advanced into the Diner with a falsely warm smile. Amber folded her arms across her middle and glared at me. Her gaze darted around the half-full tables.
“Hey, Amber. Table for one?”
“Where's Tal?”
“He's gone.”
She shifted uneasily. “He okay?”
“No.”
“He must be alive,” she snapped, a little too loudly, “or they wouldn't have released him from the hospital.”
“Oh.” I arched an eyebrow. “So you know that he needed a hospital stay?”
Her frown deepened, giving her an otherworldly, terrifying kind of look. The listless edge of her eyes was frightening enough. Taken with her contempt and desperation as a whole, I'd never met anyone that startled me this much. Not even when I'd backpacked through southeast Asia.
“When will he be back home?” she mumbled.
“Never.”
Her gaze jumped to mine. She had the audacity to gasp. “What?”
“My mom is taking him back to live with them and go into rehab for whatever disgusting filth you've been giving him. As soon as he approves, the plan is to put his house up for sale to resolve his debts.”
A derisive snort took over her face, twisting it grotesquely. “Of course. Mommy saves the day. Must be nice.”
Frustration welled up within me, warring for compassion. She was such a pathetic little creature. At one time, she was probably normal. Lovely. Full of chance and a bright future. But life had beaten her down. Circumstances beyond her control had probably nudged her onto this path, and she'd chosen to stay and invite others to it. She probably didn't have family that could, or would, swoop in to help out, which made me sad for her.
But I wasn't about to let her near my brother again.
Whatever her path, she'd made choices too. Now, I just wanted to never see her again and wish her luck on her path.
“We could get help for you too, if you wanted it,” I said quietly, although it was a promise I had no power to make.
Amber rolled her eyes. “Can I speak with him?” she asked. “I just . . . need to talk to him about something.”
“Money he owes you?”
She fidgeted with the bottom of her shirt and didn't answer. I folded my arms across my chest.
“No, you can't see him again, but I'll let him know you asked.”
Annoyance made her gaze hot. Her nostrils thinned.
“I cared about him.” Her voice was a dark rasp, and I sensed sincerity behind the words. “It's . . . he's a nice guy. I don't want him to get hurt.”
“Little late for that.”
Her jaw tightened.
“I'm sorry, Amber.” I softened my response. “But you'll never see him again, if I have anything to say about it. He's going to go get better and he won't be back. With any luck we can sell the house and he can start over at home.”
“He owes me a lot of money,” she hissed through clenched teeth, her gaze suddenly bright with something like rage. Any caring she'd had—or pretended to have—disappeared. “I can't just walk away without anything.”
“Hernandez is looking for you,” I said. “Dagny called to tell him that you're here. He has questions for you. So you can stay and wait for him to show up, or you can make yourself scarce. I'd prefer the latter.”
Amber snarled at me and advanced a step. “You think you can sweep in and save Talmage? You think I won't have the last word? He is my boyfriend and I love him! He owes me money!”
Her love and his debt seemed inseparably connected in her mind, and maybe they were in a life like this. Her voice rose several pitches, drawing the gaze of everyone in the Diner. I held my ground, arms at my side, chin high.
“If you love him,” I said, “then you'll let him go.”
Dagny stepped out from the back, followed by our fry cook, a burly man with a baby face and jowls like a pitbull. Amber shrank back at the sight of him.
“Time to go,” he growled.
With one last sneer at me, she turned and skulked away, disappearing around the back of the building. I drew in a deep breath, pivoted on my heel, and stepped into the back. Dagny stood at my side, a hand on my arm, as I cooled down in the aftermath of the visit.
“That w-was intense,” Dagny said. “You did g-good.”
“She . . . infuriates me and inspires pity all at the same time. I don't know whether I want to hug her or slap her.”
“B-b-both, I bet.”
My blood still streamed through my