Rose snorted at that.
“Thanks, Eleanor, but we’re just friends,” Owen said.
“I’m not his type,” Rose added, earning a murderous glare from Owen.
Eleanor just frowned at them. “Whatever you say,” she said in a puzzled tone. “Anyway, I think you two should go on break. We’ll be closing in about fifteen minutes or so, and I expect you to eat something before you go home.”
“I have a customer,” Rose reminded Eleanor.
“One customer,” Eleanor said. “I’ve run this restaurant for as long as you’ve been alive. I’m sure I can handle one customer if he needs anything.”
“You want me to go on break, too?” Owen asked.
Eleanor scowled at him. “Yes. Please. The last thing I need is you getting bored again and trying to bake another cake, if you can even call that a cake.”
He laughed and walked over to his locker to grab his phone.
The cook who worked that night was Eleanor’s nephew, a broad-shouldered man with short black hair. He handed a large plate of food to Rose.
“Thanks, Tyler,” Rose said, smiling at him, as she turned to leave.
“Eat something,” Eleanor called to Rose. Then, apparently not satisfied with Rose’s lack of response, she looked at Owen. “Make sure she eats something, and I mean something worth eating, not that rabbit food she usually eats.”
Owen laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Like he could make me do anything,” Rose scoffed.
—
Kallias leaned forward suddenly to glance out the window, watching the darkness outside the restaurant, sure that he’d just seen something move. He listened in the stillness of the restaurant to the heartbeats, five separate people, he counted, excluding him, but he heard nothing outside, just the rustle of leaves as the wind blew. Still, he continued to watch, wondering what he’d just seen.
“Uh…are you okay?” Rose asked, following his gaze toward the window.
Kallias tore his gaze from the window and shifted it toward the waitress standing at his table. “I thought I saw something,” he said, watching her reaction.
She glanced at the window. “Was it a window? Because that’s a window.”
He sighed irritably and flashed her a sarcastic smile. “I’m aware.”
Rose set the large plate of food in front of him, the glass clanging against the table. “I’m going on break. My boss is supposed to check on you, but…” She shrugged awkwardly. “If you need anything, you can let me know…if you want.”
He blinked, so surprised by her sudden niceness that he almost let her walk away without saying anything. But then, he grasped her wrist, forcing her to stop. He must have grabbed her wrist harder than he’d meant to because she gasped as she spun back toward him. He loosened his grip just a little, still holding her still, and their eyes met for just a moment. “Thank you,” he said quietly.
Rose glanced down at his hand around her wrist, frustrated by the way his touch, despite how harsh it was, raised chills along her skin, affecting her more than it should have. She tried to jerk her hand from his grasp, and Kallias, not wanting to hurt her, immediately let go. “It’s my job,” she muttered awkwardly.
More than a little curious about this unusual human, he watched her as she walked away and slid into a booth by the window. He raised an eyebrow in surprise as he noticed her glance out the window, just as he had earlier. As he noticed the spike in her heartrate, he realized that maybe she did know something.
—
Rose found herself staring outside into the shadows of the trees yet again. She couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was out there, watching her, but there was no one there, just as there had been no one there the last several times she checked. She reminded herself that she wouldn’t be acting so paranoid if it weren’t for Audrey’s dream. As she considered Audrey’s dream, she found her attention drifting back toward the man sitting on the other side of the restaurant. She had the distinct feeling that he was watching her right now, but she didn’t want to turn and look for fear of meeting those brown eyes that seemed to hypnotize her every time she looked at them. There was something dangerous about him. She could feel it in her gut. On top of that, she hadn’t missed the fact that he seemed to resemble the description of the killer in Audrey’s dream a little too closely for comfort. His brown hair, golden skin, height, and attractiveness all fit the description Audrey had given her. Especially after he’d asked such a strange question earlier, Rose had begun to wonder if he might be her murderer.
