Breaking Beast (Pounding Hearts 4)

Diane frowns down at me but Travis cuts in before she can speak.

“I’ll take a number five,” he says expectantly. “With extra pickles and ketchup.”

Diane turns her frown on him. “Everyone that wants to stay will need to order something.”

Travis smirks and for a moment I’m afraid that he’s going to start the scene I’ve been trying to avoid.

I don’t even bother ringing up his order until he turns towards his crew and tells them all to, “Get their asses up here and fucking order something.”

With much grumbling, his crew steps up to the counter, and I spend the next twenty-five minutes entering their orders and helping prepare them. Once they’re all served and seated at the tables, Diane calls me back to her office.

“Christy, what’s going on?” she asks, shutting the door behind us.

How do I even explain it? I never expected Travis to find me here. I was so careful, never wearing my uniform around him because I knew if he knew where I worked he would always be in here harassing me.

Someone must have told him, but who? He was right when he called me out earlier, the only friend he knows I have is Nicole and she’d never tell him unless…

Fuck.

“Are you in trouble?” Diane asks when I hesitate to answer.

“No. I haven’t been home in a few days and Travis has been looking for me.”

“You didn’t want him to find you?”

I nod my head reluctantly, figuring there’s no point in trying to lie about it.

“Do you need help? Is there someone you want me to call?”

“No,” I shake my head. “I just… that… I’d like to get out of here, if it’s not too much of an inconvenience.”

Diane stares at me hard for a long moment and I can practically feel the frustration emanating off of her. I know she’s a good person and she just wants to help me, but really, I’m doing her a favor by not getting her involved in this.

“Okay,” she finally agrees with a little defeat. “You can go. I’ll cover for you up front.”

“Thank you,” I nearly gush with relief. The thought of finishing off my shift with Travis and his crew out there, waiting for me to leave, was making me sick with worry.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to call someone?” she asks.

I shake my head. “No, but thank you, thank you for everything.”

Diane nods her head and opens the door for me. “We’re gonna miss you around here. You were our best employee.”

I smile at Diane, wishing things didn’t have to be this way. I honestly intended to finish up my two weeks and do this the right way, but now that Travis knows about this place I can never come back.

Stopping by the employee locker room, I change out of my uniform but decide to keep the beanie cap for Alex. Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I sneak out the back entrance without getting caught. The parking lot is full of tricked out, brightly colored cars, but the crew still appears to be inside the restaurant.

Avoiding the front of the building and all the glass windows, I skirt around the back of the building and then dash across the parking lot. Pulling my cellphone out of my pocket, I dial up Alex as I’m running.

He answers on the third ring. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Can you pick me up?” I pant and glance behind me.

“Sure?” he says, sounding confused. “You off early?”

“Yes,” I say, deciding to just go with that as I cross the intersection. “But can you pick me up at the gas station up the street?”

There’s a pause and for a moment I fear we lost connection. Then his deep voice comes through the line. “Yeah, that’s no problem.”

“Thank you,” I nearly cry.

“Just hang on, I’ll be there in ten.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Alex

Slamming to a stop outside of the gas station, I hop out of the car, looking at the surroundings. I don’t see anything out of the ordinary unless you count a soccer mom filling her van as dangerous. I also don’t see any sign of Christy.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I dial her number.

“Hey,” she says quietly.

“I’m here, where are you?”

“Oh… inside. I had to use the restroom.”

“Okay, I’ll be right in.”

“Don’t bother,” she says and disconnects the phone on me.

Not even two seconds later, she’s pushing open the door and walking out to me. She makes a little shooing motion at the car as she quickly walks past me to get in her side.

What the hell is going on? I wonder as I walk around to my side.

Shutting the door behind me, I ask her, “Everything okay?”

She nods her head. “Just ready to get home!”

She’s a little too cheerful when she says that, and I can tell by the way she sits rigidly in her seat that she’s full of it.