The store lay empty and no one stood behind the counter. “Kol?” I called.
His head appeared through the beaded curtain which led into the back. “Be out in a minute, I need to finish this.” He disappeared again to work on his latest concoction. Some customers asked for specialized orders and he became totally OCD about getting them right. I’ve even found him down here in the middle of the night a few times.
Leaning on the counter, I waited for him to finish. Kol should be proud of what he had achieved though. Starting his own business, doing what he loved, I’m happy for him. There isn’t always a place for us in the human world, so we had to carve out our own. I guess we had both come a long way. To think, a little over a year ago I was a half breed, well everything, condemned to a life with an asshole like Brett, in a Pack that hated me. It didn’t feel right to be glad that Brett had died, but if it hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have any of this. Regine could threaten me all she liked, but she wasn’t taking this away. I would find something on her to get her off my back if it killed me.
“Do you know someone called Regine? A werewolf?” I called to Kol.
“Yeah, I’ve heard of her. Probably better to stay out of her way.”
I snorted. “Well I’d love to, but she came to me. Apparently, I have two days to pledge my loyalty to her or she will run me out of town. Do you think she’s serious?”
Kol appeared again through the curtain and sighed. “Yeah, I think she is. I’ve heard she ran off a few Shifters in the past. She runs some strip clubs and I hear she has a few illegal activities on the side, but I’m not sure what they are.”
I groaned and dropped my head into my arms on the counter. “Why do these things always happen to me?”
Kol patted me on the back. “Yes, life is so hard. Jade, she’s one woman. Find a way to fix it.”
I raised my head. “Thanks for the support.”
He rolled his eyes. “This isn’t school. It’s the real world. Deal with it.”
“Fine. I was going to offer to get you lunch, but now I’m not so sure,” I said, feeling petty.
“You know, I think maybe I should start charging you rent, since you’re staying in my apartment and don’t contribute in any way.” He smirked at me.
“Want the usual?” I asked. I knew he would use it against me eventually.
“Yes, please.”
Shooting him a glare, I headed off to fetch lunch.
***
Harry
When the door opened, I expected to see Jade with our lunch, but instead, a woman entered in a red jacket and jeans. Around thirty-five, with dark hair, she moved slowly into the office.
“Hello, how can I help you?” I asked.
Please let this be a paying client.
She took a look around the room, before looking at me. “Are you the owner of…Lost Souls Private Investigations? Interesting name by the way.”
“Yes, I’m one of them. Harold Tempest Stewart.” We chose the name because it best fit what we were trying to do. I dealt with lost souls at Crestwood and there were plenty out here in New Orleans.
I offered my hand. She shook it, giving me the once over. “Detective Kate Bell.”
“Oh, pleasure to meet you. Do you need some help on a case?”
She snorted. “No, I don’t. Look, I’ll get to the point. I’ve seen a lot of PI’s pop up around this city in the last few years and none of them last. I don’t have a problem with PI’s in general, but I want to make it clear that if you get in my way, we’re going to have problems.”
“Um, excuse me? Did you really come in here to threaten me?”
She faltered. “I wasn’t…It isn’t a threat, I’m just letting you know that I don’t take kindly to any renegade shit.”
“It’s a good thing I’m not planning any…renegade shit,” I said, trying not to smile.
What on earth did the last PI get up to?
She stared at me for a moment, then sighed. “Sorry, I’m having a bad day. The last PI I had to deal with was a loose cannon, he thought he could single handily bring down every criminal in the city. Two months in, we found him dead in an alleyway. Guess he pissed off the wrong person.”
“Well, I’ll keep that in mind. I assure you Detective Bell, we are not going to do anything stupid. We simply want to help people.”
“We?”
“Yes, I work with a partner. Here she is now,” I said, as Jade came back in with our lunch. She came to a halt when she realized we had company.
Detective Bell glanced at her. “She’s your partner?” She seemed surprised, a look I’m sure I’ll be seeing a lot of. I think they assume Jade is my assistant or something, which is why I think its important to tell people up front.
“Yes, this is Jade Williams. Jade, this is Detective Bell.”
“Oh. Hi,” she said, shaking the Detective’s hand, shooting me a worried look.
“I just stopped in to see who had taken over and to let you know that it’s important that you stay within the law.”
“Of course,” Jade said. “We’re all about the law. Right, Harry?”
She really needed to stop being so nervous, she would make the Detective think we were up to something. I’m sure her nervousness came from her days in the Pack. She did tell me that they were involved in a lot of petty crime, so they probably earned a visit from the cops quite often.
“Let me walk you out,” I said to Detective Bell.
We headed outside, where she lingered on the sidewalk. “English, huh? What part of the country are you from?”
“Uh, Kent originally, but I’ve moved around quite a bit.”
“I’ve been a few times on vacation, beautiful country.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Well, I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again,” she said.
“Absolutely, Detective Bell.”
“Call me Kate,” she said with a smile. It really lit up her face. I imagine she doesn’t get to do it often in her line of work.
