A Complicated Favor

Avery

The familiar routine helped. Steam milk. Pull shots. Wipe counters. Smile at customers. Repeat. Mechanical movements that required no thought, left no room for wondering what Declan was doing or thinking or planning.

Half an hour passed. Then an hour. The café emptied as people headed home for dinner, leaving only a few regulars nursing their drinks and working on laptops.

The bell above the