Edge Of Fear (Arrow's Edge MC Book 4) by Freya Barker (top rated books of all time .TXT) 📕

later Sophia comes outside, a coffee in her hand, and sits down on the step beside me. I turn my head to catch her letting out a deep sigh before putting the mug to her mouth and taking a deep swallow of the dark brew.

“So…” I prompt her when she abandons the coffee and uses both hands to give Van his good-morning rub.

Her eyes slowly find mine.

“That was my mother.”

I grin at her. “Gathered as much, babe.”

“She’s…my parents are…oh, hell. I don’t even know how to explain them,” she wails, covering her face with her hands.

I lift an arm around her shoulders and tuck her close, her face burrowing in my chest. I do my best to hold back my chuckle, but I know I’m failing when her head snaps up and her eyes narrow on me.

“Are you laughing at me?”

“You’ve gotta admit, it is kinda funny,” I point out.

“Yeah, well, you won’t be laughing when they show up here on Sunday and park their new RV in the driveway.”

Shit.

CHAPTER 18

Sophia

“HE DIDN’T SHOW.”

Mandy sticks her head around the door of my office.

I just sat down at my desk after Tse dropped me off.

“What do you mean?”

The back door opens and Mack walks by, calling out a greeting.

“Get in here,” I tell Mandy, and motion for her to close the door. “We didn’t get our delivery?”

“We got our delivery, but it was a different driver. Never seen this one before.” She leans over the desk and whispers, “I think there’s something wrong. The drugs weren’t there, but he took the boxes. I’m scared.”

“Sit down.”

I pull my cell from my purse and dial Luna.

“I’m around the corner,” Luna says as soon as she answers, without waiting for an explanation for my call. “I’ll be right there.”

“Okay.”

She knocks a few minutes later, closes the door, and takes the free seat.

“We saw on the camera feed. Different driver. This one wasn’t wearing a ball cap like the other guy; he made sure we couldn’t make out his face. We actually managed to get a good look at this man. He’s also shorter and stockier.”

“They didn’t send any drugs. Does that mean they found out?” Mandy wants to know. “He took the boxes.”

“Shit. I need to make a call,” Luna says and pulls her phone from her pocket. “Barnes, it’s Roosberg. Are you on the truck? … Good. See if you can get close on his next delivery. It’s a different guy today. … Yeah. I know. … He’s got the empties with the money; we need to know where it goes. … Not yet. Let me know when he’s back at the warehouse. … I’ll talk to Gomez but I think it’s time to bring him in. … Yeah, later.”

“What now?”

“Nothing changes.” Luna leans over and puts a hand on Mandy’s arm. “Is it possible they suspect something? Yeah, but by the same token the regular driver could be sick or have had some kind of emergency. We don’t know what’s going on, but I promise we have eyes on you at all times.”

“But what do I do without the drugs? I’m supposed to do an exchange tonight.”

“We can come up with what you need from what is currently in the evidence room. That’s not a problem. You just need to sit tight a little longer,” Luna coaxes her.

There’s a knock at the door and Chris sticks his head in.

“Everything okay here?”

“It’s fine, Chris,” I reassure him.

He looks at Mandy. “Well, in that case, are you gonna sit here fucking chitchatting all day or were you planning on doing anything productive?”

The poor girl shoots to her feet and hurries out of my office, Chris looming behind her.

“Charmer,” Luna comments sourly.

“Yeah, he may be lacking in personality, but he makes the best brisket.”

“Can’t argue that.” Luna gets up. “Look, I’ve gotta run. I need to talk to the boss and see if he wants to bring the driver in for questioning. One way or another, I have a feeling this is coming to a head soon, so stay vigilant.”

“I will.”

It takes me a few minutes after she leaves to get my head back on my job. What a way to start my workday.

Lunch is a little busier than usual, especially with the group of women who picked the Backyard Edge to celebrate one of their birthdays. I sigh a breath of relief when Krystal and Lea show up. They take over cleaning up and prepping the dining room for the dinner crowd, which promises to be substantial as well. Reservations have come in all day, and at this point, two-thirds of the restaurant is booked for tonight and about fifty percent for tomorrow.

I pop into the kitchen to see how things are there and warn them it’ll be a heavy crowd tonight.

Mandy is at the prep table cutting vegetables, looking gaunt, while Lauren is stirring what smells like the restaurant’s signature barbecue sauce in a large pot on the stove. The two large smokers on the far side of the kitchen are sending off mouthwatering smells, despite the large exhaust fan mounted above them.

That’s where Chris makes all the magic happen. When orders start coming in, he will take whatever cut of the smoked meat he needs, slather it with the sauce Lauren is prepping, and give it a delicious crisp on the huge, hot grill beside the smokers.

But Chris isn’t there.

“Where’s Chris?” I ask Lauren.

“Not sure. He said he was stepping out for a minute.” She cocks her thumb at the door to the storage room. “Did you need him?”

“I was just going to give you guys a heads-up, it looks like it might be a full house tonight. I have three waitstaff and the bussers, but I might call Emme in for backup so we have an extra pair of hands we can apply where needed.”

“May not be a bad idea,” Lauren agrees.

Because the menu is fairly straightforward—simple fare done to perfection—and because we’re still building our clientele, we’ve been able to manage