Red-Line: The Shift (Volume One) Read Online Free PDF Page A

as she hung out by the counter with Rachel. She knew Arnie would be watching to see that they were back from lunch on time. She felt hesitant as she prepared to return to the aisles. She had not expected so much to happen during a one-hour lunch break and wasn’t sure what to think about the unexpected turn of events.
    “Ready for him to show up, of course,” responded Rachel. “He’ll probably ask you out, get your phone number. What are you thinking? What will you say? He should take you to dinner, someplace nice. Or maybe you two should do lunch, or a coffee break together. That would be good. Help you get to know him a bit. Or dancing! He should take you dancing! That would be great. You need to get out and have some fun. Oh, my God, this is so exciting!” Rachel exclaimed while Sarah looked at her like she’d lost her mind.
    “Who’s going out with him?” Sarah asked. “You or me?” She rolled her eyes. “You’re getting a little ahead of yourself, don’t you think? Let’s see if he even shows up.”
    “Shows up?” asked Rachel. “Did you hear him? He was flirting with you. And he wasn’t shy about it either. Oh, he’ll show up. You can count on that. And you better not screw it up when he does.”
    “Screw it up?” asked Sarah. “What are you talking about?”
    “I mean Ms. Negative Nelly better not appear. Tell him that ‘Oh, it’s not good timing for me. There’s too much going on in my life. I’m not ready to date right now.’ You know, all that crap you come up with when you talk yourself out of something,” Rachel rattled on.
    “Well, it’s true. I’m not really ready to date,” said Sarah, but she wondered at the same time if that was accurate. She had not anticipated this, but now that it was here, she couldn’t help but feel a sliver of eagerness. Bits of butterflies stirred in her stomach. She’d almost forgotten that feeling existed. A man had shown interest in her, and a nice-looking one at that. Her mind began to whirl with thoughts. Was this a good idea? Did he really like her? What should she say when he showed up?
    “Ladies,” Arnie said as he arrived on the scene. “Glad you’re back from lunch, but it’s time to get back to work please. We have afternoon customers arriving, and they need assistance.”
    Both women were startled out of their enthusiastic talk, and reluctantly, they returned to their tasks. Rachel realized that a customer was patiently waiting to complete a purchase and Sarah headed back into the aisles, ready to help where needed, but with thoughts of John Ramsey flipping through her head. She glanced at the clock on the wall. Two hours until her fifteen-minute break, then another two hours before her shift was over. Would he show up? Should she look for him, or let him find her? She made a mental note to head over to the Health section at some point to look for a home remedies book. She sighed and shook her head, trying to clear her brain. It was going to be a long afternoon.
    **
    AN HOUR AWAY, Ramsey pulled up the driveway of the safe house, hit the button on his visor, and pulled his car into the garage. The house was one of many owned and used by the Council when certain jobs or meetings necessitated a private place to meet. This particular one had frequently been used by Ramsey and Leroy in the past, and it remained their back-up meeting place when conditions warranted.
    He opened his door and got out, hitting the button again to close the garage door. He would normally park in the circular driveway, but there were certain instances where parking in the garage provided necessary cover when he preferred not to be noticeable to anyone driving by. And judging by the tone in Leroy’s voice, this could be one of those times.
    He walked in through the garage door. Leroy sat at the kitchen table, not doing anything in particular except sitting and watching out the window. His narrow-cut shirt emphasized his large frame and muscular arms and torso,