Page 8 of Cinderella and Her Vampires (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 5)

I smiled in welcome, as I normally had done for all customers. “Good evening.”

He nodded as he settled into his seat. “Evening.”

“What will it be?” I asked.

“Water with lemon,” he said.

“You realize you’re in a bar, right?” I asked, wondering why someone would walk into a bar and order a non-alcoholic drink. It was weird. Don’t get me wrong, I have had a few designated drivers come in with a party and didn’t drink except for maybe one or two beers, but that was different. At least they ordered a drink. But for the man sitting in front of me? There wasn’t anyone here to be a designated driver for. Never mind that most people could use an Uber or a cab, especially if they were alone.

He nodded. His voice shook as he said, “I have to keep my head. Just the water.”

I quirked an eyebrow before shaking my head and getting to work on making his drink. I sat it in front of him once I was finished, resting the drink on a paper coaster. There was something the weighed heavily on his shoulders. Part of why I loved what I did was helping my customers with their troubles. I wondered if I could be of further service to this gentleman.

“You might be happy to hear I’ve been told I’m a good listener, and you strike me as someone who has a lot on their mind.”

“Slow night?” he asked, looking around the bar and ignoring my offer.

“Strangely enough, yes,” I said. “I was actually thinking about closing down before you walked in.”

He nodded. There was something about the way the man clutched his drink and skirted his eyes around. Warning bells went off in my head. I had yet to figure out why this man was so familiar, but I wasn’t about to put myself in harm’s way to figure it out either. So long as the bar separated us, I would keep my distance. And I did so by leaning against the back wall of the bar.

“I was here a few days ago,” he said. “The difference is like night and day.”

“Oh yeah?” I asked. Now we were getting somewhere. “How so?”

“I was wondering if you could give me some information about someone. A man. He was here, talking about monsters a couple of nights ago,” he said, answer my question with another question.

I sighed. So that was why he was familiar. He was here the night the bane of my existence decided to add further upset to my life. “Look, that man was nothing more than a raging lunatic. Forget about him. I normally don’t have many crazy folks frequent my bar. And you might find some comfort in the fact he is banned from this establishment, so he won’t be coming back.”

The gentleman in front of me shook his head. “I can’t forget about him.”

“Why?” I asked, not sure I really wanted to hear the answer. But I had a problem with questions. Once I started asking them, it was hard to get me to stop.

“Do you happen to know where he took off to?” he asked, ignoring my question.

“Not only do I not know, but I frankly don’t care,” I said grabbing a rag from the bucket filled with cleaning solution and then headed to the end of the bar, cleaning up to keep myself busy. This was going to be an aggravating experience. Especially with him avoiding my questions. “Once I escorted him out the door, he walked off down the street. That was the last I saw or heard of him until you came in here asking about him.”

“Not good,” he mumbled.

“I don’t share your sentiments,” I said. “What is so important about this guy anyway? You don’t honestly believe him, do you?”

“I don’t know what to believe,” he said. “I only know what I see, and I can’t make heads or tails of it all.”

I tossed the rag into the bucket and stood across from him, still grateful for the bar separating us. “The guy was crazy. Monsters don’t exist. Not the ones he had referred to. If they did, I’m sure there would be much more information about them by now. Not to mention, showing a lot more proof. Your best bet is to ignore the things he had said and forget about that night.”

He shook his head. “I already told you, I can’t.”

I sighed. “Yes, but not why? What’s stopping you? Was he a family member or something?”

He looked around him before he settled his dark eyes on me. The crease in his forehead was from worry and his eyes were wide and filled with fear. I sucked in a breath but kept my distance as he started speaking.

“I know a guy who knows a guy who saw him get kidnapped right after he left here,” he said. “That’s what brought me in. I wanted to find out if you had seen him since he left here.”

“I’m sorry, but again, I haven’t seen him.” My voice came out flat. But something in the back of my mind tugged at my memories revolving around the now-missing person. A pinch entered my shoulders and a strange sense of guilt started to form. I didn’t have a single reason for my body to respond in such a way, but it had and that confused me even more.

“I’ve done some research,” he said, sitting back in his seat, forgetting about his requested drink. “There may be more stock in the rantings and ravings of the lunatic, as you had so delicately labeled him.”

“You can’t believe everything you read on the internet, though,” I said, ignoring the fact he was trying to insult me or make me feel particular for calling a spade a spade. I didn’t. I shrugged off his look. He didn’t have to agree with me, but he wasn’t going to make me join him in his reasoning either.

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