Page 31 of Taste of Forever
“Yep, that’s how it goes.”
The mundanity of my every day life was so bizarre compared to everything else. Was it just a few days ago that I had drunk at a bar in the vampire world, then a scary man from a shadowy government organization threatened me to stay away? And then the aftermath, when Laith spent the whole night guarding me from outside.
He’d been long gone by when I woke up late the next morning. I slept better than I’d expected, probably because I knew I wasn’t truly alone.
Justin still hadn’t come home by then, but I’d received a text saying he spent the night because he didn’t want to drive drunk. I almost texted back,It’s okay, it wasn’t like I needed you after some guy stalked, grabbed, and threatened me.
Now, it was a normal Wednesday night shift. Drew and I were on our two a.m. lunch break, gossiping about work while waiting in line for food.
How did a world like this exist alongside one filled with vampires? I had the impulse to turn to Drew and say,Forget Munroe’s retirement. Did you know there’s a hidden vampire world less than an hour away? Oh, and a vampire is sort of obsessed with me and I kind of like it even though I shouldn’t. Don’t look at me like that, vampires are totally real. The government knows about them, and they’re harassing me too.
I was so damn tempted to let it all out. But instead, I stepped up to the window and ordered a chile verde plate with rice, beans, and extra tortillas.
“You and Justin doing anything this weekend?” Drew asked after we paid and stepped aside to wait for our food.
“Uh, no. I don’t think we have any plans. How about you guys?”
“Baby shower,” he groaned. “Stacy’s cousin or somebody, I don’t know. I’m just there.”
That’s more than I can say about Justin,I thought. We barely spent time together in the same room anymore. And when we did, I might as well have been alone. Every waking moment seemed to be spent on his phone or gaming with his friends.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen him logged into his work portal in a while.
No, don’t go there. He’d tell me if something happened with his job.
Oh, would he?My resentment demon mocked me.Would you bet on it? It doesn’t seem like he tells you much of anything lately.
In an effort to shove my own thoughts away, I nudged Drew with my elbow. “Ah, you’ll live.”
“Playing those weird baby games?” He shuddered. “I don’t know. If I’m not here Monday, you’ll know what happened.”
I laughed. “You’re leaving your purple sticky notes to me in your work will, right?”
“Of course, but I promised my red stress ball to Dinaj.”
“That’s fair.”
A silence lulled between us as we waited for our food. Six more people stood in line to order, and for good reason. This truck had the best local Mexican food. We were lucky they were willing to come out so late for us night-shift workers.
Voices and conversations mixed with the sizzling of the grill. Food orders and workplace gossip. A comforting, familiar bubble that I was once fully encased in.
“Hey. I’ll take the carne asada tacos. Thanks.”
Oh fuck.That voice.
My blood froze and I turned stone-still. Only my eyes moved, inspecting the people in line. No, I hadn’t imagined the voice. There he was, the government guy from that night just before Laith showed up. He handed cash to the chef and waited patiently to receive change.
Casually, and yet so deliberately, his head swiveled in my direction with a sly grin. “Hey, Heather. Nice to see you again.”
I couldn’t speak, couldn’t respond in any way, but my mind raced with panic. It had only been four days and I had done everything he told me to do. I hadn’t gone back to Sanguine, nor searched online for anything vampire-related. The bruiseson my arms were covered by my lab coat, but they throbbed painfully at the memory of him grabbing me and shoving me against the wall. What did he want? Why was he here?
He meandered over slowly, casual and non-threatening in his non-descript jeans and dark bomber jacket. No wonder the government hired him to sneak around. He could blend in anywhere.
“Can I borrow you for a quick minute?” The polite phrasing of the question, along with his classical good looks, would make anyone want to say yes. I only did because I knew there was no other option.
“Sure,” I said through a nervous smile that was holding back a scream.
“I’ll see you inside,” Drew said, oblivious to the hidden danger in front of us. He gave a quick nod to the man, probably assuming he was someone who worked in a different department, then grabbed his Styrofoam container at the pickup window before heading inside.
