Killer Smile (Stella Knox FBI Mystery Series Book 1) by Mary Stone

Author:Mary Stone [Stone, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-04-04T04:00:00+00:00

An hour later, Stella was sitting in the corner opposite the bar door with half a pizza in her belly and a martini glass on the table. The night was still early, and the week had barely begun, but the place was already half full, and Morgan Wallen was complaining over the speakers about the sand in his boots.

Stella checked her watch. Mac was ten minutes late. She made a mental note. Some people were always early. Some, like her, timed their arrival to the minute, while others rolled up whenever. Mac, it seemed, was a whenever.

She turned her martini glass in circles and looked around. There were worse places to wait. Stella had passed the bar enough times without ever feeling tempted to go in. It sat just off Main Street in a building that looked like no more than a permanent trailer. Inside, the ambiance was dark without feeling too dangerous, and a warm, yellow light glowed from behind the bottles at the back of the long bar.

Two men sat at the counter. They were both unshaven, wore jeans that were both too tight and a touch too long, and their short-sleeved Hawaiian shirts were at least a half-size too small for their bellies. The space between the buttons wouldn’t close. Stella estimated their ages at almost forty, and if she had to place them in a profession, she would have guessed at something desk-y. Insurance maybe. Or part-time online weed salesman.

One of them, wearing white sneakers that shone beneath his black pants, kept glancing toward Stella over his friend’s shoulder. Stella checked her watch again.

C’mon, Mac.

The man patted his friend on the shoulder. He stood and picked up a drink that was suspiciously green. His unsteady hand sent the decorative umbrella tumbling out of the glass. He spilled a third of his drink trying to ram the umbrella back in, lifting his hand to his mouth after to slurp up the excess liquid while wiggling his eyebrows at Stella.

Charming. Wrinkling her nose, she lowered her gaze and braced herself. She really didn’t need this. Not today.

Despite the “go away” vibes she was mentally beaming at him, the man sauntered up to her table. He put his glass down and pulled out the chair opposite.

Stella bit back a groan. Barely. “I’m sorry. I’m waiting for someone.”

The man cocked his head and leaned on the back of the chair. “That’s right, hun. You’ve been waiting for me. All your life.”

Stella lifted a leg. She hooked a foot under the seat of the chair. “Not even for a second.”

With one flick of her toes, she dragged the chair back under the table. The man toppled toward the wall, crashing into it shoulder-first. The bar door opened, and Mac skipped inside. Stella waved to her as the man picked himself up.

“Like I said. I was waiting for someone.” She glared at him, daring him to make an issue of it.

Grumbling under his breath, he retreated back toward the bar.

“Hey,” Stella called to him as Mac sat down.

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