They had to talk.
Really talk about what the hell they were doing, but for now, she preferred to bask in the glow of all the good fortune finally coming her way.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“TWO WEEKS.” ZACH dropped into a seat across the booth from Saint with a disgusted huff. “Two fucking weeks and not a goddamn thing to show for it.” He set a burner phone on the table, then flicked it across the surface, away from himself. “Someone else needs to take this before I lose my mind and Toni has to have me committed.”
Two weeks ago, Zach texted the phone number the laundromat attendant gave them from this burner phone. He’d made it clear who they were in a slick way and demanded a meeting with whoever ran the drug operation happening under their noses.
And it had been crickets since. No text. No sightings of the bikers. No reports of increased drug trafficking in the area.
One would think Zach would be relieved, but he was a suspicious fucker who wouldn’t be satisfied without absolute closure, and that would come in the form of someone’s head on a spike.
“I’ll take it,” Saint said, scooping up the phone. “Maybe they left town. It really could be as simple as that, Zach. If they’re small-time, they can’t risk taking us on. The easiest thing to do is pack up shop and find a new home.”
Zach shook his head. “I know. And you’re right. The simplest solution is usually the right one, but I can’t fucking shake this feeling in the back of my mind that they’re playing a long game.”
Saint lifted his hands. “Hey, I didn’t say I believed they’d gone. Just floating it as an idea.”
Toni wandered over with a full coffee pot. “Hey, guys. I’m guessing you need some caffeine.
“Always.” Saint pushed his mug her way.
“Hey, baby.” Zach stood and quickly kissed his ol’ lady. Toni stepped back from the day-to-day operations of the diner, but she enjoyed hanging out with customers and mingling occasionally. She could usually be found assisting the servers once or twice per week.
Saint had only agreed to meet Zach here because Melody didn’t work on Tuesdays. He’d been avoiding her and the diner like the plague since the scene in front of her house.
“You guys hungry?” Toni asked.
“I’m good with coffee,” Saint said, lifting his mug to his lips.
“Same, baby.”
She looked between them with concerned eyes. “Okay. I’ll let you talk business. Holler if you need me.”
As soon as she reached another table, Zach said, “So you think it’s bullshit too?”
Saint considered before answering, “Yes. Probably. Maybe I’m reading into shit, but I keep thinking if it were me, I wouldn’t be so quick to back off.”
Zach grunted. “This is why we work so well together. We think the same way.”
“So, what’s the plan? I hate sitting around waiting to be caught with our hands on our dicks.” After a week of silence, Copper deemed it safe for Beth to no longer take someone with her everywhere. Well, after a week, Beth demanded Copper call off the babysitter. She and Saint were able to sneak time for each other much more easily when they weren’t worried about whoever had been assigned to tail her that day. Saint signed up for as many of those shifts as he could without raising suspicion, but it wasn’t enough. Since Copper called off the watch team, they’d taken advantage of her newfound freedom, fucking onevery surface of his house and anytime they could slip away for some privacy.
Even though no one had seen or heard from Demo or any of his cronies, Saint, like Zach, apparently couldn’t shake the feeling that they hadn’t seen the last of the assholes. But they were stuck, powerless to do anything if they couldn’t even find the fuckers, and he hated that feeling. Especially when he felt an overwhelming need to keep Beth safe.
“I don’t fucking know,” Zach said, strumming his fingers on the tabletop. He downed his coffee in three gulps and set the mug down with a hard clunk. “I’m gonna go talk to Copper. We need a more proactive approach. I want to start with a thorough search outside of town. I need to do something to set my fucking mind at ease.”
Mine too.
“I went back to the laundromat three days ago.”
Zach’s eyes narrowed. “By your fucking self?”
Shrugging, Saint nodded. “Yeah…. just listen. The same guy sat at the counter, still nervous as fuck, but he pretended he had no fucking idea who I was. I asked for machine thirteen, and he said they didn’t have one. Stuck to that story no matter what I said. Been keeping my eye on the place too. Haven’t seen anyone suspicious come and go.”
“Fuck, I’m afraid to hope it was this easy to get them to fuck off.”
“It’s never this easy,” Saint said with a snort.
