Chapter Twenty-six
Lillian couldn't quite tell how the morning had gone for Erik. As soon as he'd come into work, he'd walked into his office with Leif and closed the door, shutting out any chance she might have to talk with him.
Still, it was likely a good thing since Margaret was on the warpath. The Dragon Lady was beyond irritated when she learned that Lillian hadn't gotten to the rest of the copies, and on top of that had left them sitting on the copy machine.
She wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all. In the rush of everything that happened that night, Lillian hadn't even thought about the fact that the stupid copy machine had quit printing and she hadn't been able to complete her job. It just didn’t seem that important between werewolf fight clubs and vampire attacks.
For most of the morning, Lillian tried to ignore her angry coworker. Instead, she dug deeply into the research that had been laid out in front of her. She still had a job to do.
The Dragon Lady had piled more busywork on her desk, but Lillian knew that her research work was priority, so there was little Margaret could do until she was done with that. Simply ignoring her was working wonders as well.
Sometime near lunch, Lillian watched as a tall, thin woman with chin-length blonde hair made her way into Erik's office. The woman wore a pristine pantsuit. For a moment the woman faltered and glanced over at Lillian. Their eyes connected, and she was startled to see a bit of surprise on the woman’s face.
Lillian had never seen the woman before, but the way she walked screamed that she was someone important. Or at least someone who thought she was important.
"That's Catherine," Gwen said, leaning in to whisper over her shoulder. "She has a number of pieces that we found for her. She’s a real no-nonsense sort of person."
Lillian was surprised to see the other woman there. She'd not had the chance to call after the club and hoped that her friend made it home safely. She’d almost forgotten in all the chaos.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Lillian said. "I ended up bumping into Erik, and…"
She bit her lip, not exactly certain how to finish that sentence. It wasn't exactly like she could say she'd bumped into Erik and then been attacked by vampires and werewolves.
A wide smile spread across her friend’s face. "You bumped into Erik?"
The suggestive way she said it made a blush spread across Lillian’s face. She wasn't quite sure how to respond to that either.
Gwen’s mouth dropped open, and she hit Lillian’s arm with the back of her hand. "Oh my God," she said. "You totally did bump into him, didn't you?" She grinned. “Probably more than a few times.”
Lillian turned back to her work, trying to think of a non-rude way to escape the conversation. She was uncomfortable about talking about it in general, but she definitely didn’t want to have it at her desk. She remembered a few more details about the night at the club, which provided her escape. "Did you meet up with that person you wanted to?"
She had thought about the fact that her friend had disappeared to meet with someone and had never even called her. Maybe they had both gotten sidetracked that evening.
Gwen nodded and glanced over to the office. Leif stared at them through the office window, a slight frown on his face.
"I think I got what I needed," Gwen said. "But I'll let you know sometime later. I want to think on things a little more."
Lillian could understand that. Considering everything that she'd been through the last few days, thinking about things was all she seemed to do.
The phone in Gwen's pocket chirped loudly. She grimaced after pulling it out and looking at it. "Crap, I was going to see if you wanted to grab some lunch," she groaned. “But now I have something I have to handle at my desk.”
Lillian shrugged. "I'm on my lunch break now. I could go and grab something?"
Gwen nodded excitedly. "You are such a lifesaver.”
Lillian glanced over to Erik’s still-closed office door and wondered just what the other woman was there to talk about. She was a pretty woman. Someone likely much more suited for someone like Erik. A small hint of jealousy flared as she wondered if they ever dated.
She shook her head. She couldn't go down that rabbit hole. It was clear Erik had a life before she came along. And in the end, they just shared two nights together. She couldn't start expecting a full relationship to come out of that so quickly.
Glancing around for Margaret, Lillian gathered her things quickly. She didn’t want the Dragon Lady to slow her down for once.
With ease she slipped out of the office and rode the elevator down. Even Dave the doorman didn't give her a second glance as she made her way outside the door.
One of the best things about living in the big city was there were so many places to eat everywhere. She never had to go far for something different, and if she didn't like what was on one block, she could always turn the corner and find something completely different.
Recently, Lillian had taken to going to a sweet little soup and sandwich spot, a place where they baked the bread fresh and made the soup every morning. The place was so good it was often very busy near noon. She had just enough time to make the rush if she hurried.
Lillian made her way down the block but stopped to stare down the small alley between the buildings. If she followed that directly to the other side, she might make it there before much of the noon rush got there. It was worth a shot, considering the waiting times.
She made her way carefully down the alley, avoiding the large, muddy puddles that lined the way. Erik’s land had been coated with snow, but it was obvious not much had fallen in the city.
Lillian was nearly to the end of the alley when shuffling feet caught her ear. A firm hand wrapped around her wrist and spun her around. She gasped, and her eyes widened.
Hall stood in front of her dressed in only a pair of jeans. His eyes were not nearly as red as she'd seen them before, but they were still just as wild, which didn't set her at ease.
"You can't be here," Hall said frantically.
Lillian tugged on her arm, but the man held firm.
"You let me go, and I won't be," she said, trying the best to keep fear out of her voice.
Hall thrashed his head back and forth. "No," he shouted.
Lillian flinched and pulled back away from him, afraid he might hit her or worse. She glanced around for someone, anyone that might see what was happening. She was slightly afraid to call out for help knowing what he was. The last thing she wanted was for someone else to get hurt trying to save her or have something like that reach Erik.
"She needs you to die," Hall said, his voice nearly a growl. "You need to leave."
This time she frowned. Something didn’t seem right. Hall wasn't trying to hurt her, despite his tight grip on her hand. It seemed like he was trying to warn her.
He thrashed his head back and forth again. When his eyes met hers, again she could see the red returning, the color turning as deep as before. Fear raced through her.
"Hey," a man shouted from down the alley.
The two turned to find a business man standing at the end of the alleyway.
"Hey, lady, are you okay?"
Hall dropped his arm and sprinted off. Lillian took several deep breaths and watched as he hopped a fence and disappeared on the other side.
"Jesus Christ," the middle-aged man "What the hell was up with that guy? Damn junkies.”
Lillian shook her head and rubbed her hand along her wrist. She could already feel the bruises starting to form there.
"I think he was just confused," she said, and gave a small smile to the man. "But thank you for your help."
The guy stared between her and the fence. She could tell he didn't totally buy her story, but it also didn't look like he would be calling the cops, which was her main concern. It seemed like the best idea was to keep Hall as far away from the authorities as she could, especially if she hadn't been hurt.
With her appetite now gone, she headed out of the alley. The man nodded to her and continued on his way.
After another minute or so of trying to calm down, Lillian pulled out her phone to call the office.
There was no way she could go to work right away. She took another few breaths. Her whole body shook as she tried to right herself. Her heart still pounded.
Margaret would be angry, but better to risk her wrath than to come back and break down in the office.
After she'd called into the office, Lillian made a call to the number Erik had given her. The phone rang several times before going to voicemail. She left him a message and put her phone back into her pocket, then made her way back to her apartment, the one place she thought she could find some comfort.