Free Twisted World: A Broken World Novel by Kate L. Mary Page A

least for now.
    When I looked up, I found the pink haired waitress staring at me from the other side of the bar. Dragon and the other waitress were behind her, talking quietly to each other. I’d almost forgotten why I’d decided to risk my life in the first place, but finding myself suddenly alone, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to talk to her.
    I headed over, my heart thumping even harder than it had in the bathroom. It got even worse when the bar owner and the waitress at his side turned my way.
    “Hi,” the young waitress said quietly, her gray eyes oddly innocent when they looked me up and down.
    “Hi.” My throat suddenly went dry, and all the conviction I’d come over here with melted away. I wasn’t sure how to go about this, and trying to have this conversation with my uncle, Charlie, and Jackson around was risky. “I was wondering how you got a job here,” I said, keeping my voice low.
    The girl’s eyebrows shot up, getting lost under her pink bangs. “You need a job? I thought you were with the Regulator’s son.”
    “Not exactly.” I glanced around, and once I was sure the coast was clear, I went for it. “I need the money, and it seems like you do pretty well here.”
    “Tips are good as long as you didn’t mind…” The waitress looked down at her dress and shrugged. “If you want a job, though, you’re going to have to talk to Dragon.” She nodded behind her. “I’m sure he’ll hire you. Finding girls who want to work here and still have all their teeth is tough.”
    I almost shuddered, but managed to control it. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, and right now I was as close to becoming a beggar as I’d ever been. It was this or nothing.
    She turned to face her boss, and when I looked up, I found him staring at me, a thoughtful expression on his face.
    After a few seconds he said, “You’re a tough girl. Pulled yourself together awfully fast after that business in the bathroom. We need tough people around here. Especially when they look like you.” His gaze moved over me slowly, causing every hair on my body to stand on end. Despite the fact that I desperately needed a job—and he seemed on the verge of offering me one, oddly enough—I had the sudden urge to run. “What’s your name?”
    “Meg,” I said, the word almost getting stuck in my throat. “Megan James.”
    Dragon’s shoulders stiffened, but something about the expression in his eyes told me he already knew that. Not a surprise, most people knew who I was before I introduced myself. Still, I found myself squirming under his gaze. Hopefully, he wasn’t some religious nut. I needed a job, but I refused to work for a crazy person.
    The smile returned to Dragon’s face, but something about the expression had changed. He was looking at me like we were old friends, and there was respect in his expression that made me stand up straighter. It wasn’t the same kind of respect that came from zealots—they usually had an excited gleam in their eyes that made me feel like they were on the verge of dropping to their knees and praying to me. No, Dragon seemed like he was taking me seriously.
    I held my breath as I waited to find out if he was going to start asking me weird details about the uncle I’d never met. It happened—a lot—and every time it did I walked away feeling like the world had taken a nosedive into insanity.
    After a second of silence, Dragon said, “Be here tomorrow at six. And be sure you dress sexier than that.”
    He turned away and the older waitress hurried after him. His words didn’t leave me feeling any better about the situation. So he wasn’t a religious nut job, didn’t mean there weren’t other ways he could totally creep me out.

T he girl , Meg as it turned out, traded a few words with Dragon before he headed off, and now she was whispering with Glitter like they were old friends. Which didn’t make any sense. She was here with the Regulator’s son, sitting in the VIP section.