“Yeah, well, that’s about to change.”
Nile returned with a pen and notepad. “You guys ready?”
“I didn’t look at the menu.” Dylan took in the sight of her. He couldn’t help it.” What’s good?”
“I got you.” She jotted something on her pad.
Sonny watched him reacting to her.
“You?”
“I’ll have three eggs, three slices of bacon, two pieces of toast, a side of hash browns, a bowl of grits, and more coffee...pl-ease.”
Nile walked away.
Sonny said, “I see you’ve gotten friendly with the help. I went to jail for less than that.”
“Yes, I’d rather be friendly than insulting.”
“It won’t matter, anyway. Are you coming with me?”
Dylan remembered Nile imploring him to cooperate. “Not this trip. This is your thing; you do the reconnaissance.”
“I will. Because I do what it takes to help Jake. He’s always there for me. I wouldn’t let them tell me I couldn’t stay in a meeting when he needed backup.”
“What do you think that jail cell was telling you?”
Sonny ignored him.
Nile showed up again with a tray laden with food. Everything Sonny ordered and for Dylan, a meat-lovers omelet with a side of home-fries and a bowl of fresh fruit with hand-whipped cream. Instead of coffee, he got a pumpkin spice latte and a bottle of water.
It looked and smelled amazing. “Wow. This is not your ordinary deli fare.”
“No,” she said. “People don’t have a lot of options here. We have to be creative.”
“I’ll say. I’m going to eat this and fall into a food coma. Thank you.”
Sonny looked at his plate and felt cheated. Everything was there, but it was still somehow, less than. Dylan...and these people plucked his nerves.
Chapter Fourteen
Midway through the meal, a U-Haul sized truck parked in front of the bakery. A blue SUV parked beside it. Maya, Toni, and their dad got out of the SUV. Jordan and Ernest disembarked from the truck.
Inside they ordered pastries to go. JB talked with them a minute and made his exit. Upon spying Sonny and Dylan, Maya got permission to speak with them. Toni accompanied her.
“Hey guys, is Jake around?”
“Rough night,” Dylan said. “He’s still sleeping.”
“You can wake him up if you like.” Sonny shoved a forkful of hash browns in his mouth.
Maya didn’t answer him. “You’ll be gone before I get back. I wanted to say goodbye. And, to ask you not to let Jake come over to my place.” She glanced at her father. “It’s for his own good.”
Dylan quirked an eyebrow. “What’s going on, now, Maya?”
Toni had been unnoticed too long. “Hi, Dylan. Hi,” she smiled at Sonny. “Maya is back home for good now. We’re getting her things. Short notice. Jordan and Ernest are helping because my cousin, Eddie, is working. And, because Maya is back at number one on the not-trusted list.” She giggled. “When will you be back in Bridgeport?”
“Knock it off, Toni.” Maya cut her off. “Anyway, tell Jake, I said, bye. Bye, guys.” She waved once and left.
Toni leaned forward and whispered to Dylan, “My last four are 6032. Everything else is the same as Maya’s. Call me.” She scooted away
Dylan checked to see if Nile saw it.
She gave him a mock salute.
He raised his water in a toast.
“You sure are popular around here.”
“Small town. Bound to happen.”
“Jake and I ain’t having that problem.”
“No, you’re having other problems.”
Deciding to change the topic, Sonny asked, “What do you make of that?”
“I don’t know. There’s still too much mystery to know much of anything.”
“Should we beat them to Bridgeport and get Maya back? It’s just three of them. One of them is old and that punk won’t be able to do much out of this hellhole.”
“Maya is an adult. Whatever is going on, I think she could get away if she wanted to. I don’t believe she wants to.”
“She’s scared, man. Can’t you see that?”
“I can. But she could have talked to Jake...to us. We would have helped her a lot more before now.”
“Whatever. I’ve got a meeting.” Sonny threw his napkin down. “Tell Jake, I’ll be back.”
Dylan watched Sonny leave. He paused at the curve. A few seconds later, Jake came into view. He looked like shit. They talked—Jake had a reaction to Sonny pointing to some spot in the distance. Dylan guessed Maya was the topic. They got on their bikes and drove off.
“What’s that about?” Nile slid into the booth beside him.
He made room. “I don’t know. Sonny has a wild hair up his ass. He said he was going to talk to somebody about dealing with you all. I guess Jake is tagging along.”
“That will not work the way he wants.”
“I don’t know about whoever he’s meeting, but Sonny is too incompetent to be a credible threat.”
“I feel sorry for him. Your brother too.”
“Not me?”
“Sorry for what? I’m the one losing out.”
“So am I.”
“No, you’re not. You get to go back to the real world and meet three hundred women like me. I’m stuck here with fantasies.”
He had a fantasy or two. “It looks like I have some time to kill waiting for the idiots to be done. Can you take a break?”
Her eyes lit up and his breath caught.
“I own the joint. I can take a break anytime I want.”
“Do you want to go for a ride?”
She slid out of the booth and charged to the back.
Dylan took it for a yes and assumed she was informing someone she was leaving. He waited for her by the door—you couldn’t hide anything around here anyway—and raised his fist in victory when she joined him. They walked out to a round of applause.
He fitted the spare helmet and adjusted the straps himself.
She waved to their audience and wrapped her arms around his waist. Dylan revved the engine as a tribute to his joy and they rode into the sunshine.
WATCHING FROM BEHIND her counter, Oprah tsked. “Why are we applauding that?”
Tigris went from the window to the counter. “She’s been smiling ever since they met. I like it when she smiles.”
“So do I, but we both know where that’s going. His brother is Maya’s boyfriend for goodness sake.”
Tigris nodded. “There is that. But, Nile knows it as well as we do. He’s leaving today. There’s nothing wrong with letting her have a little fun. He can’t do any real damage to her heart.”
Oprah was silent.
Tigris hugged her. “You worry too much.” She let her go. “And don’t you dare call my mother.”
The Pantry Chief relaxed. “Dang it. I was debating it.”
“I know.” Tigris went back to work.
JAKE FOLLOWED SONNY as he circled the Super Eight. A group of men hung around a trash can, smoking. One, Jake thought he recognized, waved his hand. They parked their bikes and joined the group.