Alpha Vampire Romance: Vampire’s Mate (Paranormal Shapeshifter Alpha Demon Vampire Romance) (Coming of Age Werewolf BBW Shifter Women’s Fiction Short Stories) (81 page)

Mel took a cab ride to midtown and then walked about ten blocks, going in a roundabout way, the same way that Max had driven them to the motel.
Just in case
, she thought. She arrived at an old building, and circled around to the back. There was a basement entrance that Janey had told her she used to go find a private place to be alone. Mel entered after looking around to see if anyone was watching. As she went down the stairs she could see a light at the bottom.

“Janey? Hey Janey are you there?” She called.

“Mel? Is that you?” It was Janey’s voice.

“It’s me. I’m alone, don’t worry,” she said as she reached the bottom of the stairs. There was an open door, and Janey appeared looking disheveled and scared. She ran forward and hugged Mel.

“Oh thank you Mel for coming. Is it over now? Can I go home? Is Mike safe?” she asked in a panicked voice.

“Not yet. I got your call, but the guys have me nervous about being on the phone too long so I couldn’t call you. I left messages with them and came to find you. If you want, you can come back to my motel. No one knows where it is.”

Janey almost collapsed in relief. “Oh thank you Mel. I am so scared. I didn’t know who to trust. After talking to that fireman Max the other night I knew that whatever is happening is dangerous. Then this happened and Mike’s in the hospital and I didn’t know where to go,” she said dissolving into sobs. Mel held her as she cried, letting her get it out. Mel cried a little herself.

“I’m sorry Janey. They came after you to find me, I am so sorry. It’s all my fault, but I am going to fix it, one way or another. Max and Dave are working on it and I have a safe place. How is Mike?”

“He got hit pretty hard and the doctors are keeping him for observation. He figured he would be safe there for now, because he doesn’t know you. That is why he told me I was the one in danger so I panicked,” said Janey.

Mel soothed her friend. “Don’t worry. I would have panicked too if I were in your position. Let’s get you back to the motel. We can be safe there until this is over,” she told her. Janey agreed, wiping her eyes. Mel was not sure where she had got her confidence from, but was glad she had found it. She led Janey outside and around the corner and hailed a cab that drove up just a minute after they got to the street. Perfect, she thought. She gave him the address a few blocks down from the motel as a precaution, and sat back with Janey for the ride. Neither said much because the driver could hear them.

Once they got to the destination they got out and began walking around the block heading to the motel. Mel was proud of herself. Janey’s rescue had worked to perfection and her friend was safe.

“Can I ask a question Mel?” Janey asked as they walked.

“Uh huh,” she said.

“How come you came to find me?” she said. Mel looked at her and shrugged.

“I…uhm…well I have never really had a friend before. When you left your message I just thought, friends are supposed to support each other and so I wanted to help. Especially since the trouble stated with me. And I remembered you telling me about your little abandoned room there, too.”

“I am glad you remembered that. Thank you, I don’t know what I’d have done without you,” Janey said. She hugged Mel, as they walked into the motel. They stopped at the vending machines and stocked up on soda and snacks. To hell with their diets, Janey said. Laughing they got to her room and were safe. Easy as pie she thought, suddenly wishing they had pie.

Mel and Janey finished a couple bags of Cheetos and two Doritos bags when she heard the lock click in her door. She turned her head quickly as it flew opened and strange men stormed into the room. Both ladies jumped up. Janey stumbled on her purse that was next to her on the floor. She fell against Mel, causing her to stumble back and trip over the table leg. They both ended up falling onto the floor with the lamp crashing to the floor as well.

“Don’t move ladies, we are not playing this time,” said a big man. He held a gun and had a black eye and a bruised jaw. The other two looked like they had lost a fight as well. She realized they were the same ones who had come to her apartment the other night.

“How the hell did you find me, or get in here?” Mel snarled, trying to be tough. She realized sitting on the floor with Janey half on top of her did not look too tough.

“We just waited for you to show us where you were. Gave the motel desk clerk a few bucks to let us up here. They don’t get paid that much,” he said to Mel, laughing at her. The other two men chuckled also. They were plain-looking men dressed in ordinary clothes. She remembered Dave telling her the surveillance cameras had taken pictures of these men, but that they were having a hard time getting identifications on them.

