Five
Loretta
I put in Mr. Pretty’s order before getting the coffee and water for dark and mysterious.
Making my way over to the table, I take note of the empty table and find a hundred-dollar bill sitting there.
I spin around looking for the man, but do not find him.
Quickly, I grab the bill and rush out of the diner to find the man and return the money.
There is no way I can keep that kind of money for doing nothing.
Pushing through the door, I look around wildly.
Across the parking lot, I see a large black SUV and make my way over to it when Dawson comes out of the diner after me.
“Loretta, are you okay? What’s wrong?” he asks, looking around trying to find the threat.
“Someone left a hundred-dollar tip for nothing. I can’t keep it. I’m going to give it back to them,” I tell him, trying to pull away from his hold on me.
“Love, if he left it for you, then keep it,” Dawson draws.
I spin around to look at him. “He didn’t even order anything but coffee and then left before he drank it. It had to be a mistake,” I say, my chest getting tight with anxiety.
Dawson looks out over my head for a long moment before looking back down at me with compassion in his eyes as he pulls the door open. “Love, that man will not miss that money. Take it, put it in your apron, and let’s get back to the people who have ordered food.”
Huffing, I go back inside, doing as he told me to.
As I walk through the door, I scan the room to make sure everyone is taken care of.
I find Mr. Pretty glaring out the window at the retreating SUV, and his glass is empty.
A couple of my old regulars are lifting their coffee cups to let me know they need more.
Lotty, bless her heart, is wandering around like the matriarch she is, checking in on everyone and everything.
“Sorry,” I mumble as I make my way past her with my head hung low.
She smirks and I know whatever she is about to say is going to embarrass the hell out of me, “If a hunk of man like that left me a hundred-dollar tip without me having to work for it, I’d run after him too.”
My jaw drops, and the blush rushes so fast over my face that once again I’m giving the sun a run for its money. “Lotty!” is all I’m finally able to hiss.
She throws her head back, laughing, and then sashays away, refilling the coffee mugs all around the diner. Chuckling to myself, I’m able to get back to work and shake off all thoughts of the mysterious man. I grab another Coke for Mr. Pretty, trying to shake off the dread of being near him.
“Here is your refill. Your order should be out any second,” I tell him as I set his drink down.
His smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Thank you! Is everything okay? You seemed a bit upset.”
I give him my biggest fake-smile. “Oh, everything is great. Just me being silly.” I try to laugh it off.
The way he watches me reminds me way too much of my stepfather, and I take a step back to leave.
The bell over the door chimes, and a large family wanders in.
I excuse myself to welcome them and show them to one of the larger tables near the back.
Once I have their drink order, I put it in and grab the food that is ready and deliver it to everyone.
Shortly after that, we get super busy making it so I don’t have time to chat with Mr. Pretty outside of refills and dropping off his check.
Though I can feel his eyes on me the entire time.
At some point in the night, he finishes his food and leaves without a word. I return to his table to clear it and find a note left on the check with his payment and a tip.
Alan Davis – 229-355-1942
Now you know my name
I take the money and check to the counter and cash him out, shoving his note and tip into my apron and not giving it another thought.
It ends up being one of the busiest nights in a long time, and the morning waitress is also late coming in, which means I am late getting home.
I pull into my driveway, partially thankful for the fact that somehow I ended up with my stepfather's house and partially angry because I’m stuck in the one place I wanted to escape.
Turing the ignition off, I step out of the car, dragging ass.
I’m just about to put my key in the lock when I hear another door slam.
“You’re not looking so good, Loretta. Are you not sleeping like your mother did? Maybe I need to call you down to the station for a drug test,” the asshole calls, making his way up the walkway.
“Good morning to you too, Officer Jackson.” I try to sound cheery as I turn to look at the man now coming up my steps. “I wasn’t aware we had a visit scheduled.”
He sneers at me. “As your parole officer, I can come and check on you anytime I want. Seeing as you’re a violent offender who likes to kill cops, I want to keep a very close on you.
