Tex (Burnout) by Dahlia West Page A

back.
     
    She let out a breath and leaned back against the counter, turning the card nervously in her hand. Then she stuffed it into her purse.
     
    ****
     
    Abby had managed not to give Mark’s offer much thought through most of the next morning, but when it was time for lunch, she pulled her purse out of her desk and reached into it to get her keys, finding the card instead. She frowned at it. Then checked her watch, stuffed the card back inside, and headed out the door. She told Susan, the desk clerk, that she was out for an hour and hopped in her car. She started it up and turned left instead of right out of the garage, heading for the south end of town.
     
    Maria’s had a few afternoon customers but not much. The old man Milo was there and grinned at her as she headed toward the bar.
     
    “Afternoon, Vegas,” he sang brightly.
     
    Abby smiled back. “Milo.”
     
    Without any fanfare, Maria set down a martini glass in front of Abby and poured some Death’s Door and a splash of vermouth into a shaker. Abby’s face broke into a grin. Normally she’d hold off on the liquor before five, but Maria had apparently gone to some trouble.
     
    “Thanks,” Abby said, picking up the glass. She took a sip and nodded at Maria. “Ah,” she said. “Civilization.”
     
    Maria laughed. “Get you anything else?”
     
    Abby hesitated. “Slick here, by any chance?” she asked casually.
     
    The blonde’s eyes narrowed shrewdly, but she reached back and pounded on the swinging door. Moments later the tiny brunette came through. “Abby!” Slick called out.
     
    “Hey,” Abby replied, smiling. “I’m on lunch and I was wondering if we could hang out. Do you have a break or something coming up any time soon?”
     
    Slick looked at her watch. “Um, sure, I could take a lunch now.”
     
    “Great,” replied Abby. She glanced around. “Maybe...some place else?”
     
    The other woman looked a little surprised, but nodded again. “Let me clock out.”
     
    Abby drained the martini and set the glass down on the bar. “Thanks, Maria.” She dug a twenty out of her purse and slid it across the bar. Maria eyed the huge tip. “To offset the cost of the glasses and the shaker and the vermouth,” Abby told her.
     
    The blonde nodded and took the cash.
     
    Slick appeared and Abby re-shouldered her purse, following the woman out the door.
     
    “There’s a cafe a block down,” she told Abby. “We can eat outside since it’s so nice.”
     
    “Sounds perfect.”
     
    Five minutes later the two women were seated at a black wrought iron patio table outside. Abby ordered a salad and Slick ordered a sandwich. When the waiter left, Slick said, “I’m Sarah, by the way. Sarah Sullivan.”
     
    Abby nodded. “Have you lived here all your life?”
     
    “No. I just moved here about a year ago. I’ve lived all over actually. Spent a few weeks in Vegas, too, a long time ago.”
     
    Abby raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Oh yeah?”
     
    Sarah wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, but it wasn’t for me. Too many people and too many lights. You can’t see the stars at night in Vegas.”
     
    “No, you definitely can’t.”
     
    “Plus,” Sarah said, shifting a little in her chair, “I cheated some casinos.”
     
    Abby laughed. “No! You? You seem so...upstanding, for a chick who works in a biker bar.”
     
    Sarah laughed, too. “I needed the money. I think I’m on a watch list.”
     
    “So, what brought you here?” Abby asked.
     
    Sarah rubbed the back of her neck. “The cover of a travel guide. Seemed like a beautiful place.”
     
    Abby sensed she was wading into waters with a pretty deep undertow. “It is that,” she said, lightly, sipping the water the waiter had left. “So, you met Chris, and you got married,” Abby observed. “That’s nice. You two seem great together.”
     
    Sarah nodded. “He was my landlord.”
     
    Abby sat back in the chair. “Um...”
     
    The tiny brunette laughed.