CRYPTO: Infidelity (Book 1)

CHAPTER 70: DATE

I showed up early to The Scarlet Macaw and got a table for two.

"If you see a black Belgian Malinois, can you send him my way?" I asked the waitress.

"Sure thing," she said. "Would you like to look at our menu while you wait?"

"Sure."

She handed me a menu and walked away. It took me a while to look at everything and decide what I wanted to eat. Once I finally did, I saw the waitress coming back to my table with Diesel following a few feet behind her. He was on the phone.

"Don't worry about it, Victor. I will take care of them," he said. He stopped at the table and looked at his watch.

The waitress pulled his chair out for him to sit, but he continued to stand so she just waited.

"I know. I gotta go now. It's 7:31," Diesel said. "Okay, bye." He put his phone in his satchel. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"No problem. You're right on time," I said.

He sat down.

"Are we ready to order or do you need some time?" the waitress asked us.

"I'll just have whatever he's having," Diesel said as he pulled a notepad and pen out of his bag.

"I'll have the North Atlantic Cod," I told the waitress.

"Oh, I'm actually allergic to cod," Diesel said. "Can you pick something else?"

"Um, okay." I looked down at the menu again. "Um..." I didn't want to take up too much time thinking so I just chose the first thing I saw. "How about the Steak Tacos?"

"I'm allergic to steak," Diesel said. "And tacos."

"Are you serious?" I asked.

"No. I'm just messing with you. I love steak tacos."

"Alright," the waitress said. "Steak tacos it is." She took our menus and left.

"What are you writing?" I asked Diesel.

"Just updating my schedule," he said as he put his notepad away. "Victor wants me to take care of his guys while he's on vacation. Have you met Victor?"

"I don't think so."

"Shame. He's a nice guy."

"Are you sure you have time to take over for him?" I asked.

"I'll make time."

"Do you make time for breaks?"

Diesel laughed. "Do you know who you're talking to?"

"I think it's healthy to take breaks. You wouldn't wanna burn out."

"That's a myth that lazy animals made up. I've been doing this for years and I've never burnt out," he said. "But enough about me. Let's talk about you."

"Um, okay. What do you want to know?"

"Why did you want to talk to me?" he asked.

"Uh... I don't know... You seemed nice?"

"I nearly put a bullet in your head and you think I'm nice?"

I looked around. Did he really just admit to that out loud in public?

"Calm down. Nobody cares about us," he told me.

"It was a nice thing to get the mail," I said. "You didn't have to do that."

"The delivery guy was late and I was bored. Besides, that was a long time ago. I can't believe you're still thinking about that."

"So you don't like me?" I asked him.

"Why would I like you?"

"It's just that... Well, there were rumors going around that you were interested in me."

"I am interested in you," he said. "I'm interested in everything you do."

"Then... I don't understand."

"Let me clear it up for you." Diesel picked up his satchel and pulled out a stack of photos. He spread them out on the table. They were pictures of me that I was unaware were taken.

"See? I've been very interested in your lifestyle and whereabouts," Diesel said. He pointed to a photo. "This is you walking into your apartment," he pointed to another, "and this one is you with Rockie and his pals, and this is from your initiation when you shot that coonhound. There's you with your partner, Dedrick, having lunch together, and here's Dedrick with his family. Aren't his kids cute?"

"Okay. I get it," I said, pushing the photos away. "Put those away before someone sees."

"But I didn't show you my favorite one," Diesel said. He lifted a photo so I could see.

It was me and Birdie dancing together. He couldn't have gotten that picture unless he was inside the dance classroom.

"How did you get that photo?" I asked him.

"I had it printed from my phone at the drugstore. Did you know they print photos there? It's pretty cheap. Highly recommend."

"What do you want? I've been good to the Family. I've done everything I've been asked."

"You weren't asked to arrest Nitro."

"That wasn't my fault."

"Right. It was Hal's fault for trusting you."

I have been found out, I thought. This was a setup. Diesel is here to kill me.

Our waitress came over and poured us some water.

"Thank you," Diesel said as he stacked the photos and put them back into his bag.

"My pleasure," she said. When she left, I stood up.

"I gotta go," I said.

"You're not gonna pay for your meal?" Diesel asked.

I opened my wallet and put a wad of cash on the table.

"There's nowhere to hide, Crypto," he said.

I quickly headed for the exit.