She jumped as a crash beside her jolted her out of her thoughts. She glanced up and sighed in relief as she realized it was just Owen. A plate with a small cheeseburger set in front of her, most likely the cause of the crash.
Owen slid into the seat opposite her. “Are you okay? You seem jumpy.”
Rose nodded, casting another nervous glanced at the window beside her. “Yeah, sorry. I’ve been this way for a few days. I think it’s the lack of sleep.”
He seemed worried. “Why haven’t you been sleeping?”
“I’ve been busy,” she said nervously, “studying.”
His eyes narrowed just slightly, as if he didn’t completely believe her. “You really do need to learn how to relax every now and then, Rose.”
“Now, you’re starting to sound like Audrey,” she complained.
“Good,” Owen said as he picked up his burger and took a bite of it. He shot her a half-grin-half-glare and said, “I’m not his type. You think you’re so clever.”
“I am clever,” she teased, flashing a cute smile at him.
He rolled his eyes at her, chuckling.
“You should tell her,” she added seriously, her smile fading.
Owen scowled at her. “She’s Christian.”
“And what am I? A chicken?” Rose asked.
“You’re different,” he said, shrugging.
“Believe it or not, Jesus taught love, not hate,” she said.
“I guess,” he muttered, “but not everyone sees things the way you do.”
“I’m only suggesting that you give her a chance,” Rose said. “Even if she disagrees with it…you don’t have to agree with someone to love them. Eleanor cares about you, and I think that she would accept you. I think that you should always give everyone a chance because…people can surprise you, if you let them. Besides, at one time, you were afraid I would judge you, but I didn’t, did I?”
He snorted at the memory and took another bite of his cheeseburger. “Yeah, you probably still wouldn’t know if you hadn’t walked in on us that day.”
Her cheeks reddened. “Don’t remind me.”
He fell serious. “I wish I had your faith in people, Rose, but I don’t. All I see is a dark world full of hate with maybe a couple of decent human beings.”
“You have to look past that,” she said. “Look for the good in everyone.”
He smiled. “I’ll think about it.”
“Fair enough,” Rose said.
He scowled at her and pointed harshly toward her food. “Eat your cheeseburger. Now,” he said lowly, obviously trying to sound intimidating.
Rose laughed and picked up the cheeseburger. She took a bite of it, playfully glaring at Owen as she chewed. “There. Are you happy now?” she sassed.
Before Owen could respond, both of them froze and stared up at her scary, mysterious customer who had suddenly appeared beside their table with no warning whatsoever. His light brown eyes studied Rose with a scrutiny that made her want to squirm under his gaze. She wondered how he’d moved so quietly.
“Do you need something?” she snapped, narrowing her eyes at him.
He looked up suddenly, staring out the window. His eyes narrowed as he watched something in the trees outside. Rose frowned curiously and followed his gaze, but she saw nothing. “I’m leaving now,” he answered, drawing her attention back to him. She noticed that he still wasn’t looking at her. He was staring at something outside. “I’
ve already paid my bill. I need to give you your tip.”
“Uh…okay,” she said slowly, still scowling at him.
Even Owen turned and glanced out the window curiously.
Without even looking at her, he roughly shoved a crumpled dollar bill into her hand. Then, he spun on his heel and headed toward the door hastily, as if he were trying to catch up with someone. As he walked away, Rose glanced at her hand and gaped at the crumpled one-hundred-dollar bill. She scrambled to her feet and chased after him, grasping his leather jacket before he could leave.
He sighed and turned back toward her, giving her a peeved glare.
“What is this?” Rose snapped, holding up the obscenely large tip.
“It’s money. I would have assumed that was self-explanatory,” he said irritably. “I mean, that is what people usually give as tips, right?”
Rose glared at him. “Your meal was barely ten dollars. This isn’t twenty percent. This is one thousand percent. No one tips this much. No one.”
