Adak’s Trapped Lawyer: (Island of Secrets Legal Thriller Series Book 3) by Freya Atwood

Author:Freya Atwood [Atwood, Freya]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-06-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

AFTER THE WAY I’d been treated all morning by the townsfolk of Adak, walking into Hansen’s Cuppa was an entirely different experience altogether. Perhaps the one place in Adak that, even during my hardest times, had felt somewhat like home, I couldn’t help but feel as if I’d just stepped off a boat and into shark infested waters.

It was colder than was normal; as if the heaters had been turned off in preparation for my arrival. Dark too, as the storm clouds outside were blotting out the sun and Lars hadn’t bothered turning on the lights. Just about empty, as I’d missed the morning rush, Lars stood behind the counter and fixed me with a look that I was expecting but still had me wondering if maybe I ought to leave before I did or said something that I’d regret.

“Heya, Lars,” I said with as friendly a cadence as I could muster. “It’s cold in here.”

“It’s cold out there too,” he said. Standing behind the counter, he had his arms folded, face expressionless as he eyed me coming toward him.

“And there’s the understatement of the century,” I chuckled as I reached the counter and fell into my regular stool. “Next you’ll be telling me the days are getting shorter.”

If this was any other time, Lars would have laughed at my half-joke and then made a wise crack of his own. Even at his worst, Lars had still managed to make this little diner of his feel welcoming, going out of his way to continue in the legacy that his mother had started.

But today... I half expected him to pull out a gun and tell me that ‘my type’ wasn’t welcome in here.

“So...” I cleared my throat nervously. “What’s on the menu today? Same as always or am I in for a surprise.”

“I’m afraid the kitchen is closed.”

I frowned. “Ah... what?”

“The kitchen, it’s --”

“Closed, yeah I heard that.” I looked at the clock hanging over his head, noted the time. “It’s not even 10am yet. What’s going on?” An awkward chuckle. “You have a date you need to be getting to?”

“I’m doing stock take,” he said simply, no emotion whatsoever. “Don’t have time to be cooking up meals after rush hour. If you come back closer to lunch, maybe I’ll be able to serve you.”

“How about a coffee? Surely, that isn’t too much to ask.”

He bit into the side of his cheek, and I just knew he was doing everything in his power not to tell me to get the hell out before he dragged me out. But that was never Lars’ way, so I wasn’t too surprised when he nodded his agreement, turned about, and started fixing me a coffee.

He didn’t say anything, however. And as he got to work on my coffee, he made sure to keep his back to me as if I wasn’t there.

“Lars --” The words caught in my throat.

As said, I’d been expecting this reaction. The day that Harper had arrived was the first

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