Hyper Lynx (The Lynx Series Book 6) Fiona Quinn (the dot read aloud .txt) 📖

they were no longer flesh but metal. A steel door sliding open. Rigid and unyielding. The law was not going to stand up for Dad. But I would. This conviction absorbed into my flesh and sinew, and I felt my body hardening, finally solidifying after days of being vapor. I had exploded into a million droplets in the car crash. Translucent. Weightless. Purpose pulled me back together. My lips pursed tightly.

“Lexicon, I can see that you have decided to take matters into your own hands.”

I looked at him dispassionately. He could read me like a book. So what? It didn’t matter to me what he was going to say now. I had made up my mind; it only took me a nanosecond. How could I live with myself if I didn’t stand up for Dad?

“You have all of the skills you need to effect revenge. To avenge your father’s death.” He acknowledged what I already knew. I had the power; I just needed the will. And I had that in spades. “You can track, and fight, and shoot. You have the ability to do these things, and I will not stop you. But I wish for you to give yourself a day to process. I wish for you to reflect on the phrase, ‘What is yours will not pass you by.’”

Though Spyder had been friends with my parents since long before I was born, he had only been my mentor for the previous four years. Spyder had taken me under his wing when I said that I wanted to follow in his footsteps and go into the intelligence field. He taught me the things I would need to make me physically and mentally ready for the rigors of the job of staying alive against the odds. Quotes were among his favorite teaching tools—something from how he was raised in who knew what part of the world—the application of philosophical phrases to one’s situation. “Beacons of wisdom,” he called them.

The stare I sent him was filled with acrimony. My taste buds were painted with bitterness.

He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. I looked down at the deep darkness of his skin as he continued to hold my hand, the blue-blackness that was so beautiful to me. So exotic and interesting. I hoped the kiss meant he was going to leave. Listening to his voice was like listening to ocean waves or a singing bowl. They quieted my soul. Right now, I preferred my soul to be roused, to be fiery hot, ablaze with righteousness.

“I will come back later when your mother is awake. I will be the one to tell her about Hanasal. I can see that you would prefer to be alone so that you might better reflect on the phrase I have given you.”

He was being my mentor. He was being my godfather. What I would have preferred was that he’d put on his special operator’s hat and help me get this guy.

A long brutal blast of car horns roused me from my memory, bringing me back to the here and now.

I lifted a “Sorry!” hand as I pressed the gas pedal and headed on to the diner and my first shift with Destiny.

Chapter Twenty-Two

There was a rhythm to this gig. It was going to take me a day or two to get it down. Already Jim and I had had a battle over the trash. No, I wasn’t going out back alone, not after what happened to Barb. Sorry.

I knew I was on thin ice there, but I thought not being a little feisty and self-preserving might have come off as inaccurate for the character I was playing.

The room seemed to be filled with regulars.

I recognized most of the faces and the name-embroidered uniforms from yesterday.

Man, yesterday…so much had happened in such a short time.

When Destiny got there, I sent her a smile. “I have to thank you. I was so hungry yesterday. You could have made a stink. I appreciate you letting me get something to eat.” Her brown hair was pulled back in a tight bun with a dancer’s net holding the wisps in place. She had a broad closed-mouth smile that hid teeth that hadn’t been straightened with braces. Not unruly, just not perfectly aligned. Her blue eyes were bloodshot and had a wariness to them. Otherwise, she was perfectly average. Forgettably attractive. These were good qualities to have if you were on the run.

“Yeah, I’ve been there. I know what a pinched stomach feels like. Tips aren’t lavish here, but no one’s stiffed me yet. You’ll be okay now that you’re working.”

“Yeah, not bad. They might be treating me nice because I’m the new girl. But I have enough for my gas tank now.”

“You have a car?”

“If you can call it that.” I gave her a one-sided smile. Gathering up a pot of decaffeinated in one hand and high test in the other, I made a circuit of all the customers. This was just colleague chatter. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t come off as too interested in her. Keep it light. Keep it natural. And keep it moving.

We worked side by side, and things seemed smooth. She didn’t take advantage of my willingness to work, nor did Destiny act competitively, trying to get all the tips.

As my shift was coming to an end, I carried the dishes back to the staging counter. I filled a to-go container with the portions that hadn’t been touched and set them aside. Eventually, I had three.

Destiny bumped her hip into mine as I scraped the scraps into the bus bin. “Don’t let Jim catch you doing that. He doesn’t care much about health regulations and such. But he wants us waitresses hungry and needy. If we eat the scraps, we have more money from our tips to spend on other