Chapter 13 Sydney

Chapter 13 Sydney

 

 

I felt as if I was on auto pilot, just going through the motions. Being deprived of one’s mate after finding them left one feeling out of sorts for a while. Perhaps forever. I was learning about the ways of werewolves day by day from research and personal experiences, and there was a chance I’d never recover from my mate’s rejection.

Since that fateful day of discovering Cole existed and essentially losing him instantly, I had felt cold inside. That sensation left me constantly feeling chilled. Even now, on a warm night, I’m wearing a sweater to ward off the cold. I wondered if Cole suffered as much as I did. He’d deserved it.

Whenever I thought about his treatment of me, I hated him. I felt like I did, anyway. Maybe despising him completely was impossible. Something inside me still desired him—my wolf. I sighed, feeling her sadness. It was so strange feeling another entity sharing my mind and emotions.

“If that counter gets any shiner, I’ll be able to see myself in it.”

I started as the deep, amused voice penetrated my thoughts. The sounds of the diner filtered back in. I’d zoned out and had been wiping one spot of the counter rigorously. I stared at the newcomer.

“Good night. I’m sorry I didn’t notice you come in.” I hadn’t heard the bell above the door signal a new customer. “Welcome to Dupart’s Diner.”

The man stared at me, his champagne-brown eyes seemingly drinking me in. His assessment was intense and went on for a little too long. It was hard to determine his age, but the look in his weary eyes indicated he was much older than I was.

Starting to feel uneasy with the man’s unwavering assessment, I shifted from one foot to the other. “Um, may I take your order?”

He blinked as if just realizing he was gawking at me. I had to remind myself to ignore some of the customers’ weird behaviors. The nighttime patrons were in on the highest level of bizarre. This man, though, didn’t strike me as any supernatural creature. In the weeks I’d been working at Dupart’s, I’d become adept at identifying who might or might not be entirely human. Some were more difficult than others to recognize.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m making you uncomfortable, I can tell. It’s just that you look just like…” He paused and looked down at his clasped hands.

I waited for him to tell me I resembled his kid or something, but he didn’t go any further.

“You know what? I’ll take a coffee and…” He glanced at the special’s menu Macy had written on a whiteboard. “Steak and eggs.”

“Coming right up.” I scribbled his order and walked off. Eyes were still on me. I could feel it. Some of the customers tend to stare, and I couldn’t help feeling that a few of them were sizing me up, wondering if I’d make a proper meal. It was hard not to be paranoid after learning that there were werewolves and other creatures walking around, parading as humans. When I glanced back, it was the strange man watching me, but when he realized I’d looked back, he quickly averted his gaze. Dread settled in the pit of my stomach. Had the hunters found me? I hadn’t laid eyes on the one who had confronted me in Nebraska, but from what I learned, their organization was a big one.

Macy smiled when I appeared at the kitchen window to stick the order on the line with the others.

“Hey,” she greeted. “How’s it going out there?”

I swallowed my fear of being found by hunters and forced a smile. “Not bad at all. The weirdness has been kept to a minimum tonight. No one has sniffed me or asked my blood type or anything.”

Macy pursed her lips. I knew she wanted to tell me what went on here at night, but she kept holding back. I bet she was trying to protect me. If only she knew I was in on the whole secret about the supernatural.

“That’s good, I guess,” she said.

“How are you doing back here? You must be exhausted.”

She flipped a burger and smiled. “I’m fine.”

Like hell she was. Her weariness was evident from the dark circle under her eyes and the lines of stress around her mouth. She’d been handling the kitchen since this morning, and something was going on with her, but she refused to confide in me. Of course, it wasn’t fair for me to expect her to since I kept secrets from her, too.

“Table three is waiting on their drinks. I can take it to them.”

“No! I got it.”

My gaze narrowed on Macy. At table three were the same gothic-like individuals I’d compared to television vampires. They came here often, and Macy never let me take them their…drinks. “Fine,” I huffed and went back to the floor. Someone else had walked in, and I aimed for his table.

