Secrets That Bind | Book I

21 // bittersweet endings

𝘈𝘯𝘢𝘺𝘢

Pushing the glass door open to the bustling Rivea Diner, the invigorating smell of coffee fills my nose as I make my way towards the back. A waitress holding a tray full of plates of eggs, bacon, and mugs of coffee scurries past me, narrowly missing me.

"Sorry!" She yells over her shoulder.

I barely register her as my eyes fall on a hooded figure hunched over a table all the way at the back of the diner.

I come to a stop at their table, placing my phone and keys on the table to get their attention as I slide into the booth. They look up almost instantly, their eyes widening for a fraction of a second at the sight of injured arm, and stitches on my forehead.

"Looks like you've been busy." Alex states.

I stop shimmying out of my grey parka and frown at the blonde-haired man. His eyes drop to the cast on my right arm before meeting my gaze again to which I shrug. I'm not in the mood to recount my near-death experience at seven in the morning, especially not to Alex of all people.

When he called me two nights ago asking to meet, I didn't think much of it. We never talked much when I was at the agency, so needless to say, I'm curious to know why we're at the diner early in the morning with him looking like he's on the run from the police.

"Not much of a talker in the morning, I see." Alex comments, leaning back in his seat as he pulls his baseball cap down to sit dangerously low on his forehead.

Dragging my phone and keys towards me, I raise my brow at him. "I didn't come here to play catch up, Alex. Why did you want to meet?"

His eyes turn into slivers as he observes me. Eyes darting down to my keys, he looks back up with a questioning look of his own. "Unemployment seems to be treating you well," he comments, referring to my not-so-subtle Mercedes key fob.

I open my mouth to correct him, but catch myself when I realize who I'm talking to. Alex doesn't need to know the details of my life or how I happen to be driving a Mercedes G Wagon. "Who says I'm unemployed?"

He looks at me as he rubs his chin. The corner of his mouth tilts up as he shakes his head, looking at the people walking past the window of our table.

"Your new employer pays you a lot more than the government ever did," he comments, finally looking back. "I think this was for the best."

I raise my brow at this, resisting the urge to laugh in his face. Of course, he would feel the need to defend the agency and offer me his unwelcome opinion.

"I wasn't fired, you know that right?" I ask.

He purses his lips before nodding his head, "Jeff told me that you quit. But the rest of the department is speculating since Jeff didn't make a formal announcement. You know how these things go."

I wordlessly look at him, my left hand resting on my lap while my injured arm lies on the table. My mind is struggling to come up with a reasonable reply, one that doesn't come across as rude, but the same waitress from before comes to our table.

"What can I get you guys today?"

Alex briefly looks at me before placing his order, "2 eggs sunny side up, sourdough toast, hash browns, and some coffee for me."

"Okay," she says with a smile as she furiously jots down his order before looking to me.

"Just a black coffee for me please."

She nods her head before placing her notepad in the pocket of her apron. Taking the unused menus off the table, she spins on her heels and leaves us alone again.