Rebelonging (Unbelonging, Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

for
free?" He puffed out his chest. "Not gonna happen. Not on my watch."
    And with that, he turned and stalked back
toward his office.
    I stared after him. "So he's gonna
clock me out?" I said. "Is that even legal?"
    Josie rolled her eyes. "I dunno. Check the
fucking employee manual. God, what a turd." She picked up her tray
and turned toward the dining area. I watched her go. And that's
when I saw them.
    The flashing red and blue of police
lights.

Chapter 6
    I looked over the crowd, wondering how I
hadn't noticed all the commotion before.
    Against the long bank of front windows,
customers were pressing their faces to the glass, cupping their
hands around their eyes to shut out the glare. Behind them, others
stood to peer over their shoulders, or craned their necks to see
around them.
    Whatever was going on, it was happening in
the front parking lot. And apparently it wasn't your average
traffic stop.
    Suddenly, a stocky guy with shaggy hair stood
and bolted. He strode toward the front exit, leaving his dinner
partner, a petite redhead, scowling after him. Fork in hand, she
glared daggers at his back as he pushed through the people waiting
to be seated and disappeared out the front door.
    Sitting by herself, the redhead looked madder
than hell, and I couldn't say I blamed her. I'd just delivered
their food a few minutes earlier. Now she'd be eating it alone.
    And she wasn't the only one.
    As if Shaggy's departure had somehow granted
everyone else permission, a slew of other diners followed after the
guy – a couple near the far wall, a trio of college guys near the
waitress station, a lone older man who'd been standing at the bar.
Within a few minutes, at least thirty people, maybe more, had
wandered outside.
    I made my way to the front windows and peered
out. Across the parking lot, the lights were still flashing,
reflecting red and blue off of two large, silver tour buses that
I'd noticed on my way in.
    Josie dashed over breathlessly, tray in hand.
"Hey, you wanna do me a favor?" she said. "Find out what's going
on, will ya? The customers are asking."
    She glanced around, taking in the empty
seats. "Well, the ones who are still inside anyway." Then she was
gone, heading toward one of the many tables that I'd been forced to
abandon, thanks to Keith and his employee manual.
    If I couldn't help her with those tables, at
least I tell her what was going on. I owed her that much. I dashed
to the back room and grabbed my coat off the rack.
    A minute later, I was shivering outside with
the rest of them. I stood on my tiptoes, trying to catch some sort
of clue. It was no use. Between the shifting crowd and massive tour
buses, a good vantage point was proving impossible to find.
    Near the back of the crowd, the shaggy-haired
guy was awkwardly taking pictures, or maybe video, with his cell
phone. As I watched, he held the phone above the crowd, pressed a
button, and then pulled down the phone to take a look. He frowned
as he studied the tiny screen.
    I hustled to his side and tapped him on the
shoulder. "What's going on?" I asked.
    "Got me," he said, lifting his phone again.
This time, when he studied the screen, he gave a low chuckle. "But
I think it's gonna be good."
    "Why?" I said. "What is it?"
    "Hang on," he said, lifting the phone yet
again. This time, when he studied the screen, he gave a sigh of
irritation. "Damn it."
    "Why don't you just get closer?" I asked.
    He gave me a look. "Why don't you ?"
    I glanced at the crowd, crammed
shoulder-to-shoulder in front of me. The parking lot was huge, but
the commotion seemed centered between the two buses, leaving only a
narrow alley between them.
    Unless I was willing to shove someone aside,
this was as close as I'd be getting.
    "See?" Shaggy said. "You don't wanna get your
ass beat neither, huh?" He cleared his throat. "Besides, I already
tried. People take this shit seriously."
    "But you were the first one out here," I
said. "How come you're not up front?"
    "Because," he said, "I