Hope (Other World Protection Agency Book 1) (8 page)

The battle had drained more
energy than any of them had realized. They had made it back to the warehouse
and practically dropped where they stood. When Charon finally showed up, they asked
him when they would be going in search of Amanda. His reply had been, none of
you are ready for another battle. Then without another word he had simply
disappeared. That had been two days ago. So they had spent their time trying to
adjust to their new world order, which was mostly tension.

Paul was now sitting in what he
considered the living room (although it was in the middle of the warehouse)
alone.

“All alone?” He looked up to see
Charon standing by a rare window.

“Yes. Mother and daughter took
the car to buy groceries. Nice of you to drop in BTW.”

“As usual, you’re welcome. I was
out hunting information on your human friend.”

Paul took the time to look at
him. “What did you find out?”

“Not much and that’s disturbing.
Seems we are going to have to take a different approach to finding her.”

“Why don’t we just go knocking on
his door?”

“Because no one knows where his
door is.”

“Just ask his mother. You seemed
rather cozy with her.”

“Did you miss the part where she
said not to hurt her baby boy? Or did you miss Tara’s, look of murder? I on the
other hand missed neither.” His voice had a distinct mocking tone.

“So what do you suggest we do?”
Paul stood and began pacing. Why couldn’t anything be easy in this new world
order? Really maybe someone should die and make him King. He would demand peace
in the land.

“Go dancing.” There was total
silence as Paul refused to take the bait. “There’s a night club in East Liberty
that the non-humans like to frequent. There you can ask some subtle questions
and with a little luck we will get closer to finding his hideout.”

“So just go to a night club,
dance and listen to all the gossip. Sounds rather easy to me.” Take Tara
dancing. That had a nice ring to it. Tara, in a little slinky dress with high
heels and those luscious hips swaying. This could be the best thing to happen
to him in a while. Now how to persuade her to mix business with fun?

“You do realize this is nice
chance to wine and dine her.”

He was saved from answering that
when the door to the warehouse opened. Tara and Dora came in carry bags and
laughing. The outing must have done them well, as there was less tension
between them.

“Charon your back.” Dora said
with a smile.

“Yes. It seems that I have to
leave again. Although I will be back tonight. Tara have fun dancing.” With that
he shimmered out.

Show off Paul thought, before
turning to Tara to explain. “Charon suggested we do some undercover work
tonight at a local night club. He said it would be filled with non-humans and
we should be able to pick up information on Raimel.”

He watched her closely, looking
for signs that she was interested in spending time with him. The look on her
face gave nothing away, but it was raising his level of frustration. That cute
I want you, I don’t want you vibe she gave off was beginning to bother him. He
was lying to himself. It was beyond bothering him and headed straight into if
she didn’t know what she wanted then the hell with her. Then she would smile at
him and of course he was caught up again.

She turned to look at her mother.
“What will I wear?”

“Shopping trip. Paul be a dear
and put the food up.” They were out the door leaving him alone again.

      ************************************************

They had driven to the mall. It
seemed the best place to go for a quick outfit. Tara was in the dressing room
discarding one outfit after another.

“What does one wear to a club?
It’s not like I spent lots of time in them. You know fighting for my life and
all.”

“Will you ever forgive me for
leaving you?”

“Couple of hundred year’s maybe.
Will I live that long?”

“Barring sudden decapitation. You
will live that long and longer.”

“Exactly how will I fool the
people around me?”

“No one said your whole eternity
had to be lived on Earth.”

She stopped, slinky skirt half
way up her hips. She hadn’t thought of that. She could have a future. Sure
beings were still trying to kill her, but at least she knew why. Besides, she
had more weapons at her disposal and although she may be a freak of nature, at
least she was a worthwhile freak.

She could have a boyfriend. A man
friend. Whatever. She was grown. She could have a lover. A pair of beautiful
green eyes popped into her mind, but she ignored them. She had spent so much
time hating herself and her life that she never got past fantasy when she
thought about a man. Feeling a twinge in her back, she pulled the skirt up and
discarded it after one look. Tonight she needed to look perfect.

“Tara, am I going to see any of
these outfits on you?”

‘I am looking for the perfect
one.”

“I doubt anything could look bad
on you. Besides, Paul will love whatever you wear. Try on the dress Tara, the
red one.”

