Clutch: Satan's Fury MC (5 page)

“Can’t we just take the bus today?” Hadley whined. “I’ve still got some math homework to finish.”

“You know the answer to that. Now, grab your stuff and let’s go. Louise will be leaving in five minutes.” I grabbed my purse and headed for the diner. Before I closed the door, I yelled, “I’ll meet you downstairs. I’ve got to go clock in!”

When I walked into the small diner, I wasn’t surprised to see that every seat had already been taken and there was a line out the door. The breakfast rush started early and didn’t let up until late in the afternoon. It had taken some time, but I was finally getting used to the nonstop stream of customers that came to eat at Daisy Mae’s. It was located in the middle of downtown Memphis and known for having the best lunches in town, so it was always packed. I was constantly on the move from the minute I clocked in until just before closing every night.

At first it was hard to manage all my hours at work. I needed the hours, so I managed to convince Louise to let me work more than one shift several days during the week, but that meant I had even less time with the kids. When they weren’t in school, they were either stuck waiting for me in the hotel room or sitting in one of the back booths doing their homework. They were miserable, and honestly, I was worse off than they were. I hated not being with them, especially after all we’d been through, but I finally lucked out when the cook Cyrus told me about an apartment above the diner that was for rent. Apparently, he was friends with the owner, and after putting a good word in for me, he was able to get me a good deal on it. When I first saw it, I was surprised by how small it was, but I couldn’t complain; it was something I could actually afford, and it was even furnished. Well, partly furnished. After paying the first two month’s rent upfront, we were still doing okay, so I splurged a bit and bought the kids some new mattresses and some bedding, along with a few odds and ends to make it feel more like home.

I was adjusting my apron when Cyrus stuck his head out of the small serving window and shouted, “Louise is waiting in the car out back.”

“Shit,” I mumbled under my breath.

Louise took her grandkids to school each morning and I was thrilled the day she’d actually volunteered to take Charlie and Hadley along with them. There was just one catch: she wasn’t one to wait around. If we were late, the kids would miss their safest way to school. She had her positives, but overall, she was a real piece of work. I wasn’t sure if she actually owned the diner, but she ran it like she did. She was much older than her brother Cyrus with a wide girth and a constant snarl, and she was quick to remind everyone that she was the one in charge in and out of the diner. She expected things to be run a certain way—
her way
—and she was quick to crawl up your ass if you screwed up. I was just about to rush back upstairs to fuss at the kids when they both came up behind me.

I let out a sigh of relief. “Louise is already waiting for you out back.”

“Of course she is,” Charlie groaned. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a collared shirt with his baseball cap pulled down low over his eyes.

“Hey.” When he turned back to look at me, I smiled and said, “Hope you have a good day.”

He rolled his eyes and sassed, “Whatever.”

Normally he was such a sweet kid, always trying to do what he could to help when things got tough. In the mornings, he just couldn’t help himself, and the grumpy, hormonal teenager came roaring to life. I tried to be understanding. He and his sister had been through so much, so most mornings, I would just ignore it and hope that he’d be better in the afternoon.

I waved goodbye, but he just ignored me and walked out of the back door. Noting her brother’s bad mood, Hadley gave me a sympathetic look and said, “Hope you have a good day, too. See you after school.”

“Okay. Check ya later, squirt.” I smiled and watched as she followed her brother out to meet Louise.

As soon as they were gone, my morning turned into a blur. Customers kept rolling in one after the other, and by the time my break rolled around, I was exhausted. My feet were killing me and the muscles in my legs were throbbing as I took my cup of coffee over to one of the empty booths in the back of the diner and sat down. Thankfully, my spirits were lifted as soon as I counted up my tips for the day. All things considered, I was doing alright. With Detective Brakeman’s help, I’d gotten the kids enrolled into a good school and found us a safe place to stay.

