Smoothing out her polo shirt, she pulled it in such a way that the knife couldn't be seen. From what little she had seen in the Riverstone Pack, wolf shifters, especially the bigger ones, had the same amount of thrust as a handheld battering ram. "All right then. I'll stay for now, but you need to understand something."
He lowered his hand, waiting for her to finish.
"I don't want to talk about how I escaped. If remaining here means I have to tell you how I got away from the pack that turned me, I will run and next time, I swear to you, wolf shifter or not, you will not be able to catch me."
At least he had the courtesy to not laugh at her threat. "Fair enough."
He turned, motioning her to walk beside him.
Another attempt to prove she could trust him? She wasn't quite ready to do that. Once inside, Kellen directed her over to the same table where they had sat earlier and pulled out the chair for her.
As soon as she did, a middle-aged Black woman with thick braids wrapped around her head, and wearing the bar's uniform, pounced on them.
"Kellen, for all the love in heaven and earth, please tell me this is your new hire."
Kellen looked up and graced her with a casual smile. "Carlie, this is Maria, our new hire. She's going to shadow you for the next couple of days."
"Oh, thank heavens." Carlie plopped herself down into another chair opposite Samara, two braids that hung loose bouncing along with the rest of her. "I don't mind working an extra shift here and there, but I've been doing that for the past week. My feet are killing me."
Kellen covered her hand with his and gave it a squeeze. "I'll buy a foot massager for the break room."
"Really?" Carlie looked up at him, eyes wide with hope.
Kellen laughed. "You know you can talk me into anything."
Smiling, Carlie popped out of the chair. Before she did, she leaned close to Samara and whispered in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "This is why I stay here. The boss is the best."
Out of the corner of her eye, Samara saw Kellen shake his head and roll his eyes.
"Ass-kissing much?" Samara commented once she was sure Carlie was beyond hearing distance.
"Carlie was my first hire thirty years ago. I've watched her grow up, get married, and have kids. I'll do what's right by her and if that means buying a foot massager, then that's what I'm going to do."
Sweet, but she still wasn’t ready to allow herself to like him yet. Samara found she wasn't comfortable looking directly at Kellen. Part of her wanted to because he was hotter than the sun at noon in the middle of the desert in summer, but looking him in the eyes was a level of trust she still hadn't reached yet. Instead, she watched the lunch crowd stream through the doors, Carlie getting the other waitstaff organized as they showed customers to their seats. A few of the guests waved to Kellen or shouted a greeting. He answered each in kind. Every moment she spent with him made it harder not to like him.
"You know everyone in this town." Samara watched the restaurant fill quickly and efficiently with Carlie in charge. "Your food must have a five-star reputation."
He turned back to her. "It's a small place. Most of my waitstaff knows everyone as well. I pay them to give quality service and that's what my customers get. We get tourists as well, but most of them become repeat customers while they’re in town."
The phrases 'pay well' and 'waitstaff' weren't usually used in the same sentence. She needed the money so bad, she hadn't even thought about how much she would make per hour. Just as long as she made enough to get out of town in a few weeks or so with a sack full of food, which was all she needed.
"Maria."
She knew that tone of voice. It was the same one her mother had used when she knew her daughter was about to get up to no good. Delaying the inevitable was pointless, so she waited for Kellen to ask the first question.
"I promised I wouldn't ask you to tell me how you escaped, but you have to give me some background. It’s not normal for a pack to drive off a wolf shifter, especially one they created. If there is even a chance that those who are chasing you will threaten my friends or any of the humans here, I need to know now so we can prepare."
"We?"
The tightness around his eyes and forehead made it clear that his patience had reached its limit. "Yes, 'we', and you're stalling again."
"I hope there's a lot of you because Riverstone Pack will mow this town over if they even get a whiff of my trail."
"Riverstone." Kellen bolted upright.
"Yes."
He opened his mouth then closed it. She could tell he wanted to ask, no demand, that she tell him how she got away, but he had made a promise not to, and she would hold him to it. Her cooperation depended on him keeping that promise, but he had the right to protect this town he called home.