She grabbed the red one from the
hanger. This one had practically jumped into her arms the minute she walked into
the store. It was beautiful on the hanger. It was such a rare and vibrant red. She
had never seen this particular shade before. Down one side were what looked like
precious gems encrusted into the dress. The other side was held together with
what could have been strings of silk. When she moved you would be able to see
her skin in the light. The back of the dress had a deep V that came to the
small of her back. The front was almost conservative. There was a nice V, but
not a plunging neckline. Yet the material almost seemed transparent at times.
Almost as if you could catch her at the right angle you would see everything.
She slipped out of the dressing room to show her mother.

“Absolutely beautiful.” Her
mother said with a gasp. “You will be the center of attention tonight.”

Taking a good look at herself in
the three way mirror, she had to admit she looked good. She turned just in time
to see several customers pointing to her, asking for a dress like hers. They
could forget getting their hands on this one.

“Time to go Tara.”

It didn’t take her long to dress
and take the dress to the counter for checkout.

“Let me purchase this for you.”

“Thanks mom, but I got it.” True
she was fighting for her life and had a death wish or use to have one, but
starving and not dying was not fun. She had quickly learned, she needed money.
Since she rarely spent money preferring to constantly move, she had a lot of
it.

The brunette behind the counter
rang her up with a happy smile. “That will be $210.00.”

She looked at the dress and then
back at the brunette. “That’s all?”

“That’s it.”

Pulling out her wallet, she paid
with a smile, waiting until she left the store to confront her mother.

“Would you like to explain that?”

“Look lemonade and soft pretzels.
I haven’t had one of those in forever. Take a seat. I will get us some.”

She watched as her mother made a
production of biting into her pretzel and taking a sip of her lemonade.

“I am still waiting.”      

“Will you believe anything I
say?”

“Will it be the truth?”

“Fine. The dress is not from Earth.
Call it a plant put there for you alone to find. Anyone else looking at it
would think it was ugly until they saw it on you. That’s when they would see
its beauty. The woman at the counter thought she was cheating you because the
dress was so hideous.”

Did she want to know anything
else? The dress was beautiful and she wanted it. “Who planted it there?”

“Let’s just say it’s a gift from
your father and that’s all I can say.”

“So my fathers is alive? He can
give me gifts, but doesn’t want to see me?” She didn’t know how she felt about
the dress, but she was sure she didn’t want it anymore. It was bad enough that
her mother had just turned up. Now her elusive father, the one she thought
might be dead, wasn’t dead. Not only wasn’t he dead, but he wasn’t showing up
in her life.

“It’s complicated.”

“I don’t care. I didn’t ask for
complications.”

She got up and left the dress at
the table. Somebody else could wear it. Her mother, whom she had adored, had
disappeared one day. It was like she was just gone, it had created a gaping
hole in her heart. Her father had never been there, although sometimes she
thought she had seen him as a small child. Being left alone to fend for one’s
self was no picnic, but she had always reminded herself other kids had it just
as hard as she did. Seems she was wrong. No one had this cosmic load of junk to
deal with.

“Tara, like it or not there are
still things you will discover when the time is right. This dress will look
beautiful on you tonight with those heels. Allow yourself to have one night of
fun. Come on. You have a man to make speechless.”

Tara descended the steps giving
him a flirty smile. She had taken her time getting dressed. She wanted to look
her best. If the look on his face was any indication, she had done well. She
knew when a man wanted her and Paul wanted her. It gave her a sense of power. As
if she had a vested interest in him. She had been sleeping in his arms for more
than a week now and she liked it. His kisses were hot. This was different. It
felt primal. Like his hot gaze was somehow branding her as his, before anyone
else could get a chance.

“You look beautiful.” His eyes
took in the shortness of her dress that stopped mid-thigh. Then he slowly swept
from the end of the dress down her legs before retreating in the other
direction. “I never knew a woman could make a dress look so good.”

She found herself smiling. Biting
her bottom lip to keep from giving herself away, she walked towards the door.

“Have fun you two.” This came
from her mother, who she was still upset with. Truthfully, she had never gotten
over the abandoned thing, but she had been playing nice. She was tired of
playing nice. With a small wave of her hand, she walked out.

“So where are we going?” She was
looking at Paul’s hands as he turned the key and smoothly took off. He had
strong lean looking hands. The kind you would expect a surgeon to have.

“The club’s in East Liberty.”

“How did East Liberty become the
hot bed of alien activity?”

“It’s East Liberty. Where else in
the city would you expect it?”

She thought about it. Yeah it
made some type of sense. You could find just about anything in East Liberty and
yet it always seemed to avoid attention.  She had hidden there more than once.
She always thought nothing happened in Pittsburgh. Now she knew better.

She looked up as Paul pulled into
a parking lot.

“The club is two blocks over. Can
you walk in those heels?”

