Kingdom of Mirrors and Roses

by A. W. Cross

  “How many?” Ben asked.

  “Three or four I think,” Pete replied as if talking about the characters in the game.

  Their words didn’t make sense. I pushed the buttons and nothing seemed to happen.

  “When did they leave?” Ben asked.

  They weren’t talking about the game! “As soon as I dropped this off,” I said. Pride filled me as I gained a smile from Pete. I could learn how to speak their spy language. A chuckle escaped. “This is fun.”

  “You just lost,” Pete said with a laugh.

  That explained why nothing was happening as I clicked the buttons. “I probably shouldn’t be playing, anyway. I should go,” I said, hoping Ben understood.

  “I’ll have to go now,” Ben said. “Carson says ‘hi’ by the way. Couldn’t talk him into playing with us.”

  I laughed. “I can believe that.”

  “Stick with Pete, and we’ll come to you,” Ben said.

  “I’m not sure I have time,” I said, laying the controller on the low table.

  “Ha! I win! Sure, you do. Let’s start another game,” Pete said giving me a pointed stare. “I’m going to grab a few more players to make it more interesting, since that guy had to go.”

  I nodded. Pete changed the screen a few times as I held my breath. When he was finished, we were in a new game, and the list of players he pointed out showed two new names and Ben’s was gone.

  The only thing I could do was play along, literally and figuratively. Focusing on the game, I let Pete walk me through the rules while I waited.

  “I did it!” I squealed. I’d finally shot someone in the game. Pete and I had switched to a partner game so he could help me, and we’d just won—because of me, I decided. “I’m getting good at this.”

  “Yeah, another two years, and you’ll have it down.” Pete laughed as I bumped my shoulder into him.

  We’d been playing long enough that all the others in the room had stopped paying attention. As a result, I’d calmed down and had overheard some of their conversation. The men had questioned why a man named Iron cared about some trinket. To which everyone had decided it didn’t matter why, but it was in their best interest to find it for him. Trying to listen and play the game was a disaster.

  “You’re not learning this very fast,” Pete complained.

  Before I could answer, the front door opened. I peeked over my shoulder then quickly faced the TV again. Carly had just arrived.

  “Oh, man, get that guy!” Pete yelled.

  I startled, and he slid an angry glance at me. “Sorry,” I said in a low voice.

  Pete shook his head and then jumped when skinny arms wrapped around him over the back of the couch. “Hey, lil’ man.” Carly squeezed him in a hug that he clearly didn’t appreciate, then her smile disappeared as she recognized me.

  Carly stood and put a hand on her hip. “What are you doing here?”

  I sat still and watched my side of the screen fade as my avatar died once more. Pete snorted and paused the game. From the corner of my eye, I saw one of the men move next to Carly. I sucked in a deep slow breath before I twisted to face her.

  The room seemed to still as everyone waited for me to speak.

  “I came to give Pete the medicine you dropped off last night. Ben is working on my car again. I guess you stayed so late he didn’t have time to bring them last night.” I smiled and tried to make it seem like it was a natural situation.

  “I left right after you.” Carly curled her lip as she continued to stare at me.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s just what he said. I offered so I could get my car back.”

  “What’s your name again?” the man hovering behind Carly asked.

  “Stella.” I tried to sound perky and hoped that for this moment my curse would go along with me.

  “Okay, so everyone knows each other. We’re trying to play a game here,” Pete said. He sounded so exasperated that the big guy snorted.

  I heard another chuckle, and then Ben’s mom called out to Carly. “You saw Ben last night, Carl?”

  Carly gave me one last glare before she spun away and went over to the kitchen. “Yeah, he made us dinner.” Her tone turned chipper, and I had to bite back a grin. She made it seem as though they’d been all alone.

  I’d stayed longer than I intended and was about to tell Pete I needed to go when the guy who’d stood next to Carly answered his phone.

  “What do you mean he got away?”

  Pete snapped his eyes toward me, and we both froze.

