by Rena Marin
By the time I’m on my own, and the other girls have left for the night, I realize I’ve been on the go since clocking in without stopping. I haven’t needed to pee, grab a drink, or anything. I can notice hunger pangs setting in though. I rush around, making sure all my customers, the entire four of them, are in good shape, then give the cook, Charlie, my order. I’m a country girl who was raised on meat and potatoes, so he isn’t surprised when I tell him I want a steak.
“How you want it cooked, babe?” he asks me. I think it’s cute Charlie calls me “babe.” He barely acknowledges the other girls. They are bitches to him though.
“Rare,” I blurt out without thinking. When I realize what I’ve done, I curl my nose slightly. I never eat meat rare. A bit of pink doesn’t bother me, but wiping its ass and slapping it on a plate isn’t my thing. I start to tell him to change it, but something inside me tells me not to. For some reason, I’m craving a juicy, rare steak. Fine. If that’s what I need, so be it.
“Coming up,” he calls out as he vanishes from the window to start cooking. “You want any sides with it?”
Normally, I’m a girl who loves a good baked potato with my steak. Tonight, I don’t really have the urge. “Nah, just the meat.”
“No problem.”
While he starts cooking, I hurry over and get myself a glass of sweet tea, then add an extra packet of sweetener. Ollie serves good tea, but he’s stingy as hell on the sweet stuff. I don’t remember one customer ever having the tea without adding a little something to it. We Southerners like our tea like we like our lover, sweet and tasty.
It doesn’t take long before Charlie calls that my order is up. I hurry over to the window, take the plate, and make my way toward the back. That’s one thing we don’t do here at Ollie’s. He lets us have all the free food and drinks we want, but he’s not big on us copping a squat out front with the paying customers. He says it’ll make them want something for nothing. I don’t know if I agree with that, but eating in our little break room has never bothered me.
The smell wafting up from the food makes my stomach lurch. I didn’t know I was freaking starving. I use my knife and fork to start digging into the gigantic steak Charlie has made for me. It looks scrumptious. So scrumptious in fact, I can’t wait on the time it takes to cut it. I snatch up the piece of meat and tear into like I’m ripping something apart.
I can feel the juice running down my chin, but I don’t care. I need to eat. Badly. I tear off another piece and moan at the taste. It’s perfect. Hell, I think I could eat it raw if need be. The noise in my stomach finally starts to disappear. I guess the steak was what I needed. Finishing it up, I take my finger and run it around the plate to sop up the last of the juice. I lick my finger and look back down to see if there’s more. That’s when I realize, it’s not just juice; it’s mostly blood.
Normally, something like this would freak me out. For some reason, it doesn’t tonight. I shrug it off, finish cleaning my plate, and hop to my feet. I take a huge sip of my sweet tea, and then quickly spit it out all over the table where I’d just been sitting.
“What the hell?” I hear Charlie ask from behind me.
I turn to see our big protector standing there. Charlie is a great guy. He’s married, has four kids, and is an army vet. He’s the biggest reason the people who come in at Ollie’s don’t get disrespectful. One word from any of us girls and Charlie will put whoever is giving us issues out on their ass. I’ve seen him do it.
“I don’t know,” I tell him looking down at the glass in my hand. “It tastes like shit to me. So did my coffee this morning.”
“How was the steak?”
“Delicious.”
“Huh, well, your taste buds are fine. If you gave my steak shit, I’d have said something was wrong with you,” he laughed as the mountain of a man made his way over to me and put his hand against my forehead. “Damn, Zoey. I thought maybe you were getting sick, but you’re freezing, girl. Your body temp shouldn’t be that low.”
“Seriously?” I asked touching my own head.
“Yeah, seriously. Do you feel alright?”
“I feel great. Better than I have in a long time, actually.” I see the look he gives me. He’s worried. He’s such a good guy. “Seriously, Charlie, I’m fine. I don’t feel cold. If it keeps up, I’ll go get it checked out, okay?”
“You better,” he demands then looks toward the door. “One of the customers needs you. Go take care of them. and I’ll clean this mess up.”
“You’re the best,” I tell him with a kiss to his cheek before I scurry off. It was almost time for the late-night crew to come in. I needed to get my game face on.
THINGS WERE BOOMING tonight. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. The tips were rolling in, the customers were happy, even Charlie was leaning through the window cutting up and telling jokes with the gang. As closing time rolled around, most everyone hated to be on their way, but they understood it.
