Five days later …

The lettering was white against a black backdrop ‒ THE BLACK HORSE BAR. A metal arm hung out above the door. A black, metal silhouette of a horse swung backwards and forwards in the slight breeze.

Titan held the door open for her and they entered. They’d settled into something of a working relationship and had done a good job of working their way through the list of interviews. As she had suspected, they’d yet to garner any new or eye-opening information. She and Titan had tailed Carl Stevenson for a day. The money for his new sneakers had come from selling dope and not because he was affiliated with the fascist group. They referred the case to one of the deputies and moved on. If anything turned up, hate group-related, they’d let Titan and her know about it.

The bar was bigger inside than it seemed from the street. It had an old-fashioned feel about it. It had wooden floors and a long oak bar. There was a sitting area on an upper level to the side and a small dance floor with a colorful jukebox.

It was just after five ‒ happy hour ‒ and the bar itself was pretty packed. There were two tables. No one danced. Natasha suspected that this place probably heaved as evening ran into night. Especially since it was a Thursday, and Thursday was, after all, a mini Friday.

Both bartenders were fixing drinks. One was a lady, so they walked past her section finding an open space on the other side. It didn’t take more than a minute for the male server to lean on one arm. “What can I get you?” He had a dishcloth in his hand.

“I’ll take a club soda and my friend will have a beer.”

Titan frowned. “No, I—”

“Whatever you have on tap will be fine.” She ignored Titan.

The bartender nodded and turned to get their drinks.

“What was that?” Titan asked.

“We want to blend in,” she whispered. “People drink in bars.”

“We have an appointment with the guy,” Titan shot back. “He knows who we are. If not, he will soon.”

“Still, not everyone in this place needs to know.”

Begrudgingly, he nodded. It didn’t take long for him to bring back the drinks. She was rummaging in her purse when Titan handed the bartender some cash. “Keep the change.”

“Thanks!”

“Where should we wait for you, Simon?”

The bartender gaped, suddenly realizing who they were. “Oh … um … yeah …” He visibly pulled himself together. “You can sit over there.” He pointed to the seated section. “My break starts in ten.”

Natasha took her soda. “Okay. We’ll be waiting.”

Titan picked up his beer and they headed over, sitting at the closest table. It overlooked the bar.

There was a mixed batch of people. Some of the patrons wore collared suits and ties while others were in jeans and t-shirts. There was one guy in grimy overalls. Most of them were men. A couple sat at the end of the bar. At first glance it looked like they were getting really cozy with one another. On closer inspection, she saw that they were in a deep discussion.

Titan took a sip of his beer, putting the glass down with a light bang. He grimaced. “I’m not sure why humans drink this stuff.”

“You shouldn’t actually drink that, by the way, we are officially on the clock.”

Titan took another big sip. He licked the foam off of his lips. He looked amused. “Alcohol won’t affect me. Besides, I’m not a part of your FBI.”

“Alcohol really doesn’t affect you?”

He shook his head. They sat in silence for a minute. Things were definitely awkward between them. They discussed the case ‒ barely ‒ and that was it. She’d tried to broach the subject about his admission the other day but he’d shut her down. Just as she suspected he would. Titan had made it infinitely clear that he wasn’t discussing what had happened and that was that.

“So, Simon is Chester Todd’s estranged son?” she asked, even though she knew the answer. The silence was driving her nuts. Especially in this environment where people were laughing and chatting … interacting.

Titan nodded.

“Do you really think he’s got something to add from his previous testimony?” Natasha was sick and tired of running around in circles. She agreed that some of the previously interviewed people needed to be relooked at but not all of them. Simon hadn’t seen his father in years. He had no dealings with the guy. What could they possibly glean from this?

Titan nodded. “We wouldn’t be here otherwise.” He yawned, putting his hand over his mouth.

“Is your hotel bed uncomfortable?” she blurted. Day on day, he looked more and more tired. His eyes were bloodshot and there were smudges under his eyes.

“It’s fine.”

“You don’t look like you’ve slept much since arriving in Sweetwater.”

“I’m fine.” She could see that he wanted to yawn again.

“If you say so.” Natasha was done trying to get anything out of him.