“You hid yourself pretty good here. We followed this one from the hospital though and just waited,” he said, pointing at Janey with an evil grin. “My boss thought it was a long shot, but I knew it would it pay off. Nice people are so easy to predict. You had to help your friend.”

Mel picked up a half empty Orange Crush bottle and threw it at him. He sidestepped it and laughed at her.

“Be good girly or I will shoot you here,” he told her. The other two smiled.

“Look you got me, let her go! She is not involved in this and you know it,” Mel tried, furious with herself and them. She had screwed up and they had taken the advantage.

“She is now. She got a look at us this morning and that makes her a witness. Her boyfriend is a wimp and we are not worried about him. Just her, and you,” he said. Gesturing them to their feet with his gun.

“What, you are not worried about the other fires or have you killed everyone there already?” Mel couldn’t help saying to them.

“Those are all taken care of. Once we kill you two we get to disappear as rich men,” he said.

“That is stupid. The cops have half of it figured out already. Even if you leave the country they will find you,” Janey told them. Joining Mel in keeping the men talking and distracted. Trying to prolong whatever they had planned.

“They’ll get the owners, sure. Us though, we get to disappear and let them take the fall. Those guys are idiots but I figured what the hell. Pull off the job, let them get busted. The lower level guys are never searched for that hard anyway.  Let those idiots get busted, we will be gone. Right after you are. So are you going to come quietly or are we going to have to just shoot you here. I have a silencer,” he told them helpfully. Mel did not know why but all she could think about was,
stall, girl, stall
! So she tried that.

“Dead bodies in a room that you talked to the desk guy about. You are calling your bosses idiots, come on,” Mel said.

“Yeah jeez, I am not a criminal, but I would now better than that. Come on, do you guys let him call the shots?” Janey said to the other two men who were just standing by silently. They looked at each other and then the leader who laughed.

“Nice try ladies, but these two came up with half of the plans,” he said.

“That explains it then,” Mel said looking at Janey with her hands raised as if giving up on the men’s intelligence. She could see the fear in her friend’s eyes, but Janey stayed strong with her.

“Yeah it does. This is going to be embarrassing, being killed by such dumbasses,” she said sarcastically.

“Silencers it is,” said the leader reaching into his pocket. Both ladies stiffened in fright. Mel was just deciding whether she should rush them when the door clicked and flew open behind the bad guys. Mel’s saviors stormed in with a fury, as well as a bunch of armed cops right behind them! Mel and Janey jumped backward, trying to stay out of the way. Two shots were fired and Mel felt her arm burst with white-hot pain. She cried out and fell; as she did she saw Janey falling to the floor too. Her shoulder felt like it was on fire. Lying next to her, Janey looked pale. There was shouting around her and she could hear her Max and Dave’s voices as she faded out in shock.

*****

All’s Well That Ends Interesting

Mel was just glad it was over. It all seemed a little surreal while at the same time exhilarating. She had learned a lot from the ordeal and gained a few friends. She also felt she had gained some courage. She had always spent her life with her head down, doing her job. She did not want to live her life like that anymore. Janey was feeling the same way. What the crime had been about was still confusing.

“So the whole thing was built on revenge against the government?” she asked Max. She was sitting with Max, Dave and Janey in Darrel’s Deli, finishing a wonderful lunch.

“Yep, the government wanted the buildings for government offices and the owners felt they were not getting a good enough offer. Due to the laws around government usage they had to take what was offered. So when they were given a year to get ready for the buyout, the three companies got together and decided on a plan,” Max told them, popping the last bit of his corned beef sandwich into his mouth.

“The plan was to strip their companies of all the assets and then burn the buildings down, so the government would not get to use them as planned. Amongst the many problems with the plan, they hired some low level thugs to do the dirty work. I have heard the mob wouldn’t even hire these guys. Which explains the stupidity of their actions,” Max told them.

“The owners are on the defensive now and claim they had no idea that the thugs would kill anyone. The problem with that is the leader that shot you Mel, has a message from one of the owners to do just that. Like you said Janey, idiots,” Dave said.

Mel looked over at her friend. Janey was sitting sideways to the table due to the brace around her injured leg. She had been shot in the leg while Mel had been hit in the shoulder.

“Do you want to know the funny thing?” Max asked with a grin.

“Sure go ahead,” Mel said.

“They had cashed everything out, not trusting wire transfers due to traceability, and all that cash was in the getaway van, with the driver. Once everything went down at the motel the driver panicked and took off. He has over five hundred million in the back of the van and no one can find him,” he said. Everyone laughed. 

