BooksBarbecue
Back Dead Horse Gap Save as PDF
Chapters (58)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  3. DEDICATION
  4. Prologue
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-one
  26. Twenty-two
  27. Twenty-three
  28. Twenty-four
  29. Twenty-five
  30. Twenty-six
  31. Twenty-seven
  32. Twenty-eight
  33. Twenty-nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-one
  36. Thirty-two
  37. Thirty-three
  38. Thirty-four
  39. Thirty-five
  40. Thirty-six
  41. Thirty-seven
  42. Thirty-eight
  43. Thirty-nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-one
  46. Forty-two
  47. Forty-three
  48. Forty-four
  49. Forty-five
  50. Forty-six
  51. Forty-seven
  52. Forty-eight
  53. Forty-nine
  54. Fifty
  55. Fifty-one
  56. Fifty-two
  57. Fifty-three
  58. Acknowledgements

‘Let me see how I go today,’ Sterling said, checking the time. She was due at work in forty-five minutes and still needed to shower. ‘Heidi’s rostered on, so it will be interesting to see how she is, and whether Garrett turns up at the pub. Hopefully he made his point this morning.’

Twenty-one

She had the wrong phone.

Shit! She must have mixed them up after calling Ryder.

Sterling made sure her personal phone was switched to silent then slid it into the front pocket of her jeans and left her shoulder bag in the cubicle. She needed to keep it on her person. Leaving it in her bag was too dangerous. She was never supposed to have her personal phone on her, only her Ida Stevenson phone, the one attached to her undercover identity.

Yanking down her shirt, she went into the staff toilet and locked the door. She could tell Elijah she’d forgotten something and go home. She could say she needed a prescription filled at the chemist. No, that wouldn’t work, she was finishing at four and had plenty of time to do that, and it would be unlike her. She’d never missed a shift or asked for even the smallest amount of time off.

A noise outside alerted her to someone moving around. She ripped off some toilet tissue and flushed, anxiety making her heart skip. She could say she was unwell. Elijah would let her go without question. She turned on the tap and washed her hands, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She looked a picture of health, her eyes bright, her cheeks still flushed after her run and hot shower.

Best to stick it out, she thought as she dried her hands. What if Garrett came in and heard she’d gone home sick? He would think he’d won. Sterling balled up the paper towel and tossed it in the bin. No way was she going to let that grub think he’d got to her.

With a reassuring pat of her phone in her pocket, she pulled open the door and came face to face with Heidi.

‘Hi,’ she said simply, stepping around the other woman before heading out into the dining room. The lunch rush hadn’t started, there were only a handful of people sitting around having a drink. Furious with herself for not taking enough care, Sterling touched her phone again, wishing the pocket were deeper.

‘Hey, Ida,’ Elijah greeted her. ‘It’s nice outside today, so we’re going to offer a barbecue as well as the usual menu. Can you grab a few things from the kitchen?’

‘Sure.’

In the kitchen, Sterling picked up a stack of dinner plates. Before long, Heidi joined her and soon they had everything set up on the picnic table closest to the barbecue.