with an order. Taking a breath, he did the order of drinks that the waitress had put in and knew he had to get out of there or he’d end up going rabid on someone’s ass damned fast.
Passing off his towel, he told the bartenders to call his cell if there was a problem, but otherwise he was off the clock until further notice. He also told them that if his brothers called or stopped in, he was out and in a meeting.
Grabbing his keys and jacket, he was quickly on his way to Mina’s. He hadn’t heard from her and he hadn’t heard anything from Miklos either, so he hoped it had been a good week for her. Soon enough though he’d find out, and she better damn well be fine or he’d be finding someone to kill.
* * * *
Later that afternoon
Mina stared at the bobbleheads in the box and touched a finger to one of them. She set it off to nodding and closed her eyes against the pain. She had given them seven years of her life. It had been the only job she had ever had, and she lost it.
It was Friday morning when “it” happened. She had just finished taking the order for Sampras on Nine when she was hit with the feeling of hands caressing and touching her. She bit her lip and closed her eyes. Standing, she moved toward her boss’s office as she said, “I’m taking a fifteen minute, all right?”
Fred Storm looked up at Mina as if it was the first time he had seen her and nodded. “Yeah, sure.” He made a shooing motion with his hand and went back to his game online of killing trolls and the like. She hated that everyone in the office seemed to goof off, even when busy, but to be dismissed as if she didn’t mean anything, well, it hurt her on a deep level.
There the hands were again, teasing her breasts, and lips trailing over her neck. She had been distracted lately and more prone to daydreaming than any other time ever, so when he took her so easily into that place, she wasn’t surprised. She missed him, funny enough. She missed his snarling and snapping.
She had made it to the picnic tables and leaned back in the bright sun as she allowed her mind to drift into daydream, and there he was, big, beautiful, and so very naked. When he held his hand out, Mina didn’t hesitate. She slipped hers into his and went into his arms readily, and when he began to kiss her, she shifted slightly and moaned.
She had been enjoying her daydream and ten minutes later screamed as she came in her dream, felt his seed bursting inside of her. However, eleven minutes later when she opened her eyes, there they stood, her boss and the warehouse head.
“Mina.” Her boss tugged at his shirt. “We have to let you go.” His ruddy complexion was even redder than normal. “You allowed a customer into the warehouse after hours and gave away free merchandise.”
When she tried to explain, he shook his head at her. “And now this? Mina, we think you need some help. See a professional.” With that, he turned to walk away, and then she saw Cindy carrying the small paper box in her arms, watched as if disconnected from the whole scene as the box was placed on the table, and then she was all alone.
Spending a precious dollar, she took the bus home, and as she let herself in, she was still so far from the moment that she didn’t pick up her mail, just pushed into the apartment, locked the doors, and since that afternoon there she sat. Wide awake, she sat on her couch, still in her work clothes, simply too shocked for words.
Chapter 13
Reaching her door, he knocked on the panel and frowned when he caught the oddest scent. Knocking again, he stepped to the door. “Mina, honey, it’s Janos. Are you in there?” he called through the door. It was past when she should have been home and, though the lights were off, he knew she was in there. “Mina, let me in please,” he called gently to her, pressing his hand to the door as if he could will her to open it for him.
Mina turned her head toward the door. “I will be just a
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