Page 7 of Midnight Roots

The cook smacks the belle and yells, "Order up."

Dillon comes hurrying back, grabs the plate with the burger and chips, and sets it in front of me. "Any sauces or anything that I can get you? Top up that orange juice?"

"I'm okay, thanks," I say with a smile. "You're doing great. Keep up the hard work."

She blushes, and the coloring in her cheeks is enough to drive me wild. What I wouldn't do to give her other reasons to turn those sorts of shades.

Cece goes off to help in the cafe while I start on my burger. My mind drifts back to Tessa—Young Tessa, who is currently hanging from the beams in my spare room. Cuffed in irons is what I would say. Her body stretching as gravity drags her naked form down. She cried when I whipped her breasts, but they alwaysstart crying in the beginning. It's what they're made of in the end that matters most.

I remember the war, the torture that the other men and I did on the prostitutes. It's what wakes me up most nights. We would fuck them with whatever we found handy, breakable or not. We had a wine bottle break in a girl’s pussy once, and she bled out. The images still sit seared into my brain forever.

Some of the guys used her blood as war paint as a joke. I could have stopped it, but I didn't. Just like I could have stopped Tessa, but she has been asking for it. She threw herself around like a cheap hooker. She should have been more careful. There is prey and predator, and I'm not the one being hunted.

I never am.

I hunt.

No.

I trap. I lure in and trap. I don't actively hunt; I am just my charming hermit self, and they are attracted to me like flies. Stable income, stable home, truck. The American dream. Who wouldn't want a piece of that pie? Talking about pie.

I wave down Dillon as she checks in on me, and I finish my burger. "I'll take a slice of key lime pie and a cup of coffee."

"Coming right up. Just plain coffee?"

I nod. "Black, just from the coffee pot is fine."

She hurries off to get my request, and I watch her ass as she walks off. She has a well-rounded butt. The things I would do to it. Cece looks at me knowingly, and I smile at her. She knows something about my demons, even if it's noteverything. Even if it barely scratches the surface.

Dillon brings my pie and coffee and sets it down in front of me. "You can bring the check."

Dillon bounces off, and there's something about her small, perky breasts bouncing with her that sets me off. I dig into my pie, happy for the distraction from where my thoughts truly wander.

Chapter Seven

Dillon

Working at the diner on the first day seems easy enough, and Cece is pleased with me. Heston, the regular she talked about, left me a five-dollar tip. Not bad for my first day.

At least, that's what I thought until the lunchtime rush when everyone seemed to come in at once.

Both sides fill up, and I realize that the sleepy town of Ironhaven actually has a substantial amount of people in it.

And they all look hungry.

I look at Cece, who smiles at me. "I'll take the grill side. You take the cafe. If anyone complains, just tell them you'll call me."

"I can handle it," I say, sounding more confident than I feel.

I kind of wish Heston was back, as he was the lonely customer I was serving. Still, this is what I wanted. I wanted a job, and I need to prove myself.

I walk to the cafe side and find two older-looking women standing first in the queue at the register.

"Good afternoon, welcome to the Catch + Candle..."

"We know where we are," the blond one says. It's clearly a dye job to cover the grey.

I maintain my smile and nod. "Sorry, I'm new here."