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while
    riding some daddy, all because he’d started the evening earlier than he
    should. Instead of worrying about them, he opened up the paperback and
    started to read.

    “SIR?” A young voice asked, interrupting the fight scene where Liam
    battled a demon who held Eve captive in one of the circles of Hell, which happened to be conveniently located in a barn on the outskirts of town.
    Simon looked up to see a gangly teenager with unfortunate glasses and a
    slight case of acne around the side of his mouth. “We’re closing up in
    about ten minutes.”
    “Oh, thank you,” Simon said, surprised, as he pulled out his phone to
    check the time. He had four missed texts and two calls he didn’t notice
    because he was so engrossed in the novel. The hot chocolate, stone cold
    after sitting untouched for nearly three hours, sat in the same place on the table. Time had stopped for Simon and put everything on hold, except life.
    The empty coffeehouse loomed around him like an unfamiliar song.
    Simon closed his eyes to get a hold of himself, disoriented from being in rural Arkansas for so long. It had been a long time since he’d been sucked into a book so completely he’d forgotten everything else.
    In fact, he seriously considered skipping the club and going home to
    continue reading until the tender hours of dawn. Sex wasn’t that important, was it?
    He decided he would walk past Hydrate on his way to the L and see
    if it still held any allure for him. Simon folded the corner of the page to mark his place and slid the book back into his pocket as he stood up. His legs and back ached from being in the same position against the seat for too long. One joint popped and then another. Finally, he took one step
    toward the garbage and, not feeling any lingering pain, dropped his cup
    into the hole and headed for the door.

    24
    JP Barnaby

    The weather had turned cold, and the March night slapped him in the
    face when he stepped into it. A light Chicago wind whipped around him,
    yanking his scarf over his shoulder. Simon knew he should have brought a hat. He always forgot it, probably a subconscious thing because it fucked up his already wild hair. Instead, he jammed his gloved hands into his
    pockets and hunched his shoulders as he walked. The torrent of demons
    and zombies danced through his head, bringing questions only future
    reading would answer. Deep down, he knew vampires would come into it
    somewhere. All of the clues were there, but he couldn’t figure out how
    Holmes would introduce them without disrupting the rules of the universe he’d already established.
    Hydrate came up faster than he’d expected. No line of people
    waited, as sometimes happened during the summer. Apparently, no one
    wanted to brave the blustery night even in the hopes of booze, dancing,
    and sex. The door opened, and Simon looked around. A few guys sat at
    the bar, laughing and talking while the bartender handed them drinks. It looked pretty dead, actually, but he couldn’t see the second bar or the
    dance floor from the door. Maybe he’d find more action farther back. But the question remained, did he want to go in?
    “Excuse me,” a quiet male voice said from behind him. Deep, but
    with a slight Latino accent, the sound sent a shiver down Simon’s back.
    He turned and looked into beautiful black eyes surrounded by the longest lashes he’d ever seen on a guy. He stepped out of the way, but his new
    friend didn’t move. He simply stood there, looking at Simon. Simon
    glanced around to see they were alone.
    “Are you going in to get a drink?” Simon asked with a desperate
    kind of hope.
    “Yes, and I’m buying one for you too.”

    A Heart for Robbie
    25

    Chapter 3

    THE CONFERENCE room into which the assembled team of doctors
    escorted Julian had a false friendliness he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
    With an odd number of fake floral arrangements placed strategically
    around the table, several haphazardly placed chairs, and