“We might as well order something to eat while we’re here.” He picked up a menu. “We’ll order to go.”

Natasha picked up a menu as well and began paging through. By the time she’d pretty much decided what she wanted, Simon sat down on a chair next to her. “I only have fifteen minutes.” He looked from her to Titan and back again. Simon was tall and gangly with short cropped black hair. He wore a black apron with an outline of a white horse on the front. “I’m not sure why you guys want to talk with me again. I thought I made it clear that I don’t know much about my father. I left home eight years ago and haven’t seen either of my parents since.”

“Why is that, Simon?” she asked.

His eyes turned thunderous. “My father liked to get heavy-handed when he had been drinking, which was almost every night. My mother is a coward. She watched him beat me and did nothing. I left as soon as I finished school. It won’t be long before I’m out of this one-horse town.”

“So, are you telling me that in the last eight years you never saw your father, not even once?” Titan looked Simon head-on. “I find that hard to believe, since you live in a one-horse town … as you put it.”

“Fine,” Simon huffed. “I used to see him around from time to time, but I never approached the guy. I couldn’t give a shit what he was up to.”

“Where did you see him?” Natasha asked.

Simon shrugged, he pulled a face telling her that he thought her question was absurd. “At the gas station. Around town. I saw him at the hardware store a few weeks before he died.” Simon grimaced like it was the worst experience of his life. “I literally ran into him. It was so fucked up seeing him so close.”

This was new. Maybe speaking with Simon hadn’t been a bad idea after all.

“You can’t mean that,” a guy yelled from down at the bar. Someone else laughed loudly. More people had arrived since they had. The noise levels were picking up.

Natasha tried to stay focused on Simon. “What was he doing at the hardware store?”

“Don’t know and don’t care. I turned and left. The bastard didn’t even try to go after me or talk to me or anything. You’d think he cared ‒ even just a little bit but no … The bastard smirked at me.” He shook his head and clenched his jaw. “My father,” he said it like a cuss, “couldn’t give two shits. Didn’t back then and wouldn’t now if he was still alive. I sure as hell won’t be putting flowers on his grave.”

“Stop, Cindy,” the same man yelled. “Wait.” All three of them turned towards the noise. A man had a woman by the wrist, they were both standing. Her face looked pinched. It was the couple who had been talking so intimately earlier. Maybe they weren’t as cozy as they had seemed.

The woman said something, she couldn’t make out what it was.

“No, you’re not.” The guy’s voice was raised.

“Please, just let me go.” She tried to pull free but the guy wasn’t listening.

“I mean it.” He narrowed his eyes. “You need to calm down and listen to me.”

“I’ve said all there is to say,” the woman pleaded.

The man leaned forward and whispered something in her ear. The woman squeezed her eyes shut and nodded.

“Okay?” He let go of her wrist and rubbed her arm down the side. The touch was tender and soothing.

The woman nodded again. The guy put his arm around her and whispered something else and bam, they looked all cozy again. It must have been a little misunderstanding. Natasha pushed out a sigh. Thank god, for a second there ...

Titan pushed back his chair and rose to his feet. His eyes were trained on the couple who were slowly headed towards the door. “What is it?” Natasha asked.

Titan ignored her. His muscles bulged, pulling the fabric tight around his biceps. Forget the stairs. Who needed stairs? He leapt off the side of the raised platform landing gracefully on the floor below. Natasha wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it for herself. One of the guys at the bar dropped his glass and a woman gave a yell. All the noise died down in an instant. There was just the sound of the background music, otherwise all was silent.

“Stop,” Titan growled.

Although the guy with his arm around the girl stiffened, he kept ushering her towards the door. The man picked up the pace. Natasha noticed that the lady wasn’t walking as fast, her feet were dragging. It didn’t look right. Titan obviously knew something they didn’t know.

“I said stop.” Titan moved fast. He closed the distance between the couple and himself in a flash, putting his hand on the guy’s shoulder.

The man wasn’t small, he had muscles and probably worked out. He wore a brown leather jacket and jeans. He arched his back and spun around. “Get your hands off of me!”

Titan ignored him and turned to the woman who looked really afraid. “Do you want to leave with this bozo?”

