I kept thinking about the way her small hands felt squeezing mine.
This isn’t really the last I see of her, I thought. I’m going to bother her until she does what I want. I wonder how much an apartment costs on her block?
The smell of the ocean and hot dogs grew strong as Ansel slowed. “Is this a good spot?”
“Fine,” she snapped.
“We’ll wait for you,” I said.
“You’ll be waiting for hours.”
“That’s why podcasts were invented.” As she was opening her door, I caught her arm. “And you’d better not think of cutting out.”
“I won’t!” she fumed. “I want to be done with you. I—I really wish I did have the power to fix what I did to you.”
“Save your power for the rest of the world,” he said. “Or you’re just a waste of a prophecy.”
“I plan to be a waste of prophecy either way.” She hurled herself out of the car, slammed the door, and started walking off in a hurry.
“God, what a pain in the ass.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose.
“I must say, your banter is adorable,” Ansel said.
“What was adorable about that? She’s—“ I stopped myself. Now if I told him she was useless or annoying he would think I was just saying that I liked her, which I didn’t, so I couldn’t win. “She’s disappointing,” I said.
“You looked very dashing on the beach with the wind in your hair. I’m sure she noticed,” Ansel said. “I think she checked out your ass at one point.”
“You’re such a bullshitter,” I said. “I’m going to get a hot dog.”
“I’m definitely down for a hot dog. And a stroll. She said she won’t be back for a while. Coney Island, huh? You do have a nice ass, though.”
“C’mon,” I groaned.
I wondered if he could be right. Maybe Frankie was the one who was into me. Hell, she could have had a crush on me since that day, since she hadn’t forgotten it the way I did for so long. And I had been pretty cool.
Revenge would taste extra sweet.
Chapter Six
Frankie
It was definitely all Waylon’s fault that I was pinned in a corner atop a shelf in my cat form with a wolf snarling at me from the ground and his cohort climbing onto a chair to try and force me down. I got distracted and made a noise when my tail brushed some boxes that turned out to be empty and badly stacked.
If I changed back into a girl, they would recognize me, because Roy knew these guys, and they knew my face—just not like this. There was still a chance they could sniff me out, but I always wore a scent that threw off shifter noses.
“Come here, kitty…I know you’re just faking it…”
Since I was such a small cat, I could play dumb and pretend to be a domestic. I was hunkering down in the corner hissing my face off, but when the guy pulled a gun, I managed not to flinch. House cats didn’t know what guns were.
He pointed it at me. “Sorry, Fluffy, but you should have worn a collar if you’re really just this stupid.”
House cats didn’t have much value either.
Shit.
I had one chance if I wanted to avoid a real fight. I leapt on his face and raked my back claws down his cheeks, then launched off of him into a leap and hauled ass out the door.
The wolf immediately turned to chase me.
He was a lot bigger than me. All the doors were open to the outside, since they’d been carrying in their drug haul box by box. I dashed around boxes and out to the loading dock, skittering around the small spaces behind boxes, hoping that the wolf either got tripped up trying to chase me through the narrow spaces or had to go around the truck and took longer.
Well, mostly it was instinct.
I made it out of the garage but the wolf was right behind me. And gaining.
I saw an electric delivery bike buzzing down the street and made a wild leap, clambering onto the back.
“What the hell?” The driver tried to shove me off, while I tried to hold on long enough to get away from the wolf. The driver smelled of wolf himself, but he was just a passing nobody carrying some Chinese food.
“Mrow?” I tried to look cute. This worked on wolf shifters as often as not.
“Hey…were those dudes chasing you?”
I rubbed my head against his hand.
“Ah, I get it. Okay, don’t worry. I’ll give you a ride, babe.”
He sped up a little, weaving around some mild traffic, even as he grabbed me with one hand and put me in his delivery basket where I was more protected. I tried to settled myself around a bag of different-shaped takeout containers. The wolf was getting left in the dust now and I took a deep breath of relief.
