Initiation (Gale City Charge Book 3) by Jennifer San Filippo

Author:Jennifer San Filippo [San Filippo, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-10-11T23:00:00+00:00

At five o’clock, the work bell rang, and the men began filing out from the tunnels in one steady river of people. Ray joined the flow as he always did, returning his hard hat to the stack of hard hats just outside the lift. He joined his father at the truck and, without a word, they headed south.

A part of Ray had hoped that he would start getting used to this, but the apprehension was worse than it had been the first time. What were they going to do? Would knowing make it easier to handle? Would he see another Inflicted again? What happened if they were caught? No one had seemed concerned about any of those possibilities, so Ray didn’t bring them up, no matter how much they ate at him.

Dubem pulled into a parking lot just in front of The Shiny Diner. Despite the dinner hour, there weren’t many cars here.

Ray stared at the building. “Why are we here?”

“What do you think?” Dubem said, climbing out of the car. “I’m hungry.”

Ray followed him to the door, apprehensive but also hungry. They went inside and took seats at the bar. A tired, plump waitress with curly hair took their orders: Dubem ordered a steak. Ray ordered a burger. They sat in silence, waiting for their food. Then the food came, and they ate in some more silence. Ray wasn’t sure if he was expected to start a conversation, but any question he could think to ask involved tonight’s job; the whole diner felt as if it were listening.

The waitress returned about twenty minutes and placed the bill on the counter between them, wishing them a pleasant evening.

Dubem didn’t grab it immediately. The bill sat there, fluttering slightly as someone opened the front door. Ray’s insides curdled, but he knew a test when he saw it. He took the bill, noted the price with dismay, and reached for his wallet.

Dubem plucked the bill from Ray’s hand. “Glad to see you’re not a complete leech,” he murmured, too low for anyone else to hear. He produced a small wad of bills and nudged them under his plate. “Let’s go.”

They climbed back into the truck and headed back the way they had come.

“What are we doing tonight?” Ray asked.

“Curiosity finally eating at you, huh?” Dubem said, but he was grinning, his teeth flashing in the glow of oncoming headlights. “We’re going to work.”

Ray waited for Dubem to explain further, but he didn’t. Maybe Dubem just wanted to enjoy putting Ray through the suspense, in which case Ray shouldn’t try too hard to ruin it.

The sky was dark with proper night. Apprehension made Ray want to sink into his own mind, to shut off until the whole thing was over, but he forced himself to pay attention to where they were going. He didn’t know the city as well at night, but he thought these streets looked familiar. He doubted his own sense of direction—he must be wrong—but there was no denying the view of Monta Brillante getting larger in front of them.

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