The Air Singer (The Cantors) (3 page)

A corner of Roland’s lips turned
up into a smirk. “You and I spoke in a bar last week for a total of twenty minutes and I am already detecting a hint of jealousy. Should I be worried?”

Tally’s cheeks
burned. “No, I just don’t want you to think I’m going to let you put a guilt trip on me for not showing up last night when you and I both know that if you were lonely, it wasn’t my fault.”

Roland’s brow lifted above his right eye.
Tally sat back with a little more confidence in her ability to talk to him.

“You’re right.
It is completely my fault. I will need to make sure that never happens again.” Roland leaned across the table. “So will you be gracing me with your presence tonight?”

“I don’t remember Taproom hosting open mic on Fridays.”

“They don’t.” Roland took a sip of his coffee, “You will have to entertain me without the help of a guitar.”

Tally’s mind listed
all the ways she would like to entertain him. Realizing that Roland expected an answer, she quickly put her list away. Since it was only the second time she had seen him, going to the Taproom alone was out of the question.

“I’ll see what Kate is doing tonight.
Maybe we’ll show up.”

Tally knew that as soon as she told Kate that Roland had shown up at the shop, she would forgive her for ruining the planned girl’s night.

“Well then, I will leave you to your business.” Roland finished his coffee and set the mug on her table. “Don’t work too late.”

He st
ood up and smoothed out his shirt. Tally was taken aback by how tall he was.

He smiled
and began walking toward the door. Tally admired his backside until he turned around. Jerking her head up, her eyes met his. “What time should I plan on seeing you?”

Tally decided to keep it as casual as possible. “Kate and I
usually head out around eight.”

“I will see you a
fter eight then.” With a quick wink, he walked out the door.

Tally sat there for at least five minutes
trying to play over what had just happened. The ring of her cell phone brought her back to the present moment. Recognizing the ringtone, she answered right away.

“
Kate, I think we are going to have to postpone girl’s night. You won’t believe what just happened.”

“I think this night would be more fun inside the bar.” Kate sat in the driver’s seat of her SUV checking her lipstick in the visor mirror. “Would you mind horribly if I went in? I’ll send water out when I can.”

Tally took one deep breath, let it
out, and then took another. Nothing seemed to calm her nerves. “What if he’s in there?”

“I thought that was the whole reason for coming here tonight.”
Kate got out of the vehicle, walked over to the passenger side door and opened it. She leaned between the door and the roof of the car. “Tally you have never let anyone rattle you this way. Here is a nice, normal guy that made the effort to go to your work and let you know that he wanted to see you tonight. What is there to be afraid of?”

“Rejection.
Humiliation. What if that energy shows up again and throws me for a loop in front of him?”

Kate straightened up. “If I see the night going south, I’ll set the bathroom on fire.
No one will ever remember you acting like a fool.”

Tally grabbed t
he moonstone around her neck, asked for courage, and stood to get out of the car. “Thank you for being willing to commit arson for me.”

Kate placed an arm around Tally and hugged her s
houlders as they walked toward the door. “Hey, what are friends for?”

Tally and Kate
laughed as they entered the bar.

The pounding rhythm of the live band slammed into
Tally as she started looking through the room for Roland. Tables crowded the back wall to make room for a few scattered dancers at the front of the stage. Tally’s eyes adjusted to the darkened room as Kate grabbed her hand and headed straight for the bar.

After ordering the
ir usual diet colas, Kate and Tally turned back toward the stage.

Kate yelled over the music
. “Do you see him?”

“Not yet.”
Tally stretched her neck to see over the tables. Suddenly, she felt a hand on the small of her back.

“
Tally!”

She
turned directly into Roland’s arms. Wearing a gray woven collared shirt open and untucked over a white tee he caught her before she could spill her drink.

Placing her free hand on his arm for balance, she
felt the sinewy power hidden beneath his sleeves.

“I’m sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

Tally looked up to Roland’s light blue eyes. “No need to apologize.”

Roland’s gaze
remained on Tally.

“I have a table near the back.”
His eyes lifted for a moment, “Hello Kate.”

“Hey there.
Where’s this table of yours?”

Roland took
Tally’s hand from his arm and pulled her behind him toward the back of the bar with Kate following behind.

Once they arrived at the
table, the women sat on opposite sides with Roland sitting confidently between them.

“So oth
er than showing up at my friend’s work in the middle of the day, what do you do Roland?” Kate never shied away from asking the obvious.

“I guess you could say I wo
rk in asset protection.” Roland ran his hand over the tattoo on his other arm. Tally took an opportunity to get a better look at it. A small griffon stood within an upright triangle with a horizontal line separating the top from the base.

“I like your tattoo. It’s a griffon right?”
Tally kept a statue of a griffon guarding the door of her apartment. The mythical creature always intrigued her.

“Yes it is, and thanks.”
Roland scanned the room. “So what do you think of the band?”

“I’ve heard them before,” Kate replied. “They played at the Battle of the Bands last month.
I think they got third.”

The three of them spoke about
local bands and the discussion lasted for about twenty minutes before a familiar energy that Tally never experienced outside of the shop alerted her to the possibility of a fourth joining the table. Turning to the front of the bar, Tally stood up and confirmed that the lopsided energy walking in the door was Sean. Surprised to see him outside of the shop, she didn’t notice that the conversation at her table had stopped.

“What is he doing here?”
Kate seemed as surprised as Tally.

“I have no idea.”

“Who are we talking about?” Roland asked.

Tally sat back down at the table, “Sean just walked in. He’s a guy
I know from …”

“He’s a stalker!” Kate interrupted and leaned in to whisper
to Roland. “He shows up at the shop and gets coffee but only on the days that Tally works. You should see the way he looks at her.”

“He doesn’t look at me.
He just stares at the floor.”

