After the phone call I had a long bath, trying to again suppress the memories of the previous day. I was also highly upset that Lara – the bitch – hadn’t bothered to phone me to see how I’d gotten home.

“Last time I talk to you,” I mumbled under my breath, shaking my head angrily at the image of her smiling face.

I received a few eager texts from my best friend, Blythe, while I got ready for bed.

Blythe: Sorry I haven’t got back 2 u. I got laaaaaaaaid last night. The man was an Adonis. Had a six pack. Was pretty creepy, like mafia-type creepy, but OMG drought is over and it was worth it. How was ur night out?! Give me the gossip and pleeeeease tell me u got lucky 2 xx

Me: Congrats on getting laid. =D At least fortune smiled on one of us last night!!!

Blythe: You don’t sound like ur normal self. Are you alright?

Me: Splendid.

Blythe: ??

Me: Lara flaked out on me. Used me as a way to get out of the house.

Blythe: Bitch.

Me: Definitely.

Blythe: We should egg her fancy Ferrari.

Me: It’s a Lamborghini actually.

Blythe: Super bitch.

Me: Tell me about it.

Blythe: Well I would never use you, babe. If I see her face, I’ll stick a fork in her eye for you okay?

Me: Sweet. Make sure it’s both eyes tho just in case she’s a resilient little bitch. I’m going to bed now. See you at paradise tomorrow <3

I wrapped myself up in my covers and waited for sleep to take me. Though I was dead tired, I tossed and turned until midnight, thinking of the alleyway and Borden’s face. At one point, I got out of bed and went to the window. I peered out through the blinds, scanning the streets, looking for Hawke’s dark car parked anywhere nearby. When there was nothing, I returned to bed and finally passed out into a long dream about a dangerous man.

I saw his lips.

Saw his eyes.

Saw the dark look on his face.

My mind tormented me with flashes of him, of how scary and beautiful he was, until my body was a mixture of fear and arousal.

And then I awoke, mortified I’d been dreaming about a sick man who could have easily snapped my neck in two.

Nine

Emma

The diner was unusually busy all of Monday morning. Along with the other two waitresses, Blythe and Tessa, I had to skip my first break. None of us were pleased.

As usual, Denny the Dick, our bipolar asshole boss and owner of the diner, had locked himself up in his office the whole day. He sat in front of his computer and pretended to be busy with “work”, but the last time I checked, jacking off to orgies in his office wasn’t something you got paid for. The lazy ass pretty much just left us to fend for ourselves and the kitchen was none too pleased about it either.

And on that case, how hard is it to clear your web history? Or even clean up your freaking keyboard when you were done? There were things on there so old I was sure they could rival the dinosaur age. Fucking yuck.

It was only after lunch that we realized there was a school holiday and that was why we’d seen so many children and parents coming through. We usually did really well with the regulars, and they were extra patient with us when the place had picked up the pace. The food was standard, nothing special, and the environment was welcoming enough. It was a good place of employment for the time being, especially having great staff to work with.

“You’re looking exceptionally beautiful today,” said a regular, John, with a broad smile on his wrinkly old face after I’d stopped by to get his order.

“Thank you, John,” I said, offering him the brightest smile I could muster. I was still a little out of it, especially after my unsettling dreams, but the normalcy of the day was helping.

“Has a lucky man scooped you off your feet yet, sugar?”

I sighed, trying to be patient with today’s round of questions. He usually asked the same ones over and over again, and I wondered if he even realized that.

“Not lately,” I forced out. “So did you want the usual? Ham sandwich and a coffee?”

“Sure,” he replied, his eyes gazing up and down my body. John was a seedy old bastard, and you can’t go through life as a waitress without bumping into one of those at least once. It was with great luck mine had to be a regular. “Shame, such a shame. You know, if you ever need a good greasing” –he winked– “I’m here for you.”

I clamped my mouth shut hard for a moment, fighting the nausea swimming up my throat. I managed a stiff smile. “Will definitely consider that, John, thank you.”

I turned away from him and my smile instantly fell. What in the actual fuck? Did a sixty something year old just offer to grease me?

“You okay?” Blythe asked, catching my bewildered look.

“I shouldn’t have stopped by John’s table,” I simply responded.

She cringed. “Did he offer to butter your buns like he did with me last week?”

“No, he offered to grease me, and that was after a creepy wink.”

“Oh, yeah, the winks are always the creepiest.”

“I’m taking my break,” Tessa cut in, fanning her face.

We nodded at her. This was the usual. Tessa took the first break between us. She was in her mid-forties, and surprisingly faster than Blythe and me combined. Off work, she had a never ending supply of drama in her life being a single mom with a run of shit boyfriends. Despite all that though, she was still a romantic and I envied her for it.

Blythe, on the other hand, was the talker. Only a year older than me at twenty four, she looked like twenty and had an incredibly athletic body to die for and a beautiful wholesome face. It took only a few dirty jokes from her and we bonded very quickly and became the best of friends.

“You’re going to have to fill me in on Lara the bitch,” Blythe told me as we passed one another.

“Definitely will,” I replied.

“I want every detail of that night.”

I nodded again. Definitely not. I told her everything, sure, but there were certain things that must be omitted. I didn’t want her knowing about Borden. The less she knew about a particular danger, the better. Not that he was any danger to me or anything. It happened, and I was pretty certain that was the end of that.

I let her have the second break when Tessa returned, but by this point the diner had finally settled down immensely and the tables were no longer packed.

“You need a ride tonight?” Tessa asked after we’d served everyone their meals.