Chapter 20
The end of the lunchrush had finally calmed down into something manageable.A few Royalla members stayed in their usual booth.Duke, Rocco, Ring, and two others she didn't know well.But not Baddy.
She hadn't seen him since he left her bed earlier that morning, before the sun came up.
Lydia forced herself to focus on the tables, on the orders Patty barked through the window, on the coffee pot that always seemed to empty the second she filled it.Anything to keep her mind from spiraling.
She delivered a plate of fries with country gravy to Table 4.The second she stepped away from the table, a deafening bang cracked through the diner, sharp enough to rattle her teeth.She jerked toward the sound.The front window shattered inward, glass spraying across the floor like glittering ice.
Lydia froze.
Her brain couldn't process why the window was suddenly gone, why customers were screaming, why the Royalla guys were on their feet.
Then something slammed into her.
Duke.
He tackled her to the floor, covering her with his body as another bang tore through the air.
"Stay down!"he shouted.
Her ears rang.Her heart hammered.She stared at the broken window, at the jagged edges.
"What...was...?"Why couldn't she hear her own voice clearly?
"Someone's shooting up the diner."Duke pressed her lower as another shot cracked outside.
Shooting?
Someone was shooting.
At them.
At her.
Her breath stuttered, panic clawing up her throat.Duke didn't move until the roaring of engines faded and the street quieted.
Only then did he haul her to her feet and shove her toward the kitchen."Go.Now."
The second she stumbled through the swinging door, Hannah grabbed her arm.Madison slammed it shut behind them, her face pale.
"What the hell was that?"Madison whispered.
"Are the police coming?"asked Hannah.
"No," Patty snapped, already grabbing a broom."The faster we clean this up, the less gossip spreads.I'm not letting this ruin my business."
Lydia stared at her like she'd grown a second head."Patty, someone shot at us."
"And we'll deal with it," snapped Patty."But we don't need the cops sniffing around.Not today."
Lydia's hands shook so badly she had to grip the counter to stay upright.Her legs were weak.Her ears still rang from the noise.
No one had to tell her that she brought trouble down on the diner.She had no idea who shot at the building, but knowing Sonny and the assholes he called brothers, she could see Cusclan Motorcycle Club doing something dangerous like trying to kill her, just so Baddy couldn't have her.
The kitchen door burst open.
Baddy stormed in, eyes wild, chest heaving like he'd sprinted the whole way from the compound.He didn't look at anyone else, only her.