“He
stares at you when your back is turned. It’s creepy.”

Roland straightened up in his chair to get a better look at Sean.
Tally noticed that his jaw flexed as soon as he spotted him.

“How long has Se
an been coming to the shop?”

Tally was confused at Roland’s interest in him. “About
two months.”

Roland tried to position his body to appear relaxed but Tally could see that something had him on edge.

“Are you alright?”

Roland turned to Tally and smiled, “You know, I missed dinner tonight.
I know a great diner open twenty-four hours. Would you two like to join me?”

“I don’t mind
grabbing a bite, but Sean is heading this way and he is not sitting here!” Kate became insistent in her dislike of his company.

“Why are you so
mean? He’s harmless.” Tally turned to watch Sean trying to get through the couples dancing near the stage. He maneuvered the dance floor while people bumped him as if moving through a life size pinball machine. He kept his head down, looking up only to apologize when another couple moved into his path.

“Tally,” Roland took her arm an
d leaned in so close his breath tickled her ear, “Why don’t we go grab a movie or something. Kate can come too.”

Tally pulled away from Roland,
confused at his desperation to leave.

“Hey Tally.
” Sean finally made it through the gauntlet of people and stood just beside her table. She looked up to say hello and as usual, he avoided looking directly at her.

“Hi Sean, when did you start coming here?”
Tally attempted to hide her discontent at the new addition to her evening. Protecting Sean from Kate and learning more about Roland would be difficult to manage at the same time. She glanced to her side. Roland sat silently next to her, his body rigid with tension.

“First time.”
Sean helped himself to the empty chair next to her. “I didn’t expect to find you here.”

Kate couldn’
t contain herself anymore. “I know the feeling.”

Tally kicked her from across the table.
Kate scowled but pulled her claws back.

Tally tried to make sense of the situation.
Roland, normally smooth and relaxed, had wound up like a spring since Sean’s arrival and couldn’t wait to leave. Sean on the other hand had never spoken of going anywhere other than the gaming center. Alarmed by his presence, Tally risked bringing her shields down for a moment to taste the energy.

A
wave of nausea overwhelmed her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, compelling her to get away from the table. At that moment, there was no way to know who she needed to separate from, only that she needed distance. She grabbed her purse and without a word to her companions, hurried toward the door.

Tally tried to bring her shields back up while maneuvering through the tables.
She knew Kate was safe at the moment, but someone at that table intended to harm Tally. As soon as she made it out the door, she knelt down and held her head in her hands.

I should have stayed in the car
.

She attempted to calm herself with a few deep breaths and held onto her moonstone pendant for comfort.

“So should I be looking for a lighter?”

Kate had followed her friend outside to find out what was wrong.

“We need to leave Kate.”
Tally didn’t even look up. She still reeled from the energy coming from her table.

“Sean
left the table as soon as you made your exit so we can continue the evening as if nothing happened.” Kate kneeled down next to her, “We left Roland alone in there with no one to talk to.”

Tally didn’t want to worry Kate and wasn’t even sure if she would believe her. “I feel ill.
It might be food poisoning. I need to get home.”

Kate moved the hair away from Tal
ly’s face and after studying her friend’s expression, stood up. “Okay, let me tell Roland that we will meet up with him another night. Stay here and I’ll be right back.”

“Thanks Kate.” For
being such a smart ass at times, Kate was Tally’s best friend.

“No problem, hang tight.”
Kate disappeared back into the bar.

Tally relaxed for the moment.
She hated to think that either of the gentlemen sitting at her table wanted to cause her harm, but neither of them acted normal. Sean’s sudden social life seemed too coincidental. The uncomfortable, insecure guy from the gaming center would never approach Tally with so many people around. Helping himself to an empty chair at her table seemed just as improbable. She hadn’t known Roland long, but he seemed so tense. As soon as Sean approached the table, his calm and confident demeanor was shaken. He became overprotective, if not obsessive. Did Roland think he needed to protect Tally from Sean? Why did no one recognize that Sean was just an awkward guy without social skills, not someone to fear? Tally’s head spun with the events of the night. Relieved that she would soon be on her way home, she stood up and began to walk toward Kate’s vehicle.

“Hey Tally.”

Tally spun around at the sound of Sean’s voice to find him walking directly toward her.

“You ran out of the bar so
fast, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Tally stopped walking and stood in the middle of the parking lot next to a parking lamp.
The nausea returned as Sean came closer. He moved forward deliberately and didn’t stop until he stood only a couple feet from her. Tally realized for the first time that she had never seen Sean’s eyes. Now she wished she could look away. A darkness there would have warned her away the moment he appeared in her shop. She stood within arm’s reach of someone who had the intent of stopping her from going anywhere without him. Fighting to keep her voice steady, Tally tried to buy time until Kate returned.

“I’ll be fine.
Kate should be right out with her purse. I guess I’ll see you at the shop tomorrow.” She took a step back and pinned herself against the lamppost behind her. Sean moved uncomfortably close to her.

“Sean, you need to back off.
I’m glad you are going out now, but you need to learn about personal space.”

“I’m sorry Tally, but it’s his fault. If he hadn’t shown up, we would just see each other at the shop everyday like normal.”

Tally was terrified. “Sean, we can still see each other but you have to let me leave right now. Kate will be…”

Sean lunged at her before she could finish her sentence. He reached behind her and twisted his hand in her hair while clamping a rag over her mouth and nose.
Tally flailed her arms at him, scratching and reaching for anything that would cause him to let go, but the pungent smell coming from the rag filled her lungs and her head began to swim. She collapsed in his arms aware that Kate had been right all along. Sean never needed her protection or friendship. He manipulated her from the beginning. As the darkness overwhelmed her, she wished she stayed in the car after all.