She looked down at her insanely
expensive strappy silver heels that complimented not only her dress, but her
legs. “Try and stop me.”

They walked in silence, passing
the now closed Tea Room. The closer they got to the club, the more she felt as
if she was being watched. Stopping, she looked at him, but he nodded his head
slightly and kept walking. Following his lead, she kept up as she tried to see
if anything was hidden in the dark doorways they passed.

The beat of the music invaded her
body before she was even close enough to open the door and yet she couldn’t
hear the music. She could feel her heart rate pick up and her pulse flutter
before taking off as in a race. A mixture of pure dread and excitement hit her
at the same time. She didn’t know if she should run away from or to the door.
The look on Paul’s face was a lot like hers, letting her know she wasn’t alone
in this. With a half-smile, he opened the door.

The club was bright, as if
everyone there wanted to be seen. In the corners there were spots that were
dark, almost black. If the call for privacy hit you, that was where you wanted
to be. They were evenly dispersed through the club and even seemed to have a
subtle glowing sign that let you know if a particular spot was occupied.

Moving further into the club,
Paul directed her to a table for two. Immediately a waiter appeared by their
side, dropping off menus and asking for drink orders.

“What would you like to drink?”
She looked at the waiter who had obvious antennae sticking up from his head and
smiled. she was getting used to weird.

“A Mojito?” She had never taken
the time to drink with her death wish. So she picked something she had heard
talked about once.

“What would you like?” The waiter
said, addressing Paul.

“The same please.”

They watched as the waiter walked
away. The loud beat of the music seemed to drown out all conversation again.

“You didn’t know what to order
either?”

“Nope. Seems like I was studying
when others were partying and then I decided to become a doctor. With my
background, I always felt I had to study more than my classmates.”

She leaned back letting a big
smile cross her lips. The more she got to know him, the more she liked him. She
sat there wondering what they should talk about until the waiter brought their
drinks. Taking a few sips she finally met his eyes.

“Dance?”

Nodding her head yes, they headed
for the dance floor. The music was fast and fun sounding, even though they
couldn’t understand the words. They must have various music from different
planets because the language seemed to continually change. From what she could
tell, it was definitely not universal.

“I almost wish I could understand
the words.” She shouted over the pulsing music, as she moved to the beat. She
loved to dance and fortunately for her she had natural rhythm. Her mother
always claimed she had picked it up from her. She moved nice and slow, teasing
him on the dance floor, liking the ways his eyes grew darker with desire. It
just seemed so natural to slip into his arms when a slow dance came on.

Her body was rocking gently
against his as she felt her temperature rising. This had to be the best song
she had ever heard, despite not being able to understand the words. She looked
up in anticipation of the kiss she thought she should be getting, to find a
pair of yellow eyes staring at her.

“Paul?”

“Yes baby?” He was staring at her
lips as if he wanted a taste.

“I think we have company” he
turned around to see the same yellow eyes standing on the dance floor staring
at them.

They stopped dancing and returned
the stare. The creature looking at them seemed to be about six feet tall with
the palest skin she had ever seen. It looked like it should be a sheet of paper,
white or almost transparent, but it was neither. The hair was a true blonde,
the shade every woman wanted to be, but only one in a million ever was. The
body was extremely thin, as in the, ‘oh my God let me buy you a hamburger’
thin. Yet, what was making her flight or fight sense go off the chart was those
eyes.  They had the look of a certified killer and a famished zombie all in one
nice bright yellow package. And her date had been going so well.

“Do we talk to him or do we run?”
She whispered to Paul, hoping yellow eyes didn’t have super hearing.

“Let’s try sitting?”

They walked back to their table,
trying not to draw any attention. As they sat, they saw him pick up a chair and
move in their direction.

He walked slowly with deliberate
movements, almost daring anyone to interfere with him or the humans that had
unwittingly stumbled into the place. Coming to a halt by their table, he set
the chair down. Giving them a nice big smile of a predator, he sat in the
chair.

“Welcome to my small club. I am
Dix.” He tilted his head in greeting, ignoring Paul’s out stretched hand.

“I am Paul and this is Tara.”

“So what brings you here to my
little establishment?” His smile stayed in place, but he seemed to be watching
their every move.

Paul shrugged his shoulders
before replying. “For the same reasons most people go out I would imagine. I
wanted a chance to be with my woman, as well as show her off. You have to admit
she is beautiful. I figured a little dancing, a smooth drink and light
conversation would be perfect. I also thought while I was here, maybe I could
find someone with information.”