“I guess the smartest guy got the money. Part of me hopes he doesn’t get caught,” Janey said. They laughed again. They had been laughing a lot at this meal. Partially, she was sure, in relief. Mel had been trading little glances with her two boyfriends and knew that soon they would be getting together. Janey was a little jealous of her relationship and asked if Max or Dave could set her up. Her boyfriend Mike had decided Janey was dangerous to hang around with and left her. She wasn’t too upset by that.

“So one more thing, just to be sure,” Janey asked suddenly.

“Go ahead,” Dave said.

“I was shot by the bad guy, but Mel was shot by one of the cops?” she asked.

Mel sighed. Janey had been teasing her about that.

“The big guy shot you and one of the cops returned fire and missed. Hitting Mel, yes,” Max answered. He wasn’t quite as amused by it as Janey was. The compassionate look he gave her warmed her. She couldn’t help smiling though.

“Fortunately the three companies had enough left in their assets that reparations are going to be made,” Mel said. She was glad about that, for the sake of the janitor’s family at Super Shoes and the deaths at the other companies. They deserved something for their suffering. They all agreed on that and then they went up to her apartment. Janey was going to be staying with her for a few days. The previous day she had been informed her apartment needed fumigation. She had no place else to stay.

Dave grinned at her. “We were wondering if you ladies would want to go out to dinner. You just got out of the hospital and deserve something. A bunch of our co-workers will be getting together for a weekly beer and burger fest and we would be glad if you joined us,” Dave said. Janey’s eyes lit up and Mel felt herself pep up even more. She had a feeling Janey surrounded by handsome firemen would be fun to watch. They both agreed with gusto. Mel had no idea what direction her life was going in, but she knew it would be interesting to find out. Fun too.

THE END

Bonus Story 21 of 25

The beginning of summer on the edge of the desert was always challenging, Terry thought to herself looking at the line of people at the register. Fortunately her new hire, a girl named Charlene, was handling it like a pro. A small convoy of people was heading out into the desert to take pictures and drink water. As far as Terry could tell anyhow. She liked the desert, she lived in it, but traveling a long way to just look at it did not make any sense to her.

Not that she would complain. Tourists were her bread and butter and the more the merrier, she thought. Especially since she was the owner of Tumbleweed Grocery and Pies and the tourist business allowed her to hire someone to work the till and cook. With Charlene working the register and her sister Cheryl baking the pies, Terry could finally be a real owner and just watch things and oversee the operation. Most of the time.

She heard the familiar rumble of Harley Davidsons, and two motorcycles could be seen pulling off the lonely highway that passed the front of her place. She recognized the bikes and smiled slightly. She knew these two bikers, and despite their reputation and “occupations”, they were always good to her and her place. Not to mention good looking. Terry took a sip of her coffee and thought about a cigarette, watching the line of customers diminish down to just a few. Yep, she thought, she could slip out for a minute. She got up and went through the employee door.

“Give us all your money!” came a voice from the other side of the door she had just gone through.

“Holy shit dude, calm down…I’ll get you what you want,” Charlene said.

Terry went back and peeked through the little window and saw the last two people who had been in line facing the register, one of them was holding a gun. She also saw two people getting close to the front door from outside and smiled slightly. A noise behind her made her turn and it was Cheryl. Terry put a finger to her lips.

“Call the cops, we are being robbed,” she whispered softly before turning back to watch the drama unfolding in her restaurant. She prepared herself to go through the door in Charlene’s defense if she had too. Charlene was pressing the buttons on the register to get it to open without a purchase. Terry could see she was deliberately messing it up. She was a fearless woman, not to mention a beauty, so batting her eyes at the two was softening them up to her stalling.

“Come on, idiot. Give us the cash,” the bigger of the two growled.

“I am trying damn it! I’m nervous. Just a second and I’ll get it for you,” Charlene said as the two bikers came through the door behind the thieves. They immediately saw what was going on and the taller of the two laughed. The thieves spun around. The one with the gun backed away to stay out of their reach.
Just a little further
, Terry thought, both scared and excited by the dangerous activity.
A little further and I’ve got you
.

“You guys wanna get the hell out of here,” the tall biker told them.

“Yeah, this is one of our favorite stores. Leave now and we won’t leave you for the ambulances,” the shorter one said. Terry watched Charlene crouch down behind the counter so when the bigger thug looked to the counter, he couldn’t see her. It looked like she had disappeared.

