Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
ATLAS
I’ll see you very soon. You’re mine.
There was another note. It was the same cutesy, looped handwriting. This time, the stalker was back to his usual tricks of leaving the message on a receipt at one of my tables during a busy Sunday brunch rush.
I’d gotten a dozen of these messages before, and a part of me still thought this was some kind of sick joke someone in town was playing, but it still shook me up.
The message was ominous, and I couldn’t stop the feeling that every single one of my moves was being watched. It felt…violating.
The dining area was swarming with people, and any one of them could be the sicko who left this note. I knew I should put my smile back on and get to work, but I just couldn’t do it right now. I needed to get out of there.
I glimpsed Becca’s worried expression as I weaved through the busy room to make my escape. Mae, who was sitting at one of my tables, called out to me too, asking if I was okay, but I couldn’t pay her any mind. I had to find someplace safe.
It was obvious where I felt the safest—with Hector—but I didn’t want to bother him either since he currently had his hands full with a long list of orders he needed to make.
Still, I found my way into the kitchen, feeling slightly better simply by being in his proximity. It wasn’t enough.
I still felt too exposed.
I tried to sneak past him into the back, but he caught sight of me. Hector called something my way. I didn’t really hear him. I think I tried to yell reassuring words back, but I couldn’t really be sure.
My body was on autopilot. I wasn’t even fully aware of where I was heading until a cold blast of air hit me in the face and I was shrouded in darkness.
Yes, this was the safest place right now.
The walk-in freezer only had one entrance, and I was certain Hector wouldn’t let anyone find me in here.
With not a single light on, nobody could see me.
Nobody could watch me. And that was the only reason I was able to take deep, chilly breaths of air to regulate my emotions.
A couple of breaths later, the door of the walk-in freezer opened. I froze, relaxing when I saw it was Hector. He flicked on the light before letting the door fall closed.
“Are you okay? Did something happen?” he asked and walked over to me, arms open.
I crashed into him, finally feeling like nobody could get to me now with Hector protecting me. I was an idiot thinking that I could solve this alone. I was in a perfectly safe space surrounded by people who I knew had my back, but here I was, still having a panic attack.
Hector lifted my face and furrowed his brow at what he saw. I hadn’t realized I was crying until he used his thumb to wipe the liquid from my cheeks.
“What happened? Did somebody hurt you?” he asked, voice stony, like he was about to raise hell if someone had made me this way. The sheer seriousness in his tone had me choking out a sound that was a mix between a laugh and a sigh of relief.
One sentence from him was all that was needed to calm me down. I pressed a kiss to his lips. He happily accepted it and deepened the kiss until the only thing I could think about was him.
The air was icy around us, but my body was warmed by Hector holding me and breathing stability back into me.
When we parted, he wiped the rest of the tear tracks from my cheeks. I couldn’t stop smiling even if I’d wanted to.
“What happened?” he asked. His thumb was still rubbing the area under my eye. The callouses didn’t hurt, but the roughness stationed me in this moment with him. I was safe.
“I’ll tell you later. We should get back to work. It’s packed out there,” I replied and tried to detangle myself from him, but I wasn’t successful.
“They can wait. You’re what’s important right now. Nothing else matters.”
If I were anyone else, I might be shocked to hear him say that. From the outside looking in, they would think The Diner was everything to Hector. It was his top priority.
Getting to know him meant I learned it wasn’t The Diner that was important. It was the space he created that gave anyone who came a safety blanket they might not be able to find anywhere else. Of being the place someone could go to late in the night when they had no other options.
All Hector really cared about was people. He cared about the people in his town more than he let on, and I loved being included with those he considered his to protect.
Maybe it was time I stopped feeling bad about accepting his help and got it into my head that I was lucky I didn’t have to do this alone.
I held out my balled fist and unfurled it to show him the note. Hector tensed as soon as he saw it. He didn’t need me to tell him what it was.
The receipt it was written on was crumpled into a ball, so he carefully smoothed it out. His face was hard as stone as he read it quickly. I closed my eyes and repeated the note in my head.
Seven tiny words, and it was enough to send a chill down my spine.
“I’m going to kill him when I find out who this fucker is.
I’ll give them a real reason to send me to prison,” Hector hissed.
