“Dogs okay, ma’am?” Gina asked, putting a little Texas twang into her voice.
“Long as she don’t bite.”
“Only really good cheeseburgers.”
The waitress laughed. “She’s fine then.”
Gina chose a table that would let her watch her car in the motel parking lot. Old habit, and a good one. Fleur curled up at her feet.
“Coffee? Coke-cola?”
“Coffee, please,” Gina answered with a smile. “Just black. And I think we’ll both have a cheeseburger and I’ll have fries with mine. Plain and no bun for Ginger here.”
The waitress walked over with a carafe. Gina read her nametag. Doris. “Maybe she wants two patties?”
“Yeah, that would be great, thanks. Oh, and can you make a second order to go? Same thing.” She turned over the upside-down coffee mug on the table.
Doris filled the mug. “Long road trip?”
“All the way to Amarillo. Don’t really want to stop in Albuquerque. By the time I get back on the road, it’ll be rush hour.”
“I hear you. I’ll get Jeff on your food right away, hun.”
“Thanks.” She sipped her coffee and listened to the old-school country music playing over the speakers. Tom T. Hall, a favorite of hers. The man could pack an entire novel into a two-minute song.
“Here you go,” Doris said as she set two plates and a bowl of water on the table. “Jeff’ll start on your to-go order in a few minutes so it’s maybe still warm just before Albuquerque.”
“Aw, what a sweetie. Did he pick out the music?” She pointed at the ceiling.
“Sure did, hun.”
“Tell him thanks for both the food and the music.” Gina set Fleur’s plate and water bowl down and the dog dove in happily while Gina took her first bite.
“Mmm.”Definitely worth the stop.
She was done with her burger and halfway through her fries when the black SUV pulled into the motel’s gravel lot and parked beside her car. Gina’s hackles rose. There were plenty of spots closer to the lobby door; why choose the one next to her car?
Two men got out. The driver headed for the motel lobby. She studied his build and how he moved. The other lit a cigarette, stood next to his door, and studied the white car beside him. Gina went through a mental inventory of what she’d left in the car and what she had with her in the backpack on the seat beside her. All her paperwork, currency, phone, a couple strategic changes of clothes, Swiss Army knife, and her gun and ammo. She watched him stumble and catch himself on the car as his cigarette fell just behind her front tire. He swooped to pick it up.
She knew that maneuver well. He had just tagged her car with a tracking device and shot a specialized nail into the front tire. A slow leak or blowout that would have had her at their mercy about ten miles out of town. Except she was right across the street.
Stupid.
She recognized the men from their movements, too. They were two of The Repair Shop’s best.
The driver walked back outside and nodded to his companion. Then, they got in the SUV. They pulled to the edge of the motel parking lot and aimed the SUV straight at the diner. The helpful receptionist must have seen her walk to the diner and told them right where to find her.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
“Here’s your to-go, hun.” Doris set a white paper bag beside her elbow along with a receipt. The SUV waited for a pick-up to pass before it pulled into the street.
“Thanks.” Gina checked the counter where the register sat. It looked thick, solid. She handed Doris a hundred-dollar bill. “I know the bill’s only thirty, but can you break it? Keep a twenty for yourself and one for Jeff.”
Doris’ eyes widened. “You sure?”
Gina made a show of looking around the empty dining room as if to sayyou need it. “Absolutely. For the great music and for your trouble.”It won’t be near enough.
“Wow, thanks! I’ll get the rest of your change.”
