Keep your head down and focus on your life, Angel.
A second later, Felix was beside me, reeking of cigarette smoke.
“I’m sorry.”
I braced my hands on the side of the sink and huffed. “You have got to stop apologizing to me.”
“You ready?” he asked, his voice monotone.
“For what?” I shot back, harsher than intended. My mind was racing, my heart crawling up my throat.
A murder in Astoria.
Felix blinked. “For the dinner rush. All the reservation slots are filled. Gonna be a full house tonight.”
I stared up at him, wondering if he knew an innocent woman had been killed in her sleep. He turned his head, scanning the kitchen. “Fuck, I hope the staff is ready for this. There’s athirteen top coming at six and a sixteen top coming at eight—birthday party for the mayor’s kid or some shit like that.”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I slowly let out as I studied his profile. There was a deep crease between his brows, his lips set into a pinched, anxious line. Something was on his mind, but I would never find out what.
A few hours later, when the dining room was empty, the chairs perched on the tables, the floors being cleaned, the kitchen shining, Felix said goodbye to all of us in the parking lot like he did after every shift. I gave him a tired smile and told him I would see him the following day. He gave me another goodbye, this time softer, before getting into his car.
That goodbye was the last one he would ever give, because two days later, his body washed up on the shore a few miles outside Astoria, and Red Snake slithered in.
Chapter Eleven
Ash
Two Days Ago. St. Louis, MO.
“Glad you’re okay,” Jake muttered as he leaned against the ambulance.
I looked over at him with a raised brow. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
He pulled off his glasses. “You just jumped out of a burning building. Two stories, mind you, and landed so perfectly that God is even jealous,” he drawled, cleaning his lenses. Blue and red lights drenched us both, the siren still echoing in my ears. “From my point of view, that shit looked like it hurt.”
I stared at him. “It did. Thanks for noticing.”
“Anytime.” He glanced up, shutting his mouth at the sight of the paramedic approaching us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his brows come together in confusion as he stared at her profile.
“Here you go,” she said, handing me a bottle of water with a smile. “Took quite a fall there, didn’t ya?”
I smirked at her. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the hospital, Gwen? Not on the streets?”
She beamed at me, her brown curls hanging around her face. “I’m doing a test rotation,” she said, glancing at Jake as she moved to her bag. “One week a month out in the field. Usually, I’m dealing with the homeless or drug overdoses. Not bounty hunters jumping out of flaming buildings like this is the TV set ofReacher,” she tacked on.
A small chuckle left me, causing a new wave of pain to course through me.
Yeah, I really should’ve fucking thought before jumping out of that damn window.
“Do I know you?” Jake asked, his glasses back on. He jerked his head at me, pointing at Gwen. “Do we know her?”
“You don’t, but I do,” I answered.
“How’s Carrie?” she asked, pulling the blood pressure cuff off my arm.
“Good.”
“Wait, you know Carrie?” Jake pushed.