I was still worried that trouble would find us, but after talking with Cyrus, I felt better about the situation. I hadn’t been working at the diner long when he approached me. While Louise seemed tough as nails, Cyrus had a softer side to him. He was a big guy, tall and burly, but he had a sweet smile. He was handsome with his dark hair and coal black eyes, and I liked the little gray bristles in his goatee. Apparently he’d been watching me with the kids and knew something was up, but he didn’t ask questions. He just slipped me a card with a strange phone number on it. He told me to call it if I ever ran into any trouble, day or night. He promised that I was safe there at the diner, and I believed him … at least for the time being.

When my break was over, I went to the kitchen to gather up the day’s trash and headed out back. I walked out into the alley, but stopped in my tracks when I found a man sifting through the dumpster. When he saw me, he stopped moving and just stood there, frozen in place. He was dirty, covered in dark soot from head to toe, and his clothes were all tattered and torn. The temperature had dropped over the past couple of days, and I knew he had to be freezing. He was a mess, but it wasn’t his appearance that got to me. It was the deep sadness in his eyes that tugged at my heart.

The large bags of garbage were getting heavy in my hands, so I took a step forward, doing my best not to scare him as I headed towards the dumpster. Once I got closer, he took a step back and said, “Umm … My name’s Sam. Me and Cyrus go way back … and he said it’d be okay for me to come by after lunch from time to time.”

I’m not sure what it was, but something about the kindness in his voice drew me to him. Without thinking, I smiled and stammered, “No need to rush off. Why don’t you let me get you something to eat. Maybe a burger and a cup of coffee? My treat.”

His eyes dropped to the ground as he answered, “Better not do that. I don’t think Louise would like it.”

“Let me worry about Louise. Besides, the lunch rush is over. No one will even notice that you’re there.”

“You sure?”

“I’m positive.” I tossed the garbage bags into the dumpster and headed back towards the door. When I stepped into the diner, I looked back and I was pleased to see that he was following me. I led him over to the corner booth in the back of the restaurant where I’d always taken my break. It was off to the side, and I hoped it would limit the amount of stares he’d get being there.

Once he was settled, I asked, “What do you want on your burger?”

“Anything is fine.” He smiled.

“I’ll be back in a minute with your coffee. Let me know if I can get you anything else.”

When I put his order in, Cyrus glanced over at my guest and then turned back to me with a disapproving look, but he didn’t say a word. I decided to just ignore him and reached for the pot of coffee. I filled the cup full and took it over to the stranger. Without adding sugar or cream, he took the warm drink in his hand and brought it up to his mouth for a long drink. I was about to head back to the kitchen for his food when he pointed to the name tag on my uniform and asked, “Your name’s really Hazel?”

I was just about to tell him my real name when Hadley and Charlie walked into the diner, reminding me that I couldn’t trust anyone, not even a homeless guy I’d found rummaging through a dumpster. I smiled and answered, “Afraid so. I was named after my grandmother. What about you? What’s your name? Do you live around here?” The words were out of my mouth before I’d had time to even think.

“I guess you could say that. I’ve lived in Tennessee my whole life. Grew up a few miles from here. Traveled all around the world while I was in the service, but always felt like this was my home.”

“You were in the service?”

“Over thirty years in the navy. Some of the best years of my life … some of the worst, too.”

“Maybe you could tell me all about it someday.” I smiled.

“Sure. I’d like that.” He beamed.

“Me, too. I’ll be right back with your lunch,” I told him as I headed over to the front counter to say hi to the kids.

Before I even had a chance to speak, Charlie groaned, “I’m starving. They had some kind of noodle crap for lunch today and it sucked.”

“Yeah, I’m hungry, too,” Hadley chimed in, giving me one of her pouting looks. “Can we get something to eat?”

“Sure thing. I’ll have Cyrus make you both a sandwich.” While reaching for Sam’s burger, I turned to Cyrus and said, “Need a couple of club sandwiches for the kids.”

