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I went to work at Kiki's over the weekend, and to my horror Ace came in both days. He must have figured out I was working weekends, as the other waitresses commented that he hadn't been in all week. I refused to wait on his table, and besides his constant glare, I had no contact with him.

I came home Sunday night to find a note from Alaric informing me he was covering another fireman's shift and would be gone overnight. It wasn't unusual for him to work overnight, but I always hated it. The condo was always too quiet and lonely. Tonight though was an exception. Brock was still visiting, and he seemed eager to unload his adventures with someone. After a long dinner of listening to his recent dart competition, I headed up to bed.

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I slowly opened my eyes, unsure why I was awoken. I rolled over, trying to go back to sleep when I heard the thumping. It sounded like something banging against the condo. I slowly sat up in bed, glancing around my dark bedroom when the doorbell chimed re