Read Online Zeph Undercover by Jenny Andersen - Free Book Online

“Fine. But don’t be long. We’re late as it is.”
    ****
    Allie didn’t say a word in the car. As she pulled up in front of the drugstore, she said, “I forgot to tell you—oh, there’s Santos.”
    Zeph slid out of the car and around to her door by the time she turned off the ignition. “Rodriguez? Introduce me.”
    The instant she got out of the car, Zeph took her arm and hustled her across the sidewalk. “Hey. Take it easy. I’ll do my part.” And throw poor Santos to the wolves if I have to. Anything to protect Dad.
    “Santos! I haven’t seen you in town for ages,” Allie said. “Are you back for a while?”
    “Doctor Allie. A few weeks, this time. I am very happy to see the sign for your clinic. And this must be the gentleman from the City of Angels.”
    She linked her arm through Zeph’s, hating her hypocrisy. “Of course. Santos, this is Zeph Granger. Zeph, Santos Rodriguez.”
    Rodriguez stood four or five inches less than Zeph’s six feet plus, and he had the look of a man who did hard manual labor. Zeph shook the hand Rodriguez offered with what looked like pleasure. “Glad to meet you,” Zeph said. “You were out of town the last time I was in Stone’s Crossing.”
    “Yes. The sad time of Mr. Blanton’s troubles. I remember.”
    “A sad time, indeed,” Zeph said. “I’ve been wondering how you’ve managed with him gone.”
    “I thought that would be a trouble. But no, all is good. I do the same as always. The same things as when he was here.”
    “But didn’t he do the bids for new jobs?”
    “No. I do it. Mr. Blanton, he made a kind of—he call it a check list—that I use. Everything is the way it was done when he is here. So I do the same, everything the same.”
    “Really. Seems like a great chance to change things now that you’re in charge.”
    Rodriguez shook his head. “I know what I know. Mr. Derek, he told me to do things the same. And we make money, so he is right.”
    “As long as it works,” Zeph said with a shrug.
    “Every three month, I send the report. If Mr. Lincoln says business is bad, the company is sold.”
    “And then you’re out of work.”
    Rodriguez nodded. “I do not worry. I know many who would give me work. I am a good worker.”
    “But here you could do things your own way. You sure you don’t like being your own boss?”
    “I am happy to work for someone. Too hard to make all the deciding. If Mr. Blanton didn’t leave the lists, I would quit, go for another job.”
    “Smart man, Santos. You know what you want,” Zeph said. “Not many do.” He smiled, took Allie’s arm, and went into the drugstore.
    “Bye, Santos,” Allie said as she left. When they got inside the store, she turned to Zeph. “So, you think he told the truth?”
    Zeph picked up the toothpaste and went to the checkout counter. “Maybe. I’d like to see the lists old Derek left for him, though.” The girl at the cash register might have been worth a look if he hadn’t met Allie. He handed her the money and took his change, ignoring her dimpled smile.
    “She wanted to flirt with you,” Allie said when they got back in her truck.
    “I didn’t want to flirt with her.” With surprise, he realized the truth of what he’d just said, and wasn’t that something new.
    He expected snark, but Allie said only, “Back to work. I don’t see how you’re going to get a look at those lists.”
    “I’ll think of something.” Like breaking into the office when Rodriguez isn’t there. And he didn’t see any point in sharing that with Allie. “Did you notice the uneasy shift of Rodriguez’s eyes when he repeated ‘everything’?” he asked.
    “No, I didn’t. Maybe you’re being too suspicious.”
    “That’s my job.”
    “Whatever.” She turned onto her father’s street. “I forgot to tell you that I have to go to a dinner meeting with Dad tonight. Martha will have something ready for you and—”
    “Not a problem. She told me yesterday. And I’m a big