Maybe visiting Jane had been a bad idea. The lights in the diner were too bright. They set every one of Grace’s nerves on edge. It felt as if an army of ants were crawling under her skin. SHe wanted to claw at herself, just to make the sensation stop. But there were other people in the small room with her, and they already looked as if they wanted to run- something just her mere presence did to most people. No need to make it worse. So, she sat there, dealing with the irritation while Tony glared at her.
“What?!” she said between clenched teeth. If she didn’t force her mouth closed, she would have yelled at him. God, she should have brought her jacket. It would have blocked some of the lights. Why couldn’t she have some kind of foresight.
The demon shook his head. “I don’t know why we’re here. We’re just going to give her false hope.”
“No, we’re not.” He needed to give Jane a little more credit. “If Lucifer were awake, Jane would be the first person he would go to. You know that.”Grace sighed heavily, placing her head in her face. “Maybe it’s a good thing he’s asleep. If he sees that bruise on her face, I’m dead.” The fallen angel had never outright asked, but Grace knew he wanted her to keep an eye on Jane. Why else would he have put her in the same apartment building?
“You’re already dead.” Grace shot the demon a look that made him smile. “I knew what you meant. Just trying to lighten the mood.”
“Yeah, well, you suck at that.” She sat back in the booth, eyes falling to the window. The hounds were just outside of it, eagerly waiting for her. They hated staying in one place for too long. “I should have killed him.”
Tony shrugged. “He’s going to die anyways. Lucifer will take care of that.” That was true. Though, it would have been much more satisfying if Grace could have done the honor. Unfortunately, the had been short on time.
It was Chase’s birthday. The thought sent her spiraling. She would have willingly, gladly even, ended someone’s life on the day she had given birth the most important person in her life. Oh, how far she had fallen.
Grace moved her eyes from the window, ready to put her mind to something different. She spotted Jane headed toward them. The young woman was decked out in her food smothered apron, tennis shoes, and her long dirty-blonde hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Her dark eyes had the focus and determination of someone much older than her sixteen years. She had two coffee mugs and pot in her hands.
“You guys have to buy something if you’re going to sit here,” Jane said, almost apologetically. “This is the cheapest thing on the menu.” The bruise didn’t look too bad, but it had only been a day. It was going to look a lot worse before it got better.
“No worries.” Grace offered the young woman a kind smile. “I just have to figure out how to pretend I’m drinking it.” Grace had come to discover that her body rejects anything that is not a heart. It had not been pretty or fun. She hadn’t realized how much blood was in her body until it was coming out of every orifice of her body. Worse cup of coffee ever.
“Just put it up to your lips every once in awhile and I’ll come by and pretend to fill your cup.” That was better than the plan Grace had come up with, which consisted of just ignoring it.
“Thank you.” Another smile before she pressed the cup to her lips and pretended to take a drink. It was annoying. Coffee had been one of her favorite things while she was just plain old Grace. Now, she was Grace the Sin Eater and couldn’t eat or drink anything she enjoyed before. Sure, eating the hearts of sinners were some of the best meals of her life, but it had nothing on a bacon cheeseburger. Fuck, she missed those things.
There was a lot she missed from her old life. Her job, her nice apartment, Chase, James. Oh god, James. Her chest constricted as if a snake wound around it. That man had dealt with so much shit from her, and he had still stood by her. Even when she was shoving him away, he stood there, waiting for her. Why couldn’t she have accepted her love for him before? She may have still ended up dead, but she would have been happier.
A hand touched her arm, giving it a comforting squeeze. “Are you alright?” Tony asked, his thumb stroking her arm.
She cleared her throat, taking her hand away from her chest. She hadn’t even realized she had been rubbing it. “Yeah. Just realizing how much I missed my family.” Jane had left to take care of her other customers.
“Your son, Chase?” Tony picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip. Grace felt a stab of jealousy. She really missed coffee.
She nodded. “And James.” All of her sorrow was thrown into one sigh. “I didn’t realize how much I loved him until after I was dead. I just kept pushing him away.” She shook her head. “I think I was afraid of what I felt for him.” If she loved him, he could have left her. Just like her father did. But James wasn’t her father, and he wouldn’t have left her. Ever. Took her now to figure it out.
“They’ll be fine, Grace.”
If it hadn’t been considered rude, Grace would have laughed in her friend’s face. Instead, she just offered a shake of her head. “Chase, maybe, but not James.” The look on Tony’s face was nothing short of skeptical. “James has loved me since the moment he saw me. We were kids. There has never been anyone else for him, and there never will be. His love for me was all consuming. It was everything to him. The only person he loves more than me is Chase.”
Tony took another sip of his coffee. “No wonder you were scared. That’s a lot of love for one person to handle.”
