Caged View (8 page)

“At least they didn’t waste their
education,” I said dryly.

I shook my head and watched one of the
Goblins grabbed a dropper, stuck it in the boiling pot, and then
released red drops onto a silver tray.

“We’ll have to figure out a way to destroy
the drugs.” Lanore backed up a little more.

Red shaded the whites of her eyes. She
blinked them several times and coughed again. She added, “If we
burn the place up, the fumes will get all of Shango District
high.”

Nona rounded up the Goblins. Each one jerked
a little in surprise and then waddled to the wall where she had
others lined up. They couldn’t come out during the day. The sun
burned their skin. We would have to let them stay down here for
now.

They’ll tell whoever owns this place we
destroyed the drugs.

A grin formed on my face.

Good.

Lanore had now retreated to the doorway. “It
must be over $100,000 worth of drugs in this room.”

“Ray will consume it all.” I walked around,
looking under the table and at the walls. “He’s on look out and
garbage duty.”

“I don’t understand,” she said. “He’s such a
little guy.”

“Trust me. He’ll lick the room clean within
minutes.”

“Won’t that get him high?” she asked with
concern in her voice.

“His metabolism is too high,” I replied, not
willing to give her the real reason, which was that Ray was too big
of a monster to get high off such a small amount.

The whites of her eyes were now dark red.
She seemed as if she had difficulty swallowing.

So stubborn. She wants to make sure it’s
done to her liking even if she passes out.

She stepped back in the room, covering her
nose, and peered down at the tiny Goblins, waving her hand in front
of their faces.

They stared beyond her with blue glowing
eyes.

“They’re all spelled.” She touched one of
their necks and examined the bronze amulets hanging from bands of
leather. “This has a letter B on it. This one is probably owned by
a Vamp family since they love to tag their property with bronze
labels.”

She dropped the amulet and checked the other
chains. “Another B, two P’s, and several O’s. I’m sure the O is for
the Ortiz Vamp family.”

“Nona, grab all of the chains off their
necks.”

“Why?” Lanore asked, pulling the shirt back
over her nose.

“I have a habbie that could check for
fingerprints.”

“Can I take them to my Air Witch first?
There may be some spell residue on them. Then we’d have residue and
fingerprints to make a stronger case.”

“For who?”

“The habbies.”

There won’t be a trial for these drug
mongers.

Nona chuckled. “Your breeder is funny.”

“I’m not his breeder.” She gazed at
Nona.

“Nona, have your Rebels check other sewer
systems throughout Santeria. I’m sure we can find more drugs to
destroy,” I said. “Make sure the Rebels know they’ll be
compensated.”

“We still don’t know who’s in control of the
drugs,” Lanore said. “Vamps are just my first guess.”

“Leave my business card, the ones without
the location spells, on the door.” I stepped in her way. “Maybe
these guys will be so pissed they’ll come to us.”

“Definitely much better than the blood
message.” Lanore smiled.

“Let’s go,” I said. “You’re dying in here
and Ray doesn’t like an audience when he eats. He’ll be down here
soon.”

She left the room, staring back at the
Goblins every few steps.

* * *

When we returned to the Inked Guerilla,
Lanore had tasked me with the job of researching all the powerful
Vampire families while she took a shower in my office bathroom.

Instead, I typed brimstone and allergies
into my computer.

Four results discussing supernatural species
came on the screen: Sprites, Demons, Dark Elves, and Mountain
Trolls.

“So what did you find out?” Lanore peeked
her head into my office. “Anything on the Vamp lead.”

I quickly shut off the computer, knocking
over my cup of pens. I slung my sketch pad into my top drawer. I’d
been doodling images of her with no clothes on.

She stepped out, wrapping a turquoise towel
around her head. “Thanks for letting me clean up here. My roommate
would freak out if I came home covered in Vamp blood and smelling
of Hemo Drop.”

She wore a black dress with tiny straps.
“Sorry about the unprofessional outfit. Quinn said this was the
only extra clothes she had here.”

The dress barely went to the middle of her
thighs. It stuck to her as if an artist had taken a careful amount
of time to paint the dress on her skin.