He sighed and shrugged tiredly, like someone dealing with a difficult child. “So, what do you want? Do you want me to order more food? I could do that, but I’m not hungry anymore.” His gaze drifted down to the pulsing artery in her neck, and he muttered under his breath, “Not for human food anyway.”
“Huh?” Rose said, not catching that last part. Then she shook her head. “No, I don’t want you to order more food. I want you to take this money back.”
Kallias closed the space between them with one single step, and Rose stumbled backward, swallowing nervously as she lifted her head to meet his gaze.
His eyes narrowed. “You are the most difficult woman I have ever met,” he said harshly. “You are complaining because I gave you too much money?”
His closeness confused her. One moment, her mind was forming coherent arguments, and the next moment, the scent of leather and aftershave scattered those thoughts, leaving her standing there dumbly, trying to remember why she was angry. “I didn’t even give you good service,” she said in a quiet voice.
His lips twitched, almost unnoticeably. “I enjoyed it well enough.”
She took another step back so she could think clearly. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “I don’t understand why you’d give me so much money. I hope you’re not expecting something for this,” she snarled, “because that’s disgusting.”
He raised his eyebrow at her, and a cocky smirk curved at his lips. “You think I would need to pay someone for sex?” he asked incredulously.
Rose curled her lip in disgust. “Ugh. You’re so arrogant.”
“And you are stubborn and frustrating,” Kallias countered.
She glared at him. “How did you expect me to react to this tip?”
He stepped forward again and leaned closer to her until she felt his breath on her face. A hint of lust darkened his brown eyes, and the corners of his lips twitched upward. “I expected you to thank me and come back to my hotel room.”
Rose blinked in shock. “What?!” she gasped.
He smiled slowly. “That was a joke,” he chuckled. “I figured you would know that, considering how well versed you seem to be in the art of sarcasm.”
She stared at him blankly, still stunned. “Right.”
“Goodbye, Cleopatra,” Kallias called as he turned and left the restaurant.
Rose just stood there for several moments, clutching the ridiculous tip.
“Who is Cleopatra?” Ashley asked, still standing at her podium.
Rose glanced at her and blushed as she realized that both Owen and Ashley had witnessed that entire conversation. “Long story,” she muttered.
She turned and stalked grumpily back to her booth, sliding in across from Owen and tossing the wrinkled dollar bill on the table.
“That was interesting,” Owen said, grinning at her.
“Shut up,” she grumbled.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone get you so worked up,” he teased.
“Shut up,” she said again.
Owen picked up the one-hundred-dollar bill and turned it over in his hand, smoothing the wrinkles with his thumb. “It’s a pretty impressive tip.”
“It’s probably drug money,” Rose said bitterly.
He snorted. “This guy doesn’t stand a chance with you, does he?”
“Nope,” she answered easily, still glaring at a random spot on the wall.
“Maybe now you won’t let your phone get cut off again,” he said.
She took the money and stuffed it in her pocket, still debating whether or not she should search the town until she finds him so that she can insist he take it back. Again. Rose suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, and her gut turned with a feeling of dread. She straightened and glanced out the window beside her, watching the trees, searching for the source of the bad feeling.
“Okay, Rose,” Owen sighed, “it’s time for you to tell me what’s wrong.”
Rose shook her head and tried to ignore the feeling. “It’s nothing.”
“Liar,” he said. “Now, let’s try that again.”
She sighed. “Do you ever get the feeling that someone is watching you?”
“Yeah,” Owen said slowly, “when someone is watching me.”
Rose sighed. “Yeah, well, I feel like I’m being watched right now. I have been getting this horrible feeling all night, and it’s got me on edge.”
Owen glanced around at the empty restaurant. Everyone was in the kitchen except for Rose, the hostess, and him. He looked out the window, but he saw nothing but darkness. “Do you think it could just be the lack of sleep?”
