Crossing Paths: A Brooklyn Shifters Romance Book 1

by Daphne Snow

  Andy had given Mina the address who had then given it to Fran with a pep talk intact. She took the subway which she had nearly forgotten how to use in the last three years of her absence. The noise and faint scent of piss and garbage were unfortunately reminiscent.

  Honestly it gave her time to think, which she desperately needed. Why was she still sticking her neck out for people who she knew wouldn't do the same for her?

  Not that her mother didn't love her but it was the fact she couldn't be bothered with Frans issues and now this was a Fran issue. Because she shoved her in a corner and made it a Fran issue.

  Maybe that was what bothered her the most. Her mother just expected her to do it. Didn’t ask or consider her feelings. Just said here you go, fuck you very much and walked back to the liquor bottle without a second thought.

  And well Ray just hated her. So she expected the only thing he would do for her is kick dirt over her grave if she died. Even that might be asking too much of him.

  Frannie spent all of yesterday cleaning their house just to have Ray sit there and drink making snide comments for hours on end. She made them dinner last night and breakfast before she left this morning. Fran even bought them groceries to last them a while. All Ray had to say was that it was her job and a bitch like her was only good for two things. Laying on her back and cooking. And her mother?

  Well she did nothing.

  Said nothing. After she agreed to help them again, her mother suddenly turned into Claudia Regio and couldn't be bothered with Fran in the slightest.

  She was getting too old for this. She had to draw the line in the sand somewhere.

  Frannie decided this would be it. No matter the outcome she would put her foot down when she went back to her parents' house. They would need to take care of themselves because she couldn’t hold their hands any longer.

  Trying to find some kind of zen before entering the bright building. Fran sucked in all the air she could and then exhaled.

  That had not helped. Unless of course her goal was to look like an idiot on the sidewalk somehow out of breath. Were her lungs as out of shape as the rest of her? By the gods she really needed to get a gym membership or at least hike more.

  Franie decided to just go for it. So she walked up the neat walkway and opened the front door. How bad would it really be?

  She was met with dead silence. Okay an uncomfortable start, great.

  A large receptionist desk sat in the back with a red haired woman looking down at some papers. Fran started to walk up to her. Her steps echoing amongst the empty walls.

  There were no chairs to wait in no art on the walls and it was stupidly cold. Frannie cleared her throat as she got closer to the receptionist.

  Yet the woman didn't even raise her head to acknowledge her. She drummed her fingers slightly on the desk and still nothing. She stood there waiting for the red head to look at her. But she continued to go through paperwork as if Frannie wasn't standing right there sweating like a dog out of anxiety.

  “Uhm-” She started quietly.

  “Who are you here to see?” She asked, snapping her gum and then turning to a computer next to her. Still not even bothering to look Frannie in the eye. She’s a fox. A bitchy fox. Fey growled and it took Fran a little by surprise. Fey had barely spoken since yesterday. She kept complaining about wanting to kill Raymond.

  Which is all well and good but the bear knew they couldn’t outright commit murder. So the little black bear had given Frannie the silent treatment. Or the bear version of that which included a lot of grumbling and huffing. So not so silent actually.

  “Well?” She questioned clearly annoyed, finally looking up at Frannie, a grimace on her face. She would have been pretty if she didn’t have such a sour attitude. Fran ignored it wanting to just get this over with held her head high.

  “I don't actually know. Andy set me up an appointment at two..” She said hoping bringing up the man's name would get her in the right direction. Rolling her eyes the redhead typed some things into the computer. “Miss Regio?” Fran nodded and then started “It's actually Bia-”

  “Floor twenty-eight. I'll let him know you're on your way up.” She cut her off returning to what Fran now realized was a crossword on the desk. Rude fox. Kill Her? Fey suggested excitedly. Fran just shook her head as she stepped back.

  Frannie was getting sick and tired of people walking all over her. She wasn’t a fucking doormat. Did her forehead read ‘step here’? Fey's blood thirsty attitude toward everyone wasn't helping either.

  Frannie breathed quickly and then smiled doing her best to not let her emotions get the best of her.

  Thanking the rude fox shifter Frannie walked over to the elevators on the far left wall. Stepping inside she was hit by this warm almost hot feeling followed by the faint scent of pine. It felt nice considering how cold it was outside and in the lobby.

  Fey reveled in it as well. She removed her long coat revealing the tight long sleeve and fleece leggings she opted for this morning. If she was going to get her way she wanted to feel powerful. The combat boots she borrowed from Mina really helped amp her into a shit kicking mood.

  Not that it was helping much as she couldn’t even tell the receptionist to take a long walk off a short pier.

  She searched for the number twenty-eight on the panel of white buttons. There were thirty floors in total. She wondered if they all belonged to shifters considering it's all she could smell since she stepped through the door.