I licked my lips. “Quinn is going to get a
raise.”

“What’s that?” Quinn strolled in, holding a
joint and passing it to Lanore. “I’m getting a raise?”

I glared at the joint. “Are we all going to
just ignore my no drug policy?”

“Sorry.” Lanore quickly inhaled and gave it
back. “I’m trying to quit, but it’s been difficult.”

“I’m sure that’s impossible since MeShack
grows the stuff in his closet.” Quinn took a hit and returned it to
Lanore. “Shango only knows that man is drop-dead gorgeous. How
you’re not butt naked, on your knees, and in front of him right
now, I’ll never know.”

Lanore choked on the smoke as she grabbed
one of the many folded MFE shirts on a table across from my desk,
put it on, and tied a knot at the shirt’s bottom.

“Is MeShack your roommate?” I raised my
eyebrows. Under my desk, my claws came out of my fingertips.

“Yes, he’s my roommate.” She scowled at
Quinn.

“So he’s the Shifter I always smell in your
hair?”

Quinn laughed. “Zulu the Heart Ripper is
smelling Lanore’s hair?”

“Why don’t you go maintain the books or
maybe get rid of the pot,” I said to Quinn.

Lanore gave the wretched joint back.

I continued to focus my eyes on her.

“Okay so…thanks for bringing me along. I’m
going to leave,” Lanore said as Quinn walked out.

She stuffed a plastic bag full of dirty
clothes into her satchel and then paused. “I’m not with MeShack
anymore. We just live together.”

I retracted my claws. “Okay.”

She went back to packing her bag. “I mean,
not that you would care or anything.”

“I do,” I muttered.

“Well, I just wanted to clear that up.” She
pulled off the towel. Her dreadlocks fell down past her shoulders.
“It’s weird but it works for us. We’ve been living together most of
our lives.”

I stood up and came around to her. “Is he
the reason why I can’t date you? Are you still in love with
him?”

“He’s not the problem.” She faced me.
“You’re exactly my type, but I have a lot of issues that I have to
take care of right now before I start dating anybody.”

“Lanore, you know I like you a lot. I get
excited any time I know I’m going to see you.”

She sighed and glided by me, folding my
towel and placing it on my desk. Her arms brushed by my cords. Tiny
sparks burst around our arms then disappeared.

“You’re the only woman that makes my cords
react that way.” I sat on the edge of my desk so I was at face
level to her.

“I bet you tell all the girls that.” She
smirked and rolled her eyes.

I reached for her soft hands and pulled her
to me. “You may not know this, but I’m difficult and tend to not
listen to others.”

“Nope. I definitely know you are hardheaded
and closed-minded.” She flashed me a smile.

I brought her to me until her soft breasts
pressed into my chest, surprised that she hadn’t stopped me. The
earthy scent of marijuana mixed in with her creamy lavender
surrounded me.

“I listen to you when you tell me things.
Right?” I said, wanting to nip at her chin or feel that smooth skin
under my tongue.

“You do,” she whispered and placed her arms
on my shoulders.

So far, so good.

“I want to be the type of man you could fall
in love with.”

She sighed and looked into my eyes. “Trust
me. You are my type. Like I said, I have some personal issues I
need to work on.”

“I don’t want to wait,” I said in a low
voice.

She touched my forehead brand with her
fingertips and moved my dreadlocks to the side. “Zulu, I’m not
going to rush into a relationship right now.”

“Then give me a few dates.” I kissed
her.

She parted her lips to take my tongue and
suck on it.

A deep rumble came from the center of my
chest.

I picked her up and flipped her over onto
the desk, devouring her neck. “You know how hard it is for me not
to touch you?”

“We should stop,” she groaned as I tore the
MFE shirt off her, pulled the top of her dress down, and exposed
one taut chocolate nipple.

I licked its peak.

She moaned. Her body trembled in my
arms.

“It’s hard to resist you,” I said.

“I feel the same way,” she said in a low
voice. Her hands went to the back of my head pulling me closer to
the nipple.

I used my right hand to slip her dress up
those luscious thighs.