Grace shook her head. “That’s not why I was afraid. I thought he would leave me.” Saying it aloud made her realize just how stupid she had been. “God, I was an idiot.” All she could do now was laugh at herself. “I really had my head up my ass on that one.”
“Yes, you did,” Tony said. Way to let her have it easy. “But there’s nothing you can do about it now. Showing up at his doorstep would only make things worse for him.”
“True. I would rather him think I’m dead than I just left him. It would kill him if he thought I left him.” He dealt with her rejection just fine, knowing that she loved him and only was pushing him away because of her own insecurities. But if he thought she left him, she had no idea what he would do. Whatever it was, she doubted it would be pretty.
Jane stopped by to fill Tony’s cup and pretend to fill Grace’s, and without a word she moved to the next customer. “What about you, Mr. Relationship Guru? Anybody special in your life?” The teasing tone brought a smile to Tony’s lips.
“You know just as well as I do that there isn’t.” It was rare for Tony to go out and do anything unless Grace dragged him to do so. If it weren’t for her, he would be content to stay in his apartment and work on his clothes.
“Maybe you should get out more.”
“Maybe, but we both know I won’t.”
Grace shook her head. “You can’t be alone for the rest of your life.”
It was a sight to see the demon roll his sunset eyes. “I have you.”
“Pfft. We both know I’m nowhere near your type.” And who was to say she would be there for the rest of his life. Sin Eaters were near immortal. The key word “near.” There was a huge possibility that someone bigger and badder than her would take her out.
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, I have a vagina for one thing.” Someone in the diner choked on their drink. That was what they get for listening into someone’s conversation. “And two, I’m a little more violent than you care for.”
“Both are fair points, but I never said that I exclusively date men. I do like women as well, just prefer men.” It was Grace’s turn to roll her eyes. “But you’re right. It probably is about time for me to get back in the dating scene. It’s been a while.”
“A few centuries is longer than a while.”
“It hasn’t been that long.” That was a little defensive. Grace was right on the mark then. It was about time her demon friend did something other than hole himself up in a room surrounded by fabric.
“We could always go out?”
“Right now?” There were already beads of sweat forming on Tony’s forehead. He wasn’t prepared for the night Grace was about to take him on.
“Why not?! It’s not like we’re really doing anything else. And it’s Saturday.” The expression on his face said that she was right, but he still didn’t want to go out. That was too bad. He was going to have fun that night even if she had to force him to.
Tony met her eyes and studied her for several seconds. “I don’t have a choice, do I?” There was a smile on her face as Grace shook her head. “Fine. But we need to go home and change. There’s no way I’m letting you go out in that.” He gestured to her clothes as if it were the worst thing he had ever seen.
There was nothing wrong with what she was wearing. Sure, people don’t usually go out in black jeans, black t-shirt, and military grade boots, but it was what she liked. It was so practical for what she did. But she would have to concede to Tony’s wishes if she wanted him to go out with her. “You’re not going to make me wear heels or something, are you?” She walked like a newborn calf when in heels. It wasn’t a pretty sight.
“I don’t have shoes for you to wear.”
“All I have are these boots.” Grace indicated to her feet.
“I thought you had flats?”
A shrug. “If I did, they’re long gone.” It wouldn’t be the first time a pair of her shoes just disappeared nor would it be the last. She had a bad habit of misplacing things. To be fair on this point, she didn’t even remember owning flats after her untimely death. “I’m pretty sure I have tennis shoes somewhere.” That was if the black hole that seemed to swallow her things didn’t get those as well.
Flabbergasted, Tony shook his head. “That’ll work. It’s better than those fucking boots.” Grace’s lower lip jutted out in a pout. She liked her boots. “Let’s pay and then get out of here.”
The pair walked to the cash register and waited for Jane to ring them out. Grace turned around just as two men walked through the door. One black with tired eyes, the other white with a bright smile on his face. Both were obviously cops and had been there before considering how they just walked to seats. A tantalizing smell tickled the Sin Eater’s nose and her mouth began to water. The blonde was a very bad man. Andrew Wood level bad. And he would taste delicious. Too bad he was a cop. Made him off limits.
The other cop didn’t smell as good as the other one, but his scent was familiar. Grace had ran into that man before, but she couldn’t remember where. Then his voice drifted to her ears and her heart dropped to the deepest pit of her stomach. She turned back to Tony. “We need to get out of here.”
Something in her voice made his body freeze. “Why?” His voice was low enough only she could hear it.
“The cop over there, the black one, that’s the one that shot me at Andrew Woods’ place.” She took a quick glance over her shoulder. The blonde guy was looking at her as if she were going to be the next piece of meat on his platter. No one looked at her like that. No one. If she didn’t have better sense, she would have walked over there and showed him who the real big bad was.
“Shit. Jane better get here fast.”
