Page 62 of Siren’s Mark (The Siren’s Mark Duology #1)

AVA

Earlier today, the café was buzzing with people. Sounds of idle chatter, the whir of the coffee grinder, and the clanging of dishes echoed against the walls. But as the day wore on, the noise and activity crept to a halt. Now it’s just me and my computer with a few café staff members cleaning up.

I’ve been sitting here all day and I’m not sure I’ve gotten anything done.

I had come here for a change of scenery because I wasn’t productive at home, but my plan seems to have failed.

All I can think of is how I want to comfort Jen.

How I want to take care of Zane and make his sadness go away.

How I want to punch that damned Shayna in the face—and Kieran too.

In fact, this is really all Kieran’s fault.

Note to self: Punch Kieran.

So what if he’s a demon? He hurt Zane and he slept with Shayna and I’m pissed. I don’t care if I break my hand in the attempt.

Actually, I’d prefer not to break my hand.

New note to self: Buy brass knuckles.

I hear a vacuum running and I take that as a cue that I’ve definitely stayed here well past my welcome. I pack up my laptop and other things and make my way out.

I walk to the door and push, but the door doesn’t budge.

“We lock the front doors at closing,” the woman at the front counter says. “You’ll have to use the back.”

She points to the other side of the café before wiping down a nearby table.

I weave through empty tables on my way to the back exit. It lets out into a dimly lit alleyway that leads to the parking lot.

If I were looking for a great spot to be serial-murdered, this would be it.

Two men are standing a little further down the way, smoking cigarettes. One of them has a beer bottle in his hand. They’re yelling and laughing loudly, clearly wasted off their asses.

Great.

As one talks, his voice makes a chill run down my spine.

I could swear I know that voice. I freeze for a moment and peek at the two men again.

They’re both tall, relatively well-built guys in their late-twenties.

The shorter of the two is a blond in an oversized olive-green zip-up hoodie, baggy jeans, and a knit cap.

The other is a brunette in a metallic silver puffy jacket that I recognize instantly: it’s the guy that came after Jen and me in the bookstore.

The last time I saw this guy, my knee had just gotten up-close-and-personal with his testicles.

Crap.

I step backward to head back into the café, but the door seems to have locked behind me.

Double crap.

I pull out my phone to call Zane. My phone is at 10% battery, which is not ideal, but I’ll take it.

After several rings, his voicemail picks up.

Triple crap.

“Hey,” I say quietly to Zane’s voicemail, so as not to be overheard by the creep and his friend.

“Um… so I’m coming home from the café and I’m in a bit of a tricky situation.

I’m stuck in the alley behind Café Allegra and that guy from the bookstore is here and I can’t get back into the café so um… could you come get me?”

I hang up and try to think over my strategy.

The penthouse is about 15 minutes away. Of course, that’s if Zane is in fact at home and not somewhere else. And then he still needs to get my message. Do I just wait here?

There’s a solid possibility this guy won’t even recognize me, right?

Pike’s is only a few blocks from here, but if I call Kieran and he turns out to be the monster than Zane thinks he is, I could end up trapped in an alleyway with a demon who tried to attack me in my dreams.

I am so screwed.

I pull out my phone again, thinking maybe my best approach is calling the cops, but all that shows up is a black screen.

My phone is dead.

Fuck. So much for that 10% charge.

Okay, okay. So what are my options?

Walk past the creep and his friend and hope he doesn’t recognize me from our last encounter? No thank you.

Wait here until Zane or someone else comes along to escort me past them? Also not great. Plus, awkwardly standing in this doorway might draw more attention to me.

Yep. I’m screwed.

My eyes scan the alleyway and I see the creep looking at something on his phone. I make a split decision to seize the moment and just go for it. I put my head down and pretend to be talking on my phone. I keep my eyes on the pavement as I attempt to nonchalantly walk past the two men.

“That’s the stupidest shit I’ve ever seen,” the blond says to the creep.

“Hey!” one of them calls.

I’m hoping that wasn’t addressed to me, but I rather not look up to find out, so I continue along.

“Hey!” the man repeats, his voice getting closer as I hear the clomping of his footsteps behind me.

This was a terrible plan.

