Chapter Thirty-One

"Why are we doing this again, Dean?" Sam asked, adjusting his long legs so he could settle more comfortably into the front seat of the Impala. He was beginning to cramp up in the tight confines of the car.

He was also freezing his ass off. In fact, just thinking about how cold he was caused a chill to spear through him, leaving tiny goose bumps in its wake. Tugging his jacket around him a little tighter, another question lingered in Sam's mind - why did his brother have to park the car in a shady spot? He was sure it was intentional. There had to be at least half a dozen sunny areas nearby where the car could have remained out of sight and they could have enjoyed the warmth of the sun's rays as they waited.

Dean took a sip of his coffee and shuddered as the rapidly cooling liquid slid down his throat. "Ahh, damn! This tastes like shit. I got an idea, Sammy. How about instead of you asking me the same stupid question over and over, you jog across the street and grab us some hot coffee?"

"How about you go get it yourself, Dean? After you actually answer my question." Sam glanced out his window at the rundown motel, doing a quick sweep of the area near Blake's green pick up truck. The area where nothing had happened in the last hour that they'd been watching. "Even if Blake leaves his room, what good is following him gonna do? It's not like it's gonna prove he was the one shadowing you the other day."

"Really? You're kidding me." Dean said sarcastically. "I told you, I just wanna watch him for awhile. If he goes out, I wanna know where he's going, see how he's spending his time here." He opened the car door and dumped the contents of the cup onto the ground, then handed the empty container to Sam. "Now about that coffee. Make it a large this time." he said with a smile.

Sam snatched the cup from his brother's hand. "Fine. I'll get your coffee, but only because I need to stretch my legs and warm up." He reached for the door handle, but a thought that had been nagging at him since they'd left Amy's finally got the best of him. He stopped and shot Dean a weary look. "And Leah really does know about this, right? I mean, you did say you told her we were coming here to watch Blake and she was cool with it?"

Dean's nostrils flared slightly. It was a subtle reaction that was revealing in nature, but one would have to be watching very closely to catch it. Technically, he hadn't lied to Sam. Not if you considered one tiny, yet extremely important detail - those weren't the exact words he'd used. He'd said that he'd told Leah they were going out and she was cool with it. He never specifically said where it was they were going.

Which, in Dean's way of thinking, meant he hadn't lied to Leah either.

Besides, he and Leah had dealt with that whole Blake thing. Sort of. And she'd forgiven him for hitting the guy. Pretty much. And it wasn't like he planned to beat the crap out of Blake. He was only there to see how the other hunter spent his time. If Leah was the one being followed, and he was sure someone was tracking her not him, then her safety was at stake and that meant he'd do what he had to do to protect her. That included lying.

Still, he began to feel a little uncomfortable, making the signs of his deceit easier to read. Clearing his throat, Dean shifted in his seat and stared past Sam, fixing his gaze on the door to Blake's room. "Yeah, Sam, I told her we were going out and she didn't have a problem with it."

Sam gave a little laugh. The one he always gave when he found out Dean had done something unbelievably stupid. Tilting his head at a slight angle, Sam's hazel eyes pinned his brother down until the older sibling relented and looked at him.

"What?" Dean asked.

"You didn't tell Leah what you were planning to do, did you? Dean, what is wrong with you? Yesterday you got into a bar fight which was the ultimate result of what?"

When Dean simply shrugged his shoulders, Sam was mystified. "Lying, Dean! You lied to Leah, remember? And today? More lies!" Sam shouldn't have been so stunned by the revelation, yet somehow he was. Dean's inane actions never ceased to amaze him. At this point, the only thing that wouldn't surprise him was if Leah decided to kick his brother's ass to the curb once and for all! "Don't you ever learn from your mistakes?"

"Sure I do!" Dean threw back indignantly. "And that's why I'm not making the same one. Leah gets all bent out of shape when I sneak around and threaten people. Dude, I'm not even gonna talk to Blake much less threaten him, okay? I'm just sitting around in front of his motel room watching. It's completely different."