  “Yeah, come on back. I’ll call Iron.”

  “That’s my dad,” Pete whispered.

  It was time for me to go.

  19

  Ben

  I set the controller and my headphones on the coffee table. There was a ring on it from where Stella had set her cappuccino down the night before. The girl had my insides spinning like a top. She was so spoiled, cocky, air-headed, and beautiful, and she was helping Pete.

  I shook myself out of my thoughts. “We need to go,” I said to Carson as I stood. “There’s a few guys heading this way, and we don’t need a repeat of earlier.”

  “Why is Stella inside the house? Is she unable to leave?”

  “She’s safe for now, but yes, we need to get her out of there somehow.”

  “That’s easy. You go over and take her place. She’s done her part in making sure the medicine was delivered. If you’re in some sort of trouble with whoever is there, that’s your business, and she doesn’t need to pay for your crime.”

  I snorted. “From what I’ve heard, she’s surrounded by people causing that kind of trouble for her.” This guy was too much. I got the reason he was upset, but his boss was as much a criminal as my dad. They just had different methods.

  “Stella isn’t involved in any of that.” Carson’s eyes seemed to glow as he got worked up. I sat deeper onto the couch. He wasn’t like those other guys, was he?

  Before I could say anything else, we both heard the rumble of the bikes before they even turned onto the gravel. We’d run out of time.

  “Well, I hope you’re up for another fight. These guys will just be the regular kind of thugs though, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

  I didn’t have a back door, so we’d have to head straight at them.

  “Getting to Stella is the priority. Don’t expect me to stick around helping you pick up this time,” Carson said and strode for the door.

  The guy was gutsy; I had to give him that. I followed but hurried to stop Carson before he opened the door.

  “They’ll go into the shop first. Maybe if they see the mess, they’ll think someone beat them here.” I spoke in low tones even though I knew no one would hear my voice through the metal door.

  “If they have any kind of skill at this, they’ll come up here next. Do you want to have this place look like it does down there?”

  He had a point. I nodded, and he turned the knob slowly, peeking through the opening before bursting through. This guy had skills himself. I wonder how many times your boss has needed protection like this. Watching Carson was enough to know that Jack Lebeau was as much a criminal as Iron Williams.

  There wasn’t any point trying to be stealthy down the metal stairs. They were loud, period. I’d only taken three of the treads when Johnny ran out of the shop with Spike on his heels. There were two others with them that I didn’t recognize. They had the eagerness of those trying to earn their way into the club. That would not be to our advantage. New guys were always unpredictable and willing to go too far.

  “Watch the two in the back,” I said to Carson as we continued down the steps.

  I heard his snort.

  “What happened in there, Ben? You have a lover’s spat with your new girl? That must be why you sent her over to Bonnie’s—punishment for trashing your place.” Johnny laughed like he was funny. The others chuckled with him.

  “Who’s cage?” Spike asked and twisted to look at Carson’s black Jaguar
. He sauntered over to it and ran a finger down the hood. “All clean and pretty.” He smiled and hopped onto the hood. Taking extra care to use as much pressure as possible.

  “If you think I’m bothered by that, you’re mistaken.” Carson said. He’d shifted over when he reached the bottom of the stairs so I could stand next to him.

  “You got more of these babies back home?” Spike asked, slapping his hand on the hood. I cringed inside. Carson may not be bothered, but I was. You didn’t abuse such a fine vehicle.

  “Let’s get this over with,” I said to Johnny. “Give me my admission ticket. Leave this guy out of it.”

  Johnny stepped closer, and Spike hopped to his feet. The other two balled their fists and beamed ear to ear. If nothing else, I meant to give those two a lesson.

  “I’ll stay. Haven’t had a good row in at least twenty minutes.” I flashed a glance to Carson. He almost seemed as excited as dumb and dumber. I shrugged, deciding to let the guy do whatever he wanted.

  I didn’t wait any longer, charging Johnny and slamming him into Spike. I heard the churn of gravel behind me and the grunts as Carson took on the other two. Damn, I wanted them.

