"Wouldn'tyoulike to know?" he said.
I shook my head. "No. I'm pretty sure I know way too much already."
Unsteadily, the two guys crawled out of the trunk. They looked beyond ridiculous, especially with all the jewelry – thick gold necklaces, expensive looking wristwatches, and giant rings that glittered on almost every finger.
They'd worn the same kind of the night I'd first met them. I'd been their waitress, unfortunately. They'd been the customers from hell – drunk, rowdy, and obscene, just like their dates, Brittney and Amber, the skanky duo.
"Look at those rings," Shaggy said. "See, theyaremobsters." He turned to smirk at me. "Goes to show what you know." He held out his hand, palm up. "I'll take my ten bucks now."
I glanced down at the hand. "Dream on," I said.
Besides, those guys weren't mobsters. They were two player wannabees who had tried to kidnap the wrong girl.
Me.
On instinct I backed up, trying to melt into the crowd. As far as I could tell, neither guy had noticed me. And for some reason, I definitely wanted to keep it that way.
When the guy in the black briefs finished climbing out of the trunk, he turned to face the crowd and yelled, "What the hell are you looking at?"
On the side opposite us, a heavyset woman spoke up. "You tell us, Loverboy!"
The crowd burst into fresh laughter.
"Hey, Loverboy!" Shaggy hollered over the distance. "Take off the mask, will ya! Show us your face!"
The guy lifted both hands, extending both middle fingers. "Fuck off, asshole!" he yelled. "I'm not showing you dick!"
The nearest cop grabbed him by the shoulder and hustled him toward the police car. A moment later, he and his friend were shoved unceremoniously into the backseat. The car door slammed behind both of them with a decisive thud.
"Why would I want to see his dick?" Shaggy said. "God, what a dumb-ass." He held out his cell phone and started circling the vandalized sedan, stopping every few seconds to zoom in on something or other.
Nearby, the rest of us watched as the police cruiser pulled slowly out of the lot, leaving the tow truck driver to deal with the defaced sedan.
I never did see the guys' faces. But unlike Shaggy, I didn't want to.
But therewassomeone I wanted to see. And probably not in the way he wanted.
As I stood shivering in the cold parking lot, an even colder rage settled over me. I hated drama. For years, I'd been trying to escape it – the drunk-ass mom, the psycho stepmother, a dad who was indifferent at best.
Even tonight, I'd forced myself to walk away, not just from Lawton, but from the chance to give him hell for what he'd done. And he had done plenty.
So what does he do? He brings drama literally to the doorstep of where I worked. What the hell was he thinking? Did the guy think at all?
I looked around. He had to be here somewhere. I just knew it.
Maybe I hadn't given him what he deserved earlier, but I sure as hell wasn't going to miss the opportunity now.
That fucker had earned a piece of my mind. And drama or not, it was time to give it to him.
Chapter 10
Away from the heat of the closely packed bodies, the temperature dropped hard. But I barely noticed as I stalked through the parking lot. Methodically, I went from row to row in search of Lawton's vehicle, whichever one he might be driving tonight.
Near the restaurant, the crowd was already breaking up, with most of the gawkers straggling back into the diner, chattering to each other as they went. The few exceptions fanned out into the parking lot, where they got into their vehicles and drove off one by one.
As for me, I wasn't going anywhere. If Lawton was here, I'd sure as hell find him.
Finally, I spotted what I was looking for. In the very back row, there it was, Lawton's vintage muscle car. I was no car expert, but I'd recognize that thing anywhere.