“Well, you lost the bird in the hand boys. So why don’t you just leave now. Like my brother said, you don’t want to be left for the body bus,” the tall biker said.

The two thieves muttered curses to themselves that got worse as the sound of sirens could be heard. That was fast, Terry thought. Then the two wanna be robbers backed up further, putting them right in front of the swinging door she was watching them from. Perfect, she decided, making eye contact with the tall biker and he gave a slight nod. She stood back a step and then threw herself against the door.

It swung open like a shot and caught the big thug between the shoulder blades with the edge. This knocked him into his partner while he also dropped the gun. The two bikers stepped up and cold cocked them. One punch each had them groaning on the floor. Just like that, Terry thought, beginning to shake a little as it was over and she could recognize how dangerous it had been. She nodded to the two bikers, who stood over the crooks waiting for the cops. Then she went over to her friend and employee.

“You okay girl?” she asked Charlene. She looked up at Terry from where she crouched.

“It’s over?” she asked.

“Looks like it, the cops are here too,” she informed her. Charlene stood up and looked around.

“I guess I am alright then,” she answered as her sister Cheryl came out of the back. The cops ran in the front door with their guns drawn. Terry reflected that it was a weird way to start a day.

********

Terry waved to the cops as they pulled away with the wanna be robbers. She immediately pulled out her cigarette case from inside of her leather vest and lit one. She exhaled and felt herself relax. She was always brave until after anything dangerous happened. Then she had to fight to keep from falling apart. Now that the cops and bad guys were gone she could relax. She heard the squeak of the door and she was joined by Ajax Lowell, the bigger of the two bikers and the president of the motorcycle club called The Daggers. He was a muscular guy at six foot two with long brown hair and a mustache. His sleeveless denim jacket had patches from all over the west coast as well as a big one on the back of two crossed daggers pointing up, dripping blood.

“Those things will kill ya, you know?” he told her as he lit a thin cigar.

“If you say so Ajax. I am glad you and Red showed up when you did. I would have had to kick some ass,” she told him taking another drag off her smoke. He laughed.

“I would have thought you would let that girl Charlene do it. That is a tough chick,” he said with another chuckle.

“Keep that in mind if you or your boys ever start anything around here,” she told him with a grin. He returned it and she caught him eyeing her figure before he looked back out at the empty road. She was used to it. She got a lot of looks.

Terry was about five foot ten inches tall with long blond hair with thick pink streaks in it. She was wearing a black vest over her white t-shirt and black leggings with a white mini-skirt. She loved how it accented her generous curves and flat belly. She could tell Ajax did too. Then again she never minded eyeing him, or his friend and second in command Red. He was equally as muscular with short red hair, although he was clean shaven and maybe five foot ten, her height. He joined them on the porch and leaned against the building. Now what? Terry wondered.

*****

“Well, that was fun,” Red said in his deep rumbling voice. Ajax and Terry laughed. She heard the rumbling of engines faintly and it began getting louder. Ajax and Red looked at each other.

“It couldn’t be, could it?” Red asked Ajax.

“The way this week has been going, probably. Damn we don’t need this right now,” he responded, then turned to Terry putting his hands on her shoulders.

“Go back inside and close up Miss Terry Tumbleweed. I think some trouble is about to catch up to my brother and I. Lock the door. These people won’t be going in, but it is best to be safe,” he told her and gave her a gentle push towards the door. She wanted to demand to know what was going on, but the look in his eyes and the hardness of his handsome features convinced her to do as he asked. She wasn’t sure but he looked like he was worried about her. Terry went into her store and locked the door behind her with a strange warm feeling in her gut.

“We are locking up ladies!” Terry shouted as she began closing the blinds on her store front. Cheryl and Charlene came out of the back.

“What’s up boss?” Charlene asked.

“Dagger trouble, I was advised we should close for a minute,” she answered closing the last blind as four bikes pulled into her dusty lot. Ajax and Red were sitting on their bikes now, waiting patiently. For what, Terry didn’t know.

“Let’s lock the back and go upstairs,” she said heading to the back of the store. Then she led the girls into the private residence section of the building, locking that door behind them before they went up the stairs. Once there they went to the window that was open so they could watch and hear what was going on.