  A fist landed against my jaw, and I forgot about all else except the two in front of me.

  I threw a right hook to Johnny’s jaw and an elbow to Spike’s face. The crunch of his nose spurred me forward. Johnny wrapped me up and took me to the ground.

  The guy was bigger than me, but only in weight. He had me in a headlock, but he didn’t get his second arm behind my head. I head-butted his nose and elbowed him in the ribs. Rolling over, I bent his hand backward while twisting his arm around behind his back.

  Spike took advantage of my focus on Johnny and punched me in the kidneys. Not only did it make it hard to breathe, but I barely kept from throwing up.

  Quickly, I landed a solid knee to the side of Johnny’s head, and he slumped to the ground. I turned to Spike, and we circled each other, waiting for an opening.

  We were the same age and would have graduated together if he hadn’t spent his senior year in jail for assault. We’d never been friends even though his dad had been the sergeant at arms for the club our whole lives.

  Carson had dispatched one of the newbies and seemed to have the other well in hand as I caught him in my periphery.

  “Just come in,” Spike spat at me, though I could see in his eyes he meant after I’d taken a beating.

  “Not a chance.” I’d talk to Iron when I decided, not before.

  Spike lunged, and I dodged his first swing, but his left got my chin. Blood filled my mouth. I didn’t have time to spit before he landed a second punch to my eye. I wrapped my arms around his waist and drove him backward into the ground.

  My knee came down hard between his legs and gave me the chance to land three quick punches to his face, but leave it to Spike to fight dirty. I had the upper hand, and he knew it. I felt a sting, and though I smacked his arm out of the way, it wasn’t fast enough. Spike shoved me away, and I landed on my ass in the gravel, dazed.

  My left forearm bled, but it was the blood seeping between my fingers as I pressed on my lower abdomen that had me stunned. He’d cut me. I peered up at him through my working eye and saw the shock on his face.

  Without waiting for the others, he ran for his bike, firing it up and peeling out in one swift motion. I watched him take off as if it were a movie.

  Strong hands reached under my arms and pulled me to my feet. I twisted to stare at Carson and see the way his teeth ground together as he growled out in frustration. He wrapped my bleeding arm over his shoulder and practically carried me to his car.

  “Not your car—damn.” I tried to protest while getting into the Jag, but he shoved me down into the seat.

  “Shut up and get your belt on.”

  The next thing I knew, he was in the car and helping me latch the buckle before he pressed the starter button. The engine roared to life, and I smiled at the powerful vibrations.

  Carson slammed the car in reverse and took out the three remaining bikes, before he spun a half donut in the gravel, spraying rocks.

  I winced and bit back a growl of pain as I smacked against the door.

  He slammed his hand against the steering wheel as he looked me over. The blood oozed through my fingers from the cut under my belly button. The wounds on my arm weren’t that deep. I had to grit my teeth with each bump as we pulled from the parking lot.

  He turned onto the highway, and I tried to relax. The ride was so smooth that, even though we were clearly going well above the speed limit, it felt like a cloud. Soon, Carson slowed enough to turn down a road that took us away from Stella.

  “Hey, it’s the other way,” I said while tensing all my muscles.

  “You’re losing too much blood. They’d better not hurt her, or you’ll wish I’d let you die.”

  “They’ll call my dad.” I held my breath as a wave of pain threatened to make me hurl. “She’s safe for a while.”

  I leaned my head against the glass as my mind grew foggy with pain.

  20

  Stella

  Pete and I stared at each other for a moment.

  “I think I need a break,” Pete said, just a little louder than necessary. This kid was as cool under pressure as his big brother.

  “It’s time for me to go, anyway,” I said, standing up. “Thanks for letting me stick around and play for a while. Sorry I wasn’t that good.” I smiled at Pete, pretending I didn’t notice everyone else staring at me.

