Missy Makes Mayhem (Missy the Werecat Book 5) (16 page)

Troy laughed and said, “Yeah, it is.  But, that was before I’d known how wild and crazy helping your sister would be.  How am I gonna sit there trying to impress Sally and keep all of this a big secret?”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll find plenty of things you’ll think of … after all, you’re a
psychic
, right?”  The three of them all laughed at that.

-----

When Alessandra arrived home, it was overwhelming.  Her father and mother and brother were all there, along with Ben Marchitto and a few other friends and associates of her father who had known about her kidnapping.  The joy and happiness over her return was special and, after all the emotional turmoil she’d been through earlier that night, it didn’t take long before she begged permission to go up to her room and just crash.  She was exhausted and her bed had never looked so good.  She was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

As she’d soon learn, her kidnapping had actually been kept a big secret.  Her school had been informed her sudden disappearance was because of the mob war going on.  Even her friend Maria had been told Sandy was in hiding for protection, so her family could keep her safe.

Sal asked her not to reveal any details to anyone concerning her rescue.  Only Ben, Billy and Donny could know, in addition to himself of course.  She mustn’t let anyone else know, not even her mother.  He stressed that was really important.  He also explained she needed to stay home for a few days more, until he’d had a chance to meet with the other families and negotiate terms and conditions for peace.

He also needed to deal with Vinnie Cappiello, of course.  Before she’d even arrived back home, he had sent some of his guys out to pick up Vinnie, Stan Prudente, and anyone else who might be loyal to Vinnie.  Thanks to how quickly the raid on the house in Yonkers where she’d been held had gone down, Sal’s men managed to successfully corral almost everyone before they’d had a chance to find out about her rescue.

Unfortunately, upon arrival of Sal’s guys, Vinnie had recognized he was in trouble and had committed suicide at the last minute.  Pulling a gun from a drawer in his desk, he’d managed to point that under his chin and, pulling the trigger, had blown his brains out before anyone could stop him.

Oct 28, 2019

Tracy allowed Missy to sleep in for as long as possible and then roused her with enough time so, using her super speed, she could just make their morning formation.  Since Missy had woken Tracy up upon her late return, letting her know Sandy was home safe, they didn’t really need to do any talking.  Then, it was on to what each had on their schedule for that day.  They’d see each other again at Khan Klass that evening and catch up then.

Once awake, of course, Missy’s stream of consciousness flow of messages to Mike continued, as always.  Being able to experience him and his feedback had become as important a part of her daily routine as breathing.  Yes, she could exist without him, and had done so on a couple of occasions when it had been necessary, but her state of happiness would not be the same and she would no longer feel complete.  She was an earth witch and he grounded her.

He was also her mate and the mating bond reinforced everything all the more.  She felt truly blessed and being so satisfied and fulfilled was a big part of why she was so driven to give back and help others.  Serving her country, with the amazing gifts and abilities which she’d received, was a calling she felt deep inside and was totally committed to.  Hence, West Point and the Army.

Since the Fabulous Fates had blessed her genetically with being a witch-werecat and had also given her Mike as her soulmate, she willingly accepted whatever challenges came her way and looked forward to each day as yet another opportunity for contributing further.

With Halloween now only three days away, she had that to look forward to as well.  Like during the equinoxes and solstices, Missy had learned her powers would increase at Halloween, also known as Samhain.  It was about halfway in between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice and, as she had become more and more aware of her own inner energy, she’d realized all of these were periods during which her energy would rise and peak, much greater than during its normal ebb and flow at other times.  Now that she had tuned into so much of what she was, aware of how her energy allowed her to exist in different forms, she was very sensitive to these nuances and variations.

Her classes went by quickly and then she had soccer practice.  Their last regularly scheduled game was coming up and then they’d be going on into the playoffs.  Since she would also be playing on the varsity basketball team which would soon be starting up, not to mention all her Combat Weapons Team and Rifle Team matches, Missy would be a busy cadet.  Of course, she thrived on all these activities and loved being able to participate.

When she arrived at Kelsey’s Korner for her language class with Major Khan, she was feeling especially good about things.  Most of her friends had already arrived and the guys were practicing their Farsi and Pashto dialects by telling raunchy jokes, the more outrageous the better.  Somehow, being able to tell these in a foreign language meant being politically correct was off the table.  Oh, well!

