Page 13 of Cursed Love
Erika grabbed the latest order from her and smiled. “That guy hasn’t quit watching you since we gave him his chai.”
She glanced at him and found his dark eyes watching her. His back was to the wall, and his nose twitched when the door opened with another customer. She breathed in deeply and recognized the stench immediately. How she never noticed it before was beyond her.
Following his eyes, she spotted the woman from yesterday walking into the café. The woman stopped in her tracks, and her gaze moved from Brandy to her mystery hero. She caught the slight glow of the woman’s eyes directed at him before she stepped back.
Tubar.
Her heart sped up as the tubar contemplated its next move. She took another step back and blindly reached for the door before leaving the café.
She looked from the door, as another customer stepped through, to him. Their eyes met, and his head cocked to the side as he studied her. With his full attention on her, she refused to let him see how that small incident had shaken her up.
He sent Brandy a nod of silent communication and followed the direction of the tubar, leaving his undrunk tea and Brandy as she stood in a café full of caffeine addicts who were completely unaware of the demon.
***
“It’s you,” said a familiar voice.
Brandy gasped and turned on her heels, the key still dangling from her door. “You scared thecrapout of me!”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously! Now, what do you mean by ‘it’s me?’” she asked, willing her heart to slow down.
He looked up and down her hallway, and she followed his gaze. Luckily, none of her neighbors stepped out to investigate. “Let’s talk inside.”
“No,” she said, drawing his attention.
“What do you mean ‘no’?”
She crossed her arms and his eyes followed the movement, lingering a second longer on her breasts before returning to her face. “Look, I’m really grateful you helped me the other night. You haven’t exactly been polite, and I don’t even know your name!”
“Ryan Palfrey. Now can we please go inside and talk?” he asked. Amusement flashed in his eyes before they hardened.
Ryan? His name was normal and not at all what she’d expected from someone killing tubars. Then again, she didn’t know what to consider as normal in this new abnormal world she was learning about. Brandy felt like Alice after she’d fallen down the rabbit hole into Wonderland.
“Ryan…” she said, testing his name out loud. “How do you know where I live? Wait, how did you even get into the building?”
“I followed you last night. A lady in 4C let me in,” he said, not attempting to hide the truth. “You really should find a safer place to live.” He looked up and down the hall again, and she wondered what he was looking for. “Now can we please go inside and talk? Or would you rather your neighbors hear our… less-than-normal conversation?”
With the last reminder, she sighed and unlocked the door. She looked over her shoulder and watched him stare down the hall once again. After stepping inside, she held open the door and Ryan followed her in before locking it behind him.
“I’m Brandy, by the way,” she said, cringing at how dumb she sounded.
“I know,” he said, still facing the door.
She opened her mouth to ask how he knew, but no words came out as he began drawing along the doorframe with only his fingers. The white frame went gold and then black with his branding before the symbols disappeared entirely. He mumbled under his breath, and a white light sparked.
When Ryan finished whatever he had just done, he said, “Your name tag.”
She looked down and spotted it over her left breast. “Oh,” she muttered, feeling stupid and removing it.
He stepped farther into her apartment and looked around. “Nice place.”
“Thanks. So, Ryan?”
“Yeah?” he asked as he looked out the window and down to the now-busy road.
Brandy dropped the rest of her things onto her kitchen island and grabbed a glass of water. “Want some?”