Sam stared at his brother, an incredulous look on his face. The amazing part...no, the scary part...was that Dean probably believed what he was saying. Which meant that either all of the reasons for Leah being understandably upset had sailed right over Dean's head or his self-absorbed brother chose to twist them until they worked in his own favor. Sam leaned strongly toward the second notion.

"So you just overlook the 'sneaking around' part? Dean, you are such an idiot. You know, when this blows up in your face, don't act like you didn't see it coming." Sam opened the door, but before he could get out, he felt Dean's hand on his arm.

"I know something's wrong here, Sammy. I can feel it. Now, I don't know if Blake's behind it or not. And if not, I'll be damned if I know who is and that scares the hell out of me. So I gotta find out. And if that pisses you or Leah off, I don't care. Maybe it'll blow up in my face or maybe I'll catch this bastard, or whoever's following her, and keep him from doing whatever the hell it is his warped little ass has in mind."

The conviction in Dean's eyes was undeniable, leaving no room for Sam to doubt that his brother believed something was amiss. No matter what the situation, one thing Sam had faith in was Dean's gut instinct. Hell, he might just have to rethink this. Worse, he might have to think like Dean for a minute. If Leah was convinced that Blake was innocent, and Dean was convinced he may not be, what options did that leave? He could either ignore his concerns, continue to butt heads with Leah while trying to convince her it could be Blake, or follow instinct and check things out on the side.

Thanks to hunting, Sam did understand one thing about his brother. There was a fine line to walk, balancing between doing what was right and doing what had to be done. And Dean sometimes had to cross it.

With a nod, Sam gave silent agreement. "Be right back with the coffee. Maybe I'll even spring for some doughnuts."

"Thanks, Sam." He meant for the support, but if Sam thought he was thanking him for the doughnuts, well that was okay, too.

Sam caught the double meaning and smiled, then headed for the small store, leaving Dean alone with his thoughts.

Dean stretched his arm along the back of the seat and settled in, prepared to stay there for as long as it took even though stake-outs were a living hell for him. His mind sorted through all the offbeat events that had him on edge. Had him believing something was wrong. There was the sense of being followed when he and Leah had been shopping and then catching Blake in that very area. And then there was Leah's odd behavior earlier that same day when he'd found her in the middle of the parking garage looking around. She'd said something about the pole and they'd joked about it, but he'd begun to wonder if maybe she'd seen someone there. He planned to ask her because if that was the case, it was pretty much proof that someone was trailing them, or rather her. And of course, the final crucial pieces that pointed to Blake - Leah's past relationship with him, his strong desire to be with her again and his refusal to leave town.

That many incidents in such a short time frame added up to trouble. Trouble for Leah and he wasn't about to let that happen. He had no idea why Blake was pulling the stalker routine. What could he possibly gain from it? Leah had talked to the guy in his motel room the other day and they'd been alone. So if he was up to no good, why not do something then?

What the hell? Dean thought, pushing a hand through his hair. None of this was making a damn bit of sense.

"Three hours. We sat in that freezing car of yours for three hours just so we could follow Blake to," Sam counted off on his fingers. "One - an acupuncturist, Two - a grocery store and... wait! Let's not forget the excitement here of three - a barber shop. And on top of that, while he's nice and toasty inside, we're sitting out here in what, 40 degree weather?"

When Blake had finally left the motel, he'd taken off on foot, so they'd followed suit. At the moment, they were holed up in an alleyway, leaning against the wall of an old brick building that sat across from the barber shop. It was anything but comfortable as the bite of the frigid October air nipped at their exposed skin, but that was all part of being on a stake out. All they could do was suck it up and wait.

Dean grinned. He stretched his arms out in front of him and, fingers entwined, flipped his hands palm outward and pushed until his knuckles cracked. Normally he would be the cranky one, so he was enjoying the hell out of the role reversal. He figured it was more than the cold that had his little brother so upset. It was what happened outside of the acupuncturist's office earlier and that made the whole situation even sweeter.

"Dude, what are you complaining about? We've dealt with colder weather than this. Besides, you got to warm up in the grocery store. And what was wrong with waiting outside the acupuncturist's office? That blond haired chick was totally into you. A little scary looking, but totally into you."

