Free Banished (A Retribution Novel) by Cindy Stark

accept.
    Maybe the fresh air would help to clear her thoughts
and point her in the right direction.
    She donned a black cotton shirt and covered it
with Ryan’s hoodie before she slipped into her flip-flops and tucked her room
key into her pocket.
    An hour on the beach restored her soul, but it
hadn’t provided the clarity she needed where her brother was concerned. First,
she had to locate someone who could break his code and give her access to those
files. Maybe she could find a local cop who would aid her, someone outside
Colorado’s ties and jurisdiction.
    At the very least, it was another option to
consider.
    Instead of heading to her hotel, she wandered past
the boardwalk and continued down Broadway. The small town reminded her of what
a seaside town might have looked like fifty years ago. A sweet scent mingled with
the salty ocean air, smelling of taffy or cotton candy. Families and couples
wandered the streets, some holding ice cream cones, others showing off their
latest henna tattoos.
    She was sure most of the people on the street were
tourists, but the quaint town still had a hometown, neighborly feel to it,
something that had long since disappeared from her section of Denver. Even the
old people in her housing area kept mostly to themselves.
    She found it sad that society had turned inward on
itself.
    She glanced in the windows of the souvenir shops
and wished she’d been visiting Seaside instead of hiding out there. If she’d
been free to use her credit cards, she would have purchased a souvenir for her
and something for Ellen’s upcoming birthday.
    Another time, she’d come back. Stay for a week or
two and soak up the relaxing atmosphere. She was tempted to leave everything
she had behind in Denver and start fresh in a place like this, let her brother
do what he would with the company. But eventually, she’d need to use her social
security number or something else that might lead him to her, especially if he
had a connection with the police.
    She would have to deal with her circumstances or
live in fear the rest of her life, and she wasn’t willing to do that.
    Laughter spilled onto the streets outside a small
restaurant near the end of Broadway. She glanced at the sign above and
recognized it to be the place Ryan had recommended, Salty’s Bar and Grill.
    The menu displayed on the front door said they
served a multitude of seafood dishes and pasta, along with a nice selection of
microbrewery beers. Though she couldn’t afford to eat out because she had no
idea how long she’d need to live off the money she’d withdrawn, she decided to
splurge. Their prices were reasonable, and she needed to get to know the people
in the town if she intended to find someone to help her.
    What better place than a bar and grill?
    “Seat yourself,” a waitress called as she passed
by with a tray loaded with beer and chicken wings. “I’ll be right with you.”
    Violet respected any person who could carry that
much and not drop it.
    She slipped into a wooden booth at the back of the
restaurant and gazed out over the occupants. A group of guys occupied the table
nearest the bar, while a small family of four sat by the door.
    Normally, she wouldn’t have dinner until later, but
the muffin she’d eaten earlier had long since disappeared, and she craved
anything and everything on the menu.
    “Afternoon, darlin’,” a woman with white-blond
hair said as she approached. She wasn’t the waitress who’d greeted her, but an
older lady, maybe sixty, who smiled as if she was genuinely happy to see
Violet. “Can I get you something to drink while you wait?”
    “Wait?” She tilted her head, unsure of what the
woman meant.
    “I’m sorry. I assumed you were meeting someone.”
    “No, I’m alone.” Violet glanced at the menu trying
not to feel awkward about their conversation. “I’d like one of your beers, but
I’m not sure which one. Maybe the Total Domination IPA?” She needed to dominate something right now.