The air outside held winter’s preemptive bite, a reminder it was less than two months away. A cloud dotted sky hung overhead, and the sun ducked behind them at erratic intervals. People drifted down the sidewalk, shoulders hunched and hoods over their heads to stave off the cold.

Delgado cleared his throat. “Uh… where are we headed?”

“To the coffee shop. Is that not where you wanted to meet?” She fished her shades from her bag and slipped them on.

His eyes widened at her answer. “Right. Uh… I apologize for keeping you waiting. And for you having to walk all this way. You didn’t have to do that.”

She shrugged. Had it not been for the increased traffic in the coffee shop, she wouldn’t have noticed the passage of time, may have sat in the place for hours. “What kept you?”

Delgado’s lips twisted into a scowl, his brows lowering over his eyes. “A mess that needed cleaning. It took longer than I thought.” He roughed up his curls, and they stuck out every which way. “How exactly did you find me? I don’t remember ever telling you where I worked.”

“Empirical data. I saw a picture of you in uniform on WhatsApp a few weeks ago. You said you worked fifteen minutes from the coffee shop, and that”—she pointed back the way they came—“is the only Arby’s approximately fifteen minutes from the coffee shop.”

“Oh. You watch my WhatsApp statuses?”

Aurya frowned. Was that creepy? Their relationship was strictly a business one, but the posts were there, and she had nothing better to do. “I like your cat.”

“Oh, Tangy? Yeah, she’s great.”

They walked in silence for a few moments, weaving through the afternoon rush. The blare of car horns, the chatter of the other sidewalk occupants. The noise was a nice change of pace from watching the ebb and flow of Rochester Hills from her glass door.

But playing cat and mouse with the executioners would be an even nicer change of pace. After this meeting, she’d have a trap and bait in place to lure them in. And knowing those fools, they would jump at any bait like sharks to a bloody corpse.

“I was a little surprised you wanted to meet with me,” Delgado said, cutting into her thoughts. “I mean, I know women are a little wary about meeting strangers… of the male variety.”

Aurya leaned in just a little, and his eyes widened. The rapid thump of his heart rippled through her haze. Perhaps he sensed the danger she imposed, some diluted, primitive instinct. Some students had given her a wide berth, looking at her with shifty and wary eyes. “Do you have nefarious intentions, Mr. Delgado?”

“N-n-no,” he stammered. “I would never even dream of… I’m not a monster.”

“Good. Very good.” Only one of them was allowed to be a monster, and Delgado was too soft, shy, and unassuming. Those innocent, dark eyes of his hadn’t seen death, those hands, though rough from labor, weren’t stained with blood. They couldn’t be more different if she had horns and a tail, and he was seven feet tall.

They walked the rest of the way to the Morning Bean in silence, and upon arriving they found the place packed. The scents of coffee and pastries wafted out into the evening air. Aurya cast her haze into the building and found every table occupied. She suspected this might happen, since the place had been filling up before she left. Their selection wasn’t the best, anyway.

Delgado swore. “This is on me. Maybe we can reschedule. I’m off tomorrow, so it can be any time you want.”

“No need. I know a quieter place we can go. Unless you have other engagements.” She raised a brow.

“Uh… no. I thought you might be busy. I mean, you look busy. I don’t have anything else to do for the rest of the day.” He topped off his ramble with a nervous laugh. He had a cute smile, Aurya noticed, a little lopsided but sincere.

“Come, I’ll show you a nicer coffeehouse. It’s a five-minute drive.” Aurya led him up the block, towards the train strain station. “My car is right up here.” She nodded to the silver Tesla parked by the curb, but it wasn’t until she was halfway to her car that she realized Delgado wasn’t following.

He stood a ways back, lips pressed into a thin line, clutching the strap of his backpack with both hands, a stone monolith in the river of moving bodies.

“Are you not coming, Mr. Delgado?” She unlocked the doors. “The day grows old and we have much to discuss.”

“That depends,” he said, meeting her eyes. “Do you have nefarious intentions?”

Aurya shrugged a shoulder. “Of course not. I’m not a monster.” Not to you, Delgado, she added in her head. 

Not to you.