The Hungry 4: Rise of the Triad (The Sheriff Penny Miller Series) by Steven Booth, Harry Shannon Page A

she might need to know later, if things got hairy. There was a music setup on the table, but no television.
    “Come on in.”
    They moved into the dining area. Lunch was waiting. Scratch and Miller almost drooled visibly over a green salad, Italian bread, hot soup, and pitchers of iced water with lemon. The smell of the fresh bread was overpowering, so instead of looking out at the ocean as she’d originally wanted to, Miller headed directly for the table. She picked up a piece of bread and started tearing it into little pieces, eating them without sitting down. The sun pressed in through the glass doors leading to the balcony. Just as she noticed that, the air conditioning kicked back on. The cool air felt wonderful on her bare arms.
    “There’s a menu on the table,” Ramon said. “The cooks are waiting for your call. May I recommend both the rib eye steak and the Portobello mushroom burger? You can use that phone there to order. The food should be here by the time you finish your salads. Enjoy.”
    Miller tried to thank him but her mouth was full. Ramon turned and left.
    “Not too shabby,” said Scratch. He stuffed his face with lettuce and fresh tomato. “It’s been a long time since we got our sorry asses pampered a bit.”
    “Don’t get too comfortable,” said Miller, around a mouth still full of bread. “We’re leaving right after lunch and a shower. And a nap,” she heard herself saying.
    Scratch pulled out a chair for each of them. They sat down in front of the soup. He picked up the spoon and took a couple of sips. “It ain’t even cold.” He took a piece of bread for himself and dunked it in the soup. “Penny, I don’t know why you’re in such a hurry to get out of here. This is pretty first class.”
    “Scratch, do I really have to remind you that there’s no such thing as a free lunch?”
    “Ha!” he said, and continued eating.
    “Do you have any idea how much this place should cost? I’m thinking a suite like this has got to be a thousand dollars a day. And they’re giving it away for free? To people they should have been arresting? I’m not as dumb as you look. There’s got to be something very wrong going on around here.”
    Scratch belched. “Could be, but I’m loving it, at least for right now.”
    Against her better judgment, Miller sat down and perused the menu. She settled on a Kobe cheeseburger and fries. “I don’t like this one bit,” she said, but she picked up the small phone. “I guess there’s no sense in being pig-headed. What are you going to have?”
    “Steak!” said Scratch breathlessly. He continued to devour his bread. “Medium rare.”
    Their food did indeed arrive quickly, though not quite as quickly as had been promised. Both meals were cooked to perfection. Scratch beat Penny to the finish line, which took some doing. Their strength returned immediately. By the time they’d finished eating, they were both feeling happy, calm and pleasantly full for the first time in weeks.
    Miller looked at the clock. It was just after 1:00pm.
    “I’ve been thinking, Scratch. I’d love to find out what is really going on around here, and why. There’s only one way to do that. What do you say we get cleaned up, rest, and take a walk, and then go on ahead and attend that orientation?”
    “Seriously?”
    “Come on, let’s take a shower.” Miller grinned. “You can even wash my back.”
    Scratch was on his feet in an instant. They headed into the bathroom, shedding filthy clothing as they went. Miller felt sleepy and dizzy and a bit silly, like she had been drinking wine. It was probably just having a full stomach for once. By the time they got in the shower, they were wrapped around each other. Making love with Scratch was even better when they both felt fresh and clean. Miller couldn’t decide what was actually better—having good sex, or just being clean for once. She decided it was damn near a tie.
    It was almost 2:00pm when they finally emerged from the