“Who the fuck are you calling a bozo?” The guy knocked chests with Titan. The vampire towered over him.

“Take a step back,” Titan warned.

“Fuck you!” The guy got right in Titan’s face. It happened so quickly, she almost missed it ‒ Titan snapped his head back and butted the man right in the face. There was a cracking noise and he fell like a rock. Just crumpled into a heap on the floor. The guy didn’t move. His nose bled profusely.

What was Titan doing? Up until now she had been so dumbstruck that she hadn’t moved. Natasha jumped up so quickly the chair almost fell back. “Titan.”

The woman looked at her boyfriend, husband, whoever the guy was, and burst into tears. She covered her mouth and sobbed into her hand.

Natasha started to make her way down the stairs. She needed to apologize. She needed to defuse the situation. “I’m so sor—”

“Thank you,” the distraught woman cried. She was looking at Titan. “I was so afraid.”

What? Natasha frowned, she walked the rest of the way down.

“No need to thank me,” Titan said.

“I do need to thank you.” The woman, still sobbing, ran over to Titan and threw her arms around him. “You saved my life.” Her sobs grew louder.

The crowd began to chatter loudly to one another. Titan just stood there looking distinctly uncomfortable. The woman sobbed against his chest.

“Call the police.” Titan glanced over his shoulder at Simon. “This scumbag could do with a few days behind bars.” He gently took the woman by the shoulders and pulled her off of him. “What is your name?” His voice was gentle and filled with sympathy.

“It’s C-Cindy.” She was shaking.

“Cindy, do you have a family member or friend we can call?”

She nodded. “My f-friend Rebecca.”

“Good!” Titan let go of her. “Let’s get you something warm to drink in the meanwhile.” He looked pointedly at Simon, who nodded.

* * *

Two hours later …

Cindy turned and gave a wave, it was directed at Titan. The lady was smiling. Titan waved back. He sighed as the door closed.

“How did you know?” Natasha asked. “You’re a hero, do you know that?”

Titan shifted his weight, looking uncomfortable. “No, I’m not. I have good hearing and a good sense of smell and that’s it.”

“What did the guy say to her?”

“He told her that she was his. That she had forgotten who she belonged to. It was the way he said it.” Titan looked up at the ceiling for a moment before locking eyes with her. “He put his arm around her like she was cherished and loved and told her that she needed another lesson. That’s when I caught a whiff of her scent. It went from fearful to terrified. She was terrified of that prick.”

With good reason. It turned out that Cindy’s boyfriend had been both mentally and physically abusing her for a couple of months … ever since she moved in with him. She’d asked to meet him in a public place so that she could break it off. Her stuff was packed and in the car. Titan had convinced her to testify against the asshole. Natasha was still floored at how sweet and kind he had been to Cindy. How patient. Cindy was moving in with her friend and filing a restraining order, she was also pressing charges, and all because of Titan. He’d even given Cindy his number and told her to call if her asshole ex showed up uninvited.

“What are you having?” Simon’s voice brought her back from her thoughts.

“Oh, sorry!” She shook her head. “I’ll have the chili, please.”

Titan placed his order as well. “We’ll have those as take-out,” he said.

“Yeah sure.” Simon smiled. “It’s on the house. I know how it feels to be abused like that. Thank you for helping her out. You’ll have to show me how you did that thing with your head.” Simon jerked his head forward a couple of times. He pulled a mean face while doing it.

Titan chuckled. “It’s not that difficult. Your forehead is really hard … See if you—”

“Should you really be teaching someone ‒ a civilian ‒ how to headbutt?”

“Why not?” Titan raised his brows. “Everyone should know how to defend themselves.” He looked back at Simon. “It should be used for self-defense purposes only. The key is to use your forehead, not your face, on your opponent’s face. On the nose works really well.”

“Yeah!” Simon was animated. “I saw that. And …” Simon looked her way. “I don’t intend to use it on just anyone.” He grinned. “You’re one badass bro. How much do you work out?”

“Every day. Usually for a couple of hours.”

“Hours?” Simon widened his eyes and his mouth formed a startled O. “Really?”

