Rachel’s “lover boy” had turned up again.
She knew for a fact that Rachel wanted nothing to do with the guy as she’d purposefully gone out of her way to change shifts just to avoid him. It didn’t bother Arika. She could work her schedule either way.
Once she finished wiping down several tables, she walked to the two men that she’d heard nothing but whispers about all night.
“They’re part of the mafia.”
“Don’t look.”
“He’ll kill you.”
“Deadly.”
“Dangerous.”
“Mafia.”
“Can I get you two anything?” she asked.
“Do you have Rachel’s number?” the guy who’d become creepy stalker dude asked.
“I can’t give out numbers of employees, sorry.”
“How about if I make it worth your while?”
She stared at the twenty he slid across to her.
Shaking her head, she turned to the guy that remained quiet. “Is there anything else I can get you?”
“The check would be lovely, Arika.”
She didn’t like that he knew her name but knew there was nothing she could do about it. Her name tag told him what he needed to know. Arika Jane. The name she’d been given at birth when she’d been dropped off by an unknown person. No way of knowing who she belonged to, not that it mattered.
They hadn’t cared about her, and rather than dwell on the family that didn’t care, she focused on her education. She’d been a plain kid growing up, never catching any family’s eye, so she didn’t anticipate being adopted.
She’d stayed in the system from birth until she was sent out into the world at eighteen. Since then it had been one battle after another.
She brought the men their check and took their plates and other dishes. A few minutes later, the man brought the check back to her to cash.
“Everything was stunning, thank you.” He held the check and money out to her, and she took it. Glancing down, she saw a hundred-dollar tip.
“This must be a mistake.”
“Your service was exceptional, even if my friend made you nervous. Thank you. I will be coming again.”
She tried to give him the tip back, but he wouldn’t take it. When he glared at her, fear shot down her spine and she nodded, quickly pocketing the money.
“Have a nice night, Arika.”
Watching him leave the diner made her nervous. She didn’t like the way he kept looking at her. She was used to being overlooked, but that man, whoever he was, looked right at her.
He saw her, and she didn’t like exactly how deep he seemed to be able to see.
The next thirty minutes went by in a blur. She helped clean up, as that was part of her job, and then it was time for her to leave. Grabbing her jacket, as it was cold out, and slinging her bag over her shoulder, she entered the cold evening night.
She held the strap of her bag, staring down at the ground. The city was not the best place to be, and she found not lingering near dirty, empty alleyways was the best way of staying alive. She didn’t want to die, had no reason to.
She may not have experienced the best start in life, but she worked every single day to turn her life around, and she rather loved what she did. Working her ass off, she had her own rented apartment and worked as many classes as she could at a local campus, constantly paying off those lessons so she was never in debt.
Even if she was sick, she’d try to find homemade remedies to make sure she didn’t overspend.
With careful planning she knew she’d have a good life. Once she had a career and enough savings, she intended to help kids in the foster system like her. Kids that were not loved but needed someone to care about more than looking right in the family. Not that she thought all parents were like that, but it just felt like it at times.
“You watch your fucking mouth.”
Head bowed, she tried to ignore the anger that she heard, and in the next second, gunshots exploded and pain seared her abdomen, taking her breath away. She’d been crossing the road, facing an alleyway as she did so.
Putting a hand to her side, she gasped at the excruciating pain, stumbling as everything seemed to swirl around her. She couldn’t keep her balance, and she collapsed onto the ground.
She’d been shot.
Falling to the ground, she couldn’t seem to move.
The pain was unbearable.
“You think you can run your mouth and get away with it. This is for the Galiza family.”
She gasped as another shot rang out.
The sound of footsteps advanced on her.
Tears filled her eyes.
The two men from the diner.
The two that were part of the mafia.
One of them held a gun. The other looked pissed.
“Shit, it’s the waitress from the diner,” the one asking after Rachel said.
Arika didn’t want to die.
“We need to get rid of her.”