  “Some girl. Yep, got it.” The guy who’d called Pete’s dad hung up the phone. “You’ll need to stay a little longer. There’s someone who wants to talk to you.”

  “I’m sorry, but I really should be going. I’m going to be late for work.”

  “Where is that exactly?” Carly asked.

  I glared at her.

  “You won’t be late. Sit,” the guy ordered and took a step closer to me.

  Part of me wanted to argue with him and make a scene, get all mad that he didn’t know my work schedule, but I couldn’t think that fast. Instead, I lowered myself back to the sofa.

  “No, really, where do you work?” Carly asked again. Her eyes glittered with anger.

  I glared again with a smirk. I was good at this kind of catfight. “None of your business.” That wasn’t as menacing as I’d hoped.

  “Iron’ll be here in five. He’ll figure out what’s going on.” The guy jutted his chin to Carly. It almost seemed like he was telling her to back down.

  “She was at Ben’s last night, and now she’s here. Something’s up with this girl.” There was a whine in her voice as Carly pleaded her case. It made the guy tilt his head sideways as he stared at me.

  “Did anyone check her for a wire?” the guy said. From the corner of my eye, I saw Carly smile.

  What? “No one is touching me,” I said and rose to my feet again. “I just did a favor. I don’t need any of this.” I grabbed the keys to Ben’s truck from the coffee table and headed toward the door. One of the other men blocked my path without a word.

  “He said you’re staying,” the new guy said to me.

  “I’m hungry. Did we miss lunch?” Pete asked breaking through the tension.

  I continued my stare-off with the new guy until the corner of his mouth tilted upward, and I realized he seemed to like the challenge a little too much. I returned to the couch and plopped down next to Pete.

  “I’ll make you a sandwich, Baby,” Pete’s mother called out. She’d just watched the entire time as the goons harassed me.

  A few minutes later, Ben’s mom set a plate down on the table in front of us for Pete. “I didn’t have enough bread for one for you,” she said to me.

  Over her shoulder, I could see Carly making sandwiches for everyone else. Two extra loaves sat on the counter. I gave her a tight smile back. A heartbeat later, the door opened, and a man walked into the room followed by two more.

  The place wasn’t big enough for all th
e bodies it contained. Stale cigarette smoke and body odor increased my desire to leave.

  “You must be Stella,” the new man said. I could only guess this was Ben and Pete’s dad. He was so tall he’d nearly brushed his head coming through the door. He wore a denim jacket with the sleeves cut off and no shirt underneath, displaying an impressive muscular physique for a man about my father’s age. Other than a small scar across his cheek, he was attractive. He was also the most intimidating individual I’d ever met.

  I nodded without standing up.

  “You got a last name?” He came around and sat in a recliner across the room keeping his focus on me the entire time.

  For a split second, I thought about lying, but when I answered the truth slipped out.

  “Lebeau?” he questioned my name as a grin spread. “You’re Jack’s little girl?”

  I nodded. He said my dad’s name as if they knew each other. He might have seen my dad’s picture or heard his name on the news, but somehow I knew that wasn’t it.

  “Why did you come over here? I can’t imagine you get to this area much from Georgetown.”

  How did he know where I lived? I didn’t think the news had mentioned that, though I hadn’t checked my social media in at least a day. I stared at him without answering.

  “She was at Ben’s.”

  Thank you, Carly. I gritted my teeth.

  “Well, boys,” Iron called out with a laugh. “My son must have delivered after all. This girl is going to lead us right to my property.”

  I jumped to my feet. “I did someone a favor that’s all, and I’m going home.”

  Iron rose to his feet and stepped closer to me. I held my ground and didn’t let the fact that he towered over me waver the glare I shot at him.

  “You’ve got spunk; I like that, but you see, Stella, your dad and I go way back. I don’t know how you got involved with my son. I suspect it might have something to do with his failure the other night when he had a job to do for me, but that doesn’t matter anymore. Jack has something that belongs to me. Now that he’s going to be spending time in an orange jumpsuit, he needs to give it back.”