Without a knock, Ray burst in my office.
“Zulu, the sewer is completely clean and—”

He stopped in the doorway.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” He turned, stepped out, and
quickly closed the door.

Lanore began to sit up, gently moving my
hand away.

My eyes shifted to black as I said, “We’re
not stopping.”

“I’m sorry.” She pulled the top of the dress
up and whispered, “But, yes, we are.”

“So, how long are we going to do this
back-and-forth tease crap?” I jumped off the desk and took several
steps back. I couldn’t trust my hands right now. They wanted to
hold her down and tear that dress off.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, sliding off the
desk. She grabbed her satchel and rushed out of my office. The door
swung back and forth, never stopping.

“Fuck!” I kicked a hole in my desk.
“Ray!”

He stepped around the corner. “Don’t be mad
at me. I haven’t seen you with a woman in six months.”

“Because I met her.” I pointed to the empty
doorway.

Ray shrugged. “I never thought I would walk
in on you with a woman on your desk. You’re pretty restrained
and—”

I glared at him.

“Just give her a day, and then try again,”
Ray said.

“No. She’s constantly doing a cat-and-mouse
chase with me.” I unbuckled my belt and hit the button under my
desk to open up my ceiling. Only Ray and I knew about the secret
opening.

“Now, wait a minute.” Ray marched over to
me. “Zulu, what are you doing?”

A hole appeared in the middle of the ceiling
and expanded.

I pulled off my jeans and began to
shift.

“Zulu, seriously. Do not go after her.” Ray
stepped forward, holding his hands out.

My body finished forming. “I’m done chasing
her. I’m going to claim her now.”

I leaped up into the air.

Ray caught my foot and pulled me down.

Strong bastard.

“Boy, I helped raise you. I’ve seen you mess
up a lot in your life with your drug addiction, burglaries, and
underground fighting.” He brought me back down into my office. “I
am proud of you for changing your life these past three years. Even
though you have some darkness within you, but I like your
organization—”

“Get on with it, Ray.” I stared at the
midnight sky.

She’s probably already on the tram now.

“You can’t force her to do whatever you
want. She’s not some Shifter you can magically control. She’s a
woman, and believe me, women are difficult.” Ray rubbed his bald
head. “Be patient.”

I closed my eyes. Rage burned within me.

“You’ll push her away,” Ray insisted.

I swallowed down some of the anger and
opened my eyes. “You’re right.”

I leaped back into the air.

“Now where are you going?” Ray tried to grab
my foot but missed.

“I’m not going to do anything crazy.” I
hovered in the air above him. “I’m just going to follow her home.
Keep to the sky so she won’t see me.”

Ray covered his face and cursed in Fey.

“What?” I asked as I rose toward the
sky.

“Nothing.” He shook his head and walked off.
“I give up with you. I’m going to get a drink.”

* * *

I soared high near the habitat ceiling’s
bars, blending into the darkness and trailing Lanore as she stomped
home, cursing to herself every minute or so.

I frowned.

She regrets kissing me.

She entered Caged View Apartments—one of the
crappiest buildings in the habitat and located in the most
crime-ridden area of Shango District. Hookers in burnt orange
lingerie strolled around the entrance, waving at cars that rolled
by. A hot drug spot was located several blocks down.

I exhaled noisily.

Be patient.

I wanted to take her out of here, put her
somewhere better, maybe near her university and closer to me.

The warm wind glided against my skin as I
flew up to her fire escape. I’d done this many nights, making sure
she got home safely. The fire escape creaked as I perched on the
edge of the railing, tucking in my wings behind me.

Her roommate, the Were-cheetah, sat on the
russet brown couch in their living room, kissing a blonde. I’d seen
him in her apartment before, but never knew he was her
ex-boyfriend. He always had a woman in there, and the few times I’d
seen him in the apartment with her, she had barely spoken to
him.

There must have been at least twenty teeny
Pixies flying around the Were-cheetah as he made out with the
blonde. A turquoise and silver one landed on top of his head and
peered over to get a closer look. The Were-cheetah wagged his
hands, and they all scattered away to the black dining table on the
other side of the apartment.

I moved my attention away from him and
checked out Lanore’s bedroom for the hundredth time, smiling.