28 - Kayden
~ 28 ~
KAYDEN
“Service!”
I slid the tray of filet mignon skewers onto the counter, just as the tiny blonde server arrived with an empty one. Dorothea, I think her name was. She looked nervous as hell, as if she’d taken a job she regretted and couldn’t see a way out of it. In that respect, I sympathized with her. We traded quickly, and I went straight back to work.
“Kayden…”
Evelyn sidled up to me, invading my space as usual. She was too busy to flirt, though. Raif had been through here like a tornado, twice so far, and at one point had ripped her a new one about something. Now she just looked angry and annoyed. Not at me, of course, but definitely about something.
“They want more of this,” she pointed. “And less of that.”
“Check.”
“Do you have enough?”
“I should,” I told her. “I’ll need to check the pantry.”
She nodded, holding onto my shoulder as she leaned forward over the sauce pan I had going on the stove. The Alfredo was thickening, but still not ready. She took a whiff.
“Do it then,” she said. “I’m not promising them anything until we know.”
I stepped back as she left the room, pointing with my spoon for Bishop to take over my station. He looked frazzled already, and we were just getting started.
“Is she here yet?” I growled.
He looked over his shoulder and shook his head.
“You haven’t seen her?” I implored him. “Where the fuck is she?”
“Your guess is as good as—”
At that moment, Jocelyn hurried in, her face as white as if she’d seen a ghost. Relief flooded through me, followed by anger as I thrust the spoon into Bishop’s hand.
“Watch it carefully,” I warned. “And don’t stop stirring it.”
She made it halfway to whatever she was doing by the time I intercepted her. Grabbing her by the wrist, I pulled her into the pantry and closed the door violently behind us.
“Ummm… hi.”
The slam of the door resonated, then faded, divorcing us from the chaos outside. Jocelyn stared back at me, knowing exactly what I was about to say. But there was defiance in those hazel eyes too.
“I… I just can’t believe it,” I said sharply. “When Bishop told me you’d talked your way back here, I thought he was fucking around. And then sure enough, you’re on the roster. Andre confirmed it. And now you’re tying on an apron, like you’re about to help with the dinner rush at the Oakwood Diner.”
“The Oakwood Diner’s been closed forever,” she noted.
I threw up my arms. “Jocelyn, you’re going to get yourself killed!” I practically shouted. “These people aren’t playing around. You don’t know them. You don’t realize what’ll happen to you, if they suspect even the slightest thing is off about this.”
“I know,” she said apologetically. “And I’m sorry. To an extent.”
“To an extent? ” My blood was boiling.
“Coming back here the first time was a mistake,” she acknowledged, “but so was not telling me anything. The three of you had all week to tell me what was going on. You kept me completely in the dark.”
“You should still be in the dark,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, well I’m not. I’m here to help, and you need to accept it,” she said fiercely. “So stop pouting, and stop treating me like a child. You’re only a chef, remember? A chef in a world of millionaire mercenary captains.”
That took me aback. Mostly because of her vehemence, but also because she was right.
“You’re playing along on this, just like I am,” she went on. “We’re both trusting in Bishop and Andre. We’re putting our lives in their hands, regardless of whether you like it or not.”
She paused, then looked at me scornfully.
“Or maybe you were too busy fucking around with Evelyn to realize all this?”
The look on Jocelyn’s face was unlike anything I’d seen before. She wasn’t angry, she was hurt. Hurt and miserable and still trying to help. My anger drained. Maybe leaving her out of the loop had been a mistake.
But it was just one of the many mistakes I’d been making lately.
“Look,” I said. “What you saw with Evelyn…”
“Meant nothing, right?” she lashed out. “Yeah, sure. I know. The guys already told me.”
“But you don’t believe me.”
“I believe what I saw, Kayden. In the pool. Just a few hours ago.” She folded her arms tightly. “Everything’s so serious and on fucking schedule here, you had time for a swim?”
“I’m working her,” I shot back.
“Looks like it.”
She looked strikingly beautiful, so fearsome and angry. Maybe even more beautiful that way.
“Jocelyn, listen to me,” I pleaded. “We’ve learned more in the last few hours than in the past couple of months. Thanks to Evelyn’s big mouth, I know when the Founders are getting here. One’s already here, in fact.”
“Yes. Victor.”
I blinked back at her in bewilderment. “How do you know that?”
“Because I ran into him. Literally.”
A sick feeling stole over me, making my stomach instantly queasy. This was Jocelyn! Somehow she was here, in the midst of danger, despite everything we’d done. And now she’d made contact with Victor Knox.
And it was all because we’d brought her here.
I thought of Jason, and what he would do to us if anything happened to her. But it went well beyond that. I knew I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to her. And I knew in my heart, neither could the others.
“What happened?” I asked quickly. “What did he say?”
“Not much, really.”
I put my hands on either side of my head and squeezed. “Did he suspect anything?”
“No, I don’t think so,” she replied. “He was nice enough, I guess.”
“Nice enough?”
She shrugged. “I think he likes me. Maybe.”
A muffled cacophony of noises made their way through the door. In the chaos of the kitchen, I thought I heard someone shouting my name.
“I have to get back,” I urged. “I’m sure Bishop’s already burned the sauce by now.”
“No, we have to get back,” Jocelyn corrected me. “We’re both in the same boat, remember?”
Jocelyn was staring up at me now, surprisingly calm and cool. I was all full of nervous energy, shifting from one foot to the other. I couldn’t believe we’d gotten her into this! My blood pressure was so high I could feel my whole body throbbing. My shoulders felt like high tension lines, being pulled past their breaking point.
“Please, just stay away from Victor Knox,” I told her. “Whatever you do, you need to avoid him.”
Jocelyn bit her lip and nodded. “Okay.”
My hands reached out to grasp her by the shoulders. Her arms felt warm, strong, steady.
“I love you too much to let anything happen to you,” I told her. “And I won’t. Ever.”
Her expression softened. That beautiful, laughing face I’d seen a thousand times before was now deep with sincerity.
“I know you won’t,” she choked, hugging me.
She pressed her face against my chest, just as there was a series of rapid knocks at the pantry door.
“And I love you too.”