I mean, you already committed murder once.
Who is to say you will not go off the deep end like your momma and do it again? ”
A tight smile spreads across my face as I bite my tongue to keep myself from responding with the retort that wants to break free. “Would like to come in, Officer Jackson?”
Satisfaction spreads across his face knowing that he does indeed have the upper hand here. “Why, thank you. I would most definitely like to come in and look around the old place. I have too many fond memories in this home.”
I am about to open the door and let him follow me in when another car door slamming catches both our attention.
Officer Jackson turns to look as I peer around him, seeing Alan walking up my driveway smiling wide.
Fear like I’ve not known in over five years courses through my body, causing my head to spin.
What is he doing here? Did he follow me home?
If not, how does he know where I live? How the fuck am I going to get out of this shitshow?
All these thoughts run through my head as this man I do not know makes his way up my stairs, kissing me on the side of the head before turning to Officer Jackson.
“Officer, it’s so good to see you again,” Alan says, holding his hand out to the asshole in front of us.
“Mr. Davis, how are you doing today?” he answers with surprise written all over his face.
“I’m doing well. Just stopped to make sure my date for the evening made it home safely,” Alan says without missing a beat.
The shock on Officer Jackson’s face is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. “Date? Does your father know about this? Ms. Loretta isn’t exactly in your circle.”
“My father has nothing to do with this.” Alan glares at the man. “Now if you will excuse us. I would like to get her inside to rest for tonight’s date.”
I stand there entirely too fucking stunted to speak or react.
To say I have no damn idea what just happened here is an understatement.
Officer Jackson gives Alan a tight nod before leaving to go back to his car.
We stand there with Alan’s arm around my shoulders watching him leave like an old married couple.
He gets in his car and squeals tires as he pulls away.
As soon as he is gone, I nearly throw myself off the porch to get away from this man.
“What’re you doing here?” I demand, leveling a glare at him.
He looks shocked before he crosses his arms over his chest, matching me. “I was helping you. The asshole left, didn’t he?”
I wave a hand, cutting him off. “I don’t care. How did you find out where I live?”
He shrugs. “It’s not very hard to find things out when you know who to ask.”
“Go.” I point toward his car. “Thank you for your help, but I want you to leave.”
The darkness that seems to always be just below the surface appears, and he moves closer to me with his eyes narrowed. “I just stepped in and helped you, and now you’re telling me to leave like I mean nothing?”
His words hit me like gunfire. Like he means nothing? He does mean nothing. I don’t know him.
“Please just go. I’m too tired and weirded out by this for you to be here,” I state, dropping my shoulders and wrapping my arms around myself.
He reaches out to touch me but stops when someone calls out from the sidewalk. This time my body fills with heat and frustration, but the most shocking to me is the feeling of calm.
“Hey, is everything okay?”
I look over and find the mysterious man from the diner in workout shorts, tennis shoes, a sleeveless shirt, and sunglasses watching us.
I’ve never seen him run here before. Hell, I’ve never seen him prior to meeting him last night.
Logically, I know I should be freaked out, but I just can’t with him this close.
It’s as if nothing truly bad could happen to me if he is near.
“Everything is fine,” Alan barks at him, glaring.
The man ignores him, and even behind his glasses, I can feel his eyes on my face. “Are you okay, Blood Rose?”
His calling me that is the straw that breaks the camel's back. I glare between the both of them for a minute then move around Alan, unlock my door, and step through it. Before either can even dream of following me into my home, I slam and lock the door behind me. Once the door is locked, I don’t bother to turn on any lights as I move through the house.
I make it to my room and fall face first on my bed, kicking my shoes off and quickly drifting off to sleep.
Unfortunately, sleep is anything but peaceful.
Dreams—or memories, to be exact—of the night my life finally crashed and burned play on repeat. Something about the man in the shadow sticks with me the next morning, only I cannot figure out what it is.