Macy's Corner Cafe

Chapter 3

Macy watches the retreating back of the dark, mysterious stranger. Her heart is pounding in her chest. "Macy, please stay away from that man." John whispers to her as he stands next to her drawing her attention to the closeness between them. "Why?" She asks, still looking at him as he gets into the car. "He's a dangerous man. I've worked for him for quite a while. Please promise me that you'll not get involved with him." She hears the pleading in John's voice.

She sighs: "I'm not planning to get involved with anyone, John. Even if he's a Greek god. Don't worry." Macy says as she turns and pats John's forearm. He releases a relieved sigh and goes back to his station behind the counter. Why is she openly lying to herself?

She watches as he proceeds with brewing and serving the coffee. He's really good at what he does, and good looking too. Sandra really tries hard to get his attention, but with no success. She's still young, a college student to be exact, and sometimes her almost childish actions irritates John. Macy chuckle softly to herself. The kids in this place. She loves her staff to bits. Each with his or her own temperament and attitude.

He does make heads turn in the streets, though. A tall ash blond with sky blue eyes. A body some men only dream to have and women swoon to touch. Chiseled jawline with a smile that makes panties drop. That is why he's working the counter. Eighty present of the cafe's clientele is female and they are all there for John Lance. To get their daily dose of handsome.

Macy and John first met when she was sixteen. John and Peter was still in the Marine Core, both young soldiers on a rescue mission. If they did not come through that door than night, she might have been dead or lost to the world.

Macy's seen his tattoos. Both arms are sleeved with two black dragons circling from his upper back, down his arms, stopping just above the wrist. He always wears long sleeves. Why is he hiding them? They're beautiful.

She never asked him about it. It's snooping. Not something she's willing to do. Curiosity will not kill the cat this time. It's a secret between them. He made her swore not to tell. Macy's sure he'll tell her one day.

A huge crash from the kitchen gets Macy's attention and she hurries to the back. "Mother F....!" Peter Drew swallows his words as soon as he sees Macy entering through the door. "What happened?" She asks as she takes in the scene in front of her. Glass shards lay scattered mixed with lettuce leaves and tomatoes. Peter himself is covered in salad dressing. Macy has to hide her breaking smile behind her hand. Peter will flip if he sees her laughing.

"The floor was wet and I didn't see it." He grumbles, his cheeks a darker shade from embarrassment. As soon as he hands Macy the plate that is still in his hand, she bursts out laughing. "I'm sorry, Peter. You should've seen your face."Her laughter is infectious and soon Peter is laughing with her. "Come on, lets get this cleaned up. It's almost closing time." Macy states through her tears of laughter and grabs a broom, while Peter goes for the mop and a bucket.

By closing time, the kitchen is clean and the blinds are drawn. Macy still has some admin to do in the office. She says goodnight to the staff, closes the door behind her and locks it. With a brewed mug of coffee left by John, she makes her way to the office. With the incident in the kitchen, she's a bit behind schedule with her work. Still snickering about it, she turns on the light and gets to work.

It's about ten when she finally saw the end of the long tunnel and the light is not an approaching train. She stretches her stiff shoulders and back, heading for the door, yawning. Activating the alarm and locking the door, she starts her walk home. Her house is only a few blocks up the road. Too close for a car to drive. The cool night air relaxes her.

She's been aware of the g**g activities in the area. They have two major gangs at the moment. They're quite large as well. The Black Dragons and The Crouching Tigers are notorious for their fights for territory and shipments. Whether with guns or without, there is always casualties. The smaller gangs only settle for the petty thefts, too afraid to get in the way two larger ones.

"And what is a lovely little dove like you doing out on a night like this. Don't you know that the street is a dangerous place, Kitten?" A husky voice in the dark suddenly speaks behind her, sending a cold shiver down her spine as she nearly jumps out of her skin. How did she not hear the person approach? Or was he standing there the whole time, hidden in the darkness? Macy's breathing starts to pick up it's pace as she walks faster. Almost running, but a strong arm is suddenly around her waist and she gets thrown against a brick wall, pinning her up against the rough surface.

"Where are you going, Love?" The man asks, his whiskey breath in her face. "Please, just let me go." She whispers, her voice sounding a lot calmer than she actually feels. "And why would I do that? We're just having a little get to know each other." He says as his long, cold fingers travel along her jaw and down her neck into the v-line of her shirt. Her skin crawls with disgust as she feels his tongue and lips on her neck. Closing her eyes, she musters all her strength and balls her fist. Before she can do anything, the large man is yanked away from her and flung into the street, landing in a jumble of limps.

In the headlights of a sedan, Macy can only see the legs of two men, both dressed in expensive suits by the looks of it. The next moment the pair of powerful black covered legs kick her attacker in the face. Breaking skin, blood starts to drip on the road. "What were you planning, Leech?" A deep voice asks. Her attacker cringes. "N-nothing, Mr. Turner, Sir? I was just asking the young lady if she was lost." He lies. "You asked a young lady if she was lost at ten at night smelling like a distillery, manhandling her. Vince, I'm disappointed in you. Did you really think we will fall for that petty excuse?" The man with the deep voice states.

"Vince" is clearly terrified as he starts the visibly shiver. "No, please. I'll get back to my duties, Sir." Vince pleads. "A little too late for that, Vince." The next moment a loud BANG is heard across the silent night and Vince's body goes limp. Macy stares in wide eyed shock. "You just shot him! Are you crazy?" She starts screaming. "What the hell!?"

The two sets of legs start to approach her. Her throat is clenched tight. Now she's done it. They're coming for her. Panic starts to rise in her gut like bile. "Please, I won't tell anyone!" She begs, as she is backing away from them and takes off running in the direction of the cafe.