Sam's lips pursed together and his eyes narrowed to slits. "Dean, you know damn well that wasn't a girl! And if you think you're gonna keep giving me crap about it, I swear I'll..."

Dean held up a hand. "Whoa, easy tiger!" His lips twitched as he tried to suppress his mirth. The sight of his kid brother trying to be polite while at the same time trying to get rid of the over zealous young man was not a memory Dean would soon forget. "I'm not gonna give you a hard time." Then, as an afterthought. "Although I'll bet he'd like to." And then he started laughing.

Between his brother's warped sense of humor and the hours spent sitting around freezing, the younger Winchester had reached his breaking point. He stepped in front of Dean and clutched the front of his jacket. "I'm done, Dean. Okay? I've had all the 'fun time with Dean' that I can handle. I mean from what I've seen, the only thing Blake could do to hurt Leah is bore her to death. So let's just go back to Amy's and try and come up with a better plan."

Dean's hand covered Sam's and tore it free of his coat. All traces of humor were gone from his voice when he spoke. "Fine. You want to go, go. I'm not. Not until asswipe goes back to his motel room."

Sam was prepared to lay out all the reasons why the last few hours had been a complete waste of time, but then thought better of it. Nothing short of crippling hunger pangs would sway Dean from his course. Instead, all he said was, "Okay."

"Okay." Dean shot back.

"I'm gonna go." He made no move to leave, however.

"So go. I don't need your help. I got this covered." Dean leaned his head back against the wall and lowered his lids, letting Sam know that was the end of the conversation. It was a clear signal to his sibling that he was dismissed.

The overt action left Sam struggling with mixed emotions. The arrogance of Dean's brush-off was irritating to no small degree, yet at the same time, guilt was already gnawing away at him. Sam was hard pressed to leave Dean stuck dealing with this mess alone. After all, it wasn't like he wanted to abandon his brother, he was just a little annoyed with Dean at the moment. Not to mention he was a little cold, a little tired and a little hungry.

What it came down to was that Sam had no choice but to hang around awhile longer and see this thing through. Truth was, if a morning of following Blake around gave Dean some peace of mind, then he, Leah and Amy would benefit as well.

Sam edged to the corner of the building to get a better view of the busy street. The sidewalks weren't overly crowded, but there were enough people to conceal the two of them as they tracked the hunter. He checked out the area before letting his eyes settle on the barber shop.

Dean stepped up behind him. "Anything?"

"No." Sam told him. "I can still see Blake sitting inside. Place looks busy. He's gonna be here awhile."

There was a short span of silence, then Dean asked, "You gonna be here awhile?"

Smiling, Sam faced his brother. "Yeah, Dean. Guess you're stuck with me."

Dean snarled at him in a mock gesture of disgust. "Lucky me." As soon as he turned away, a huge smile split his face. He knew Sammy wouldn't let him down. Taking his place against the wall once more he said, "Think I'll check in with Leah while we're waiting. See what she's been up to."

"Thanks for coming along, Leah." Amy said as the two women walked out the back door of the small t-shirt shop.

Each was carrying a large cardboard box full of newly printed t-shirts. They were for an annual college fund-raiser that Amy had volunteered her time to over the past few years. Per the store owner's suggestion, they'd pulled around to the backside of the strip mall and parked near the store's rear entrance, making it easier for them to load the six or so boxes into the car.

"No problem." Leah was glad for the chance to help her sister. It seemed she'd had so little time to spend with Amy over the past year, what with being on the road so much. While Sam and Dean were out doing their own thing, Leah welcomed the opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with her sibling, chatting and running errands.

"Man, this thing's heavy." Amy said as they approached her car.

"Heavy? You think so? Try lifting a dead body."

Leah said it so casually it took a moment to sink in, but when it did, Amy gasped. "Okay, I do not want to know the details, thank you very much."

Leah smiled as she set the box on the ground and opened the trunk. After a brief inspection of the compact area, she threw a questioning look toward her sister. "I told you there wouldn't be much room back here. That's the price you pay for owning a tiny sports car."