Titan chuckled. “Yeah, but that level of dedication isn’t necessary. An hour a day, four or five times a week and you’ll see a difference, guaranteed. You should also think about self-defense classes or taking up martial arts.”

“Thanks for the tip.” Simon nodded. “I think I might do just that. It isn’t fun being the victim.” His jaw clenched. “I still feel like a victim sometimes, even after all these years. I’m not the biggest guy around.” He lifted one of his arms.

“Size doesn’t matter as much as you think. Besides, you might not have much in the way of muscle but you’re tall and wiry.” Titan glanced her way. “Natasha can take out most males …” he cleared his throat, “men, and look how tiny she is.”

“No way!” Simon didn’t look convinced.

“Believe me, she could’ve done just as good a job as I did. Maybe even with one hand tied behind her back.”

His compliment warmed her. Natasha had to smile. “I don’t know about the one hand being tied behind my back part.”

“Quit being modest.” Titan looked back at Simon. “You can do it too.”

Simon nodded, then he looked over their heads. “It looks like your order is ready. One more thing … that day I saw my dad in the hardware store, he wasn’t alone. There was a guy with him. Older, and I remember thinking that he seemed … I don’t know.” Simon shrugged. She could see him thinking it over. “Rich, like he didn’t belong with a loser like my dad.”

“What was this guy wearing?” Natasha asked.

Simon narrowed his eyes in thought. “A business suit. No tie though. He was well groomed and had that whole salt and pepper thing going on with his hair.”

Natasha nodded. “Maybe he was the store manager.”

Simon looked at her like she was mad. “Tyler and his dad own the hardware store. I’ve never seen that guy before. At least I don’t think I have.”

“Would you recognize him if you saw him again?”

“I might.” Not as promising as she would have liked but it was something. They’d have to pull any CCTV footage they could find in the area. It was a long shot but maybe the store had footage they could use. It was probably a dead end but worth a try.

Natasha nodded. “Thank you.”

“I’ll go and fetch your food, it’s packed and ready.”

They watched as Simon picked up their order. He brought it over to them. “Are you sure you won’t stay? Drinks on the house?”

“No, we need to get going.” Titan took the bag.

“I included a slice of our famous pumpkin pie for each of you … thanks again.”

“Just doing our job,” Titan said. Natasha was sure that his cheeks turned a bit red. It was hard to tell. The lighting in the bar was understated. Titan had looked embarrassed for a second or two though. It was sweet.

They said their good-byes and headed for the rental. An understated sedan. The car packed some horsepower but didn’t scream ‘look at me’. It was perfect for their needs. Titan unlocked the vehicle and placed the bag on the back seat. Then he slid in next to her.

“I know you didn’t hurt anyone,” Natasha blurted. She couldn’t help herself.

“Let’s just get back to the hotel.” Titan started the vehicle. “It’s been a long day.”

“You couldn’t have hurt someone in that way, especially a woman.”

“I don’t know why you insist on harping on about this.” He pulled out. “I told you the truth, you can believe whatever the hell you want.” His hands tightened on the wheel.

“I will, I don’t believe you could hurt someone in that way … I just don’t. You’re a good guy, Titan.”

“You’re wrong.” There was a ton of anger and emotion behind the words. “You’re really very wrong,” he said, more softly and measured this time. “I hurt someone really badly once. I’m trying to make up for it. I’m trying to be a better person, but I’m not. Not even close.”

“You are. You don’t give yourself enough credit. What you did for that lady back there …” She pointed at the bar.

“Anyone would have done the same.”

“No, they wouldn’t have. It’s nuts how many people see abuse going on right under their noses and choose to turn the other cheek. It takes guts to stand up like that.”

Titan snorted. “That human male didn’t stand a chance against me. Guts my ass.”

“You genuinely cared about Cindy. You took the time and the effort to help her, you were so nice to her afterwards. Most people couldn’t be bothered.”

“It doesn’t change my past,” he growled. “I don’t want to talk about this.” She watched him shut down.

He’d said that she could believe whatever she wanted and she would. Titan was a good guy. He may not believe it himself but that didn’t make him a bad person. It didn’t. There had to be some reasonable explanation for what happened in his past. She just knew it.