Page 101 of Embraced

“It is closing time. They have to leave now, there are almost no other cars here,” I say.

But they never show up.

“Are they still inside?” Griffyn asks.

We go look in the window of the bar and try the door. The bar is closed and no one is left inside.

When we get back to the car Aksel slams his fist down on the wheel.

You know he’s furious when he’s risking hurting his car.

“They were here tonight and got away! How did they know not to come back to their car?” Blaze roars.

Everyone is frustrated.

We needed this win.

I call up Felix and let him know what’s going on.

“At least we have an idea of where to look again: The bar,” Felix says positively but I can still feel his disappointment through the bond.

“You’re right, we can stake out the bar and find them. They won’t get away again,” Griffyn says.

Aksel pulls the car away and we head back home to make a plan.

We need to take action immediately.

* * *

The guys couldn’t decide who should come with me, so they all came.

Of course, Mike agreed to let me work this one-off shift when I asked. He’s amazing like that.

The car is still sitting here like it has been since we spotted it.

I’m behind the bar like I always was, but this time my five guys are hidden behind Aksel’s darkness in the corner watching everything.

I can feel their eyes on me.

It’s absurd they all felt the need to come.

Bartending comes easy even after my time off. It’s second nature to pour beers and mix drinks for the patrons of the bar.

I take this opportunity to look for any troublemakers. Maybe it will be like old times and I can compel a predator and help humanity.

The night is uneventful, at least from my perspective. It will be interesting to see if the guys spotted anything.

They are trained to do this afterall.

When the bar closes, we keep an eye on the car but it’s clear it has been abandoned now.

“Did you guys notice anything?” I ask them.

“There was one guy we need to keep an eye on,” Aksel says.

“He came in casually and stopped short when he saw Anna behind the bar.” Felix folds his arms.

Griffyn says, “I saw him too and assumed he had a crush on our girl until he started causing problems.”