Please? I’ll bring out some fresh pancakes for you. He slapped his hands together into a praying position. Tell Ruby there’s a difference between crispy and charcoal. She shrugged and bit into a thick piece of bacon. But this was asking too much for too little. Armed robbery, home break-in, even a shoplifter couldn’t ruin her day off. But her Saturday plans didn’t include arbitrating personal conflicts. He gestured over his shoulder at the contentious couple. An image of herself as a matador sprang to mind and she shook her head as he sat opposite her. The door from back there flung open and Ronnie made a beeline for her, his face steaming. Something in the kitchen, dropped or thrown, clattered a few more times, followed by muffled shouting, which may or may not have been sprinkled with a few choice expletives. Her heart leaped as a metallic bang echoed throughout the area. If they were still going, she’d call the police then. She grabbed her phone, sighed, and laid it back on the table. The red second hand on the wall clock hit the 12. Most of the other customers had shoveled their meals into Styrofoam containers and fled the scene. Ronnie, the heavyset weekend manager of the diner, had stopped by their table twice with little impact on the theatrics. Was it so much to ask? That people keep their personal matters personal? Her Saturday morning ritual of a quiet meal at the Breakfast Bodega was ruined, thanks to them. Not these two.Īs a result, Amara’s mood had risen to level-ten irritation. Most folks would’ve recognized the impact of their outbursts on others. Of all the restaurants in San Antonio, did they have to come here? Today? Her initial empathy toward the pair had faded a long time ago. The couple, both appearing to be Hispanic and around thirty years old, had been at it for nearly an hour. She alternated between screaming and sobbing. The man and woman continued their argument or breakup or whatever was happening. He glanced up and she shot her best death stare his way. Let the professionals deal with them.Īmara Alvarez leaned her athletic frame outside the diner’s booth to get in the man’s line of sight. If they were still arguing, she’d call the cops then. ContentsĪ Sneak Peek from the Next Thrilling Story Published in association with the Hartline LiteraryAgency, LLC. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

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Collision of Lies by Tom Threadgill