While the last of the gang is finishing up their final cups of coffee, I flip the sign to closed and start cleaning up. I don’t mind a bit having the guys in here while I work. They’ve been coming long enough for me to trust them. Plus, Charlie is still here.
I breeze through things like it’s nothing. Normally, I’d be dragging by now and closing would take me an extra hour. Not tonight. By the time the gang is gone, and Charlie is heading out for home, I’m only minutes from going myself. Until I hear the door open.
“Sorry, we’re closed,” I call out not even bothering to turn around. I assume it’s one of the regulars hoping I’ll let them grab a piece of pie or the last of the coffee. When I get no answer, I turn to see a man I’ve never met before standing in the door. “We’re closed,” I call out again, hoping that maybe he didn’t hear me the first time.
He stands there, wearing a trench coat, staring at the floor. I debate whether I should speak again, but when he looks up at me, I change my mind. The look in his eyes tells me something isn’t right here and nothing I say will change it.
“Look, dude, I don’t want any trouble,” I announce.
Instead of an answer, he runs at me. I let out a scream, then race behind the counter in hopes of avoiding him. It doesn’t work. He’s quick as hell. In what seems like a flash, he is behind the counter with his hands around my throat.
I’ve never been afraid of being at the restaurant alone. In this little shit town, people don’t hurt one another. I guess that’s the only thing about it that’s not shitty. This isn’t a local though. No, he is passing through. Most likely on his way to one of the bigger cities on the other side of ours. I don’t know what his plans are for me, but I know I’m not going to let it happen. Nope. No way. I’ve felt too good today. I can take this asshole.
“Get the fuck off me,” I scream in his face as my knee raises and catches him in the balls. I didn’t realize I’d put as much force behind it as I did. The second I made contact, he flew backward like I’d physically picked him up and tossed him. I was in shock, but just for a minute. I got my mojo back quickly. “Yeah, you son of a bitch, you don’t want to mess with me,” I announce as I rush at him. My plan was to just kick the jerk’s ass. What happened next changed my life forever.
About the Author
Monsters. Murder. Mischief. Even sweet love. There’s no genre international bestselling author Rena Marin is afraid to touch. Growing up in a small town in East Tennessee, Marin found her love for the darker things at an early age. From dark creatures who lurk in the darkest of woods, to creepy dolls locked in warehouses, the sassy southern wordsmith leaves no challenge untouched. With a wink at humor and the ability to glare down gore, Marin twists wicked tales that will leave you on the edge of your seat.
Marin is the author of several published works including Piano Man, The Witches of Dark Hollow Ridge, The Hunter’s Guild of Dark Hollow Ridge, The Midnight Sisters of Dark Hollow Ridge, the Escape from Reality Novellas Devoured and follow-up Consumed, Backroad, The Donut Shop Series Novel
la Death with a Cinnamon Sugar Twist, Graveyard Girls, Uninvited Guests, The Statesman Series Novella Tennessee Two-Step, The Sex Shop Series Novella Maid for You, the Creature Features Novella Triple Threat, Lockdown, The Soda Shop Series Novella Death with a Cherry on Top, The Pet Shop Series Novella Death and the Trouble with Goats and horror tale Ride. She is also the co-author of the award winning and bestselling Dead Oaks Terrors Series which features Halloween Nightmare, Ouija, Nightstalker, Curse of the Candy Corn Queen, and Oh, Deadly Night. She also co-penned the Dead Oaks Twisted Tails, Slither and Swarm. Marin is co-author of the Dollhouse Series which includes Petunia, Sage’s Sticky Buns, Petunia’s Valentine, Pop Rox, Petunia’s Freight Night with Fred, Petunia’s and Cream, Petunia’s Twelve-Inch Hero, Petunia’s Luscious Lemons, Busted, Sylvia’s Secret Santa, Cat Doll, Dolls for Days in Amish Country, and Van-Gogh Trip. Other co-writes under Marin’s belt include the fantastical satires, Coming Out Monster and Dragon Slayer Society, the terrifying tale, Little Sleepwalkers, Flowers for Meg, the cozy mystery, Country Bumpkin’s Peanut Butter Cups, and the horrific duo, Virus and Quarantine.
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Website: www.renamarin.com
COPYRIGHT © 2021 BY Crazy Ink
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
