Ruthless

Chapter One

Jean stopped in her tracks when she saw the man in front of her. He didn't belong here.

He met her eyes and smiled at her, a quick friendly grin of a stranger who just wanted to get a seat and a cup of warm coffee, but it took a second for Jean to snap herself out of her daze.

She was used to strangers at the busy truck stop and twenty-four-hour diner where she worked, but something about this guy had all the hair on the back of her neck standing up. She realized he was still waiting for her to say something. "Have a seat wherever." She motioned around the small seating area with the pot of coffee she was carrying. "I'll be right there with a menu."

The man nodded before he headed to the last table in the corner, sitting with his back to the wall. Even though she knew she'd stared for too long, Jean couldn't tear her gaze away, trying to figure out what about him threw up all her inner alarms. He was dressed casually enough in black jeans, boots, and t-shirt. But he moved differently than the other truckers and plant workers who wandered in during the day. Usually exhausted from long shifts or sleepless nights on the road, the normal crowd would shuffle or stumble to a table.

This stranger moved gracefully, as though in control of every muscle. And his clothes, although casual, weren't dirty or ripped or worn looking at all.

His face was clean-shaven, and his short brown hair was shorn in a severe cut. Not the scraggily manes of the guys she was used to serving.

She shook her head and forced herself to focus on her own job, turning away from the handsome stranger to top off the coffee cups of the two truckers eating the largest breakfast the small roadside truck stop served.

As soon as she had them taken care of, she pulled a menu out from behind the checkout stand and walked over to the stranger's table. "Hi there." She smiled, trying to make sure none of her curiosity showed in her voice. "Can I start you out with anything to drink?"

"Just water today, Jean."

She frowned at his use of her name but then she remembered that she wore a nametag just above her right breast. The final piece to her customary uniform of black shorts and a black t-shirt. Now that she thought about it, she was dressed pretty similar to him. Except his pristine, soft-looking shirt probably didn't have remnants of powdered egg on it.

"Coming right up." She gave him a quick smile before she started to turn away, expecting him to pull out his phone or turn to the menu in dismissal as all her other customers did.

But he stared intently at her. No smile, no annoyance. It was as though he studied her for something.

She opened her mouth to ask him what he wanted but stopped herself. He was just a weirdo passing through. No need to find out what made him tick. Finally she turned away to work on getting him his drink. As she passed by the other trucker sitting alone at a table, Dickie, one of the three plant workers at the only other occupied table, reached up a hand and snapped his fingers at her.

Jean forced herself to hide her annoyed scowl. Dickie liked it when she got annoyed at his antics. Instead, she turned on her honed waitress smile as she headed over to his table. "Hey, Dickie. Anything I can get you?"

Dickie and his two buddies, Justin and Brent, were regulars here. They all worked night shifts at the local steel galvanizing plant up the road and liked to top things off with a breakfast before heading home. Some days they were all too tired to cause much trouble, but it had been apparent from the second Dickie and his crew walked in that they were extra rowdy today. Which meant it was probably their day off tomorrow and they were celebrating, and they wanted to do it over grits and sausage with her.