As I headed towards the back tables, I heard Cyrus say, “Those kids eat more than I do.”

I placed Sam’s burger down on the table and smiled as I watched him study his food. “There you go. Do you need anything else? More coffee or a soda?”

He shook his head as he said, “I’m good. Thank you.”

“No problem. I hope you enjoy it.” I smiled and headed back over to the kids. I was going to check to see if their sandwiches were ready, but stopped cold when I saw a man standing at the front door of the diner.

He was like no man I’d ever seen before—rugged, fierce, and sexy as hell. The mere sight of him caught my breath, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t pull myself away from those gorgeous dark green eyes. I’d seen my share of bikers come through the bar, but he was different—different in a good way. His leather jacket and long, shaggy hair made him look a bit intimidating, like one of those rough don’t-mess-with-me kind of men, but l didn’t feel threatened by him—not in the least. Instead, I felt a strange pull towards him. I found myself wanting to get closer to him, to run my hand across the bristles of his two-day-old beard.

When I felt my heart rate quicken, I chastised myself. What was I thinking, getting worked up over some man? Especially a man like him. I wasn’t the kind of girl that was interested in a roughneck biker, and it ticked me off that I’d even given him a second look.

My chagrin worsened as I watched him stroll over to the counter and sit down next to Charlie. Damn. I didn’t want him anywhere close to my brother or sister. Before I could go over to Charlie and tell him to move, Louise came rushing out of the kitchen and headed straight for the mysterious stranger. She smiled and started talking to him like they were old friends. Being too curious for my own good, I stepped closer, pretending to check on my other customers as I eavesdropped on their conversation.

“I have the keys to your apartment in my office,” Louise told him. “You want a bite to eat while you’re here?”

“Yeah, that’d be good. Gus said you had one of the best burgers in town.” His voice was low and husky. I found myself wanting to hear him talk again, which only made me more annoyed with myself.

“One of the best? No, no darlin’. We
are
the best,” Louise corrected him. “The apartment is right upstairs. It’s the second door on the left. Gus made sure everything was ready for you. I put clean sheets on the bed this morning. I’ll be right back with your keys,” she told him before she headed to the back.

I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. He was going to be living next door! The guy hadn’t even spoken to me—and probably never would—but just the thought of him living next door made my frustration level hit an all-time high. I had no idea why I felt so intensely exasperated with his presence. All I knew was that my displeasure was clashing with my newfound raging libido.

When she placed the keys in his hand, he said, “Thanks, Louise. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem. And, darlin’, you can come by anytime for a bite to eat. It’s on the house.”

I quickly turned around, looking for anyone that was as surprised as I was by Louise’s offer, but no one even seemed to be paying attention. I glared at the man’s back, wanting more than ever to thump him right in the head just for being there. After staring at him for a few seconds longer, I decided that a bruising nipple-twist would be a better form of torture for the man who just invaded my thoughts and territory. I was smiling at the thought when Cyrus yelled, “Order up!”

I hurried over to the serving window, reaching quickly for the kids’ sandwiches before Cyrus had a chance to scream out again. I placed the plates on the counter in front of them. Without saying a word, they both began stuffing their mouths like they hadn’t eaten in days. I refilled their glasses of tea, then returned to check on Sam.

When I got back to his table, his plate was clean and his cup was empty. A huge smile spread across his face when he said, “Best meal I’ve had in a while.”

“Glad you liked it,” I answered.

He stood up to leave and softly said, “Mighty nice of you to feed an old fool like me. I owe you one.”

“Don’t give it a second thought. I was glad to do it.”

Once he’d gotten up and headed towards the back door, I picked up his receipt to see how much I owed for his lunch, then reached into my pocket for my tip money and placed it on the table. I thought back to the way Sam had smiled at me before he left and was amazed at how something so small could make me feel so good. I wanted to help him in some way, but I was still struggling to get my feet on the ground. I could only hope that someday I’d be able to do more.