He’d given her all the numbers she could contact him on along with the best ways of getting a hold of him. She had Daniel’s contact information as well. She didn’t want to call Daniel. Since she and Vince had been going together, she’d not seen anything of Daniel. Vincenzo did say he would do everything he could to make sure his life didn’t touch her. She gathered that also meant killing people.
“Arika, what’s wrong?” Vincenzo asked after a couple of rings.
“My boss asked me to call. Some Vitale men are here. I don’t know what any of that means.”
“Vitale men?”
“Yes, my boss recognized them, I think. He wants you to come.”
She heard him curse over the line.
“Listen to me very carefully, Arika. I want you to grab your bag and leave. Don’t make a scene. Just leave and get as far away from there as possible.”
“I can’t do that. I’ve got friends here. We’ve got families here. What does this mean?”
“Damn it! Don’t argue with me over this.”
“I’m not going to leave Rachel here on her own. No, I won’t do that. I’m staying here. I just thought you should know.”
“I can’t fucking protect you. I’m across town.”
“Then let’s hope they’re only here to eat.” With that, she hung up and left the staffroom, going back into the kitchen where her boss was waiting. “I called him.”
“And?”
“We wait.” She wasn’t going to tell him that Vincenzo couldn’t be there. “We’re just going to have to serve them and live with it.”
“They’re driving my customers away.”
“Then serve them pronto so we can move them along.” She’d never spoken to her boss like that, but right now she wasn’t in the mood to be ordered around. She got that Vincenzo wanted to protect her, but she wasn’t going to leave her friends or innocent people. Heading back into the main diner, she saw more people had left.
Fortunately, no more mafia men had turned up, and as she grabbed the coffeepot, she began to make the rounds. Putting a smile on her face, she stopped at a couple of tables, asking them how they were enjoying their meal, if they wanted dessert, and just being friendly, trying to put them at ease.
Frank rang up their order, and Rachel was in the furthest corner of the diner.
Grabbing the Vitales’ food, Arika kept a smile on her face and served them. “If there’s anything else, let me know.”
“Actually, we were curious about something.”
She stopped, waiting. “What about?”
“We were wondering if a couple of men stopped by here a few weeks ago. Both tall, one of them blond, the other had black hair.”
“We get a lot of customers through that door with blond or black hair.” Daniel had blond hair. Vincenzo had black. “I’m sorry. Are you missing them or something?”
“They would have been wearing expensive, Italian-made suits.”
“Again, you’re asking the wrong girl.”
“What about the other one working tonight?”
“I don’t know. You’d have to ask her. This is my section though. Please enjoy your meal and let me know if you need anything else.”
Stepping away, she kept on doing her job, not exactly sure how she could keep her composure. Everything seemed to be crashing down around her. She had noticed the pieces they were carrying.
Why bring a gun to a damn diner?
Time ticked by and people left. The Vitales didn’t ask for extra, and after an hour they were finished and packing up. She watched them stand, ready to leave. She breathed out a sigh of relief, and that was quickly gone when the door opened.
Turning to see who it was, she saw Vincenzo, Daniel, and a couple of other men, all of them with deadly expressions on their face.
Before she could say or do anything, she heard the sound of guns being cocked. Looking toward the men, they were already drawn and ready.
Everything happened so fast. Shots rang out, and Vincenzo was on her, shoving her to the ground as glasses smashed around her. “Stay the fuck down.”
She nodded and curled in a ball as she heard the screams and shouts.
Rolling over onto her stomach, she shuffled from around the counter where she’d been when all the mess was starting. She saw Rachel on the ground, her body still.
“Rachel!”
Her friend wasn’t moving.
Crawling across shattered glass, Arika saw there was a gunshot near Rachel’s throat. She was bleeding out.
“No! No! No! Someone, call an ambulance. Come on, Rachel. You’re fine. You’re fine.” She pressed her hand to the spot, but there wasn’t even a flinch or a gasp for breath.
Rachel was dead.
Tears sprang to her eyes, and she pressed her face against Rachel’s chest, feeling immense pain.
The diner no longer looked like her place of work. It looked like a bloodbath. The few remaining families that had been there were cowering under the tables, and a few bodies were on the floor.