“You can call me Harry. It was nice to meet you.”
She walked off down the street, glancing back once as she went. I wasn’t expecting a visit from the police, at least not this early on, but I suppose it was better to get it over with. Detective Bell didn’t seem too bad, she just had a history with bad PIs. More reason to prove that we were just the opposite.
I headed back inside to find Jade trying to eavesdrop. “What did she want?” she stage whispered.
“I think she wanted to see who we are and make sure we aren’t doing anything wrong.”
“Nosy bitch,” she muttered, crossing her arms. “What business is it of hers?”
“I wouldn’t get too concerned, I doubt she’ll cause us any problems.” We haven’t done anything to earn her attention and we would continue to do so.
“Since we don’t have much on Regine, I thought we could speak to her ourselves. Perhaps we can reason with her, offer her something to make her back off.”
Jade shrugged. “It’s worth a try. We can try her at her main club.”
“Yes, I meant to check where it is.”
“I already looked it up, it’s on Bourbon Street. It’s called Easy Ride.” She smirked at me. I think we could both guess what kind of place it was. Regine dealt in ‘adult’ entertainment.
“Oh dear. This should be interesting.”
3
Jade
“I can’t believe I agreed to do this,” I grouched as we headed into Regine’s club – Easy Ride. The name didn’t leave a lot to the imagination. While I agreed initially with Harry’s suggestion that we talk to her, now I was having second thoughts. For one, I didn’t want to visit a strip club in the middle of the day and second, I imagined our visit would only make Regine angry. Turning up on her territory could be viewed as threat. Werewolves were incredibly hostile toward anyone who broke their rules, but especially to Shifters.
“This
seems like the best way to sort the problem.” He didn’t look comfortable himself, given what we were about to walk in on. I could hear dance music pumping out of the main room.
A woman stood by the door, in front of a podium. She frowned at us as we approached, I guessed we didn’t look like their other customers.
“Hello, we would like to speak to Regine,” Harry said.
“You a cop?” she asked. She had dark hair and pouty pink lips. Judging from the way her shirt strained against her ample chest, I could see why she was chosen to man the door.
I snorted. “Hell, no.”
Recognition dawned on her face. “Oh, well, I’m telling you now, Regine will want an audition before she decides to hire you. You can work out the details with her,” she said, motioning to Harry.
He looked confused.
“She thinks you’re my pimp,” I said.
His eyes widened. “What?”
“I’m not here to dance. We need to talk to her about another matter,” I said. I didn’t know whether to be insulted or not, I guess it depended on what kind of dancers she hired. Harry certainly didn’t look happy about being called a pimp. The idea was ridiculous.
“Speak to Bobby,” she said, gesturing to the door, with a manicured talon.
“Bobby?”
“The bartender,” she replied like I should automatically know who he is. She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the book in front of her. I chanced a glance at it. It looked like some kind of list. I imagine Regine would only let certain clients in here. Rich ones, no doubt. That book could cause a lot of problems if they were using their real names. I wondered if we could get a hold of it and use it against Regine, because I had serious doubts that talking would work.
The girl saw me looking and shot me a dirty look. She slapped a hand over the page to hide it.
Rude. I don’t know why Regine hired her, but maybe she was nicer to pervy men.
Grabbing the door handle, I yanked it open and stepped into the dimly lit room. The bar stood off to the left and the stage lay in the center of the room. A blonde currently gyrated on it, swinging slowly around the pole with one hand, wearing a bubble gum pink bikini several sizes too small. The room smelled like a heavy musk mixed with some kind of fruity scent. A heady combination to someone with sensitive nostrils. Trying my best to ignore it, I looked around for Regine.
Despite it being barely mid-afternoon, a half dozen men were already seated around the stage, drinking beer and slapping dollar bills onto the stage to attract the blonde’s attention. She moved like a sleepwalker to the nearest one, lifted it and stuffed it into her G-string.
Yeah, I’m insulted. This girl looked like she couldn’t give a shit, but maybe she kept her enthusiasm for a Friday night when she could make the big bucks.
We headed to the bar, where Bobby, I assumed, stood polishing a glass, his gaze on the blonde. He was good looking, in a chiselled God kind of way, dressed in a black shirt and pants.
“Excuse me? Is Regine here?” I asked.
He glanced my way. “Depends. Who are you?”
“Jade. She spoke with me this morning.”
Before he could say anything else, Regine came out of the back, dressed in a revealing sea foam green dress with a spilt up the thigh.
She changed her outfit? Maybe it was her work outfit. It sure beat mine, a white blouse and black slacks that I thought looked professional. Maybe I’m in the wrong line of work.
“What do you want?” she asked, a sneer on her face.
“I’ve come to talk about your offer. You can’t chase me out of town. Surely, there is some way we can resolve this.”
Regine leaned a hand on the bar, tapping her red nails on the wood. “I’ve already told you how, pledge your loyalty to me.”
I sighed, glancing at Harry, who currently found the carpet under his feet fascinating. He was doing everything he could to avoid looking near any of the dancers. Most of the men I knew would be drooling over them, emptying their wallets to please them. Another reason why I liked him.
