Rev (Fast Lane #1)

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Journey

"Journey, don't forget to lock up." I nodded and finished wiping down the tables in the small café where I worked. My boss, Bentley, flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulders and pulled her purse up on her arm.

"I will. Have a good night, Bentley," I called before she walked out the door. The small bell above the door dinged as it shut behind her. At first, Bentley had been hesitant to leave me here at night. She said she didn't want anything to happen to me, but I had just laughed and told her I'd be fine. I'd been in Miami for about three weeks and had been working here for one. Nothing or no one had come in here to get me.

I finished wiping down the tables and went in the back to toss the rag I was using in with the dirty ones. I put the cleaning spray up on the shelf and untied my apron from around my waist to hang it up beside the other worker's. There was only one other girl that worked here besides Bentley and I along with the cook, but we managed. I sat down in one of the booths for a second to rest my feet and leaned my head back against the edge.

My hair needed to be washed when I went home. It was greasy and lacked the sweet scent that it normally possessed. My nails also needed polishing, but I'd do that myself, too. I liked painting my nails. It calmed my mind. I closed my eyes and sighed when I heard the sound of engines roaring down the street.

I'd learned about the weekly street races that went down here in Miami shortly after I'd arrived. I didn't see the amusement of driving a car recklessly and illegally down the road for money or whatever it was they competed for. They risked not only their lives, but the lives of others if they were to be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Four cars raced by the café in a blur and I watched as they disappeared down the road. I shook my head and stood up to get my stuff from behind the counter to lock up the place and leave. It was semi-dark in the building so finding my purse was a small challenge. I continued to feel along the shelf until I heard the familiar wail of sirens racing down the street.

I had just found my purse when I heard rubber against cement pace by again. Looks like the race took a different turn tonight, only the cars that passed by were only police cars. Huh.

Tap. Tap. Tap. My heart faltered a beat as I looked up at the glass door. A dark figure was outlined by the pale shine of the streetlights. Judging by the wide shoulders and large hand that rested against the window, the figure was male. I clutched my purse to my stomach and reached for the bat that was hidden below the counter where the register was. I crouched low behind the counter and bit my lip nervously.

"I know you're in there. Bentley wouldn't leave her shop unlocked." The voice was audible through the glass and it was, indeed, a man. He knocked again and I wondered if I should let him in. He knew my boss by her name which means he has to know her, but I wasn't about to let a stranger into a dark, desolate building with me. No woman in their right mind would, even if she was from a small town and hadn't ever had to worry about being robbed or murdered in her workplace after hours.

"Just let me in. I know the owner and she lets me in all the time." I could hear the sirens again in the distance. The figure moved as if it were looking around himself. I gripped the bat in my hand as I slowly pulled out my phone and dialed Bentley's number. It rang three times before she picked up.

"Hello?" Her voice sounded light and cheerful even after she's worked all day. I swallowed and took a deep breath as I told her about the stranger at the door.

"It's Tristan Hayes. He's a friend of my brother's. They hide out from time to time in there when things go south. Let him in." I nodded and let out the breath I'd been holding. I didn't know Bentley had a brother. I knew that she had a husband, but she had never mentioned any siblings.

"Okay. I was just a little freaked out because he just showed up." Bentley laughed on the other end.

"Yeah, he still scares me when he knocks on the door at night sometimes, too. Thanks for calling me. Goodnight, Journey." The line clicked dead and I took a deep breath before standing up. I crossed the room to the glass and saw that the shadowy figure that was supposedly Tristan Hayes was gone. I looked on both sides of the road, but didn't see anything except palm trees and an open street lined with tall lights. I trusted Bentley. She was one of the few people that I knew in the city and she was my boss. She had to know what she was doing with her business, but I was still iffy on letting a total stranger inside of an empty building with me.

"You must be new here." I jumped at the voice behind me and pressed my back to the door. The source was a tall, male figure. Although I couldn't see very well in the dark of the room, I could tell that he had a wide build.

"Uh...yeah," I said hesitantly.

"You can put the bat down. I'm harmless. For the most part." He smirked and I looked down at the baseball bat in my clutched hand. I'd forgotten that I had it. I crossed the room and placed the object back in its assigned spot behind the counter.

"How did you get in here?" I asked.

"Bentley's like a sister to me. I was here when she opened this place. Which also means I was here when the locks were upgraded." His features were barely visible in the dim lighting from across the street, but his voice was thick and rumbly. It crawled up across my arms slowly, making me feel all warm and tingly.

"Oh" was all I said. He leaned his long body against one of the tables and crossed his arms over his chest. That simple motion caused his biceps to flex a bit. That was something I could see beneath the pale lighting.

"You can leave if you want. I can lock up here. I know how." Could I? Bentley said that he was a friend of her brother's. She trusted him. She must have if she allowed me to let him in here with me at night. Alone.

"It's my job though," I said softly. The smell of burnt rubber and a spicy cologne hung in the air and was kind of making my head foggy. What was wrong with me? He was a stranger for God's sake. A stranger that was using my boss's small café as his hideout from the police.

"She won't mind, and I'll be sure to let her know how helpful you were in stashing me away." I didn't like the idea of leaving someone I didn't know with my boss' business, but I was really tired and Bentley had given me the greenlight to let him inside, so I caved.

"Okay...?" I came around the corner of the counter and saw his head tilt to the side. I bit my lip and walked towards the door. Even in the dark, I could feel his eyes on me and it was making me feel a little uneasy.

"Goodnight, new girl," I heard him say. I turned and nodded back before opening the door.

"Goodnight," I said weakly. I hurried down the small sidewalk and to the small car that I had parked behind the building. The tiny Honda Civic that sat parked underneath a security camera looked like a safe haven. I glanced around cautiously as I unlocked the door and slid in behind the wheel. I locked the door after I shut it, turned my key, and reversed to leave the building where I worked and the mysterious Tristan Hayes in it.