Page 15 of Allegiance
“All right. I’ll get off the phone and grab something from the fridge. You don’t need to hound me about it. The next thing you know, you’ll be telling me Tank could have fixed me a sandwich and brought it to me on a silver platter.”
“It would be a start. And I bet he’d do it.” Lena could hear her best friend smile on the other end of the line.
I bet so too.
“Thanks for listening. I almost feel normal again.” Lena giggled. “There’s a bottle of white wine calling my name in the fridge, so I better get to it.”
“Don’t forget the sandwich, or you won’t be any good in the morning.”
“True. We’ll talk soon.”
Lena went back inside, walked into the kitchen, and made herself a sandwich with whatever was in the fridge—which happened to be cheese, tomato, and bacon, and a large glass of white wine finished it off. While she ate standing at the kitchen counter, she browsed her phone for extra security measures for the bistro and her home.
The thugs did one thing that she’d never forgive them for: they took away her sense of security.
* * *
A few days later,on a day with a bright sun in a cornflower-blue sky, Lena drove along Imperial Avenue, breathing in the briny air. Of all the routes to town, this one was her favorite, even though it took her several miles out of her way. The winding road wove around multi-million-dollar mansions layered into the rocky hillsides overlooking the ocean before curving around the bluffs, giving drivers and passengers alike front-row seats to the rocks, the beach, and the crashing waves, with ocean as far as the eye could see. Lena never tired of the view—it was breathtaking and humbling at the same time. This drive was her go-to place when the stresses and fears of life weighed too heavily on her. After what happened the night before, Imperial Avenue was the perfect antidote, and she didn’t have to pay a therapist a fortune for it.
A Mustang convertible pulled out of a space in front of the bistro, and Lena cruised into it. Grabbing her purse, she rushed into the eatery.
Customers filled every table in the small space, and there was an impressive line behind the cases displaying a colorful assortment of cookies and cupcakes. Decorating cookies was another way in which Lena relaxed, and early that morning, she’d baked dozens of them.
“Bad night?” Adalyn had asked when she saw the stack of baking sheets in the sink.
“The worst. One of the cases in the front shattered.” Lena hadn’t given too many details, not wanting to involve the employees in the drama. The business was hers, along with all the responsibility—good andbad—that came with it.
“Give me a sec and I’ll help out,” Lena said as she rushed back to her office. After securing her purse in the safe, she donned an apron and slipped behind the counter.
The following hour was a blur of baked goods, parchment paper, boxes, and ribbons. But by the end of it, most of the cookies and all the cupcakes were gone. The croissant sandwiches had also disappeared. She was happy, but the memory of the hoodlums doused it. She had to pay them fifteen percent of the restaurant’s earnings. Anger burned through her at the thought of her no longer working for the business and her future, but rather working so two losers didn’t have to.I have to do something about this.Then she remembered Sheriff Windsor and his deputies were on top of it, and she relaxed.
“You’ve got to be pissed more often.” Adalyn joked. “We couldn’t sell them fast enough. It’s been like that all day.”
“If it keeps up through dinner, you may be able to get another display case soon,” Sarah noted.
Adalyn raised her brow. “Isn’t the insurance going to cover it?”
“Clumsiness isn’t covered.”
Before Adalyn could ask another question, Lena ducked into the back area and went to her office. Picking up the file Heath had dropped off, she took her purse out of the safe and walked back into the bistro.
“I’m heading out to the print shop to get some flyers done. Heath turned over the new branding he’s been working on for the past few months, and I want everything to be ready for the next holiday sale we put together. Are you guys going to be okay?” Lena asked as she took the flash drive out of the file and dropped it into her purse.
Adalyn smiled. “We’ll be fine. We have the meeting for the Offerman wedding later tonight too. Anything you need me to prep for that?”
Lena smiled back and shook her head. Thankfully, Adalyn was always on her game. Lena made a mental note to give her a promotion when everything finally wound down from the wedding season. Without a doubt, her star employee could manage it, and Lena had enough in the bank to facilitate a small pay raise for one of her hardest workers. Well, she would, so long as she didn’t have to pay off those thugs. Her body tensed at the memory and she rolled her shoulders, trying to shake it off.
“I’ll keep my phone on if you need me,” she informed her before walking out the door.
Hissing, she braced her hand over her eyes at the early afternoon sun. That was one thing she wasn’t used to much of anymore; she rarely came outside when there was sunlight. There was too much work to be done inside, and by the time everything was marked off her list, it was dark. Still, the short walk through town to the print shop wasn’t unwelcomed. As she strolled down San Juan Street, she made sure to pay attention to the buzz of the crowds, the pungent aromas from the lunch rush at the corner cafes, and the fronds of the palm trees swaying in the midday air.
After the realization that she was living life with her head down, coupled with the brush of danger the night before, she was trying to take more time to appreciate the little things, like being able to walk around the town square, enjoying the temperate wind twirling through her loose hair.
Lena stopped in front of the printing shop Mr. DeLuca—the owner of the ceramic store a few doors down from the bistro—had highly recommended.
A customer pushed past her with a murmured apology as he entered. A burst of cold air circulated around her feet, then quickly dissipated into the warmth of the summer day. For a split second, she dreaded going into the artificial light of the shop, but she couldn’t lollygag all afternoon. She had a ton of paperwork to finish back at the office, and then she had to meet with the Offermans.
An electronic buzz squawked loudly when she entered the shop, and she flinched. It was hardly as charming as her happy bell, but to each their own. Various computers, shelves of organized paper, and enormous printers behind the counter made her break out into a sweat. As embarrassed as she was to admit it, technology had never been her strong suit. When she thought about how much money she’d spent on computer courses, she cringed.
