Bloodlust

Chapter Three

It had been two days since she had heard from that cute FBI agent. She figured he had already left town. Annalee walked outside of her bakery carrying a chalkboard sign. She set it onto the sidewalk. In every color of the rainbow it read:

Pie Day!

Friday!

Buy a slice, get a slice!

She turned to walk back inside the store. "Guess it's my lucky day!" She heard the familiar voice behind her. She spun around to see her FBI agent walking toward her with somebody else at his side. A taller man with long, sandy brown hair. His stern features softened instantly when he flasher her a smile.

"Hi, Annalee. This is my partner, Agent Plant. But you can call him Sam," Dean said, while the taller guy held out his hand for her to shake. Annalee put her small hand into his much larger one. "Good to you meet you, sir. I thought y'all left already," she drawled. God, he could listen to her accent all day. She was from Kentucky through and through. "We still have a few questions, if that's alright?" Agent Plant inquired. "Yes, sir! Of course! Come on inside." She motioned for them to come inside and sit at the bar.

"What can I do for you?" She poured them both a cup of coffee, sliding it across the counter to them. Dean took it immediately, inhaling the rich warmth. Sam took his mug into his hand, watching her attentively.  She started to feel self-conscience under his intense gaze. "Have you seen the suspect we are searching for?" he asked, handing her a mugshot of the creepy guy from her surveillance footage. She grimaced.  "No, sir."

"If you do see him or anything suspicious, please,  don't hesitate to call me," Sam said sliding a business card to her. "Sure thing," she said, eyeing the card. Dean suddenly looked up from the coffee he was savoring. He gave her a similar card. "This is my private cell number. I always have it on me for special cases," he said with his trademark smirk and wink. She took the card and grinned. Sam noticed and rolled his eyes.

"Well do y'all want a slice? It is Pie Day Friday after all."

"Certainly sweetheart. I'll take the blackberry this time," Dean answered instantly. "How about you, Agent Plant?" she asked turning to Sam. "None for me thank you."

Annalee turned back to Dean. "I guess you get two slices then! With whipped cream of course." Dean sat on his stool with a silly grin on his face as she prepared his plate. "Thank you it looks delicious," he commented taking the plate of gooey, sugary goodness. "You're most welcome sweetie. Excuse me."

Annalee walked back to the cash register as a customer walked in, leaving Sam and Dean to discuss the case. "We have to find this vamp. Another person has gone missing overnight," Sam stated, furrowing his eyebrows in frustration. "Nobody's turned up dead so they might be keeping the vics for food," Dean answered with a mouthful of pie, his bottom lip turning purple from the blackberries. Sam gave him a disgusted look.

After ten minutes and two more customers, Annalee walked back over to the agents. "So what's el creepo wanted for anyway?" She took Dean's empty plate and sat on her stool behind the counter. "Suspicion of kidnapping and possibly murder," Sam piped up. "Oh..."

Annalee visibly shivered at the thought of a murderer being in her shop, making her nauseated. "He has a type. Women with dark hair between the ages 20-30." Annalee's eyes grew wide, grabbing her strawberry blonde curls. "That's terrible! I hope y'all find that asshole soon!" She grabbed her purse from under the counter and began rifling through the contents. She set her brush, wallet, makeup, and her trusty book on the counter as she rummaged. "Ah-ha!" She pulled out her can of mace. "If I'm going down, I'm going down kicking and screaming!" The agents snickered as she stuffed the mace into her jean's pocket and put her stuff back into her purse. "Hey! You're reading The Silmarillion!" Sam declared, picking up her beat up book. "Of course! It really tells the full story of Middle Earth! Tolkien is one of my favorite authors!" she blurted out with a burst of excitement. "Me too! C.S. Lewis is one of my favorites." It was Dean's turn to roll his eyes. "Ok dorks."

Annalee shifted to face Dean, shrugging. "Some people love to read. Some don't. I just like to escape daily life and live someone else's for a bit." Dean paused. "Yea... I understand that..," he murmured almost to himself. The brothers suddenly had an odd look on their faces. She thought it almost looked like regret. "We've all done things and had things done to us that we wish hadn't happened," she reassured, remembering the abusive ex-boyfriend she had recently gotten away from.  She shivered at the thought.

"Well isn't that just like me? I always manage to bring the mood down in a room in record time," she said, chuckling, coming back to reality. The agents smiled. "It's ok. We completely understand." Sam said with a warm smile.

Annalee paused and got a panicked look on her face. Dean noticed first, nearly jumping over the counter to her. "What? What's wrong? Are you ok?" he asked rapid-fire, instinctively putting his hand on his gun on his belt. "Sam? Can I see that mugshot again?"

"Sure." Sam pulled the photo from his blazer and handed it to her. Sam and Dean gave each other questioning looks. Annalee's blood ran cold and all the color drained from her face. "What's wrong? Do you recognize him?" Dean asked getting worried. "Yea.. ugh... how could I be so stupid?" she chastised herself. Both men looked at her with wide eyes, awaiting her response. "The guy used to hang out with my ex... they were in some biker gang together," she said, looking visibly ill. Annalee paused, looking at the agents with their eyebrows raised. "Mike, my ex... he wasn't the nicest guy... a son of a bitch actually. Once he literally threw me across the room because I didn't bring him his beer quick enough..."

Dean touched her hand, bringing her out of her memories. She gasped at the touch. "The guy... I only met him once. Mike said his name was Randall and to stay away from him," she added. "I think he hung out at an old warehouse two towns over where he would deal drugs." She paused, thinking. "He must've been a bad dude for Mike to tell me to steer clear of him."

"Thank you, Annalee. That helps us out a lot," Sam responded. Dean, still holding her hand, gave her a strange look. A little bit of fear and a lot bit of anger. Annalee was too lost in her memories to notice. She started doing her breathing exercises to quell the oncoming anxiety attack that was creeping up on her. She got a hold of herself and turned to smile at the guy still holding her hand.

"We're gonna get this guy, ok? Everything's gonna be alright," Dean soothed her, looking her in the eye. "I hope so," she answered, feeling a little better. "Hey...um...this may seem a little out of left field but would you like to go out to dinner or for a drink?" Dean asked getting very nervous but hiding it under that cool smirk of his.  "I look forward to it," she said with a big smile. Dean and Sam spun around to leave.  "Thank you again for your help."

"Also thank you for the pie! I'll call you and let you know what's going on."

"Ok. Y'all be careful now." Dean flashing a smile at her and walking out of the door after Sam.