clients see you.”
An odd request… His interest piqued. “Any particular reason?”
Troy grunted. “Just do what I say. Sabre will go with you.”
“My favorite babysitter…” Daniel teased the towering goon.
In reply, Sabre cracked his knuckles and smirked.
“Tsk, tsk.” Daniel slipped silently across the room to stand in front of Sabre. “Don’t you know that cracking your knuckles will give you arthritis?”
Sabre’s gaze softened as he looked down at Daniel. “I’ll be lucky if I live that long, so I gotta make the most of the here and now.”
Interesting…Daniel was more awake from these bizarre revelations than the jolt of horribly bitter, dark roast coffee Troy seemed to like.Why would Sabre say that?Granted, the work they did was dangerous, but mostly because they could be arrested at any time if they weren’t careful.
“You know when the shop opens?”
“Yeah. Scoped the place out yesterday. First appointment’s at ten, but they’re both there opening the shop at nine for the occasional walk-in.”
