Chapter 2
2
T heresa tucked her telephone back into her apron and took a deep breath. It was stupid to think she could hide for long. She'd let her guard down a little bit. She'd been here six months, and she felt pretty safe, but things were starting to fall in on her.
She looked up and saw Marco watching her. She tried to smile. She knew it didn't reach her eyes, but right now, she was trying to process it all. Was she scared? Fuck yeah, she was scared. Did she know how bad this was? Well, possibly. They'd threatened her. She should have made sure she had better protection before she released that exposé. Now it was out there, so it was too late. And now she was having to worry about protection on the fly.
Maybe she'd ask Jace for a couple of days off, kind of lay low. And she'd probably have to get a new phone since they seemed to have found her number. Fuck. Just when she thought things were going all right.
She picked up the tray of ketchup containers and put them into the walk-in cooler. As she stepped out, Marco stood leaning against the table, his arms crossed, which was a nice sight. He had beefy, big arms. He was built, and strong. She always knew that about him. She enjoyed watching him work at the stove. For a bigger man, he made his job look effortless. He was nimble and quick. He could manage thirty-six steaks on the grill and get them all done to perfection. It was like he had a weird sense about him with that.
But she'd enjoyed him from afar. And sadly, that's where it would have to stay. She brought too much trouble with her. She couldn't bring it to Marco. It wasn't fair to him.
Her phone chimed again. This time it signaled a text. Her fingers rubbed her brow, and she decided to ignore it. But it chimed again. She lifted her head and let out a deep breath and saw Marco watching her.
"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked her.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, it's okay. It's just some shit at home."
"Anything that I can help with?"
He had a nice smile. His eyes were sincere. Beautiful brown eyes. His hair had a slight wave to it. She wondered if he knew how many women were jealous of that beautiful wavy hair he had. He probably didn't. Men seemed to effortlessly get long eyelashes and beautiful hair. What the hell? Women paid thousands of dollars for stuff like that.
"Yeah, it's okay. It's okay. I'll be all right."
He came closer to her, and she held her breath. Up close, he was bigger, more imposing. Damn it, more attractive.
"You seem like you're trying to talk yourself into thinking that you're all right, not that you’re actually all right. So, I'll just leave you with this. I'm here. I'm perfectly capable of helping you with anything that you need help with. All you need to do is let me in."
She took a deep breath and pressed her lips together. "Thank you, Marco. I'll let you know if I need anything. This is just a... well, I don't know what it is right now, so I guess there's really no need in us getting worked up over it."
"Okay, just letting you know. I'm here."
"Thank you."
She skirted around him and went out to the restaurant area. She had already pulled the mustard containers off the tables. She had put them on a tray. She picked up the tray and carried it into the kitchen. The condiment station was directly behind where Marco cooked, and she began refilling the mustard bottles and wiping them all down. They'd be all fresh and clean tomorrow. She liked starting out the day with everything fresh and clean, not having to clean up from last night's mess. Plus, Jace and Margo insisted everything be cleaned up at the end of the day.
She could hear Marco behind her. He always did an inventory at night before he left what was in the cooler and what he'd need for the next day. He looked over his menu and wrote Jace a note with needed food items.
Jace walked in. "There you two are. Glad I caught you before you left. Great job tonight. Great job. Everybody raved about the food, Marco. Once again, as always, you've knocked it out of the park. Margo and I are thrilled to have you here on board with us."
Margo entered the kitchen just as Jace had mentioned her name. She grinned. She simply nodded at Marco and smiled.
Margo turned her head and smiled at Theresa. "Theresa, great job. You managed to get those tables turned quickly. The way you handled the staff is amazing. We completely appreciate everything that you do. Thank you so much. It looks like you've got Kelsey all up to speed. She was doing a good job tonight. Thank you for training her. We appreciate you two very much."