It was already dark. That job took longer than I expected. I had managed to listen in on a lot of conversation before I was noticed. Waylon would be pissed, but I didn’t give a shit. And I didn’t get caught.
A good night, in the end.
“Hey,” the delivery guy said. “They’re gone.”
First I had to get rid of this guy, though.
“I bet you’re cute,” he said. “You shouldn’t be out here alone at night, you know. There’s a lot of gang activity.”
Didn’t I know it.
I gave him my best innocent cat face, like I didn’t speak English.
“My shift ends pretty soon,” he said. “I’ll get you something to eat, huh? Looks like you could use a wolf to protect you.”
Sigh. This wasn’t going to end well.
He pulled up in front of an office building to deliver the food. “Wait here.”
Obviously, as soon as he got to the door, I hauled ass. The delivery guy had to be polite at the door and get his tip, but as soon as that was over he turned into a wolf and started sniffing me out. I sprung up onto a trash can and then a narrow wall and made use of every high and narrow place.
The terrain was not in my favor. I was hoping for a spot where I could get away from the wolf, but no matter where I went, he was on my tail.
I ran out of wall. He turned back into a human.
“Hey, kitty,” he said. “Didn’t I just save your ass back there? The least you could do is thank me! C’mon, I’m a nice guy, I don’t bite. I just don’t appreciate being used.”
Yeah. Real nice guy. It wasn’t like I messed up his night or anything.
I really didn’t feel like getting into it with him, so I finally had to leap down and change back into my human form. I hit the ground running. If the delivery guy wanted to chase me, he could taste my knives.
He turned into a wolf again and ran after me.
I wish I could say this wasn’t normal, but I had been chased by douchey wolves more times than I could count. Being a single feline in a rough part of town seemed to be like saying you deserved whatever you got. No nice girl would be there by herself, right? And this was definitely a rough part of town. I could see the carnival lights of Coney Island just ahead, while my immediate surroundings were all old warehouses, delivery trucks, and very dim lights. There was a sense of activity being kept quiet. Much like the drug delivery I’d just witnessed.
I expected Waylon had given up on me by now, and I wouldn’t cry over that. He could always find me again, unfortunately. He knew where I lived.
The wolf guy caught up to me on four legs and then swiftly transformed into a human and grabbed my arm. He was more agile than I expected.
“Hey!” I tried to reach for my knives. He shoved me against a parked car on the side of the street.
“What’s your problem, honey?”
“What’s your problem? I was just using your bike for a quick ride. I don’t owe you shit.”
“Well, you want to tell me what you were doing all alone in front of the old oyster cannery? I know who runs that area. And you were running.”
“You think you can bribe me into a date when your good looks and natural charm weren’t enough? Good luck.” I kneed him in the groin. He let go of me for a split second and I reached
for my knives, but at the last second he yanked my head up by my ponytail.
Jeez, all this crap just to tangle with a delivery guy. I kicked him again. He slammed me into the side of the car but then he did let go of me and I got the knives out of my sleeves.
“Back off,” I said.
He made a face, knowing he’d been beaten. “You’re pretty ugly under the streetlights anyway.”
Just another charming evening in this city.
Fuck it. I’m not going back to Waylon now. I just want a hot shower and a carton of Ben and Jerry’s at this point. He can find me again if he wants me.
My hair was all mussed, I was sweating, and my heart rate had barely calmed down when the car pulled up beside me as my bus was in sight. The window rolled down.
“Going somewhere?” Waylon asked.
“Are you kidding me,” I muttered. “Yes. Home.”
“That wasn’t the bargain. Get in the car.”
“I almost got caught by the Crimson Dragon guys, then a delivery guy decided he wanted to show his ass, and whatever you want from me, it can wait until tomorrow. How did you know where to find me?”
