Marin

Despite the slow afternoon, the dinner rush came in hot and heavy. I was running back and forth between the kitchen and my tables non-stop, and I knew my arms would be sore the next day. One table with four men kept asking for beer refills before their glasses were even empty. I think they liked watching me bend over the table to set the glasses on their coasters. And while it was slightly demeaning, the tip I received made it all worthwhile.

My shift ended at seven, and I was scheduled to meet up with the student from the mentorship program at seven-thirty; however, when I checked my phone on my last break, the student had texted to cancel. So, picking up an extra shift felt like the next best thing to volunteering. At least I’d have a little extra money at the end of the month to put into savings.

The closing shift was one of my favorite shifts to work anyway. The restaurant mostly cleared out by nine, so I could typically put on my headphones while I cleaned the tables and floors. I was alone in the main dining area listening to a mind-numbing techno playlist and mopping under the tables when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I jolted, dropping the mop and ripping my headphones out of my ears.

Shelly stood there, her face pulled up into a wince. “Sorry, Marin.”

I laughed, although my heart rate was still decelerating. “It’s fine. What’s up?”

“Now I feel bad asking for a favor. I practically gave you a heart attack.”

“Really, it’s fine. It’s what I get for listening to my music so loudly.”

She smiled and looked up at me from under her lashes, hands held in front of her chest in a prayer. “Is there any way I could leave and you could close up on your own? I wouldn’t ask except I have a date with this really amazing guy, and I would love to go home and wash the ‘Grill’ stink off of my clothes.”

“Yeah, sure,” I said, though Shelly didn’t seem to hear me because she kept talking, her hands waving wildly to further articulate her point.

“There is nothing worse than getting frisky with your date and then having him whisper in your ear that you smell like a hamburger. Smelling like a dead cow is not sexy. So, taking a shower and changing my clothes is imperative. I mean, I brought a change of clothes with me, but they are probably wrinkled by now.”

“Shelly!” I said, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. “I’ll close up. It’s not a problem.”

Her face broke into a huge grin. “You are an angel, Marin Wagner. A beautiful, generous angel. God bless your darling soul.”

“Oh my gosh, save some of the sweet talk for your date,” I joked.

Shelly thanked me approximately one thousand more times before she finally left. I waited for her car to pull out of the gravel parking lot and onto the frontage road before putting my headphones back in, the steady bass and persistent beats drowning away every bit of stress I had.

I finished mopping the floors, wiped down the bar, flipped off all the lights, and was moments away from leaving when I saw a bag of trash sitting by the kitchen door. Shelly told me she’d take it out on her way to her car because she parked in the alley behind the restaurant, but clearly, she’d forgotten.

I grabbed the bag, heavy with uneaten salads and enough paper napkins to fill the Grand Canyon three times over, readjusted my earbuds, and headed for the back door through the dark kitchen. The bass was relentless in my ears, and I walked to the beat, which was as close as I ever came to dancing.

I faintly heard the back door close behind me as I stepped into the dark alley. It wasn’t really an alley, but that’s what everyone called it. Really, it was more of a strip of gravel that ran behind the restaurant, separating the building from the open field behind it.

One light – a dim bulb hanging from an electrical pole – illuminated the space. Inky black shadows crept in the corners and crawled up the sides of the brick structure. Trash duty didn’t bother me the way it did the other girls, as I was usually more afraid of running into a possum or a raccoon than a person. But when I heard a second bang, not dissimilar from the sound of the door slamming shut, my heart lurched in my chest.

I dropped the trash bag, the loosely tied knot coming unwound, trash and spoiled food spilling onto the gravel, and ripped my earbuds out of my ears. The techno music played on, but I could only hear the distant beats as I spun in a circle, looking for the source of the noise. The back door was still closed, and I didn’t see anyone creeping up behind me. Had I imagined it?

Then, a second bang rang out. This time the noise was not muffled by the sound of my music, and I recognized it for what it was.

A gunshot.

It took several seconds for my body to react to what my brain had already figured out. Someone nearby had a gun. I needed to run. By the time my feet were finally ready to move, a large shadow separated from the shadows at the back corner of the restaurant. As the shadow moved into the circle of light created by the lamp, I was able to see it for what it was: two men carrying a limp, bloody man by his arms and legs. They were headed in the direction of the field.

At least they were until they saw me.

“Hey!” the bigger one shouted in my direction, dropping the head and shoulders of the man he was carrying, his smaller companion left holding the legs. “Stop!”

I didn’t listen. I took off at a sprint around the building, though I had no idea where I would go. My keys were in my purse, which was sitting on the bar. I’d never have time to get my keys and get back out to my car. The men would have caught up with me by then, blocking my path.

I pulled my cell phone out of my back pocket as I rounded the front corner of the building, knowing the police would never arrive in time. Then, I saw his car. Jasper Black’s car still sat in the corner of the parking lot.

It had been so long since he’d arrived that I had completely forgotten he’d visited the restaurant at all. I didn’t know Jasper Black, but he was a large man, and we lived in Texas. Surely, he had a gun. I momentarily forgot about calling 9-1-1 and focused on getting to Jasper.

I heard the large man’s footsteps behind me, and as I neared the front door, the smaller man came tearing around the corner in front of me. He had gone around the building the other way to cut me off. I yanked the heavy wooden door open and pulled it closed, fighting against the door closer. Finally, it shut, and I turned the lock, knowing it wouldn’t keep them out for long. The large man collided with the other side of the door, his entire weight slamming into it, and I yelped.

“Jasper!” I screamed. I no longer cared that I’d never spoken to Jasper a day in my life and that he was a complete stranger to me. As my only hope of escaping the night with my life, he had just become my closest friend. “JASPER!”

His office door flew open. His eyes were wide, scanning the room until they landed on me.

“Two men. A gun. They killed someone.” The words poured out of my mouth in a flood I couldn’t control. I felt entirely numb, as if I’d momentarily vacated my body and was watching the horrifying scene from above.

Confusion flitted across Jasper’s face, and then he clenched his jaw. It made his jawbone even sharper, and I chastised myself for paying attention to how handsome he was when two inches of wood separated me from two murderers.

He walked over to me more calmly than I would have imagined. I thought he was coming to protect me, shield me from the two men. But then, he stepped around me and to my horror, unlatched the door.

The two men burst into the room, all heavy breathing and sweat, but when they saw Jasper, they stood to attention. What was going on? Why weren’t they attacking us?

“Is it done?” Jasper asked, his voice sharp as nails.

The men nodded, and then the smaller one stepped forward. “We still need to load up the body.”

The larger man cleared his throat. He had a bushy beard that grew down most of his neck with long hair to match, so he looked more like an animal than a human. “We were interrupted,” he growled out, gesturing to me.

Jasper made a small noise in the back of his throat, and both men went silent. “Finish it, and leave,” he said.

The two men nodded slightly, tossed me deadly looks, and left.

My brain had gone to mush. Nothing was happening the way I thought it would, and I really needed to lie down and drink a glass of water. A pitcher of water. A gallon. My mouth felt so dry, and my head felt like it had been emptied and stuffed with cotton.

Jasper looked more handsome than ever, but I could see something darker in him now, a threatening note I hadn’t previously picked up on. Before I had time to think about it, though, my vision went black, and my knees hit the floor.