Amy stepped forward to take a peek. "Yeah, I know. And I told Marcia, the moron in charge, the same thing but she insisted nobody else could do this!" Tossing her head back to get her hair out of her face, she leaned her hip against her car and sighed. "Ah well, what's a girl to do? We have to have these shirts. Between the trunk and the backseat we may be okay."

Leah took the box from Amy. "Maybe. Guess we make a second run if we can't fit it all in." Placing the container in the trunk, she stooped to pick up the one she'd set on the ground. "You know, if I had my truck, you wouldn't have this problem." She got the second box in, but a third was out of the question.

"Yeah, really. Dean! That man, I swear. I'm not surprised that he won't tell you where it's at." Amy started walking toward the door. "You shouldn't be either."

"Believe me, I'm not. But I'll get him to talk sooner or later." Just as Leah fell in beside her sister, her cell phone rang. Pulling it from her coat pocket, Leah flipped the top and looked at the name. She motioned for Amy to head back inside. "Grab another box and I'll be right in. I just wanna take this real quick."

"No problem. Take your time. I need to talk to that kid who printed these anyway."

As Amy entered the store, Leah stepped to the left side of the entrance and answered the call. "You've reached Carlotta's House of Pleasure. My name's Luscious. Tell me what I can do for you." she purred into the phone.

Without missing a beat, she heard Dean's low response. "I didn't realize I had this on my speed dial. Hell, darling, you sound luscious. Why don't you start by telling me what you're wearing right now."

"A black leather corset, black thong and thigh high leather boots with very very high heels."

Dean groaned softly. "Mmmmm. I like that, but it's time for something to come off. How about unlacing that corset for me."

This was going to be fun! Leah thought. But then she heard Sam's voice in the background and he didn't seem too pleased. Leah couldn't make out his words, but Dean started laughing.

"What's wrong, sweetheart? Sam's embarrassed, right? And he won't let you play with me?" she asked as she rested her back against the rough stucco wall of the bright magenta-colored building.

"You know Sammy. He's being a prude." His voice sounded slightly muffled as he said spoke to his brother. "I swear, dude, you're like an old woman sometimes."

Leah laughed as the two brother's began their usual banter. She could only hear one side of the conversation clearly, but it was easy to guess what Sam was saying by Dean's response. He was apparently chiding Dean on the matter of inappropriate talk while he was around because Dean's argument was that for a dullard like Sam, that kind of talk was ALWAYS inappropriate.

She let the bickering boys go at it for a minute before interrupting. "Dean. Dean, tell Sam not to freak out, okay? We'll behave for now. You can play with me later."

She heard him repeat her words to Sam, then he spoke into the phone. "He's been kinda whiney all morning. I think his boyfriend upset him."

"What?" Leah couldn't wait to hear the explanation for that comment.

She started to ask Dean for details when a noise off to her right drew her attention. She didn't see anyone around, but there was a large metal dumpster nearby that was overflowing with trash and there were a few bags lying on the ground in front of it. She also spied an open back door to the neighboring store, so it was possible she'd heard one of the employees tossing the trash bags out. Instinct kept her watching the area to see if anything happened, but it remained quiet. On the phone, Dean was talking and she realized she'd missed part of what he was saying.

"...long story. Remind me to tell you about it later. So, where are you? Maybe I'll ditch Sammy and come get you. Take that corset off you myself."

Glancing back to the door of the t-shirt shop, Leah began to answer. "Amy and I are at a..." A strange tingling sensation made the hair on her arms rise and she jerked toward her right once more. This time she saw someone standing only a few feet away - a figure cloaked in dark clothes with a ski mask covering the face.

"Leah? Something wrong?" Dean was asking.

"Oh shit! What do you...?" She saw the person's arm raise up, pointing a gun at her.

With little time to react, Leah threw her body to the left, planning to drop and roll away, making herself a moving target and thereby harder to hit. As she was falling to the ground, an explosive burst of pain coursed through her and her muscles began to contract. She immediately knew what her assailant had aimed at her was not a pistol, but a taser gun.

Her head hit the ground hard as she landed and her body twisted and twitched from the pulse of electricity that had basically short-circuited her system. In mere seconds, Leah was completely disoriented, unable to move as her attacker towered over her.

TBC