Just a City Boy (Midnight Train Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Dave had been his roommate for over a year. They got along great, until recently. He couldn’t pinpoint the problem, but he was sure it was himself.
    Last night was a disaster. Dave had been playing Xbox and Zack had picked a fight. It turned into a brawl and Zack probably broke Dave’s nose. He felt awful about it. He should know Dave well enough by now, but he didn’t trust his own judgment…was Dave going to press charges? He wouldn’t blame him if he did.
    The army had knocked most of Zack’s ego back to manageable, but he was still a hothead at times. His size, ability and temper had landed him in County before. It was only a matter of time before he did something to really ruin his life.
    Not that his life was anything to write home about.
    He drifted from job to job, barely squeezed out his rent from his Army pension and spent a lot of time with his head in his hands from the headaches.
    With the morning sun streaming through train windows, he decided a morning coffee was just what he needed.
    He got off in search of a diner and found one not far from the station. It was more like a shack, just a white box squat to the ground with a tumbledown add-on jutting off the back like an afterthought. A tendril of smoke eked out the chimney, but the air was rich with the smell of fried potatoes. His stomach growled. He had a couple more bucks; he could spring for breakfast too.
    When the waitress brought him coffee, he glanced at her name tag. Colleen asked him what he’d be having, and he rattled off his choice without looking at the laminated but yellowed menu.
    He imagined Lauren waitressing. What was the name of that joint she worked at? Lazy Boys? Lazy something. He wanted to go track her down, bend her backward and kiss her into next week. But that was probably the headache talking.
    He sipped his coffee and looked around. Red vinyl booths, speckled white laminate table tops, grime in every corner, but the floor smelled of ammonia and water. The fry cook was visible over the back of the kitchen, steam clouds and bacon grease billowed up and over his white angular hat. The place smelled of coffee and bacon, and it was all a man could ask for. That and a beautiful girl who smelled like apples.
    He put his head in his hands. He had to stop thinking about her. What he needed to focus on was how to get to Bethesda.
    He couldn’t believe he’d actually stuck up Lauren. He also couldn’t believe how lucky he was that she didn’t take him seriously, that he hadn’t had any other witnesses and that the Mickey Cobras had backed down. What had she told them right before he walked up?
    He’d never met another woman like her.
    The waitress brought his food.
    “Here ya go, hon,” she said.
    Zack remembered being called ‘Doll’ and ‘Sugar’. It made him smile before he thanked Colleen and tucked in to his meal.
    He was going home after this. He’d bring Dave one of those donuts under the glass cake stand and a cup of coffee. It was a long way from healing a broken nose, but it was the best peace offering he could manage right now.
    He mopped up the egg yolk with the last bite of toast when the door jingled. He glanced up to see three big guys enter the diner.
    He cursed and brought a hand up to his forehead. Leaning in, he obscured his face the best he could. The next sixty seconds were crucial. If they’d seen him from the street, then they were in here specifically to beat the crap out of him and leave him for dead in the alley. If they merely came in for a cup of Joe and some eggs, then he might be able to get out of here in one piece.
    50.
    He cursed again and kept his head down. Yes, he was a former Army Ranger. That didn’t mean he wanted to get into it with these guys. He could take two of them, maybe. Three, no.
    He continued counting while the headache mounted in intensity. He felt the cool metal of Dave’s pistol behind his back in his waistband. He was not going there. Not today. Not when he was