Page 71 of Watch Me

Every bartender was working tonight. Thanksgiving Eve was known to be one of the busiest nights of the year, and therefore, each of us was working two hours extra. I wasn’t complaining. The tips would be worth it, and Christmas wascoming.

Since the incident with the flower and Derrick, Judy kept the back door locked. The employees had keys, and the delivery guys had to call to be let in. The first few days, it was awkward working alongside Derrick, but we worked the busiest nights of the week and there wasn’t much time to talk about the situation. He also stopped flirting with me, and I assumed that whatever Ethan had said scared him or made him understand that nothing would happen betweenus.

Maddie hesitated. “You know there’s a guy standing next to us, right?”

I smiled at Pablo. “Yeah. There are some things I need to tell you.”

“Oh-kay.”

I waved her in. “Come in. Come in.”

“Where’s your boyfriend?” she asked as she finally crossed thethreshold.

“He’s at work.”

“Right. Protecting the city.”

“Something like that.” I chuckled and motioned for her to follow. I showed her to her room, and while she used the bathroom, I made us a couple of sandwiches. “How was your drive?” I asked as she came into the room and slid onto abarstool.

“It was good. Listened to half an audiobook. I’ll finish it on my drive back on Sunday.”

“What is it about?” I placed her plate with the ham and cheese sandwich in front ofher.

“You know, boy meets girl, they fall in love, they break-up for a stupid reason, and then eventually get back together. He’ll probably propose, and they’ll have ten kids and live off of welfare.”

A slow smile spread across my face at her joke. “I think I’ve read that one already.”

We both laughed. God, I’d missed her. Missed hearing her laugh—seeingher laugh. How was I going to make it four years with her only visiting for holidays and summer break? Where would she go after college? What if she moved even fartheraway?

“So, you gonna tell me about the guy outside?” Maddie took a bit of hersandwich.

“Right.” I took my sandwich, placed it in front of the other stool, and then grabbed chips and bottles of water before sitting. “I don’t know all the details, but there’s a serial killer after me.”

She choked on her food. “What?”

“Well”—I shrugged—“I was threatened by one?” I said it as a question because nothing had happened since that night. Even with the undercover cops as my details, nothing had happened. Maybe the guy had movedon.

“You’re not sure?”

I told her about the wood plaque and everything that had happened. I also told her that we were covering her webcam with black tape. “And that is why I have my own private security.”

Maddie stared at me. And stared. And stared. “Mom! You can’t just drop a bombshell on me like that over lunch.”

“When else was I supposed to tell you?”

She waved her hands around. “I don’t know. Over cheesecake or something.”

I cracked a smile at her reference to one of our favorite classic TV shows,The Golden Girls. I grabbed her hands and held them in my lap. “If I were in any danger, Ethan would take every precaution, but things have been quiet since that night, and I don’t go anywhere without either Pablo”—I motioned with my head toward the door—“or Evan.”

“That’s—that’s crazy.”

“I know, but Ethan is working the best he can to solve the murders. And like I said, it’s been quiet since the last murder. Plus, I don’t think he has any leads or evidence to arrest anyone.”

“If the person is never caught, will you always have a bodyguard?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

She slid off her stool and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I feel like we’re living in some sort of murder mystery novel.”