She considered telling him the truth, that no, she didn’t think it was the lack of sleep, that she thought someone was actually watching her, waiting to kill her, but Audrey had never told Owen about her precognitive dreams, and it wasn’t Rose’s secret to share. Not sure of any other way to explain it, she just smiled and nodded. “Yeah, it’s probably nothing. I just need to sleep.”
Owen seemed unsure. “Is there someone who could be watching you?”
Noticing that concerned, protective scowl twist at his face, she shook her head quickly. “You know what? It’s probably those scrolls making me paranoid.”
“Scrolls?” Owen repeated curiously as he picked up a French fry.
“Yeah. Long story. Basically, when I was in Greece, someone gave me a box with a necklace and a few ancient scrolls about a vampire,” she said tiredly.
Owen froze mid-fry. “Vampire?” he repeated, ignoring the rest.
Rose frowned at his strange reaction and the fry hanging out of his mouth. “So it seems. They describe a woman and a vampire named Theron.”
He paled. “Theron? That was the name? You’re sure?”
“Yes,” she said impatiently. “Owen, what is wrong with you?”
Owen stuffed the rest of the fry in his mouth and shrugged. “Nothing. I’m just interested. Who knew ancient people had stories about vampires?”
Rose watched her friend suspiciously. “Lots of people, actually.”
“Well, there’s your problem right there. Ancient vampire stories would make anyone uneasy,” Owen said as he finished off his last few fries. “You should lay off of horror for a couple of nights and watch a chick flick or something.”
“Chick flick?” Rose repeated bewilderedly.
“Romance, Rose. Romance,” he chuckled.
“Actually, the horror novels I read usually do have some romance,” she said. “They just also have blood and guts everywhere to make it more interesting.”
He snorted, “That’s an endorsement for horror, if I’ve ever heard one.”
Ashley walked over to their table. “Hey, I just locked the door,” she told them as she untied her apron and folded it over her arm. “We’re closed.”
Rose glanced warily out the window again as she realized she’d be walking home soon. She blinked as she thought she saw someone in the shadows.
“I could walk you home,” Owen offered
, “if you want.”
Rose continued to stare out the window. Whatever she’d seen seemed to have disappeared. “You live on the other side of town,” she argued. “I’ll be fine.”
“I can be pretty intimidating when I want to be,” Owen bragged. “Besides, Jared is meeting me after work, and fighting is pretty much his job.”
She frowned. “What does he do? I don’t think you’ve ever told me.”
Owen seemed to become uncomfortable all of the sudden. “Uh…a few things,” he muttered. “But during the day, he teaches martial arts at the gym.”
Rose nodded. “I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “I don’t need bodyguards.”
He scowled at that, as if he didn’t quite agree. “If you say so.”
—
It was nearly an hour later when Rose and Owen finally left the café that was now dark, empty, and quiet, to make their way home. Rose nearly screamed when she saw the dark silhouette of a man leaning against the streetlight, but as they neared him, she began to recognize his features. The man stood at an average height, and his dark brown skin glistened in the light, as if coated with sweat. His thick, curly black hair hung around his face in a wild mess. His stout, muscular body strained against the tight white tank top and long, black gym shorts he wore.
As soon as Owen neared the man, he closed the space between them.
Rose hung back to give them privacy as they kissed.
“You smell terrible, by the way,” Owen teased, pushing Jared away.
“Love you, too,” Jared muttered bitterly. “I just left the gym.”
“Hi, Jared,” Rose greeted as she joined them under the streetlight.
Jared offered her a polite smile. “Hello, Rose.”
Owen scowled at her again, his brows knitting with worry. “Are you sure that you don’t want us to walk you home?” he asked. “We don’t mind.”
“We don’t?” Jared asked bluntly.
Owen glared at him. “No, we don’t. Rose is feeling uneasy because she has been translating scrolls about vampires. I figured our presence would help.”
Jared’s entire countenance changed. “Vampires?” he said, his eyes wide.
The Stone of the Eklektos Page 8