“A beautiful woman and
information almost feels like a movie.”

Tara tilted her head and laughed.
It was nice and robust, but still managed to be feminine. “This definitely has
a slight movie feel to it.”

“So who do you need information
on?”

“Why are you so willing to help
us?” Paul’s eyes narrowed still overcome with a need to escape with Tara in
tow.

“Let’s just say I received a
visit earlier informing me I would receive visitors and the more I helped them,
the more I would be helped.”

He caught both of their gazes
with his own. The need to literally run became so acute that they would have,
if they could have moved. His eyes were now lit up as if he had his own
personal face light.

“Come with me.” He murmured this
so low that only the two within hearing range heard him. Standing, they
followed him through the bar and into the back room. They moved stiffly, as if
in some kind of trance, unable to move their heads. They couldn’t see anything,
but what was in front of them. He took them into a darkened room and opened a
second door. He descended steps and they found themselves following unable to
see what they were walking into and unable to protest his treatment of them.

Taking them deep into the dark
room, he commanded them to stop. He turned on the light, but never seemed to
move. He released them enough to be able to look around. It was like he wanted
to show off his handiwork. It was not a room, but a dungeon. It was dank and
still dark, even with the light. There were chains attached to the wall and
furniture that looked like medieval torture devices.

“Why did you bring us here?” Paul
was still looking shell shocked so she decided to step in.

“Why are you in my club?” He
paused to stare at them. “Exactly what information do you need?”

“This is not where I imagined we
would negotiate.” Paul was snapping out of his shock and it was a good thing
because she felt like going into shock.

“That’s the problem with you
humans. You think the rest of the universe wants to negotiate. So here’s my
offer. Tell me what you want fast or spend some time getting to know my chamber
of human horrors.”

“You’re not a very good host. I
definitely will not be recommending this place.” She murmured, wishing she had
the power to bring him to his knees.

“We need information on the Demos
Raimel. We were told we could find it here.”

“It’s a death sentence to give
out information on that Demos. Seems he has no respect for life, including his
own. What could the two of you have that would interest me in taking that
risk?” He walked closer and sniffed the air. “Well a door. Not just any door, but
a gateway and her shield.”

He took the time to look them
over slowly, walking around them as if he was thinking how much he could get
for them.

“A pity I can’t kill or sell you.
I was warned though and what I get if you walk out of here is beyond compare. But
it doesn’t pay the price for the information. You will have to pay that price.”

With a snap of his fingers, two
men stepped out of the shadows. They had to be seven feet tall, each well over
three hundred pounds of muscle. Stepping forward they grabbed them, forcing
them to face the wall before chaining them.

“What are you doing?” Tara
screamed, even as her body refused her command to struggle.

She turned her head to look at
Paul who was trying to open his mouth, but couldn’t.

“The gateway screams, but the
shield says nothing.” He looked at his men and nodded. They went to the side of
the room and each picked up a whip. Running their hands over the soft leather,
they simply waited. When he nodded again, they raised their hands and let them fly.

Tara, had already decided she
would say nothing. When she felt that whip hit her back shredding her dress her
body jerked, she bit her tongue almost in half, but said nothing. The tears
couldn’t be held back no matter how she tried. They poured down her face. BDSM
was not for her, she thought. She tensed as she waited for the second one. The
second blow had not yet fallen and for one moment she felt a flicker of hope.
Tilting her head she could see the look of pain on Paul’s face. The look of
acceptance, of something he could not change, it quickly killed the small ember
of hope as she cringed.

“There’s a black market for
certain things. Blood is one of those things. The interesting thing about blood
is that some species can feel what the donor felt when they gave it. Another.”

A second strike of that leather
whip on her back made her scream. She was not into pain, she screamed and
cursed him as he commanded them to hit her again. She looked over and saw that
even though Paul’s body was beaten he refused to cry. Not a single tear fell
from his face. How could he do that?

“This race of beings are addicted
to human blood. They say the emotions are so raw or so sweet. When that human
is other like the two of you, the blood is so rare that they will pay a fortune
for one small sip of it. To have both the gatekeeper and the shield will bring
me riches beyond compare. Which by the way you owe me, since you are asking me
to risk my life.”

After what seemed like forever he
commanded them to collect the blood. After that it was like nothing had ever
happened. He led them upstairs and through the doorway to his establishment.
They moved like puppets being manipulated by a string.

“Look at that you walked out.” He
turned to go back in, but stopped. Looking over his shoulder he said “What you
need will be waiting for you tomorrow morning.” With that he disappeared and
his bar seemed to go with him.