  Her fear heightened as she hesitantly pressed the button a yellow glow behind it illuminated. She was really doing this. Going into the belly of the beast per se. What if this guy wanted to sell her instead of letting her pay off the debt? What if he wanted a finger in exchange for the transfer? What if? What if?

  We will fight no matter what. Fey was ever the optimist.

  Frannie went on to imagine a big sweaty mafia man with a couple of gold teeth and crazy looking eyes. His hands greasy with obnoxious rings on each fat finger.

  Frannies mind was strewn with wild thoughts on what could happen when the elevator dinged a stop. It had only reached floor thirteen though. When the doors opened in stepped a well dressed thin man of tall stature.

  “Which floor?” She asked, flashing him a kind smile. He was a shifter like her, though she couldn't tell which kind. His scent was masked and foggy in her mind.

  His eyes were black, cold and void of anything really. They reminded her of Rays but more sinister and calculating. He looked her up and down blatantly his face unchanging as he did. Frannie felt pins and needles running up her arm. She flinched a bit rubbing the goosebumps that had just appeared. Though Fey said nothing she growled quietly at him. He is strange, he is distant. Feys words were slow, confused even.

  “Twenty eight.” His voice was stale and flat. His lips set in a pursed line making him seem older. But he didn't look old; he looked at best in his mid forties if she had to guess.

  He had an almost too pale parlor like a ghost in a cheesy film where they packed on to much white powder. And the suit he wore was pin striped and old fashioned. He was something out of the Addams Family but seemingly a hundred times more dangerous. Then it hit her even though he smelled like a shifter he reminded her of a bloodling, especially with those wholly black eyes.

  She had never actually met one only ever heard rumors. And word was there weren't a lot in California due to how hot it was. But he couldn't be, this man was definitely a shifter maybe with just odd taste and an unidentifiable cologne. Yeah she’d much rather believe that then think she was stuck in an elevator with a blood sucking manipulator.

  As she stood next to him her senses on high alert she waited for the doors to close. She hadn't needed to press anything considering she was going to the same floor. He slowly raised an eyebrow as she pressed nothing and the elevator continued to go up.

  “What's a sweet girl like you going up there for?” He asked and like other shifters forgot there was a thing such as boundaries in t
he world. Though it was none of his business and he kind of freaked her out.

  She looked at him smiling again out of kindness. His hair was like salt and pepper and his features smooth. She still couldn't pinpoint his beast though. If he even had one.

  “Just settling some family matters.” She confessed though not wanting to air out all her family's dirty laundry.

  “Mr. Wilfred Kaiser.” He said boldy holding out a hand, his tone flat. She hesitated for a moment the night with Benson flashing in her mind. He had touched her and basically set her on fire in an instant.

  “Francesca Bianchi.” She replied, finally taking his hand in hers. She held her breath uncomfortably, he was physically cold as well and Fey growled Let go, out of distaste for the man. Otherwise, it felt normal for her. No flaming passion or her damn bear begging to be fucked. It was all back to normal.

  Still his skin was freezing and for a moment Frannie wondered if he really was a ghost between the too frosty skin and death like touch. But ghosts don't introduce themselves like he had, they wander through walls and play a whole guessing game until you figure out how to help them. At least that's what it seemed like from many movies she watched.

  “A word of warning dear the man isn't an easy one to work with. He’d rather bite off your head than make a deal. He's especially not keen on dealing with women.” He said exasperated as if he was remembering something.

  Then he grinned at her, no teeth, just thin lips, wrinkles and narrowed eyes. The fear prickled through her again a fresh wave of distress.

  “But I certainly love to work with women. If you can’t find what you need here Miss Bianchi, know my door is always open.” He flicked out a card from his breast pocket and handed it to her. She took it not wanting to be rude and placed it in her coat pocket.

  “Good to know.” She let out a nervous chuckle releasing his hand. Well, that did fuck all to help her calm down. It just made it worse. She was already afraid of what she was walking into. And now she had a feeling she was going to be slowly surrounded by more and more unsavory characters.

  Between Mr.Kaiser and Minas' story about her uncle's friend, she was sure she would be leaving the building in a body bag. Or a trash bag dependent on how much decency the man had.

  The elevator dinged bringing them to their assigned stop. Frannie walked into a warm brown hallway. The scent of pine was stronger here and familiar; it made her smile and her knees buckle a touch as she walked.

  Mr.Kaiser seemed to know where he was going so she followed him to the single door off to the left. There were several men in suits or otherwise professional garb sitting in what looked like extremely comfortable leather chairs. They all had nervous somewhat worried looks on their faces as they sat.

  Were they all here to see this guy? A lot of them looked like they had money with golden pocket squares and shining leather shoes. So what did they need this guy for? Two men in black suits stood hands clasped behind their backs. She could smell they were bear shifters like her. Though she had grown up in a shifter neighborhood she had met more shifters in the last couple of days than she had in her twenty-three years of life so far.

