*****
Maybe he is a monster, Doriel thought. But his hamburgers are awesome.
She took another bite. The wait had been longer than she had expected, and it had been close to midnight when Nate finally served the meal on the small balcony outside the apartment. She had been forced to be patient while Nate mixed the hamburger according to some clandestine recipe that he refused to share, waited until the coals on the grungy grill were just the right temperature, then cooked them to slow perfection, all the while slathering them with barbeque sauce.
She took another bite, savoring the toasted bun, the tangy mustard, and the crisp bite of fresh-cut onions. She seldom ate earth food, but now she wondered why that was. It wasn't perfect. But in her present state of mind, she was willing to dea