“I know what that means, I don’t want to be under your thumb. What if I like owe you one favor instead?” It would still be a risk, but better one favor than being called on constantly. I could get it over and done with and put this whole thing behind me.
Regine placed a hand on her slim hip. “And what could you possibly have to offer?”
I caught sight of Harry out of the corner of my eye. One of the girls had approached him, topless. He did his best to get away from her, as she tried to grab him, cooing at him.
“Harry, why don’t you wait outside?” I called. His face had turned an unnatural shade of red, he wouldn’t be much use to me and it was clear Regine didn’t think much of him anyway.
“Okay,” he said, hurrying out the door. I guess he didn’t need to be asked twice.
The topless girl pouted, then headed off to find some other prey. She moved to the nearest table and draped herself over some dark haired guy. He pulled her into his lap with a grin.
“I’m sure I can be useful in some way,” I said, praying she never asked me to bury a body for her. “I’ve worked too hard to get here, I’m not leaving.”
She smirked at me, moving closer, making the wolf in me angry. Much like the male members of the species, we don’t like being confronted by other females. In the Pack, we were nothing more than rivals, always fighting with each other or trying to outdo each other.
“Oh I see. You’ve got your sugar daddy and a nice cozy little set up here.”
My mouth dropped open. “Harry is not my sugar daddy! We’re business partners.” Did people think that? I mean I guess it looked strange to the outsider, but a sugar daddy? He’s not that much older than me, they acted like he was a dirty old man.
“Call it what you want. The truth is all my employees are useful in their own way. Take Kandy there,” she pointed to the blonde on stage. “She is a Chupacabra. Vicious and loyal. I could set her or any one of them on you without a second thought. By all means, try and figure out how you can be useful, but the deal still stands. You have forty-six hours left.”
She turned her back on me, lifting the drink Bobby had set out for her. I glanced up at Kandy, shocked to learn what she is. A Chupacabra? That’s insane.
Knowing I wouldn’t get anywhere with Regine, I turned to leave. There was no point in hanging around.
Harry waited outside, still looking flustered over his encounter with the stripper. “How did it go?”
“She says I have forty-six hours left.”
“Then we’ll just have to keep looking,” he said.
We walked back to the office as I tried to calm the wolf. She didn’t like being told what to do, especially by a Were. She also had to know that she would be no match for Regine, but that fact didn’t seem to bother her. She was willing to take her on.
“I can’t believe this is happening to me. Why can’t I catch a break?” I groaned. “And I didn’t know that Chupacabras can take on human form.”
“Uh, some can. Why? Where did you see one?” Harry asked.
Of course he knew that.
“Kandy. The girl on stage. I thought they were just like big dogs who like to eat goats. Or at least that’s what I learned from the X Files.” A lot of my knowledge about the supernatural came from TV or books. Primarily because the Pack didn’t mix with outsiders. It wasn’t until I joined Crestwood that I learned the truth. So much I didn’t know and so much I had left to learn.
“I don’t know a lot about them, but yes, some have the ability to choose a form. It’s how they go undetected. One posing as a human is interesting.”
“One posing as a human stripper is…well, disturbing, but it makes you wonder how Regine found her.” Did she go around collecting rare supernaturals?
We reached the office and headed inside. Unfortunately, there weren’t scores of clients beating down the door for us. Oh w
ell.
“I don’t know, Harry, if things don’t change soon, one of us may have to start dancing on a pole.”
“Not it,” Harry said at the exact same time I said it.
I chuckled. “Come on, I’m sure you’d look great in a pair of booty shorts.”
“I assure you I would not,” he replied, heading into the other room.
“Fine, I’ll do the dancing and you can be my pimp,” I called after him.
I heard a noise behind me and turned to find an old woman behind me, clutching a tissue in her hand. “Uh…”
She didn’t wait for me to finish, running out the door with a horrified expression on her face.
“Shit!” I growled. Why did I say that?
“Did I hear the door?” Harry asked, appearing in the doorway.
“Yes, but I scared her away with my pimp comment.”
He groaned. “Jade.”
“I’m sorry! I’ll be more careful in the future.”
Shaking his head, he returned to his desk to do more research. I really hope he was able to turn something up on Regine, because I was running out of time.
4
Kol
The bell above the shop door rang and I turned, a smile on my face, to greet what would hopefully be my second customer of the day, despite being ten minutes away from closing. Instead, I found Gregor behind me, looking menacing in his leather jacket, which strained against his muscles. Gregor worked as the local heavy for Mr. Lewicki, the man I borrowed the money from to help buy this place. If he was here, it couldn’t be a good thing.
“I think you need to check your calendar, Gregor, my payment day isn’t until next week,” I said. We didn’t have an official payment date, I knew that, he just showed up when he wanted, but I’m sure I made a payment very recently, so why the hell was he hassling me again.
The Werewolf Queen of Bourbon Street: City For Lost Souls Series Book 1 Page 2