By the time I reached the newcomer, he was seated at one of the individual tables near the window. “Hi, welcome to Dupart’s.”

Obsidian-like eyes landed on me, and I almost took a step back because his stare was so intense. The man was tall with broad shoulders. A lock of inky black hair fell over one eye. He was handsome, but he didn’t make my heart flutter the way Cole did. I ground my molars, annoyed that he kept popping up in my thoughts. This man exuded power that could easily intimidate.

Taking a deep breath, I smiled at him. He didn’t smile back.

“Coffee and pie,” he said, surveying the room. His eyebrows were knitted as he seemed to take in everything and everyone.

“Okay…” I guess he wasn’t much of a talker. Walking away, I gave him a second look. While he didn’t watch me closely like the man at the counter, he still made my hair stand on end. There was a dangerous edge to Mr. Dark and Brooding that made me nervous. He could be a hunter, too. My paranoia was up full front and center tonight. I started side-eying everyone, wondering if someone was waiting for the right moment to take me out.

I collected the steak and eggs Macy finished and brought them to the man sitting at the counter. My hands shook a little as I placed the tray in front of him. Then I poured the coffee he’d ordered. My fingers trembled so much coffee sloshed onto the counter.

“Oh, shoot.”

“It’s okay, I’ve got it.” The man pulled napkins from the holder next to him and dabbed up the liquid.

“Thanks. I’m not usually so shaky.” Being on the run from killers was getting to me.

“Maybe you’re tired,” he said. “I’ve heard that waitresses work long hours. Is there any truth to that?”

Our gazes locked. Was he trying to determine when I’d leave here so he could kill me? My stomach lurched, but I played it cool. “Sometimes.”

He nodded. “I’m Benjamin.”

I blinked at the hand he extended. Not wanting to be rude, I placed mine in it. “Nice to meet you.”

He smiled and dropped my hand. “I was hoping you’d give me your name. Your name tag is hidden.”

Heat seared my cheeks as I glanced at my name tag that was pinned so that it was lost in my breast pocket. Only the top of the S of my name was visible. That was deliberate. I had to be careful.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to share your name.”

Since I didn’t want to risk anyone complaining to the boss about my bad manners, I said, “My name is Sydney.”

“Nice to meet you, Sydney.” Benjamin’s smile was warm and genuine because it reached his eyes. He seemed nice, but looks could be deceiving.

“Enjoy your meal, Benjamin.”

I scurried away because I didn’t want him to see my agitation. I felt like he watched me too closely. And so did the man who had ordered the coffee and pie. Or maybe he was watching Benjamin. It was hard to tell. Every now and then, his gaze would zero in on Benjamin, who had his back turned to him, but then he’d find me anywhere I stood in the room.

“It’s just my imagination,” I whispered as I picked up an empty tray from a table that had been vacated. Surely, if a hunter had found me, they wouldn’t have come into the diner to chat and enjoy a meal first…I hoped. With one last suspicious look at Benjamin and the younger stranger, I stopped thinking about the possibility of them hunting me, or else I’d go crazy before my shift ended. I had just two hours to go.

***

“You can go, Syd.”

I stopped wiping a table to glance at Macy. We were the only ones in the diner. The eccentric nighttime customers usually cleared out by six a.m. We didn’t typically see much action from then until about seven.

“I have another half hour to go,” I said.

She waved a hand. “There’s no one here. Go on, you’ve been working every night for three weeks. You haven’t taken one night off.”

“Because I need the money.”

“You’ve moved into your apartment. I think it’s time you take it easy.”

I had started rearranging the salt and pepper shakers on a table, and I stopped to laugh. “I should take it easy? This, coming from the woman who works twenty-four seven.”

She rolled her eyes and shut the cash register. “The new chef is coming in tomorrow. I’ll get a break.”