“Why are you dodging us Ajax? I thought the Daggers were tougher than that,” said the man front of the two Daggers. He was a big man, as tall as Ajax, but heavier muscled with thick black hair and a beard. Ajax and Red were still on their bikes. The other three newcomers were standing behind the big one. Their bikes were behind them.

“Ain’t dodging anything Killgood, I just never thought the Dragons were poachers,” Ajax told the big man.

“Poaching, don’t make me laugh. The Daggers don’t go up to The Heights, so why do you care?” Killgood asked. His voice was a high pitched thing, at odds with is ferocious appearance.

“Our territory, our Heights. It has been that way for thirty years and is going to stay that way. Didn’t you get my message?” Ajax asked him.

Terry and the girls looked at each other wondering what was going on. Terry had heard of turf disputes before and hoped her place wasn’t getting caught up in anything like that.

“If you mean breaking Weasel’s nose to let me know you were serious, I got it. I will give you that one if you back off. You don’t need the hassle. Just leave this section of the desert to the Dragons and there will be peace. Or you can start something, the choice is yours man, think about it,” Killgood said. Ajax laughed.

“Right, I give up some territory now and everyones’ stupid cousins will start taking what they want from me, forget it boy. You go back to your territory and stay out of ours. You are the one who is starting something. Trust me, you don’t want a war. If we have to go there, I will end you,” Ajax said and even through the window, without seeing his face, she could hear the violence in the threat.

The big man nodded with a half-smile on his face. He looked around and eyed Terry’s store.

“Why is this place closed? They’re always open,” he changed the subject.

“They’re closed, that’s all you need to know Killgood,” Ajax responded and Terry could see his back straighten and Red leaned back a little on his bike. His hand went to his saddle bag slowly.

“Oh I get it, you like this place. You got the hots for the pink striped bitch that runs the place Ajax, or is it something else? If she is that fine, maybe I should take a ride on her.”

Terry shivered at the man’s words and Charlene put her arm around Terry in support. Cheryl was looking terrified and pulled out her phone. Terry shook her head and made a cut off gesture with her hand. Cheryl frowned but put her phone away. The last thing this situation needed was the cops. It felt strange but she knew she was better off in this instance with Ajax and Red.

Ajax got off his bike and approached Killgood. She could see the anger in Ajax’s frame as he stopped several feet from the Dragon leader. Terry noticed Red had his hand completely in his saddlebag now and she had a feeling he was getting ready to fight.

“You are going to want to go now Killgood. If you come near this place again it will be scorched earth. You hear me man. I will burn the Dragons down!”

Terry was shocked by the words and realized that all the looks Ajax gave her were more than just checking out her tits. The three men behind Killgood started moving forward. Then Red removed his hand from his saddle bag and he had a gun in it. She was not a gun expert but she knew an Uzi when she saw one. He pulled it up and pointed it at Killgood’s men, then fired four rapid shots into the ground, right past Ajax and Killgood in front of Killgood’s men. They all cursed and their hands went up as they backed away. Killgood was the only one who did not look scared.

“When the boss says scorched earth, we mean it boys. Every member of the Daggers is already prepped for this. Go on home and leave our turf to us, ya hear,” Red told them. Ajax had neither moved nor flinched when Red fired the gun from behind him. Terry could imagine the fierce look on his face. Was he really defending her? She wondered, or was there something else? She felt sweat running down her spine despite the open window.  The Dragons got back on their bikes.

“This ain’t the end Ajax. We will be back,” he said.

“Then you’ll be leaving in a box. Go on, get out of here,” Ajax told him.

Terry saw Killgood glance up to where she stood with her employees for a second, then he and his men fired up their bikes, and after glaring at Red they rode off out of the parking lot.

“Stay up here until I give the all clear ladies. It won’t be long,” Terry told Charlene and Cheryl as she ran downstairs, heart pounding at what might have taken place in her parking lot if things had gone even a little sideways. She opened the front of the store and Ajax was lighting a cigar.

“Nothing to worry about now darlin’, they won’t be back,” Red told her with his usual smile. Ajax shrugged.

“I hope not, he had to bluster at the end there, to save face but the Dragons won’t have the stones to push us on our own turf after this. No other gang would deal with them if he does. Call around Red. Spread the word, they were chased off. Have Mockingbird go to the bar and chat it up. The world will know soon after that,” he said with a chuckle. Red joined him and pulled out a phone, walking across the now quiet parking lot after a wink at Terry.