Page 26 (1/2)

"I’," I tell her with a quick smile "I just need to talk to someone for a second"

She rolls her eyes "You can’t be trolling the kitchen for your next date, dude If you disrupt service, there’ll be hell to pay We’re just getting started on the breakfast rush"

She grabs my arm, starts to propelroo down so that my lips are only a few centi I promise"

"Yeah, like I believe that," she says with a shiver But she lets o without complaint

I drop a quick kiss on her cheek, then take the opportunity to dodge between two of the long stainless-steel tables that run down the center of the kitchen before she changes her et me kicked out--at least not before I do what I came here for

Since it feeds three busy restaurants, the kitchen is huge and hectic, aitstaff, busboys, chefs, and h and around every square inch of open space Still, it doesn’t takefor in his little alcove off to the side of the er than h his back is to nize hi like he’s a ninety-year-old arthritic helps uilty about all the pain I caused, but to be honest, all I feel is the icy burn of regret I obviously didn’t do enough dauy wouldn’t be able to stand, let alone load a dishwasher

I walk up behind him, clap a hand onto his shoulder, and start to squeeze "Hey, Harvey How you doing?" Though the words are perfectly polite, the tone I say them in isn’t He jolts, tries to take off But there’s nowhere for hio With the counter behind him and me in front of him, he’s trapped Vulnerable Exposed--exactly as Ophelia hen he decided to get rough with her

"Leave " His voice is loud, panicked

"I can see that" I lean closer, keeping my voice low and calm in direct contrast to his "Don’t worry I’ain, I’ the police" He reaches for a pan, holds it out in front of him like a weapon

"Is that supposed to scare irl yesterday All I did was put a stop to it"

"I wasn’t going to hurt her--"

"News flash, dickwad You did hurt her" I grab his shirt Yank him forward so that we’re eye to eye, nose to nose "You put bruises on her that are going to take weeks to fade I’m not okay with that"

"Hoas I supposed to know?" he whines "She seeet--"

"What she was trying to do was get away from you I was four or five hundred yards away and even I could see that"

"That’s not true--"

"Oh, it is" I stomp the heel of my boot down on his tennis-shoe-clad foot even as I body check hi him into the metal countertop at his back "And you want to knohat else is true?"

"No" He watchesto tell you anyway" I glance behindattention They aren’t We’re in our own little piece of the kitchen over here, blocked from view by a half wall and a couple of tall shelves filled with kitchen equip as I’m quiet, I can do whatever the hell I want to this piece of shit and no one will be the wiser

The thought is tehten on his collar His face starts to turn red as he finally gets it I could strangle hi area, and no one would give a shit At least not until the dishes started piling up

"I’ to listen really well Understand?"

He nods frantically

"Good" I loosen"Ophelia’s a friend ofaboutwith hten ain, pull him in closer His eyes are wide, his pupils dilated with the sa sweaty patches pop up all over his shirt, but he doesn’t even try to fight ood fifty pounds Instead, he just clutches at his shirt, tries to rip it from my hands as he whi to stay away fro to look at her You’re not going to think about her You’re not even going to think about thinking about her ’Cuz if you do, if you soto end you Do you get me?"

He nods, and I loosen up on his collar a little rabbed hi so bad that he drops the pot he grabbed for self-defense It falls to the mat beneath hie that you understand what I’et it I didn’t know she was yours"

Rage, white-hot and ugly, rips through ain "It shouldn’t matter if she’s mine or not, fktard You don’t touch women who don’t want to be touched They deserve better than that Ophelia sure as hell deserves better than to be raped by so her Understand?"