“I just had a feeling you’d try to sneak out,” Waylon said. “So we’ve been circling the perimeter for the last hour. I told you this job needs to happen tonight.”
“And I told you I already had a job today.”
“This should be an easy one,” he said. “You’ll get to have a cocktail or two. Get in the car.”
“A cocktail? ‘Job’ better not be a euphemism for a date with you.”
“God no. If I’m interested enough to ask a woman on a date, she knows it,” he said, as I threw myself into the car next to him, crossing my arms. “Hopefully—you’re going to meet the White Queen.”
“The…White Queen?” Oh no. I didn’t want to meet another queen. Did I even believe there was another queen? But Waylon was actually taking this seriously. “How do you know?”
“We are now the leading experts on the Queens and the prophecy, I imagine,” Ansel said. “We spent way more time hidden away in dusty archives than any two fascinating, attractive young men should ever have to.”
“They have big parties frequently,” Waylon said. “And they’re having one tonight. ‘They’ being the Merryweather family who are keeping her. Word is that she is a pet of the family and very beautiful. The parties aren’t guarded. You should be able to walk right in.”
This was the most exhausting scenario I could imagine. I was wiped out from the day, and now I’d have to dress up and play the part of a party crasher girl at the party of rich humans?
“If you can walk right in, why don’t you two do it?”
“You seem to have assumed that we won’t,” Ansel said. “In fact, I will accompany you. Obviously we’re not going to bring this rude, blundering asshole in with us, but you’ll be playing the part of Kaylee, party girl on vacation from Los Angeles, and I’ll be your pet bird. We have fake IDs, back story, everything.” He shot me a smile that was both dazzling and terrifying.
This was not my usual job. At all. Sneaking around in the shadows was far more my style. But I wasn’t about to admit it.
Chapter Seven
Frankie
They took me to a hotel room close to the entry point to Manhattan, an old 1920s hotel with a gorgeous lobby but rooms that could use a serious update. Mauve carpet and sketchy fashion prints on the walls in pink frames seemed very 80s and not in an ironic retro way. At least it looked clean. A few dresses with department store tags were strewn on the bed.
“We bought different sizes,” Ansel said. “So pick the one you like. They’re all Kaylee’s style.”
‘Kaylee’ liked showing a whole lot of skin, metallics and bright pops of color, and body-con silhouettes that left nothing to the imagination. I looked them over and most of them were too big, but one was a slinky purple slip dress.
“Shouldn’t I attract a tiny bit less attention?”
“They won’t be suspicious of a girl who dresses like this,” Ansel said. “You don’t look like a spy.”
“I’ll have to wear my gloves or they’ll know I’m a cat.”
“Gloves are a fine accessory,” he said.
“Isn’t it sort of late to get started?” I asked.
“It’s eight o’ clock,” Waylon said. “That party will just be starting to rage when you arrive. First—” He beckoned a finger at me as he picked up a bottle from the desk. “Wash up and rub this on. It gives you a human scent. We thought of everything, trust me. I wouldn’t put you in danger and Ansel will be with you. It’s just a scouting mission. You don’t have to sulk.”
“I’m not sulking, just glowering.”
“This should be easy compared to what Roy makes you do, I bet.”
“That’s what you think, but I’m not good at parties,” I said.
This was one of those moments when I would just have to go with the flow and get it over with. It wasn’t like I’d never faced that circumstance before.
What I never really faced was a party where I had to act like I was having fun. That sounded so much harder than trying not to get caught. All I ever did was hide and sneak, the very opposite of pretending I was a party girl from California.
A party in a wealthy human house wouldn’t be fun at all, not when I would have to face the sight of shifters being exploited. The thought made rage boil in my gut.
I soaped up quickly and washed my long dark hair, then worked the oil into my skin. I slid into the dress. When I came out, Ansel immediately pointed me toward the second sink area outside of the bathroom and picked up the hair dryer.
“I’ll make you presentable,” he said.
