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sive to give away, and customers didn't want to pay for something they once got for free." |
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Mike gritted his teeth as Jose ran back into the kitchen. No sense killing the messenger. |
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As Mike ordered from a young girl at the counter, Jose emerged with cleaning equipment and began clearing the tables. When Abby and Mike were served, Mike paid, then stomped with their tray toward an empty table devoid of the usual condiment caddy. |
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Abby ate in silence, regarding him with a thoughtful expression. Mike's temper itched to explode. |
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What had happened to the people he'd thought he could trust? |
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He should have known better, of course. He could trust no one. |
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Abby was pensiveand frightened. She worried about Mike; the constant anger she had sensed in the desert now seemed multiplied a hundredfold. Might he enrage himself into apoplexy? He seemed so empty, except for his rage. So isolated. So alone. |
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When they returned to the Bronco, she waited for the terrible noise she had heard in Barstow, but there was only a single note. "I remembered to turn off the alarm this time," he muttered with a glance at her. The air here was cooler than in the desert, but it smelled rancid, although Mike seemed not to notice. Soon they were moving |
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