Chapter 23: Familiar strangers
The morning air carried the scent of fresh coffee and urban exhaust as Kaine adjusted his collar for the third time in five minutes.
He’d chosen his clothes carefully—dark jeans that looked casual but allowed for quick movement, a black button-down shirt, and a leather jacket.
Professional but approachable. The kind of appearance that said ’competent investigator’ without screaming ’heavily armed vampire killer.’
Marcus stood three blocks away, positioned where he could observe the coffee shop’s entrance while maintaining the appearance of someone waiting for a bus. Kaine had told him to stay put. Although it had taken several tries to get the ghoul not to follow, but it paid off eventually.
The Ghoul’s pale eyes tracked pedestrian movement with the eyes of a predator, cataloging potential threats and or anyone at all that lingered too much.
’Better to have backup and not need it than need backup and not have it.’
Meridian Grounds looked exactly as it had the day before—trendy interior visible through large windows, the morning crowd of professionals and students creating the perfect background noise for private conversation.
Kaine pushed through the entrance, scanning the interior for anyone matching Sarah Morgan’s description. Blue jacket, brown leather portfolio. Should be easy enough to spot in a crowd this size.
But as he moved through the coffee shop, checking each table and booth, he realized he had a problem.
There were at least six women sitting alone, and none of them appeared to be waiting for anyone in particular. Some were absorbed in laptops or tablets, others were reading books or newspapers, a few were simply staring out the windows with the blank expression of people whose minds were elsewhere entirely.
Any one of them could be Sarah Morgan.