Bosom Bodies (Mina's Adventures) Read Free Page B

kitchen, the sound of pots and pans crashing to the concrete floor. Mina and Lisa rushed over. Angelina was crouched down picking up the objects of the crash.
    “There you are,” Lisa said. “What happened?”
    Angelina looked up, shrugged and went back to collecting the cookware. T here was a large bruise under her right eye. Before Mina could ask about it, Diego came from the freezer area and s tarted to scrape the grill . He seemed oddly oblivious to all the commotion.
    “Angelina, do you need help with that?” Mina said
    The young woman shook her head. She looked so sad and helpless. Who hit her in the face?
    “Let’s get back to work,” Lisa said. The remark was aimed at Mina. Happy hour was in full swing. Most of the tables were taken, even the ones Mina was in charge of. Maledizione. She adjusted her “Ginger” nametag, grabbed the notepad and sashayed over to her first table of four. The strut was strictly for Diego, in case he was ogling.
    At Mina’s first table, a woman sat with three men. Mina liked that, thinking she wouldn’t have to put up with lewd comments about the prominent part of her—top. All four wore suits, another welcome exception to the casual surrounding.
    For the first time since she set foot in Bosom Bodies, Mina wore a genuine smile to greet the customers. One of the men, his back to her, erupted into a laugh. Something familiar about that laugh brought Mina to a stop. She studied his back, the way the sleek dark hair brushed his shirt collar, his broad shoulders still shaking from the laugh. No, not Brian’s buddy Detective DeFiore . Of course it had to be him. The only Italian characteristic about DeFiore was his last name and that came from his stepdad. Everything else, especially his hair, was pure Asian.
    Now the suits and the woman, it all made sense. They were cops, possibly celebrating the good outcome of a case. Happy hour to be had by all! What sh ould she do, h ide in the bathroom like the day before? And then what? While she pondered the situation, the woman at the table seemed to notice Mina. She motioned her over.
    Mina walked to the table making sure she stayed behind DeFiore ’s chair. He would need to make a complete turn to see her face. Pad and pencil ready, she smiled at the woman and waited for the order. She planned to avoid speaking. DeFiore might recognize her accent.
    The man to DeFiore’s left waved his hand over the table. “Can we get some appetizers—like maybe sometime today?”
    Mina nodded and pointed to the colorful menu folded in the center of the table.
    “Something wrong with your voice—Ginger?” It was an impatient question.
    “Oh, sorry, my throat.” Mina covered her mouth and coughed lightly.
    “Hey, if you’ re sick , you shouldn’t be serving food. Get someone else .”
    “Gladly,” Mina said louder than necessary.
    “Mina?” DeFiore spun on the stool so they were face to face. He recognized her? She only said one word.
    “Sir, my name is Ginger.” She pointed to her nametag while trying to tell him to shut up with her eyes.
    The way he looked at her, she wanted to die, but she wanted to kill him first because he immediately began laughing at her . “What the hell are you doing here, and dressed like that?” He said ‘like that’ while staring at the padded part of her T-shirt. His eyes traveled up to the red wig. “Kid, Halloween was last month.”
    “Sir, you are mistaking me for someone else.” She smiled sweetly and , while looking straight into his eyes, stomped his foot with her heel. “My name is Ginger, can I take your order?”
    He winced but said nothing.
    After she collected everyone’s order she turned away and overheard the woman ask, “You know her?”
    Mina didn’t hear De Fiore’s answer, but she did notice Diego standing by the glass divider with his arms crossed, watching her.

Chapter 3
     
    Mina couldn’t sleep. She blamed the unfamiliar noises of her new place, but unfortunately it wasn’t