Burned (Shenandoah Shadows Novella Book 1) by Melissa F. Miller

Author:Melissa F. Miller [Miller, Melissa F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781940759586
Publisher: Brown Street Books
Published: 2021-01-14T16:00:00+00:00

10

Olivia pointed out the pub. It was nestled between a vintage clothing store and a hardware store. Trent ducked his head and peered over her shoulder through the passenger window.

“Is there parking out back?”

“There is, but it’s suboptimal. The one-way alley behind is narrow and dead ends behind the hardware store.”

“Good place for an ambush. Bad place to park.” He continued to the end of the block.

“There. To the left, take that alley and follow it for another block. There’s a bread factory—or at least there used to be—the parking lot’s open to the public when the factory’s closed.”

He nosed the Porsche down the bumpy cobblestone alley. They reached the old brick bread factory, closed for the day, and he parked the bright yellow sports car in the empty parking lot under a sign that listed the factory hours. They walked the two short blocks back to the main street in companionable silence.

They made a good team, she thought. They looked like an ordinary couple out for a casual stroll, but they had similar situational awareness—both scanning the street from side to side and stopping from time to time to pretend to window shop. She could tell that, like her, he was checking the reflection to confirm they weren’t being followed.

They reached the pub, and he held the door for her. Inside the dark wood interior, the air was chilly and dank, the music too loud, and all the surfaces were sticky. Just the way she remembered it.

As the tinkle of the bell over the door announced their arrival, the brunette leaning against the hostess stand looked up from her cell phone and smiled.

“Hey, y’all,” she said cheerfully. She eyed Olivia. “I know you. You’re one of the trivia girls. It’s been a hot minute.”

“It’s been over three years,” Olivia countered. “I can’t believe you remember me.”

“I never forget a face.”

Great. Just her luck. A bar hostess with an eidetic memory.

“Hi, there,” Trent interjected with a wide, cocky grin.

“Uh, hi, yourself,” the hostess said.

Olivia threw him a look. Then she realized what he was up to. The hostess had forgotten all about her and was staring at Trent like she wanted to eat him with a spoon. Without breaking eye contact, the woman grabbed two oversized laminated menus from the shelf under the stand and returned Trent’s smile with a high-wattage grin of her own. “Booth or table?”

Olivia scanned the mostly empty dining room. The tables were set up against the long glass windows, making their occupants visible from the street.

“Booth,” she and Trent said in unison.

He chuckled, then added, “Near the kitchen, please.”

Olivia nodded in silent agreement. Easy access to the back exit. Smart.

The hostess tossed her hair over her shoulder and led them to a corner booth tucked into the back of the room. Olivia and Trent both lunged for the side that faced the entrance. Trent got there first and Olivia reluctantly lowered herself on to the seat that faced the kitchen.

The hostess sashayed off with one final over-the-shoulder longing look at Trent, who seemed not to notice.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.