For over an hour, I scrubbed pots and pans. Angelito brought in a steady stream of plates and dishes. At one point, I wondered where he kept finding them. I was washing the big items and running the dishwashers for the plates and cups. Thank God we had two. Fortunately, the work was calming my nerves. Instead of complaining, I enjoyed the peace of the simple action and the running of the water. My fingers were prunes by the time I finished with all the dishes. It was still early, and our regulars would be coming in till we closed at midnight.
With the water off, I could hear Angelito’s conversation at the bar. One of my favorite customers had walked in. I recognized Gabe’s voice. He had that Barry White voice, with smoldering blue eyes that were incredible with his jet-black hair. If Michelangelo needed a model for David, I was sure Gabe would have qualified. It had been years since my last date, and I felt clumsy and young around Gabe. Maybe Gabe was the reason I loved Saturday nights. I was told he came in Monday and Wednesday night as well. Too bad; I only worked Thursday to Sunday. Abuelita’s nieces handled the rest of the week.
He was great eye candy. I knew Gabe’s order by heart. He always sat at the bar—something about the tables being too tight. I didn’t care about the reason; at the bar I didn’t need a reason to talk to him.
Angelito put in his order, and in less than three minutes, Abuelita was ready. Carnitas asadas with rice and beans, no tortillas—that was his usual. I wasn’t a meat eater, but watching Gabe enjoy his food made me want to try the pork at least once.
My earlier incidents were forgotten, and I rushed to take his plate from Abuelita. Angelito smiled and bowed down when I walked by him.
“Do your thing, little mama.” The child was unstoppable with that mischievous smile. I turned around to face Gabe, who was looking at me.
“Oh God.” I dropped his plate. Gabe was glowing, and he had wings. Not the fake plastic crap people use for Halloween. Oh, no. These babies were real and at least five feet from his shoulder down to his legs. No wonder the boy couldn’t fit in a chair. He was a freaking angel or demon—oh God, I had no clue. I looked over his shoulder, and everyone was staring at me. They looked like my regular night crowd except they were not humans. I had a three-eyed monster in one corner and a pointy-eared couple in another. Everyone was glowing. Their eyes were inhuman.
I was having a panic attack. I couldn’t breathe. My mind was in overdrive. I was nauseated, and the room was starting to spin. Angelito put his hand on my shoulder, and I bolted for the door. The tears came down before I could stop them. I was trembling all over. Even the woods behind Abuelita’s looked alive. There was so much movement out there.
“Isis, sweetie, you need to go home.” I barely heard Abuelita’s voice. It sounded muffled and very far away. “Honey, you need sleep. You’re sleep deprived. Can you drive yourself home? Or I can have Angelito take you.”
Abuelita was careful not to face me. She walked up behind me and slowly guided me toward the Whale out front.
“Sleep deprived. That’s it. I’m hallucinating.” I sounded drugged, even to myself. “You’re right. I just need to go home and sleep. Are you sure I can leave?” I felt guilty leaving, but I knew I couldn’t stay.
“Sweetie, I’m afraid you might dump a plate on top of a customer. Are you sure you can drive?” Abuelita didn’t sound mad, just truly concerned. I climbed into the Whale and waved at her without looking. Home was not going to help me now, but I had a feeling I knew a pair who could.
Chapter 5
Like everything else in town, the business park was less than six minutes from Abuelita’s, heading west on 82. I was there in less than four. The outside looked like all the other metal buildings in the parks, just taller. No windows on the front, and the ones on the side were too high for anyone to climb. Unless you had wings, like Gabe. I was still in shock, and I prayed this was all a bad dream. They were going to dehypnotize me, and life would go back to normal.
I slowly climbed out of the Whale. The sign on the building, Reapers Incorporated, was written in gothic red—blood red, to be precise. Who said Death didn’t have a sense of humor? If not Death, at least her people did. There was something eerie about the building. Almost like a sensation that made me want to turn around. There was a door on the left-hand side and a doorbell. I rang the bell and heard a soft voice say, “Come in.”
I stepped into a narrow hallway, four feet wide by six feet long. The door behind me closed on its own, and I heard a lock kick in. There was another door at the end of the hall. When the first door closed, the second one opened. Weird blue lights illuminated the place. I understood what those kids in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory felt like. Too bad the end of this tunnel didn’t lead to a river of chocolate. I had really been out of it when I left that morning; I didn’t remember any of this. To my right was a glass wall. These boys were nuts about their glass walls. This one didn’t let you see inside.
The way my night was going, I steadied myself before leaving the hallway. The first floor of the warehouse was empty. A few lights were on, illuminating the shop and the gym area. I looked behind
