Instinct Ascending: Rabids Book 2 Read Online Free Page B

any such rumors,” Amiel argued.
    “That’s because you’re too busy on the street corner to hear them. Now shut up and send his friend packing.”
    Amiel went stiff, defiantly facing the portly man. 
    He scoffed. “You’re useless. Get in the kitchen. Your pay is docked for two days.”
    Amiel snapped out of her anger as he shoved past her, the fact that she was on the verge of losing her job finally sinking in. Stint wasn’t one for empty promises when it came to firing people. She turned on her heel, slammed through the doors into the kitchen, and leaned against the counter in frustration.
    In the other room, she could hear Stint shouting at Pell to get out. Amiel hurried to the service window. Pell looked toward the kitchen with a harried expression on his way out the door. Amiel nodded stiffly toward him, pointing at her watch. He seemed to get her meaning and headed out the door without a word. Amiel quickly slipped out of view before Stint could turn around and realize that she’d been lying about her acquaintance with the men. She turned, feeling the gaze of all those in the kitchen on her back.
    “Yes, I’m crazy, thank you. Grr rawrr.” Their gazes quickly shied away, hurrying back to their work as though afraid to catch her particular brand of crazy. Only one pair of eyes stayed glued to her, and didn’t shift away when she met their gaze: Cookie, the one part of her work shift that stayed the same despite the time change. She wasn’t entirely sure how he managed to work both day and night shifts without keeling over in exhaustion or boredom, but somehow the guy was always there. From his position at the stove, he could see everything that happened in the diner, the open serving window affording a clear view. And that meant he’d likely seen the whole thing play out. His eyes held hers for a long moment, before he turned back to the stove.  Sighing heavily, Amiel approached him.
    “Cookie, I need an intervention. This lack of sleep is making me crazy. I could have just lost my job back there. What is wrong with me? Why did I have to push it? I need help.” He gave her a simple glance before moving back to his cooking. “No? No help on that front?” No answer. She sighed again, bending to press her head against the cool surface of the metal counters.
    “Okay then, I’ll just take two orders of our donut dips to go, thanks,” she mumbled. He nodded and went to work on them, bagging them up and handing them off to her in his no-nonsense, record-breaking speed.
    Offering him a wave, Amiel clocked out for lunch and headed for the back door. Peeking out to ensure there were no unsavory lurkers hiding in the back alley, she exited the restaurant and made her way around to the street. She froze, stepping back around the corner of the alley when she saw Stint. He was standing on a small stepladder, pinning up a large sign on the barred windows of the restaurant. The sign was written in big, ugly, scribbled sharpie words. With a grunt of satisfaction, Stint grabbed his stepladder and headed back inside. After waiting a few moments, Amiel walked up to the window.
    “Rabids, Halfers, and sympathizers not welcome!”
    Her anger bubbled under the surface once more. It almost made her waltz back into the building and quit on the spot. Instead, she turned on her heel and strode away quickly, before her temper could get her into more trouble. If she lost this job, there was no guarantee she could find another. It had taken forever to find this one. And in today’s world, you needed a reliable job to survive.
    She’d heard stories from Joyce about what happened to people on the street in this city, none of which was appealing to Amiel in the least. From her own experiences on the streets, she was more than eager to avoid that if possible. Still, it grated on her nerves to work for someone who so easily hated those that he knew nothing about — especially when her best friend and his family were part of that