Theresa smiled. "Thank you. I appreciate knowing that. I thought tonight went really well. And Kelsey's doing a great job. Ashley and Krystal are doing well also. And Kacen's coming along too. So, I think we've got a good staff here. Are you still looking for one more?"
Jace nodded. "Yeah. Margo's got some interviews tomorrow, don't you, hon?"
"I do. And I think a couple of them are promising, so we should have some help for the season. Unfortunately, it's a busy time to train someone, but I guess there's nothing like a baptism by fire, right?"
Theresa chuckled. "That's right. Baptism by fire. I love that."
Jace put his arm around Margo and squeezed her. "All right. Well, we're about to head out. How about you guys? You ready to go?"
Theresa nodded. "I'm ready to go."
Marco replied, "Yep. Just heading out myself. I have my note to you here, but nothing earth-shattering, so you can read it tomorrow. I'll lock up the back door here."
She watched him saunter to the back door and twist the lock. He tried the handle to make sure the lock caught. It was amazing how much she enjoyed watching him. For a big man, he seemed almost like a ballerina, which would probably piss him off to hear. A former SEAL probably didn't care to be likened to a ballerina. But his movements were fluid.
He turned to look at the three of them watching him and nodded. "I'll catch the lights here."
She turned and followed Jace and Margo out of the kitchen and into the dining room. The dining room had already been locked up, which she did before she began cleaning and organizing. The lights were off, the only ones illuminating the room were the night lights and bar lights. She glanced around it one last time before she left for the night. When she got back here tomorrow, it would already be messed up from the early lunch crowd. It gave her a sense of accomplishment seeing that she'd been instrumental in reorganizing and cleaning up the mess from the huge crowds they'd had here tonight. She usually let the other wait staff go home after they'd cleaned up their assigned areas. She enjoyed spending time alone here, working on her own after having so much to do during her shift. It was a bit of downtime before going home and climbing into bed.
She could feel Marco approach from behind her. She just knew he was there. He was quiet as a mouse, but she could sense him. The four of them strode to the pantry area behind the office and out the employee exit. Jace had his keys handy. He turned and locked the doors, as they all walked to their respective vehicles parked close by.
She got into her car with a quick glance at Marco. Tonight, she was glad to not walk to her car alone. If the texts were accurate, they may have found her here, and she'd have to leave soon. That weighed her heart down. She liked it here. She enjoyed her job, even though it wasn't the job she'd trained for. It was a good job with good people.
She noticed Marco watching her. She nodded slightly as he asked. "You sure you're okay?"
Her eyes glistened and her nose tingled. When had anybody cared for her like this?
She sniffed, "Ah, yes, I'm good. Thank you, though. Thank you."
She hurried to get into her car before she actually broke down in tears. Letting out a huff of breath she whispered to herself. "I'm just tired. That's all it is."
She started her car. Marco got into his vehicle, which was parked right next to hers, and Jace and Margo got into theirs. She backed away from her parking space first and noticed that Marco followed behind her.
She left the Sandbar parking lot and headed left on Sunset Beach Road. She turned right on Main Street and left on Hospital Drive and noticed that Marco was still behind her. Her brows furrowed together. She thought he had purchased a condo over at the barracks. He should have gone straight on Main Street. So why was he following her home?
She increased her speed a little bit but thought better of it. She didn't want to get a ticket, so she slowed once more and navigated Hospital Road carefully. It was dark out. There were deer, dogs, and other creatures outside. She didn't want to hit an animal, or God forbid, a human. At Hospital Road, she made a sharp right to turn onto End of Town Road. She rented a little house at the end of it. She had liked it until now. Now she second-guessed her decision to move out here. It seemed desolate. Not enough neighbors around. And it was dark out here. They didn't even have streetlights on the road. Maybe tomorrow she'd look for something in town. Maybe it wouldn't be long, and she'd have to leave town. Or maybe she needed to begin making plans to leave soon.
That made her heart feel heavy once more and tears threatened again.