He stares at me for a moment before he lets out a huff of air and turns around, heading past the bouncer until he disappears into the dark.
Shit, what the hell has gotten into him?
With trembling fingers, I manage to get an Uber, only a minute away. It pulls up, and I slide into the back, trying to get some sense into my head. It was such a strange night anyway, but to have Matt get all weird at the end really pushed it over the edge.
But I’m not so concerned with what he wants from me. He was drunk.
I’m toiling over what he said.
That no one can get close to me.
That I don’t even know myself.
Because he’s right.
And I hate that he sees that in me, and that he used it against me.
I sigh and lean back against the seat. It sucks, but I think it’s probably for the best if I don’t see Matt for a while. Let him get his head on straight.
The ride to my apartment is only ten minutes and I get the Uber to drop me off on Laguna Street. Though the shops and bars of Hayes Street are just blocks away, the neighborhood is dark and quiet as usual. But I’m so lost in my head, I can’t be bothered to be spooked.
I cross the road and go to my door, my parents’ door right next to it. My parents actually live above me. They own the whole row house, and had it split into two residences when I graduated high school. I had the choice to live on campus, and they’d rent this out, or stay here. As much as I wanted to experience the college lifestyle, this apartment is so much cooler than a dorm, and my parents totally leave me alone. For the most part.
I fumble for my keys in my purse, glancing up at their place above. It’s nearly midnight and the lights are all off, my parents fast asleep. They tend to get up at four in the morning, for reasons I’ve never understood. As for me, I never sleep much. My brain won’t turn off.
I take my keys out when I feel a presence behind me.
I gasp, my eyes going wide, the hair at the back of my neck standing on end.
I wrap my fingers around the keys, making a fist, prepared to whirl around and stab the attacker in the eye.
“Lenore Warwick?” a man’s smooth voice says from behind me.
I pause, then turn around.
There’s a man standing on the curb. Tall, long dark coat, the shadows too deep to make out his face.
For a moment I think it’s the man from the bar, but I already know it’s not.
My stalker, however, that’s another story.
“Who’s asking?” I say, my voice shaking a little, my fist tight around the keys.
“Forgive me,” he says, stepping forward until he’s in the dim light of my front window, his face emerging from the shadows. “But I’ve been looking for you for quite some time.”
Chapter Two
I stare at the man across from me, trying not to feel disappointed that he’s not the sexy suit man I saw at the bar. That said, he’s still pretty handsome. Aquiline nose, black mussed up hair, light eyes that bounce between blue and green. He’s probably in his early thirties, dressed head to toe in black.
Handsome, and a little creepy.
Can’t explain why.
It might be the fact that he just propositioned me at midnight outside my house, and is most likely the guy who’s been following me.
He gives me a quick smile that doesn’t reach his eyes and reaches into his trench coat, swiftly bringing out a business card, sticking it out for me.
I have to take a step closer to him to take it and I don’t let go of my keys. I quickly snatch the card from him and go back to where I was standing, holding it up to the light.
“Atlas Poe,” I read the card. I glance up at him. “That your real name?”
Another quick smile. “I get asked that a lot.”
All the card says is “Atlas Poe” and “The Guild” and a local phone number.
“What do you want?” I ask. “You some Poe fan obsessed with hunting down women named Lenore?”
He shakes his head slightly, eyes looking dark. “Not a fan of Poe, to be honest.” He clears his throat, gaze narrowing as he looks me over, focusing on the tattoos on my legs below my cut-off denim shorts, the ravens that wrap around my calf, the ram on my thigh. “I tried to stop by earlier to speak to your parents.”
Uneasiness prickles my skin. “It’s midnight. You’re lucky you even caught me.” I pause, feeling brave. “Was that you following me earlier? In Upper Haight?”
He frowns. “Someone was following you?”
I study him for a moment. I don’t think he’s pretending.
“Yeah. Or maybe not,” I tell him. I sigh. The guy is still creeping me out, but I feel a smidge better knowing it wasn’t him. His shoulders are broad but not quite broad enough to match what I saw. “So, what do you want with us?”
He stares at me for a moment, then glances up at my parents’ house. “I’m an associate of your parents.”
“What kind of associate?” My parents work for the California and San Francisco Historical Societies. All their co-workers are hella boring.
He brings his gaze back to mine. “I represent a section of the guild that they belong to.”
“There’s a guild of historians?”
“Something like that.”
“So just call them like a normal person. Send an email. Don’t accost their daughter outside her place at midnight.”
“My apologies,” he says. “I just…” He peers at my chest, and for a moment I think he’s checking out my boobs, but then I remember I buttoned my plaid shirt all the way up. He’s staring at the black skull pendant on the end of one of my many necklaces.
“Black tourmaline,” he says softly, glancing up to meet my eyes.
I frown. “What?”
“Your necklace. It’s black tourmaline.”
I glance down at it, letting the black skull dangle from my fingers. I always assumed it was onyx or something.
“Did your mother give that to you?” he asks.
I make a fist around the skull. “Yeah…”
“Interesting,” he says. Then he offers me a quick smile. “Well, I’m sorry to disturb you so late at night, Lenore. I’ll be sure to drop your parents an email. Again.”
And at that, he turns and walks down the street, his black trench coat flapping behind him until they both merge into the darkness.
I watch the empty space, the street seeming to turn into a black hole, and then I quickly turn, shoving my keys into the door and stepping inside my apartment.
Sanctuary.
I lock the door, checking several times to make sure it’s secure, then go around to the windows in the living room, the kitchen, the bedroom, and bathroom and make sure they’re locked too. Even though I don’t normally go to sleep until 2 a.m., I quickly get into my nightgown, then go into the bathroom to take off my makeup. I look in the mirror.
Ugh.
I forgot that Matt had kissed me, so I was talking to Atlas that whole time with red lipstick smeared over my lips. Combine that with the fact that my hair is looking unruly and my mascara is smudged under my eyes, it’s no wonder Atlas seemed a little apprehensive about me.
Then again, I’m the one who had every reason to be apprehensive.