Lies We Tell ~ Dean Winchester

II.

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Erin

I sat in the small booth in the back corner of the diner with my hands wrapped around a warm mug of coffee. It was my fifth cup, I was jittery as hell and my stomach was rolling. I already decided I wasn't going to drink this one, but the warmth helped.

I had been up all night waiting for the Winchester brothers and now they were twenty minutes late. The longer I sat here the more I was convinced I was overreacting. Jack had worked for years to keep me away from other Hunters, and I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that calling had been a mistake.

I glanced towards the clock, wondering if there was still time to back out. Before I talked myself out of it, I picked up my purse and dropped a twenty on the table. I was halfway to the door when the bell above it rang. I froze like a deer in headlights as two men swaggered into the diner.

They looked enough like one another to be the brothers. The one on the lead was the taller of the two though he looked a couple years younger than me. His hair was shaggy and he looked like a typical college kid. His eyes were gentle as he looked around the diner.

The man behind him looked like he was my age. Although he was a couple inches shorter than the first man, he was still over six feet. He was broad shouldered and the leather jacket he wore did little to hide a fighter's build. His hair was short and dark, and his hard green eyes scanned the diner.

The taller one scanned left, while the shorter one scanned right, their movements mirrored one another like a perfectly choreographed dance even though they didn't say a word to one another. There was no way for me to get out the front door now. My heart started hammering in my chest as I realized I was trapped.

The taller man's eyes landed on me and he smiled tentatively like he wasn't sure if I was who he was looking for. When he took a step in my direction I recoiled instinctively and he froze. His eyes flickered over the other people in the diner as though he were trying to locate a threat other than him. It was almost laughable, these two Hunters were clearly the most dangerous people in the room. As soon as he looked away, I turned and hurried towards the back door.

I exhaled when my shoes hit the parking lot and I fast walked towards Jack's truck. The diner was lined with windows and I ducked my head hoping to avoid drawing either of the Hunters attention. My hand was about to touch the door handle when a voice called to me.

"You know, Jack loved this truck," the voice commented casually. "He and my dad rebuilt it when I was a kid. Learned a lot about engines working on it myself..." he dragged off.

I flinched and looked up. The shorter man had somehow beat me out here and was standing on the opposite side of the truck, his arms resting casually on the edge of the truck bed. Even though he was trying to appear non-threatening there was an undercurrent of power and potential in him. He brother might be more physically imposing, but this man was the more dangerous of the two.

I rocked back on my heels and sucked in a breath. "Yeah, he did," I agreed.

"Sorry about...him," he added awkwardly. He rubbed the back of his neck boyishly and it was completely at odds with everything else I had seen out of him. "It sucks."

I scowled, not understanding the man in front of me at all. I was tempted to drop my walls a little, just to get a small taste, but I knew better. Jack's warnings echoed in my head and I tightened my walls just a little bit more, just to make sure I didn't accidentally let anything slip out.

"Yeah, it does," I agreed fidgeting with my purse in my lap.

The two of us stood across from one another neither one of us exactly sure how to continue. I just wanted to get out of the situation. As good as having help sounded last night, seeing this Hunter stand in front of me now with his hard, suspicious eyes made me wish I could take it all back.