Page 11 of Hiding In the Dark (The Righteous 4)
“For the love—just give me a fucking update,” Trev said, the annoyance clear in his tone.
“No new information, which is why I hadn’t called.”
A woman pushing a baby carriage gave him a wide berth and a side-eyed glance like he might suddenly leap on top of her as she passed.
“You do remember we are on a timeline? Maeve’s verdict could happen at any time, and the more information we have about who we are dealing with, the better.”
“I haven’t forgotten. Are we still going forward with the plan regardless?” Kes was pretty certain he already knew the answer, and that he’d need to be ready at a moment’s notice.
“Of course, we do not leave a man behind.”
“But she’s a woman.”
Kes smirked as Trev started swearing and hung up on him. That seriously just made his morning. Smiling, he stuffed the phone into his pocket and wandered back inside toward his seat.
Larry had pulled up a chair and was chatting with Zumi. Whatever she was saying made the large man laugh.
Zumi had a way of getting under your skin and sticking with you. Like a bur, but in the best way possible. He hadn’t met anyone with more natural sweetness mixed with charisma. She smiled wide and then tossed a berry into the air to catch with her mouth. Larry, of course, cheered and tried to mimic her, but the little piece of fruit bounced off his face and rolled away to a chorus of laughter.
Kes slid into the booth and watched as they performed the trick again for him, which of course, ended up with the same result.
Zumi practically glowed from the other side of the table, and he had to wonder if she was an angel of hope for everyone—or maybe just for him.
“Shoot.” Ashley looked up at the large clock on the wall. Where the heck had the day gone? She was officially running late. She hated running late. She blamed her parents for that since they were always late. She’d showed up for events late more times than she could count including her graduation. She’d barely made it to the stage as they were calling her name. She’d had to run across the parking lot as everyone stared at her. It didn’t help that she was the valedictorian and was supposed to be giving a speech.
“Sorry, Dennis. I have to run.” She grabbed her purse as she passed the manager. “Tomorrow, I want to go over some fundraising ideas I have if you have a few minutes.”
Dennis looked up from lining up the silver-colored trays for serving and wiped his hands on his apron. “It’s almost serving time.”
“I know, and I’m sorry, but I have to go pick something up, and I can’t be late.”
He looked at the trays, and she couldn’t stand the despondent look on his face. “I can come back later if you want?”
“No, no, you have done enough. I’m just overthinking it. Have a night off for a change.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, now get out of here before you’re any later.” Dennis waved as if shooing her away.
“Okay, see you tomorrow.” She speed-walked like she was in a race for the door, the entire time digging around in her small pack trying to find her phone. “It has to be in here somewhere,” she mumbled as she made her way through the open door into the front foyer and walked into what she was sure was a wall.
Her small pack went flying. The contents, including the phone she’d been searching for, crashed to the floor. Ashley stumbled backward and surprisingly didn’t end up on her ass. The wall turned out to be a human—a tall, very solid male whose face was hidden by a grey hood.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” She didn’t bother to look at his face as she went to her knees to gather her things.
“Here you go,” a young girl said, holding out a runaway lip gloss and her house keys.
“Thanks so much.” She smiled at the young girl and took the items she was holding.
“You should watch where you’re going,” the hooded man said.
She looked up at the imposing figure, his hands firmly stuffed in his pockets. On any other day, she would’ve given him a piece of her mind, but she didn’t want to make a scene in front of his daughter.
“Thanks, I’ll try and remember that life-altering piece of advice.” Ashley stood in a rush as she stuffed the last of the runaway items into her bag. Her mistake was not noticing that the mystery man had removed his hood, and as she turned her head to fix him with a parting glare, she froze in her tracks.
Her heart pounded hard as she stared into the amber-colored eyes she’d never thought she’d see again. Her mind was blank. She had no idea how long she stood there as her thoughts whirled, trying to catch up to her racing heart, but she needed to get the hell out of there and fast.
“Nice bag,” he said casually.