“I know how to make myself presentable.”
“I’m just not so sure…and we don’t have time for mistakes.”
Ansel was wearing a dark red suit with a black edge on the collar and a black stripe down the pants, very retro, with a v-neck tee loudly advertising a Vegas casino, to keep it casual. He had a little silver-blue eyeshadow on.
“Has anyone ever told you that you look like a K-pop star who grew out of the job?” I said, as he attacked me with the blow dryer.
“No, but…” He looked at himself in the mirror. “Yeah, I see it.” He formed a heart with his hands, apparently enjoying the role.
“It’s not supposed to be a compliment!”
“That’s in the eye of the beholder.”
“And do you pick out Waylon’s clothes too?” I thought maybe I could goad Waylon but then I realized he was intent on something on a laptop with earbuds in his ears and probably didn’t even hear me.
“No, he just goes to the store and asks for the Johnny Cash. Has anyone ever told you that your hair has great body?” He reached for a comb and some hair spray.
“No!” I squinted my eyes shut as he attacked me. I was terrified of what he was going to do to me, but somehow I ended up with celebrity hair, dark waves framing my face perfectly in a way that looked unnaturally natural.
I look hot.
“Hmm…I didn’t expect you to clean up quite this nicely,” Ansel purred in my ear. “It won’t be very hard to act subservient to you, Kaylee D’Angelo. So…here is your deal. Your father is a hedge fund manager named John, but you don’t even know what he does, honestly. If it comes up, we’ll just say that, because boring equals realistic. Your parents are divorced anyway. You live with your mom in L.A. but you’re visiting dear daddy this weekend and you’re just looking for a good time. Your father acquired me to be your companion when you turned thirteen. My name is Lance, and our relationship is propaganda-perfect. I worship you. You indulge me but put me in my place if necessary.”
My brow furrowed.
“I know it’s disgusting,” Ansel said. “But that’s what they’ll expect. You know it’s all a dance.”
“Dancing around the fact that they kidnap and enslave us,” I ground out.
“Darling, that is the first dance people with powe
r ever learn,” Ansel said. He yanked Waylon’s earbuds out. “We’re leaving.”
Waylon snapped his fingers. “Look at this first,” he told me. “This is the girl we think is the White Queen. Mina Nash.”
“Can you scroll down just a little…” I gnawed my lip, forgetting I had lipstick on for a second. This was getting too real. It was a society page type photo of a beautiful young woman in a silky white gown and diamonds—but her arms were bare and showed that she was also a captive. She wore sleeves of thin metal banding, the one substance humans had figured that a shifter couldn’t shift right out of. As long as the metal banded her arms, she wouldn’t be able to change into wings. Even bird shifters with small wings would be foiled, because the bands were also a trap. As soon as she changed, they would snap around her wings and break them.
“And this is her captor,” Waylon said. “Alistair Merryweather, the son and heir of Merryweather Corp.”
Alistair was the man standing next to Mina, and he was as good-looking as you might expect a rich playboy to be. He looked a little menacing and rebellious on top of that, his shoulder length hair cut a little jagged, and eyes like gray stone. His pale skin was perfect, his mouth full but unsmiling.
“He looks like a delight,” Ansel said sarcastically. “But what do we expect from the heir of Eden Park?”
“Eden Park? They own that? Oh shit.” Eden Park was this theme park chain with three locations across the United States, that supposedly let humans immerse themselves in shifter ‘culture’. In Wolfwood you could walk through a forest, stumble on wolf shifter campfires, ride on the Wolf’s Fang coaster, and so on. Birdland and Neko Paradise were full of similarly insulting experiences; the bird world campy while the cat world had Hello Kitty vibes. They had tried to update a little while ago. I doubted it would ever be good enough to actually not make any shifter cringe.
Black Queen: Stray: Fated Mates Paranormal Shifter Romance (Shifters Among Us Book 1) Page 5
