His eyes locked on mine from across the diner, and my heart seemed to jump. Slowly, he walked toward his usual booth by the window and took a seat, resting his tanned, muscular arms on the table before opening up the menu.

I'd had a feeling he'd be back again, but what I hadn't anticipated was the excitement I felt brewing inside me at seeing him, though I couldn't work out why my body was reacting that way about a man I barely knew. I tore my eyes away from him and, when the bikers were finally ready to order, took down their orders before making my way over to Bernie.

"You poor soul," he said once I'd relayed the orders, his brown eyes fixed on the circular window of the kitchen door.

Bernie had been working at Barney's for almost a year now, and though his sheer size and countless tattoos made him look like a man to be reckoned with, Bernie was a soft-spoken Mexican with the heart and calibre of a teddy bear.

"Tell me about it," I said, pressing my back to the wall before closing my eyes. It was the first time all night I'd been able to catch a breath, and the wall felt cool against the nape of my aching neck.

"Oh, Meg!" a loud voice called from the diner floor, and I physically grimaced before straightening up and putting my game face on.

"I don't know how you do it," Bernie said, already elbows deep in bacon grease.

"Neither do I," I muttered. With a deep breath, I grabbed some cups and filled a jug with water before making it back to the biker table.

They all cheered when I arrived with their water, and I could feel my forced smile faltering inch by inch. For some reason, I chose that moment to look over my shoulder at Nate, who was currently being served by Lacy, though his eyes weren't focused on her.

They were focused on me.

He looked irritated, dangerous, his sharp jaw clenched into a straight, pronounced line. Whether he was irritated at me or on my behalf, I couldn't quite tell, but something about the intense way his eyes were boring into mine sent nerves pooling in the pit of my stomach.

"What are you doing after your shift, Meg?"

I turned back to the guy who the older one had referred to as Richie. Whilst the others were in the middle of a heated conversation about something, Richie was focused only on me, his green eyes gleaming with an unwelcome fascination.

"Going home and getting the smell of bacon out of my hair," I said, tucking my notepad back into my pocket. "Was there something else I could do for you?"

"I can think of a couple of things you could do to me." Richie smirked, and a few others on the table who had heard Richie's comment suddenly burst out laughing, causing my cheeks to burn a deep crimson red.

"She'd have to be pretty desperate," said a chilled voice behind me.

I froze, my mind already processing exactly how this exchange was going to end.

With me losing my job.

"What did you say, son?" asked the bearded biker, his one eye boring into Nate with animosity. From the other end of the diner I could see Lacy had frozen, too, her eyes now fixed on mine with apprehension.

"He didn't say anything," I said before Nate could speak again. "Oh look, your food is ready, I'll be right back," and then I headed over to the kitchen where Bernie gave me a nervous look.

"Everything all right out there?" he asked uncertainly, his eyes fixed on someone behind me.

"I'll let you know in ten minutes," I said, and then I grabbed the trays of food and headed back over to where the bearded biker and Nate were having an exchange I couldn't yet hear.

"Here you go," I said loudly when I reached them, about to place the trays down on the table.

Before I could, Richie suddenly lunged at Nate from his end of the booth, his shoulder knocking me in the process and sending both me and my trays flying backward. Food and plates were airborne for a moment, bits of bacon cascading through the air before everything came crashing down around me with an almighty sound that caused everybody in the diner to freeze.

Then all hell broke loose.