Less than thirty minutes later, Dominic pulled the car into an empty spot, causing me to ground my teeth together as my body jerked from the force of his stop.
I shot a glare his way, which he either didn’t notice or ignored.
We were parked in front of a small diner called Lil’s Café. The outside was all brick, with three steps leading up to the front door. Only a handful of cars were parked in the makeshift parking lot.
“Why did it have to be here?” Dominic said, a slight whine to his voice. “The food is good, but if Ace wants you to not be seen, this place is certainly not the place to go. Does he have any idea what kind of people come here?”
“What kind of people?”
“His kind,” he answered. “I’ll explain when we get back. Come on. Let’s get this over with. Zevon should be here soon.”
I followed him out of the car and, when I shut the door, he pushed the button to lock them. He was quick to help escort me inside. The windows gave little light into the building, so the lights were on as bright as possible.
There was plenty of seating at the bar and at tables scattered about. A huge mirror hung on the far wall behind the bar area. The kitchen was through an open doorway where three cooks were busy frying and cooking food.
Dominic led me to an empty seat in the corner by the window. Menus were already set out. He let me slide into the worn brown booth before scooting in beside me.
“I’m surprised we beat Zevon here,” he mused, picking up the menu. “By the way, I’d go with the burger and fries. The hamburgers here are to die for.”
“If you say so,” I said as a waitress arrived.
“What can I get you two today?” she asked, her eyes taking in the guy beside me as if she wanted to eat him.
“Just water for now. We have two more people joining us in a few,” he said, giving her a small smile before turning away from her.
She mumbled something before leaving.
“So what has Zevon been up to?” I asked.
“No clue,” he shrugged. “I haven’t asked, and don’t really care. He’s not at the house so…yeah.”
Why did I feel like he wasn’t telling me the truth? I felt defeated all of a sudden, and not entirely sure why. I didn’t feel like we should be here.
Looking around at who else were here, no one was paying any attention to the two of us back here in the corner. The few people that were in here sat eating their food and looking at their phones.
“Zevon just pulled in,” Dominic muttered. I looked over at him, seeing his eyes were glued to out in the parking lot.
“I hope this doesn’t take long,” I sighed.
“Same here.” It seemed like he wanted to say more, but refrained from doing so.
A cold sweat began to coat my skin as the Zevon entered the café. He nodded to the waitress before spotting us and making his way over. His eyes took in everyone on his way. His thin black shirt had yet another old band name on the front, this one I’d actually heard of.
“Hey,” he said in greeting, sliding into the opposite booth. He scooted all the way over to the window, right across from me. “How are you two doing?”
“Fine,” I said, dropping my eyes to the table.
“Why did Ace make us come to this one?” Dominic said, his voice low. “I don’t like it.”
“I chose this place,” Zevon answered, getting comfortable. “That guy at the bar is looking. So, just play along if he comes over.”
“No way!” Dominic hissed. “Are you trying to get us killed?”
“No,” Zevon laughed. “Doing the job I was told to do.”
“Which would be what?” I asked, peeking up at him.
“Finding a drug dealer who has disappeared. And that guy over there is my clue.”