I bolt forward in an attempt to reach my car, but I feel myself being railed back by my arm.

I let out a very unimpressive yelp as the man tugs me backwards.

I’m immediately met with a pair of bloodshot eyes.

The guy I’ve unaffectionately named ‘Creep’ is staring back at me with a sinister smile.

His face is flushed, his eyelids are heavy, and he staggers closer to me.

This man is a walking failed sobriety test.

Okay. Need new options.

Kick to the balls? It worked last time…

Take off running? That would be more feasible if Mr. Creep would let go of my arm.

I tug my arm back but he just grips tighter.

I was kind of hoping being immortal would make me stronger and more badass, but not being able to die isn’t particularly comforting when you encounter a creepy, homophobic jackass in a dark alley.

“What do you want?” I ask. That definitely sounded more antagonistic than the cool and casual tone I was aiming for.

“I remember you,” he slurs. “You’re the lesbian bitch who kicked me in the nuts.”

“Oh shit!” his friend says with a laugh.

Hmm… is it too late to pretend I don’t speak English?

“You must have me confused with someone else,” I say, keeping my eyes trained on the ground.

“Oh, are you some other purple-haired lesbian bitch?” he asks. He looks back to his friend and the two of them laugh.

I slip through his grasp and take off running, but he grabs my sleeve and pulls me down hard. I fall into the brick wall beside me, scraping my hand and face against the rough surface. My heartbeat thrums in my ears and my body begins to shake.

“Going somewhere?” he asks through a hoarse laugh.

I attempt to stand up but he pushes me back down with a foot to my chest. With my options limited, I decide on a new tactic.

“Help!” I scream.

The creep leans down, grabs me by the throat, and tightens his grip until I no longer have enough air to scream. I attempt to pry his fingers off without success and dark spots begin to appear in my vision.

In a quick motion, he tosses me to the side.

“Not so tough without your girlfriend around to hit me from behind…” he says with a sneer.

I look around, desperately scanning my surroundings for someone or something to get me out of this. His friend steps closer, his eyes full of the same sadistic glee.

“What do you think?” the blond asks. “Should we cure a lesbian tonight?”

Before the creep has a chance to respond, both men vanish before my eyes. In a flash, they appear on the other side of the alley with a man holding them both up by their necks. My eyes catch his familiar silhouette and long brown-black hair in a ponytail.

“These Queer Eye rejects giving you a hard time, Aves?” Kieran asks, both men flailing their legs and attempting, fruitlessly, to wrestle free from his grasp.

I stumble slightly as I stand up, holding onto the wall to prevent myself from falling. Our encounter has definitely triggered a bad dizzy spell.

Kieran throws both men to the pavement and turns around to look at me, his eyes entirely black.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, uh…” I say with a hoarse voice. “I’m okay.”

The blond man swings at Kieran from behind, his fist hitting Kieran’s temple with an unimpressive thud.

Kieran is completely unaffected by the strike, but his eyebrows lower in irritation and he slowly turns around.

“If you wanted my attention,” Kieran says, “all you had to do was ask.”

He grabs the man by the collar and pulls him in until their faces are nearly touching. He tugs him forward into a rough kiss.

Wow, okay, that’s not how I saw this going.

As he pulls back, a wisp of glowing smoke flows from the blond’s mouth into Kieran’s. He breathes it in as the man collapses to the ground.

Whoa. Wait… He’s not dead, right?

The creep looks at Kieran in horror as his friend’s now lifeless body rests on the concrete.

“What the hell did you do to him?” the creep asks, his voice shaking despite his attempt to sound intimidating.

“Oh don’t worry, sweet cheeks,” Kieran says with a devious smile. “You’ll get a turn too. I just want to take my time with you . Wouldn’t want to be accused of being a minute-man, now would I?”

He grabs the creep’s shirt and quickly launches him across the alley into the opposite wall. His body makes a disturbing ‘thwump’ sound as it collides with the brick wall.

As he slumps to the ground, I’m startled by the high-pitched screech of rubber tires on the road. Kieran and I turn to see the bright lights of a low car stopped at the end of the alley.

“Loverboy’s here,” he says, turning to me with a bit of a grin.