I eyed Macy with concern. She looked beat. So was I, but at least I went home during the days. She stayed on and continued working like the energizer bunny. I’d only known Macy a little over a month, but I cared about her. She’d become the one constant in my life after losing my aunt. She went out of her way to make sure I was okay when I got to New Orleans. I owed her a lot.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Macy said.

I blinked innocently. “Like what?”

“Like a concerned parent. You’re nineteen, and I’m twenty-six. I should be the concerned parent in this scenario.”

Rolling my eyes, I took off my apron. “Actually, I’m twenty.”

“What?”

“Well, my birthday is next month. But what’s a few weeks, right? I’m pretty much twenty years old now.”

“Look at you. So, are we having a party or what?”

Her excitement made me smile. No one got excited about my birthday before, not even Aunt Lydia. She was always so caught up in her studies and investigations that she usually forgot my birthday until it passed. I never held it against her. Giving me a home, food, and clothes was enough. “No, I don’t really celebrate birthdays like that.”

Macy gasped and clutched her chest as if I’d blasphemed. “Well, birthdays are a big deal around here. So, we’re having a party.”

I threw my arms up. “Who am I going to invite? I only know you, Shannon, Arlene, and Rachel.” The other waitresses were nice, but we weren’t particularly close. I considered Violet a friend, but we hadn’t seen much of each other. Plus, I was uncomfortable with anything that brought too much attention my way. “No party.”

“Fine. We’ll do a girls’ night out, then. You and me.”

Relieved, I smiled. “That sounds more like it.”

“Good, now get out of here.”

“Okay. I’ll take the trash on my way out.”

“Thanks.”

A few minutes later, I went to the back alley, tossing the garbage bag into the bin. Pulling my sweater closer, I aimed for the sidewalk. I gasped when I bumped into something hard. Staggering back, I glanced up and almost screamed. It was the broody guy from the diner.

For a moment, panic seized me, and I couldn’t move. I’d been relieved when he and the older man, Benjamin, had left the diner. I concluded that I was being ridiculous. They weren’t watching me. It seemed I was wrong about one of them. Taking several steps back, I prepared to run because I didn’t stand a chance against the huge man.

“Relax, I’m not here to hurt you,” he said.

“Right, and I’m just going to take your word for it.” I took another retreating step.

“I just want to ask you something.”

I gulped. Let me guess—he was going to ask if I’m a werewolf and then pull out a dagger with that strange symbol like the other guy who tried to kill me. “My aunt always taught me as a kid not to talk to strangers, so…goodbye.” I tried stepping around him, but he blocked my escape.

Crap.

“Really, I mean you no harm. I’m Adam.”

I stared at his outstretched hand as if it was a bomb until he dropped it. No way was I going to touch him and make it easier for him to grab me and haul me off somewhere to end me.

“What do you want?” I asked, searching the sidewalk, hoping someone would pass by. I doubted he’d try anything if there were witnesses.

“Nothing more than information.”

I held his gaze, refusing to show my fear. “About?”

“That man you were so cozy with inside earlier.”

“What man?”

“Dark brown hair, this tall,” he held his hand up to his shoulder, “plaid shirt.”

Benjamin. “I don’t know him. We shook hands after an introduction. I wouldn’t call that cozy.”

Adam’s eyebrows snapped together. “He’s very interested in you.”

I scoffed. “He was just being polite.”

He took a step toward me. “No, I saw him watching you the night before last from outside.”

My heart skipped a beat, and my knees got weak. “Excuse me?”

“He’s been visiting this diner for a week straight.”

“But he just came in for the first time this morning, I swear.”

“I know. He just stares through the window—at you— and then leaves.”

Oh, no. I’d been found. “So, you’ve been watching him? Why?”

Adam’s expression shuttered. “Why does he visit you if you don’t know him? You’re lying to me.”

I started backing away again. “No, I—”

“Get away from her.” The words were spoken in the calmest yet deadliest tone I’d ever heard.

Adam’s shoulders practically rose to his ears. Turning around, he snarled, “Cole.”

My gaze jumped to Cole in surprise.