I cracked my knuckles as I waited for Aria to emerge from the red brick building. The dilapidated sign for the Frederick Douglas public housing development was covered in black graffiti. The girl had to be tough to live in this part of town. I sniffed the air, the breeze thick with illegal substances wafting down from open windows.
There were plenty of human threats right in this building. This job might turn out to be more difficult than I’d imagined. Keeping an eye on her from afar might prove impossible, which meant I had to figure out a way to insert myself into her life. The idea of serving coffee at Thanks-A-Latte was not the least bit attractive so I had to find another way.
A few minutes later, the cute blonde pushed open the rusty metal door and descended the few steps to the sidewalk. Next to her was the Latino guy I’d seen at the café the day before. It had to be her roommate and co-worker, Ricky. I’d gone over her file last night and familiarized myself with all the important details of her life. She threaded her arm through his, and they made their way toward the subway station. According to Aria’s schedule she was slated to work in half an hour.
I followed them while keeping a half block distance between us. I didn’t want her to see me just yet. From what I’d learned in her file, she wouldn’t be too welcoming of a stranger. Let alone one that was trailing her.
My senses were on high alert as we walked down Amsterdam. I’d taken note of every car and person in a one-block perimeter. I focused my vampire hearing to hone in on every distinct sound around me, which was difficult in a bustling metropolis like New York City. Footsteps echoed from every direction, but I caught a faint pattern and paused.
The footfalls fell away as soon as I stopped moving.
I continued to walk again, closing the distance between Aria and Ricky and me. I peered through the corner of my eye and noticed a man a few yards behind me. He’d appeared a block or so after we left Aria’s apartment.
The stranger was short, medium build, dark hair and definitely Latino. I slowed my pace and let him pass me. Tucked into the back of his jeans was the bulky silhouette of a gun. A low growl reverberated in my throat. I kept a short distance between the man and myself. It could be nothing. I may have been paranoid, but I wasn’t letting this guy anywhere near my charge.
Aria and Ricky descended the stairwell into the 116th Street subway station, and so did the stranger. I hurried down the steps, swiping my metro card through the reader and slammed past the turnstile. The pair were further down the platform, talking and giggling about a nasty customer they’d encountered at work. The man still hovered nearby, scanning his cell phone.
I moved between him and the girl. The rumble of the approaching train sent my heart racing. I took a breath and forced myself to keep cool. What was up with me? I never lost control; I hadn’t for a very long time.
The train stopped, the silver doors gliding open. A rush of morning commuters spilled out, and I momentarily lost track of the petite blonde. I whirled back and forth until I caught sight of her and her friend slipping in between the closing doors. I dashed into the same car just in time.
I scanned the passengers for the man, but he was nowhere in sight. I released a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and relaxed against the cold metal pole. Aria and Ricky were halfway down the car engaged in deep conversation. I tuned in, focusing my super hearing. She was telling him a story about their manager, Scott. Her deep blue eyes twinkled as she ragged on their boss, a huge grin splitting her full lips. Again my skin prickled at her proximity. There was definitely something Camellia wasn’t telling me about her.
The rest of the trip to work went by without incident. The guy never showed up again, and I convinced myself I was just being paranoid. I hadn’t taken a case like this in awhile, and I must have been on edge. Aria and her friend disappeared into the employee entrance in the back, and I took my position outside the café.
Through the window, I watched Aria as she dealt with customer after customer. She kept a smile plastered on her face the entire time. As soon as the person was out of sight, she’d roll her eyes at Ricky from across the bar. I couldn’t help but chuckle at some of her more amusing faces.
The slam of the employee door at the back of the building drew my attention. I peered around the corner to investigate. The narrow alley was empty. I pulled out my phone and checked Aria’s schedule. There were no other employees scheduled to start a shift at this hour. Returning to the front of the café, I found Scott, the manager, manning the register. My eyes quickly scanned the interior searching for the girl as my breathing accelerated.
I whipped the front door open and stalked around the small seating area. There were two doors on opposite corners of the space: one marked Restroom and the other Employees Only. She could’ve been on a break. I barreled through the bathroom door and put my ear up to the one marked Women. It was empty.
I couldn’t just push my way through the employee area. That would definitely not go unnoticed. I moved toward the door and pretended to look at the menu above the coffee bar. Focusing my super hearing, I listened for anything unusual in the employee area. Footsteps. A heartbeat speeding up. A second heartbeat. Dammit!
I darted out of the café and to the back entrance of the alley. Rapid footfalls thundered down the corridor. I jerked the heavy metal door open, nearly taking it off its hinges, and a guy plowed right into me.
I grabbed him by the shirt and tossed him out into the alleyway.
“What the hell, man?” he shouted.
Fear blazed in his dark eyes. The same guy who had been following Aria earlier. I squeezed my hands into tight fists. How did I lose him before? This was my fault.
Approaching footsteps yanked me out of my inner ramblings. I scooped up the stranger and vamp sped out of the alley seconds before the back door opened. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aria looking up and down the alleyway. The pressure in my chest relented. At least she was safe.
I dropped the guy next to a dumpster behind a pizza place. His eyes were wide, and his heart was pounding so loud I was fairly certain one didn’t need supernatural abilities to hear it.
He scrambled backward until he hit the wall. “What do you want from me?”
“I’m the one asking the questions here,” I hissed. “What were you doing at that coffee shop?”
“Nothing, man. I swear.”
Why couldn’t people just cooperate? I yanked him up by his collar and fixed my eyes on his. Power poured out of my lips. “What were you doing at Thanks-A-Latte today?”
“Keeping an eye on Aria. She’s my boy, Omar’s, girl. He hired me to follow her. He’s real paranoid, thinks she’s cheating on him or some crap.”
Omar. Omar? I searched my memory for any mention of a boyfriend in Aria’s files. Camellia had omitted an important detail.
“Why do you have a gun?”
“It’s for my own protection. Omar has his hands in some shady dealings.”
I narrowed my eyes, infusing my pupils with power. “Does Omar want to hurt Aria?”
“Not right now, but if he finds out she’s been cheating on him, I don’t know. That guy’s got a screw loose.”
Both human and supernatural threats. What had I gotten myself into? I needed to get caught up on Omar fast. “One more thing, what’s Omar’s last name?”
“Devante.”
I lowered the guy back to the ground and he stopped shaking. “Forget this happened. If Omar ever asks you to hurt Aria contact me immediately. You are never to hurt a single hair on her head. Do you understand me?”
He bobbed his head up and down. I handed him my card and shot him a glare. “Never. Or you’ll wish I’d killed you today.”
“Got it.” He rushed down the alley, moving faster than some vampires I’d seen.
I strolled back to Thanks-A-Latte to resume my post. This case was getting more interesting by the minute. Olexa had been right. It was going to do me good to get out of the office for a while and focus my attention elsewhere.
When I arrived at the coffee shop, Aria was back at the register. She swept her blonde bangs to the side and winked at the man standing in front of her. I focused my vamp hearing just to hear the sound of her voice again.
It was almost an exact replica of Sofia’s.