“I’m here. I’m here. What’s the rush?” Jane asked coming from behind them and moving to the cash register.
“We’re going out, and I was afraid this one,” Grace pointed to Tony, “would change his mind.” The young woman didn’t need to know that one of the officers was actively hunting Grace for a murder she committed. Jane didn’t need to be brought into that.
Jane eyed the Sin Eater skeptically. “Uh-huh.” She knew Grace was lying, and Grace could see it, but she didn’t say anything. “It’s three bucks.” Tony handed her a ten and told her to keep the change. Even Grace cocked her eyebrows at that one, but no one said anything. They just headed out of the door.
The hounds were already anxious to get moving, but even more so feeling their Alpha’s fear. They practically ran down the street, heading back to their tiny home. Grace wanted to run with them, but thought better of it. Didn’t want to bring any more attention to herself than necessary.
One last glance at the cop and their eyes met through the window. They stared at each other as she walked down the street. He knew. She could see it, even though he made no move to go after her. He knew who she was.
Her eyes left his as she headed down the road. Shit.
*** *** ***
That was her. That was the woman that killed Andrew Wood, and King had just let her go. Some detective he was. Just watched her continue down the street with her boyfriend, glued to his seat. Fear keeping him seated.
It was how he had known it was her. The last time he felt that kind of fear was when he had walked into Andrew Woods’ house. His palms had been just as sweaty now as it had been then. His heart hammered against his ribs, and his shaky breath was the same. Everything was the same, so why was his reaction different? Why had he stayed seated?
Because you have no proof. All he had was a feeling. You can’t arrest someone because of a feeling. He needed solid evidence, and they didn’t have any. And the only person that could have identified her was now dead. Just his luck, too. A break in the case, but his star witness dead. This case was never going to get closed.
“You’re staring at that woman awfully hard,” Anderson’s voice drew him back into the diner. “Do I need to tell Tabitha on you?” The teasing was enough to eradicate the fear. “Though I don’t blame you, she was pretty attractive. Just my type.” Gabby didn’t look anything like that woman so King had no idea what his friend was talking about. Maybe his friend just liked to look at younger women. Some men were like that once they get married. Tabitha was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen so his eyes didn’t roam.
“That woman was Woods’ murder.” The conviction in his voice made his friend’s eyebrow cock. “I can’t explain how I know it, but I do. She’s our killer.”
“Alright.” Anderson leaned back in the booth. “I believe you. What do you want to do about it?”
“Keep coming here to put some pressure on her. Maybe she’ll start to get nervous and do something that we can get her on.” It was his only option. That was if she ever came back to the diner. Though with the friendly way she was talking to the girl waitress, she would be. At least, she knew the girl somehow. That could be his way in.
Speak of the devil. “What can I get you gentlemen to start with?” the girl, Jane her nametag read, asked them.
There was a fresh bruise on her cheek, but King ignored it. He was concerned but knew showing it would get him nowhere. The girl was the type to blow him off. He had seen enough to know, but he could guess how she got it. Either a boyfriend or her father. Could have just been a bystander, too, but usually it was either the boyfriend or the father. “I just want some coffee and french toast.”
“Coffee and the Two Plus Special.” Two pancakes, two pieces of back, and 2 biscuits smothered in gravy was what Anderson always got no matter where they were. The added bonus to this place was it came with hashbrowns. The man loved hashbrowns as much as he loved his children.
Jane wrote down their order. “Alright, I’ll get that right in for you.” She turned and froze. King couldn’t help but follow her eyes. A man stood not far from them, his eyes only on the girl. There was some familial resemblance with their blonde hair, dark eyes, and similar face shape, though Jane’s was a little longer, her chin a little more pointed. King guess the man was her father. “Dad,” the girl sniffled before rushing toward the man and wrapping her arms around him.
The man returned her hug gently before releasing her. With his fingers he turned her head, and his eyes hardened at the sight of the bruise, and King knew it wasn’t him that put it there. “We will speak of this later. Go. Take care of your customers.” He moved toward the counter. “Put my order in when you are finished.”
A smile on her face and wet eyes, the girl did as she was told. King’s eyes had yet to move from the one. There was something about that man that made it hard to look away. It was as if the man had entranced him. And then their eyes met, and the spell was broken. King couldn’t take his eyes away fast enough. Those eyes weren’t human. The way they looked at him as if seeing his very soul, was not a way a human looked at another.
“You okay there?” The smirk could be heard in Anderson’s voice. Nothing ever seemed to phase that man. He could stare down even the most monstrous of people.
“Yeah. Just a little exhausted.” No. He wasn’t fine. He was far from fine. Ever since the Andrew Woods’ murder, he had been far from fine. Things just kept getting weirder and weirder. And this was just another in the long list of weird shit he had to deal with. He was starting to get the feeling that he should have never taken the case in the first place.