Chapter 4
Flynn – Three Months Earlier
From inside my darkened car, I frowned toward the dumpy little restaurant, with its wide windows and open shades.
Inside, there she was, Anna Burke, the chick who back in high school had screwed me over to save her own sweet ass.
Her long chestnut-colored hair was coiled tight at the nape of her neck, and she was wearing the ugliest pink dress I'd ever seen.
The dress was pale and plain, with a thin white collar, big lumpy pockets, and a coffee-colored stain down the front.
Aside from the stain, the dress looked surprisingly good on her, hugging her tight curves in ways that would've made me take a second glance, or hell, maybe even a third, if only I didn't know the truth.
If Anna Burke were a cake, she'd be a frosted pile of shit – pretty on the outside and nothing good underneath.
No way I'd be taking a bite ofthat.
On the upside, she was still a looker, so that was good. She'd need to be for what I had in mind.
From the driver's seat, I watched her for several long moments through the grubby windows of Pinkie's Waffle Palace.
The name was a bad joke.
Yeah, the building's cheap exterior was painted pink. And yeah, the place served waffles. But the restaurant wasnopalace.
Shit, it wasn't even a hovel compared to the places I dined at these days.
But ten years ago, when Sugar Falls had been my home, eating at Pinkie's might've been a big night out for the likes of me, a guy with no money, no family, and a reputation for being more trouble than I was worth.
Funny, I wasstilltrouble. But these days? I was a different kind of trouble, as Anna would soon find out.
The hard way.
I glanced at the dashboard clock and smiled. It was nearly 2 a.m.Closing time.
Sure, I could've come earlier, but I didn't need the hassle. And I sure as hell didn't need an audience.
Besides, Ididlike a good waffle. And, as ugly as the place was, that was one thing they did right.
Or so I'd heard.
I cut the engine and stepped out of the car, shutting the driver's side door quietly behind me. I locked it with the remote and didn't look back.
By the time I reached the restaurant's main door, a tall, burly woman in a matching pink dress was just twisting the lock, using a big silver key attached to a waffle-sized key ring.
When she saw me through the glass door, her head jerked back and her eyes widened. Her muffled words carried through the glass. "Oh, my God."
When I smiled, her keyring clattered to the floor.
So far so good.
With a girlish giggle, she dove down and swooped up the keys. And just like that, the door was thrown open quicker than the legs of the last girl I'd fucked.
Funny to think, I used to be a nice guy.
Hell, part of me wasstillnice. Even after hitting it big, I hadn't forgotten what it was like to be thatotherguy – the one who was more likely to see a door slammed in his face than thrown open at any hour.
I stepped into the restaurant and gave the waitress another friendly smile. "You're not closing, are you?"
