Page 25 of Fangs and Fudge

The rest of the servers joined us as we cashed out our tips. Vena reached over the bar and stole some olives, and Buzz playfully swatted her hand. The others didn’t comment when Vena and I lingered after they called out their goodbyes. Buzz followed them into the kitchen with the last tray of dirty glasses.

“So…” Vena said when it was just Shepard behind the bar. “Is Anchor meeting us at the house, or is someone else volunteering as tribute?”

Shepard stopped wiping down the bar and kept his gaze down for a moment. When he looked up, I saw his concern.

“Anchor and Gunther are missing. Gunner checked both their places. Neither was there today. The last time we saw Gunther was when he left here last night, and Anchor sent me a message when he left your place just before dawn this morning. He disappeared after that.”

Vena flushed and looked down at her hands. Shepard inhaled, and I wondered what guilt smelled like to him.

“I’m sure Anchor’s fine,” I said. “He probably just needs some time to relax.”

“I’m hoping that’s the case with both of them,” Shepard said.

But we all knew even if that was the case, they would have checked in with Shepard.

“If you’re looking for a volunteer to watch over the girls tonight, I’m up for it,” MC said, joining us.

“I think they’d prefer a familiar face,” Shepard said with a glance at me.

I nodded, and Shepard grabbed his phone.

“If you don’t mind waiting a few more minutes, everyone will be coming here to talk about tonight's patrols. I’ll have Doc go with you then.”

Buzz yelled for Shepard from the kitchen, loud enough that Vena and I heard.

“Stay with them,” Shepard said to MC before taking off.

“What’s going on?” Vena asked, looking at MC.

He shook his head. “I can’t see through walls, babe.”

“No, but you can hear through them,” she said.

MC smirked. “Sounds like Gunther showed up looking like someone handed him his tail.”

Vena and I were off our stools at the same time.

MC caught Vena’s arm.

“Shepard wants you to stay here.”

“I don’t ‘sit’ or ‘stay’ very well,” she said, tugging her arm free. “It’s not in my genes.”

MC didn’t try to stop us again as we rushed through the kitchen door, almost knocking into Ink.

“You two shouldn’t be in here,” Ink said. He didn’t try to make us leave, though, as we stepped around him to look at Gunther.

He was sitting on a chair from the locker room and looked pale as hell beneath all the blood smearing his face. Bite marks covered his neck. Shepard, who’d been speaking to him, looked up at us.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Vampire,” Gunther breathed. “He used me until sunup then left.”

The way he said “used” and the hitch in his voice left nothing to my imagination.

Shepard set a hand on Gunther’s shoulder. The man shuddered at the touch, and tears trailed down his cheeks.

“It took all day to heal enough to walk here. He gave me a message for you, Shepard. He said, ‘We were here well before any mutt called D.C. home. Stay out of our business, and we’ll stay out of yours.’”

---