  The men in the chairs were a mixture of human and shifters. The humans seemed more nervous and more intimated. Which was understandable considering they were literally walking into the den of someone who could kill them. The men around nodded at Kaiser as he walked past to speak to the guards.

  “Mr.Kaiser he's been waiting for you.” Kaiser huffed, annoyed, and then stepped aside to present Frannie. She could hear the trepidation in his voice. He didn't want to go in there first if he didn't have to.

  “Well ladies first, I don't mind waiting.” She was sure he didn't mind. Coward, she thought ruefully.

  “Gentlemen do you mind?” He asked the on looking group they all shook their heads emphatically making Frannie scoff at their fear. She had bigger balls then the lot of them, which was saying something because Frannie was beyond terrified.

  The guards nodded, opening the door for her. Well, this was it for her. She might not come out of this room alive and if she did she could potentially have a lifelong debt to pay.

  Mr. Kaiser sat unbothered in the chair next to the door and pulled out a little book from his pocket and began to read. Frannie followed the guard past the doorway and into a similar-looking yet shorter hallway.

  It opened up to a lounge area. A large brown leather couch and a coffee table sat in the middle. Soft yellow lighting illuminated the room fully. Paintings of nature lined the walls. PLants of various kinds crowded corners. There was a large fish tank built into the wall on the far left. She was tempted to go over and tap on the glass but restrained herself.

  It was all so cozy she loved it. If she ever became a gangster, mobster whatever she would want this to be her office. A wide column coming down the middle of the room. It was a rock wall separating the lounge area from the more office area she could see beyond that.

  Around the back of the rock wall sat two big chairs in front of a large oak desk with bookcases on either side. The painted picture of a massive grizzly bear hanging above it. Frannie wondered how it would feel to have that much power in her paws. The bear itself could have been four times her size.

  Awing at the room for a moment she looked towards the man sitting at the desk waiting to see if it would be the sweaty mafia man she imagined. Before she could even let her mind dwell in that direction that smoky forest pine scent filled her nose stronger than ever. Her thighs clenched with need and a feeling of longing pooled in her stomach. Axl! Our mate! We found him. Fey said happily. All Frannie could think was this couldn’t be him. Please don't let it be him. Of all the men he could have been in the world why did it have to be him.

  “This is the woman Andy called up about yesterday.” The guard declared to the man in the chair not even bothering to look up. No better than the bitch downstairs. So was this how he addressed people when he wasn’t trying to get into their pants? She should've known better.

  “What can I help you with Miss Regio.” His eyes stayed glued to his work in his hands but she could see his proud nose wiggle in the air like he had smelled something familiar he had smelled…her.

  “It's Miss Bianchi.” She protested and he looked up his emerald eyes striking her, shattering her resolve. She wanted to walk right over and climb back into his lap and finish what they started the other night. No this man was a bastard and she would fight this feeling with every shred of control in her body.

  Frannie crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing and her stance so unmoving, one would have thought she was a statue.

  She wouldn’t let him win. She would not accept him as her mate not in this lifetime or the next.

  Chapter 5

  Benson had wanted to deny he smelled the sweet scent of a dewy morning. But his bear had been insistent. So as the scent got stronger and closer his bear was practically clawing at him to get out. This is our mate and you sit here! You are not a true male. We must take her!

  Benson kept telling him they would find the source of the beautiful fragrance. Maybe not today but eventually. He had too much work to do to give into the beast's demands.

  His demands had been brutal, nearly forcing his hands to turn into gigantic bear paws in the middle of signing a document. Again when he had sat for a short lived meeting with Don Castello about getting background info on his latest enforcer. Once Alexander felt his jaw clench and get tight whilst just taking a piss he’d known he couldn’t finish out the day.

  Just a few more meetings and then he’d leave. No one would be able to argue with him about it; they all wanted things from him and were just going to have to put up with his current instability.

  Of course as he tried to focus images of Francesca kept flashing in his mind. Her luscious curves and the way his rough hands felt in her waves of auburn hair. Her soft squeezable ass as she sat in his lap. How close he had come to kissing her, claiming her.

  He clenched his fist his knu
ckles turning white.

  The last day had been difficult for him. Axl barely spoke to him and when he did it was only out of formidable rage and lust. Benson had considered going back to Crown Heights and knocking on the house he had dropped her off at. He considered looking her up in his database. He had information on almost every shifter and human in Brooklyn. Part of the reason people paid him the big money.

  But he had done none of that. His almost every waking thought was already consumed by the thought of her body against his. His cock hard and painful. He didn't want it to turn into a full blown obsession.

  In all honesty it had already come to that.

  His need for her had grown with every passing hour. He had come to his office with the intent to have a couple quick meetings and then go home to run his bear in the yard for the rest of the day. Exhaust him so much he didn't think about Francesca Bianchi anymore.