~~Young~~

Chapter Thirteen

   It was a little cool for a night flight, the damp air biting at his exposed skin- even if it did seem to help dull the ache in his chest- but tailing Sera was on the top of his priority list.

   He really did need to end this, this…whatever there was between the two of them, before it could go any deeper. Time would only make it harder, and the sooner he took care of her the sooner they would all get what was coming for them.

   Her, heaven, him….

   He was looking for something that would outright implicate her, not just assumptions or hunches, but solid evidence. For what, he wasn’t sure, maybe just to ease his conscience? That phone of hers was certainly a step in the right direction. Not the one she had given him her number too…and subsequently ignored several text messages and phone calls from him on…but that flashy purple one. While she slept he bumped their phones together, transferring her entire phone book and call history to his phone. And wouldn’t you know it, she had called and sent numerous texts to the girl already in custody.

   Verification that the two knew each other true, but as that Elizabeth was also a- MIA- member of the sorority Sera herself was in charge of it could very well be coincidence.

   Okay, now he wasn’t even buying that one.

   And if he was willing to admit it to himself, the other reason he was following her was because he wanted to see what was so important that she had refused his company for and….shit…and to make sure she didn’t get hurt…

   Which worked out really well considering the circumstances. What, was he going to kiss her boo-boo better if she scraped a knee then lop off her head?

   Oh that damned anxiety…

   That wasn’t getting any better once he realized where Sera was headed. Sure it wasn’t the way she came and as such away from her potential assailant, but a bar? It was the only life in this sleepy area, and he hoped it was because she knew there would be taxis nearby.

   “What are you doing beauty?” he mumbled to himself and pumped his wings a little harder to get ahead of her and scope out the situation.

   He landed on the roof of the building opposite…some shop closed up for the night with tenements above it, and waited. He watched the two men lingering around the doorway carefully, watching to see what their reaction would be when Sera arrived on the scene.

   One kept fidgeting with the cap on his head a…killer whale of all things embroidered on it. Alternating between that and sucking down cigarette after cigarette. He was a little twitchier then Gage liked with Sera due to pass at any moment. And supposing he was a few beers in, not in the best frame of mind either so he definitely had the most of his attention.

  The other kept a stoic calm and only nodded to the other man’s animated hand gestures as they seemed to discuss the hockey game he could hear blaring from inside. A bouncer maybe? He had a much thicker build then the other more wirery man. Was he keeping the man from entering? It could be the reason for all his fast talk. He might have been trying to convince the man to let him in. But what kind of riffraff would that make him that a bar, in this part of town, wouldn’t let him in?

   Didn’t matter. Because just as there was a loud cheer Sera came around the corner, as if they were cheering her arrival.

   He hoped to hell not.

   He wished for the headlights of a taxi to break the night, just so he could see her get in the car and leave. And though there were no such lights, at least she crossed the street, walking right beneath his perch. He hated that hood almost as much as he had those sunglasses she had worn on the day they first met…was that really just a few days ago?...because it obscured her face from his view. He wanted to see the apprehension there, wanted to know that she understood the situation and its chances for dire consequences. But at least she kept moving, her head turning slightly- to consider the occupants maybe?- before moving casually on.