He usually wasn’t one to show his emotions so plainly, but now his rage was in full view.
He was angrier than I’d ever seen him before, seething as he glared at the note like he wanted to tear the thing apart.
“No, you’re not,” I said and cupped his cheek. He caught my eye, and I kissed him. Some of the fury melted from him. “What scares me more than this stalker is the thought of losing you.”
Hector sighed and crumpled up the note once more. “No, you’re right. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I didn’t mean to get violent.”
“You? Scare me? You could never scare me,” I told him, hugging him so my chin rested on his shoulder. “You’re a giant teddy bear, and nothing could convince me otherwise.”
Hector’s deep rumble echoed in the tiny freezer. It was awkward, like he was unused to laughing. I was going to change that.
“We should close for the rest of the day and call Clay over. I’ll pull up the tape, and maybe we can finally catch this damn stalker.”
Hector moved to leave the freezer, looking like he was going to do just as he said, but I pulled him back.
“Wait, stop. We’re not closing the diner,” I said adamantly. Hector looked like he wanted to argue, but I was faster. “We’re not closing, Hector. Whoever left the note is probably long gone by now. Waiting until after the rush isn’t going to hurt.”
“But—”
“I don’t want to be a burden.”
The simple statement stopped him in his tracks. He let out a long sigh, but nodded in the end.
“Thank you,” I said softly. I knew he was worried about me and trying to protect me, but I appreciated him understanding my need not to feel like I was making his life more difficult.
“We should get back out there.” Just as the words left my mouth, the walk-in freezer’s door opened, and Becca appeared with worry on her face.
“Everything alright?” she asked and glanced between Hector and me.
Hector looked at me and let me take the lead. There still weren’t a lot of people who knew about the situation. I’d met up with Sam for lunch the other day to tell him what was going on. He was horrified for me, which was to be expected, and promised to help me keep an eye out.
With my permission, he told the others, who had all visited the diner to tell me privately that they had my back and would do their best to help catch the guy.
Maybe it was time to tell Becca too. I’d gotten to know her well from working with her, and I trusted her. But not right now, when people were still waiting for their food.
“Yeah, it will be,” I answered her. Knowing that I had people on my side, watching my back, made it feel like things really would be okay.
We all returned to work. Hector went back to making the food, and Becca and I braved the dining room full of curious gazes. Nobody complained about our sudden disappearance, but there were some worried inquiries shot our way.
I knew part of it was them being nosy townsfolk, hoping to catch the latest news, but I also had no doubt that they cared.
That was just how small towns were. There were definitely downsides to everyone being in your business, but it was a small price for community, at least that was what Aunt Polly had always told me.
She thrived on small-town life. Though I guess I wasn’t too different from her.
When I reached Mae’s table, she pulled my hand into hers and patted the back of it. “You let me know if you need anything, okay, dear? If I can’t help, I’ll send my son over,” she said seriously.
I laughed and thanked her. Her son Ryan was dating Jones and already knew about the situation. Based on her reaction, I doubted he’d told her what was going on.
The rest of the morning rush finished with me going between helping up front and assisting Hector in the kitchen, at least as much as I could.
I wasn’t the best cook, and there were a lot of things I couldn’t help with in the kitchen.
Hector was in his element cooking, but by the end of the rush, even he looked worn out.
Maybe he was able to handle doing everything himself in the past, but things were different now with business picking up at the diner.
I’d try again to convince him to hire another chef. I knew he wasn’t reluctant because of the money. He’d tried to increase my wages again for the second time this year, so if he had the funds to do that, I’d rather he hire another person to make his life easier.
While Becca and I finished cleaning up and resetting after the rush, Hector ran upstairs. It wasn’t long before he was back downstairs with a piece of paper that he taped to the front door before locking it.
Becca stopped her napkin folding, stood, and placed her hand on her hip. “Will you boys finally tell me what in tarnation is going on here?”
Hector and I exchanged gazes. I let a smile slip at seeing Hector have someone his age call him “boy,” although it seemed neither of us was going to correct her.
“We’re closing for the rest of the day,” Hector stated. He gazed toward me, asking for permission, and I nodded. “Have a seat, Becca. There’s something we need to tell you.”