What was really cracking everyone up was the way Kelsey kept correcting their pronunciation, insisting they repeat things over and over until they each got them exactly right.  She pretended she was oblivious to the actual
meaning
of these jokes and that only made them all the more hilarious.  Of course, with big Mitch always right there at her side, nobody was going to take any liberties … he made sure it all remained purely an academic exercise.

Tracy was telling Sharon how wonderful a time she and John had had on Sunday, explaining how he’d played tricks on her constantly, claiming she was his “treat” and since they’d be missing Halloween, they needed to celebrate while they could.  John had some big exams coming up and he wouldn’t be coming down for next week’s football game and the dance after that.

Hearing mention of the game, Missy went up to Sally and asked, “Hey, do you know this guy on the swim team over at Colgate named Troy Dangelmeyer?  He says he watched you set that record in the two hundred meter breast stroke last year.”

Sally giggled and said, “Oh, yes!  Troy is very well known and not just for his swimming.  Where did you see him?”  All the girls on her swim team had voiced their opinion about Troy, as they did for all the other guys they knew about.

“Tracy and I were at this thing and he was there.  With his mother.  He and Mike were talking and, well … your name came up.”

Sally blushed and said, “Really?  I’ve only seen him from a distance.  You know … at a couple of meets.  I heard some of the other girls there talking about him.  They say he’s actually a nice guy, in spite of being such a hunk.  Only, I heard he was off limits.  He won’t get serious with anyone and only plays the field, so he’s not worth wasting time on.”

Missy picked up on the fact Sally had apparently been asking about Troy.  How else would she have heard not to waste time on him?  And, why was she blushing?  “Well, I hope you don’t mind.  But, Mike’s going to be here for our football game and I thought it would be nice if Troy came along.  I’ve promised him I’d get him a ticket.”

Now Sally really blushed.  “Why would I mind?”

Missy laughed and said, “Well, since he mentioned he’d watched you set that record, I promised him I’d get you to be at the game as well.  You always go to those games anyway, so no big deal, right?”  Missy was going slow and easy since she knew Sally had been dumped by her last boyfriend, after spending much of her summer vacation getting really involved with him.  Once she had returned to the academy, he’d decided to move on.  She’d been crushed.

Sally wasn’t at all fooled, though, having lived with Missy the previous semester and gone through that whole Caesar’s Club thing with her.  That had been the name of the sex club they had exposed.  “Are you trying to set me up with Troy?  You are, aren’t you!  Wow!  Missy McCrea, you should be ashamed of yourself!”

Not only Tracy but several of the other girls had gathered around by this time.  They all knew the history, including how Sally had been dumped not that long ago.  They’d been trying to help her pick up all the broken pieces after her heart had been shattered.  When Tracy described what a handsome “catch” this guy was, explaining he was already mesmerized by having seen Sally swim, everyone then really got into it.  By the time Major Khan called them all to order so he could start his class, poor Sally had no choice.  She’d be sitting next to Troy at the football game and all her “friends” would be right there, making sure she was having a really “great” time.

-----

Alessandra was in her father’s study along with Ben, Billy and Donny.  Her father had waited until early evening, giving her a chance to relax and recover from her horrible ordeal, and then had asked her to join them.  He gave her an update on how Vinnie had killed himself but Stan and everyone else who had any involvement in her kidnapping had been picked up.  Of course, she knew everyone who’d been at the house where they’d been holding her had been killed during her rescue.

Sal had explained why he’d kept it a big secret about her being kidnapped.  And, now that she was safely home again, she really was okay with that.  She’d be able to return to school without everyone asking her all about what she might have gone through, possibly even believing things had happened which were a lot more terrible than what she’d actually experienced.  Of course, it had been close!  She’d never forget having Buck on top of her, knowing she was going to first be raped and then later be killed.

But, she was glad she didn’t need to be viewed as a victim.  She understood how things were.  She could relate.  She knew her father didn’t want any of the other families or even anyone in his own organization to realize he’d been forced to make war the way he had.  So, keeping the secret was really for the best.

They talked about the war and how her father was now working to settle things, negotiate peace among everyone and end any further attacks.  The war had been costly for everyone with no winners.  There had been many losses and, like Tommy Muccio, some lives lost.  But, once things settled back down, at least her father would still be in control, without any perceived weaknesses.  Such was the business he was in.

