Page 34 of Lies Beneath Secrets (Skeleton Crew #1)
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Lauren
“Have you heard from him since?” Piper asks as she places the coffeepot back on the warming plate. I shake my head and grab another napkin.
“He was such a jerk, I’m not sure I even want to see or talk to him again. I mean, where does he get off telling me what I can do? We were never dating.” Placing the knife, fork, and spoon on each other, I wrap them in the napkin and secure it with the sticky paper. It’s close to closing time, and the last thing to do is get the silverware wrapped, which apparently Piper has decided to let me do on my own.
“Damn it,” she grumbles under her breath, then pockets her phone.
“What?”
“Lucas is outside waiting for me.” She looks my way with a sad smile on her face.
“Go, I’ll lock up. We have like ten minutes, and there isn’t anyone in here. So, unless a group of twenty comes in, I’ll be fine.” I wave her off. “I’ve closed up plenty on my own, and Bernard and Chaz are still here too.”
“You wanted a ride though.” I look out the diner window to where Lucas’s truck is now parked. Slight snowflakes are flying in the air, dancing around the beams from the headlights.
“It won’t be the coldest walk I’ve taken. Really, Piper, I’ll be okay.”
“I can make him wait.” As if the man himself just heard her speak those words, the horn from the truck honks twice. What a charming guy. “Damn it.” She pulls out her phone and starts typing.
“Piper. Please. Just go. I don’t want to be the cause of an argument between you two.” I force a smile when she looks back at me. She knows damn well she’ll be arguing with the man regardless. She’s still defending herself over the night we went out.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She grabs her bag and hooks it over her shoulder.
“Bright and early,” I say in response. Having to close then open the next day isn’t very fun but seems to be the scheduling kick Vance, our boss, is on at the moment. I watch as Piper walks out the front door and over to the truck waiting outside. Not for the first time, I wish she would realize how shitty of a person Lucas is.
As soon as eleven hits, I’m up and locking the door. That’s about the time Bernard and Chaz walk out from the kitchen. “Here, guys.” I hand each of them some money. “The tips weren’t great today.”
“All good with me,” Chaz says and pockets the cash. He’s one of the dishwashers and sometimes busses the tables, depending on how busy we are. Bernard is a cook and a man of very few words. He nods and pockets the cash before walking out of the diner. “You have a good night, Lauren.” Chaz waves at me as he leaves too.
I walk through the small building, flick off the lights, and then step outside, locking the door behind me. The cold air smacks me in the face, as well as some snowflakes. I let out a sigh. “This weather is bipolar,” I mutter to myself and start the walk to my apartment. This walk has been completed multiple times at this time of night but for some reason, tonight seems off in a way. Almost like someone is following me. The hair on the back of my neck prickles the further I walk, and it isn’t from the cold. I keep glancing back behind me but see nothing. No sounds of footsteps or vehicles, only the wind that fills the space around me is making noise. “You’re just being paranoid,” I say aloud and do my best to shake away the thoughts that try to invade my mind. “So stupid.” I roll my eyes, convincing myself that it’s all just in my head.
When a scraping sound barrels toward me, I give in to the panic and jump nearly ten feet in the air. Probably an exaggeration, but my spirit most likely leaves my body in the moment and goes that high. When I turn around to see a large orange plow truck barreling past me, I’m allowed to catch my breath. “Good fucking God,” I say aloud to myself and clutch at my chest as if it will help calm my racing heart. It doesn’t, not even a little bit. Then laughter bubbles out of my pounding chest. “You pansy,” I tell myself and try to shake off the whole experience.
My apartment building comes into view not long after I get my breathing under control, and I let out a sigh of relief, then grab my keys from my purse. “I so need a drink.” I laugh again to myself and open the entrance door. When I slide my key into the next door, everything goes to shit.
My efforts to open up the door are halted when a hand wraps around my mouth and pulls me backward. The grip is harsh and sends a panic like no other through me. I do my best to fight off whoever has me in their hold but when they lunge the both of us forward, I crash into the door, my head making a hard cracking sound on the new glass. A strange thought goes through my head in that moment, they just replaced this glass . With foggy vision, I do my best to look up and inspect the damage. There’s a long, thin crack where my forehead connected, and the harder I focus, the more I can make out who’s behind me. Eyes that I’ve seen before peer at me from under a hood, and that smirk that always annoyed me pulls to one side the moment our gazes connect. “Say goodbye, sweetheart.” His free hand appears, holding a syringe that he plunges into my neck. A sudden burn follows the sharp sting that’s taken over by a wave of euphoria before everything goes completely dark.