Julian noticed the silence before he noticed anything else.
He had just finished paying for the few things he had picked up and stepped outside.
The air felt colder than it had earlier that evening. He stood there for a moment, adjusting the bag in his hand while his thoughts drifted back to the conversation he had had with Lucian.
You're standing in the middle of something you don't see yet.
Julian had not liked the tone of that warning. Then he started walking.
He had gone less than half a block when the feeling came, he did not look around immediately. He had learned long ago that sudden reactions made people easier to read.
After another few steps he stopped beside a parked car and shifted the bag in his hand, pretending to search for something inside it. The movement gave him a chance to glance across the street.
Two men stood near the corner.
They were not speaking to each other. They were not looking in his direction either.
