Page 95
Story: Knot Playing Fair 2
“Forsythe, Jamison, Walker—with me!” barked my living crutch. “Fall in, we’ve got injured victims in the building. You... Mr. Bell. Lead the way.”
FORTY
Mia
I FELT AS THOUGH Iwas hovering outside my body, looking down as my hands and legs went through the motions of overseeing the line and making food. My voice called out orders and demanded check-ins, but I couldn’t have said where in my brain the words originated.
Every conscious thought was taken over by worry and guilt. How could I be here, playing at normalcy when people I loved were in danger... possibly injured or even dead? Where the hell did I get off serving mini pizza rounds and lava cake to laughing customers when Luca, Nat, and Byron weregone?
I don’t think I could have held it together if not for Emiel, who’d parked himself in an out-of-the-way corner of the kitchen at the beginning of the lunch service and refused to budge for the rest of the day. Whenever I felt like I couldn’t stand the pressure for another second, I’d glance over, and there he was. Solid and steady, his eyes locked on me and never straying.
It didn’t help that Shani kept throwing me worried glances. She’d tried to talk to me about what was happening at the beginning of the shift, and again during the mid-afternoon lull. I’d put her off—brusquely, the first time, and downright aggressively, the second.
I... probably owed her an apology for the second brush-off, at a minimum. I just knew that if I’d responded to her worry, I’d have broken down on the spot.
The clock on the kitchen wall had been moving ridiculously slowly all day. I’d think to myself,it’s been at least an hour since I checked the time, and when I looked up, only ten minutes had passed. I had no idea how Emiel was able to stand there so still and silent without going completely insane. If I hadn’t been busy almost nonstop, I wouldn’t have been able to function this long.
And wewerebusy. Enthusiasm for the restaurant’s reopening hadn’t dimmed, and once again, the place was packed. It was—finally—less than an hour until close, and every table in the building was still occupied.
“Maleeka, check the stock of thawed steaks—I want at least another dozen ready to go!” I watched myself say, as I moved efficiently along a line of skillets, flipping the contents of each one like an automaton.
“Yes, chef!” Maleeka called, moving briskly to do as I’d asked.
A new round of orders came in, and I was midway through checking them and barking directions to the line cooks when I saw Emiel frown and pull his phone out of his pocket. He lifted it to his ear and started speaking in low tones, his frown deepening. Abruptly, I stuttered to a halt like a wind-up toy running down.
“Boss?” A gentle hand closed around my arm, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Emiel to look at my sous chef.
Shani tugged me toward the alpha with brisk movements, practically shoving me at him when we got close. “I’ll take over the line for a minute, okay?” she said.
I nodded dumbly, my gaze still fixed on Emiel’s face.
A moment later, he broke into a grin. I slammed abruptly back into my body, my heart twisting as I tried to decide if it was safe to hope.
“We’ll be there as soon as we can, Z,” he said into the phone. “Don’t let the cops bully you into sayin’ anything stupid.”
“What’s happening?” I asked breathlessly, once he’d disconnected the call, feeling shaky and faint. “Is Zalen okay?”
It wasn’t what I really wanted to ask, but it seemed like the safest place to start.
Emiel nodded. “He’s fine. The others are at Barnes Jewish Hospital. They’re all alive, nothing critical.”
My surroundings went gray, and I swayed forward into his arms. He held me up effortlessly, giving me a comforting squeeze.
“We need to go check on them,” he said against my hair. “Can you leave?”
FORTY
Mia
I FELT AS THOUGH Iwas hovering outside my body, looking down as my hands and legs went through the motions of overseeing the line and making food. My voice called out orders and demanded check-ins, but I couldn’t have said where in my brain the words originated.
Every conscious thought was taken over by worry and guilt. How could I be here, playing at normalcy when people I loved were in danger... possibly injured or even dead? Where the hell did I get off serving mini pizza rounds and lava cake to laughing customers when Luca, Nat, and Byron weregone?
I don’t think I could have held it together if not for Emiel, who’d parked himself in an out-of-the-way corner of the kitchen at the beginning of the lunch service and refused to budge for the rest of the day. Whenever I felt like I couldn’t stand the pressure for another second, I’d glance over, and there he was. Solid and steady, his eyes locked on me and never straying.
It didn’t help that Shani kept throwing me worried glances. She’d tried to talk to me about what was happening at the beginning of the shift, and again during the mid-afternoon lull. I’d put her off—brusquely, the first time, and downright aggressively, the second.
I... probably owed her an apology for the second brush-off, at a minimum. I just knew that if I’d responded to her worry, I’d have broken down on the spot.
The clock on the kitchen wall had been moving ridiculously slowly all day. I’d think to myself,it’s been at least an hour since I checked the time, and when I looked up, only ten minutes had passed. I had no idea how Emiel was able to stand there so still and silent without going completely insane. If I hadn’t been busy almost nonstop, I wouldn’t have been able to function this long.
And wewerebusy. Enthusiasm for the restaurant’s reopening hadn’t dimmed, and once again, the place was packed. It was—finally—less than an hour until close, and every table in the building was still occupied.
“Maleeka, check the stock of thawed steaks—I want at least another dozen ready to go!” I watched myself say, as I moved efficiently along a line of skillets, flipping the contents of each one like an automaton.
“Yes, chef!” Maleeka called, moving briskly to do as I’d asked.
A new round of orders came in, and I was midway through checking them and barking directions to the line cooks when I saw Emiel frown and pull his phone out of his pocket. He lifted it to his ear and started speaking in low tones, his frown deepening. Abruptly, I stuttered to a halt like a wind-up toy running down.
“Boss?” A gentle hand closed around my arm, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Emiel to look at my sous chef.
Shani tugged me toward the alpha with brisk movements, practically shoving me at him when we got close. “I’ll take over the line for a minute, okay?” she said.
I nodded dumbly, my gaze still fixed on Emiel’s face.
A moment later, he broke into a grin. I slammed abruptly back into my body, my heart twisting as I tried to decide if it was safe to hope.
“We’ll be there as soon as we can, Z,” he said into the phone. “Don’t let the cops bully you into sayin’ anything stupid.”
“What’s happening?” I asked breathlessly, once he’d disconnected the call, feeling shaky and faint. “Is Zalen okay?”
It wasn’t what I really wanted to ask, but it seemed like the safest place to start.
Emiel nodded. “He’s fine. The others are at Barnes Jewish Hospital. They’re all alive, nothing critical.”
My surroundings went gray, and I swayed forward into his arms. He held me up effortlessly, giving me a comforting squeeze.
“We need to go check on them,” he said against my hair. “Can you leave?”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185
- Page 186