She apologized for sneaking out the way she had.  She knew her stupidity had led to all that had happened, but her father was completely forgiving and told her not to blame herself.  Vinnie and his guys had obviously been planning on grabbing her for quite a while and, as bad as it had all gone down, she had been lucky.  Things could have been much worse.  He promised he would do lots more to protect her from anything like that ever happening again and asked her to forgive him.

While she never really thought to ask how he had managed finding her, she did finally bring up the one thing that was still bothering her.  She glanced at Billy and Donny and then stared at her father.  “How come you’re not asking me more about what happened to that guy Buck?  Why do I get the feeling none of you are all that surprised about how he died?  I know he was dead.  I checked before Billy and Donny broke in.”

Sal looked at the other men and then at his daughter.  “We agree you won’t ever tell anyone about that, Sandy.  Right?  Not your mother or anyone.  Not ever.”  He waited for her to agree.

She could tell there was more.  “I promise, Daddy.  But …”  She really wanted to know whatever it was they knew.  She could tell there was
something
; Donny’s expression was a real giveaway.  He obviously knew.

Sal had considered not telling her but he knew his daughter.  She’d be back, again and again, asking questions and trying to figure things out.  It was better if she knew.  That way, she would keep things secret, just as he was doing.  “The person who told us where you were being held, the person who found you … that person is a witch.  She has supernatural powers and we believe she was there, protecting you last night.”

“What?”  Sandy was stunned.  “But, there’s no such thing as
witches
… I mean, not for
real
… you can’t be serious!  I know I’m not all grown up yet but …”

“Oh, I’m serious.  I wouldn’t make up something like this.  Not after what you went through.”  Sal looked to Ben for help.

Ben said, “Remember how there were all those lightning bolts that hit out here a year ago?  You were at school when that happened but you saw all the damage and heard what people said on the news.”

“Yeah, but … um …”  Sandy didn’t know what else to say.  She certainly had been shocked, at the time.

“That was merely a demonstration.  That’s what she told us.  She also made all the glass along that wall shatter, exploding out.  She was standing right over there and made it all happen.  Missy McCrea.  The witch.  Pretty unbelievable, I know, but I can assure you … she’s very real.”

Sal said, “I’m sure you can appreciate why we don’t want anyone
else
to know.  By that I mean we can’t have anyone thinking
we
believe in the supernatural.  While this Missy is indeed a real witch, we could never prove that if anyone were to challenge us.  I mean, how do you
prove
someone can control lightning?  Even now,
you
are having trouble with this, right?”

Sandy looked at each of them and could tell they were all being completely earnest.  They all believed in this Missy person.  “You’re not saying this witch is a
friend
of yours … she did all that damage!  So, why?  Why would she help you find me?  Why would she protect me?  You’re saying she somehow did that to Buck?”

Sal gave her his cell phone and had her read through all the text messages.  That certainly made it clear someone had found out where she was being held and had asked for Sal to send his crew.  And, there it was: the promise that no harm would come to her.  She looked at her father and said, “How could this witch guarantee my safety like this?”  Then, after only a moment’s thought, she added, “How could she do what she did?  She picked Buck up and tossed him across the room.  She killed him!  I still can’t believe that!”

Ben said, “Would it help if I took you to meet her, Sandy?”  He and Sal had discussed this.  It had been Ben’s suggestion.  He was convinced Missy would agree and he believed it would really help Sandy.  After all, it’s not like they were going to arrange for her to see a shrink.  Maybe seeing Missy would help her deal with all the trauma.  And, it would help convince her not to talk about it to anyone else.

-----

Marcia crawled into bed and snuggled up next to her husband Les.  They’d had another long day, monitoring all things supernatural at “P” Branch as well as staying tuned into what the New York mob families were all doing.  The latest word from various sources was that D’Amato was calling for a truce.

“Do you really think this crazy mob war will end?”

Les pulled her into his arms and began some interesting explorations with his hands which, based on past experience, would soon lead to her forgetting all about mob wars and anything else not actually happening right there under the covers.  “Hopefully, it will.  Until today, there wasn’t much talk of that but now?  I’m cautiously optimistic ...”

“Even though he lost another one of his capos?” she asked.  “First it was Muccio and now, Cappiello.”

“Hey, maybe
because
he lost those guys.  Every so often, these mob bosses seem to need to do some sort of
cleansing
.  Then, they can go back to doing what they always do.”  He began rubbing some of her more sensitive areas.