Free Dark Star by Roslyn Holcomb Page B

that anyone had read her books.
    “Of course. I told you I’ve kept an eye on
you over the years. I bought the first one out of curiosity, but
now I’m hooked.”
    “Why?”
    “What do you mean why? Because you’re a
damned good writer. I knew that when we were still at the UA and
you were writing my papers for me,” he said.
    “No. Why did you keep track over the
years?”
    “You know why. You’d be better off if I
hadn’t.”
    “You’re not trying to tell me that you still
care about me -- if you ever did. You walked out and left me with
nothing but lies.” This time the pain came raging through with
hurricane force. She gritted her teeth, shaking with the effort to
maintain a semblance of composure.
    His voice dropped, becoming husky, almost
raspy. “Baby, I had my reasons. It couldn’t be helped.”
    “Are you stuck in an infinite loop or
something? You need to find a new line, that one is played,” she
snapped, desperate to keep from responding to the raw emotion in
his voice and the beseeching look in his eyes.
    He paused for a second, opening his mouth as
though to respond. Instead he stood up to clear the table. When he
spoke again it was on a totally different and not particularly
welcome subject. “You know we ate at that little Waffle House on
McFarland almost daily when we were together.”
    Tonya pursed her lips, briefly perturbed by
the swift subject change. She had hoped he’d forgotten, but it was
like him to throw that out to catch her off-balance. Bastard. “That
had nothing to do with my stories. I’d forgotten all about it. I
live in Alabama; the damned places are ubiquitous back home.” Pride
forced her to tell the bald-faced lie and what was worse she knew
he knew she lied.
    “No. Of course not,” Nate said softly. “I
just remember that I always got my hash browns scattered, covered,
topped and chunked. I also noticed that the murders are getting
increasingly gruesome. I shudder to think what Chunked will
look like. The BDSM theme of Covered caught me off guard,
though. You have a diabolical mind.”
    Tonya couldn’t help but smile . He had read her books. “Well that’s hardly news. Despite the
obvious implications from the title nobody ends up in pieces in Chunked .
    “So it’s not like Scattered ,
hmmm?”
    “Not in that regard, no,” she said.
    “So how are they alike?” he said.
    “What?”
    “You said it wasn’t like Scattered in
regard to people ending up in pieces. How is it like it then?”
    “Well, they’re both murder mysteries that are
solved by a Waffle House waitress,” she said struggling to maintain
a bland expression.
    “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
    “Of course not. You’ll have to buy it like
everybody else.”
    “Well hell, what’s the point of kidnapping
the author of your favorite series if you can’t get the inside
scoop?” he said sounding more than a bit put out.
    Tonya laughed out loud now. “All I can say is
nobody gets dismembered in Chunked , but it is gross.”
    “I’m surprised the Waffle House folks haven’t
put out a hit on you.”
    “To tell you the truth, before I recognized
you in my hotel room I thought they had. But they’re a corporation;
they have lawyers to do their bushwhacking, legally. Besides any
publicity is good publicity. You know they don’t even
advertise.”
    “Even if it involves body parts being found
in Waffle House dumpsters from coast to coast?” he raised a
quizzical brow.
    “I’d say especially if it involves
body parts being scattered from coast to coast.”
    “You always were twisted, but these books
take it to another level. The theme is definitely bent, but the
mysteries themselves are really good. Like I said, you’re a damned
good writer and I have a college degree to show for it.”
    Tonya felt heat rise in her cheeks. “Thank
you. Now I’ve told you a secret. You have to tell me one.”
    He gave her a wary look. “I can’t tell you
any more than I already have