Page 6 of Hunt Me

I glance at the guy again and see he’s wearing a lanyard with a light blue, white, and pink pattern and a badge, but it’s facing away from me, so I can’t read his name.

“Welcome in,” I read off his lips.

My lipreading skills are pretty decent, and usually, most people follow a script that I can predict, but I’m not really in the mood to try and follow a verbal conversation in any capacity.

‘Hi.’ I go slower than I want to. ‘You sign?’

He lifts his hands. ‘Yes. Welcome. You have appointment?’ His hands move like my stranger’s: fluent but with that stiff, slightly hesitant hearing accent.

I wonder where they learned ASL.

I wonderwhythey did.

‘No. I was just…’ My fingers wiggle in front of me as I try to parse out what to say. I can’t tell him I’m looking for a guy who beat up my stalker, got me super horny in the process, and then disappeared into the night. And I also can’t say that he was last seen lugging a coffin around town, which I only know from cyberstalking him.

Yeah. No. The guy will most likely call the cops and have me locked up, and I’m really not in the mood forthat.

‘Coffee?’ I sign after way too long.

He looks a little confused and points toward the door that reads CAFÉ in block letters. They look like they’re peel-and-stick instead of professionally done, and they’re a little lopsided. Points for trying, I guess.

Before I turn, he waves his hand at me. ‘If you want to pet the cats after you’re done with your coffee, you can go in.’ Hepoints at the other door with the same peel-and-stick stickers that read KATS.

Hm, maybe they used the onlyCsticker for the CAFÉ sign.

The idea of kitten cuddles helps my mood a bit. And I’m sure I’d be fully restored if I could just snuggle a few of them. Especially if my dangerously hot stranger isn’t here.

‘Thanks.’ My fingers don’t quite tremble as they tip from my chin, but it’s a near thing. What if he’s behind the café door? My stomach squirms, and adrenaline races through me, erasing my need to caffeinate.

Oh well. I’m already here, so I might as well finish my quest to find him.

I push my way inside and feel both disappointed and a little relieved to find no one behind the counter. Then I feel movement behind me, and the guy from the front counter appears.

This time, his name badge is facing the right way.

Percy.

He smiles. ‘What can I get you?’

‘Dirty chai,’ I spell absently without looking at the menu. It’s my go-to drink when I don’t know what the fuck I want or what I’m doing, so hopefully, he knows what that means.

He nods, then rings me up, and I tap my card on the machine before stepping to the side to watch him make it. His back is turned for a moment, so I can observe him. He’s built like my hero in the alley with his wide shoulders and strong arms.

And he moves a bit like the stranger did: catlike and with purpose.

It’s slightly terrifying, if I’m being honest. I don’t get the same swooping feeling in my stomach for Percy as I did for my vampire-coffin guy, but I’m really starting to think these two are connected.

I knock on the counter, and he turns his head. ‘Do you own this place?’

He wrinkles his nose as he turns and sets my chai and a pitcher of steamed milk on the counter. ‘No. This is my brother’s café.’

His brother. My heart kicks up a notch.

‘We just moved here, so I’m helping him out. He’s with the cats if you want to meet him.’

It feels like all the air has left my lungs, and it takes me a moment to realize he’s handing me my drink. My hands are definitely shaking this time as I lift one to my chin. ‘Thanks.’

He nods and turns away. Maybe he’s giving me privacy because I’m clearly having a fucking moment here. I don’t hide my feelings very well. I’m glad he doesn’t ask what’s wrong. I’m not sure my hands wouldn’t betray me and tell him the whole truth.