by Jana Leigh
There was silence on the other end of the line. He thought for a moment that her mother had hung up on her since she had answered the phone that way, but then he heard the threatening growl.
"DO NOT TALK TO YOUR MOTHER LIKE THAT! How many times have I told you that? Now, I would like to know exactly when you were going to call me and inform me that I had a new son-in-law?" her mother yelled and then changed tones and finished off nicely.
That's when you had to be really careful. When her mom was nice and sweet as pie, she was actually plotting your murder or your wedding. In her case, it could be a toss-up. They fought like cats and dogs since she was in the womb, or so she liked to say.
"Those treacherous bitches," Calli muttered. Rissa and Cherri called her mother.
"Now don't call your blood sisters that," her mother mocked, and she closed her eyes. Seriously, they told this story over and over, it was not a surprise that her mother pulled it out. "They were required to call me, remember? You made it in the oath that they were responsible for notifications. You may be Alpha of your little pack, but I'm still your Alpha mother, stop being a bitch and give me some details."
Kade put his hand up to his mouth to hold in his laughter. Calli gave him the evil eye and then said, "Whatever. He is not my mate yet; we are in negotiations, so don't go planning anything yet. You can get the details from him yourself. I don't have the time for twenty questions."
Kade chuckled at that statement, and her mother must have heard him. "Kade, honey, dinner on Sunday at three and then the guys watch football. My husband says to bring your shorts too, cause they may have a game of basketball out back."
He looked at Calli in horror. He had no clue how to act with his future in laws. He had been alone for a long time, never wanting to have any family after his parents died. Now, it sounded like he was joining a freakin' team.
Calli smirked and said, "Ma, he is so excited; I don't think he can answer right now. The tears are welling up in his eyes because he's so happy. See ya on Sunday," she said and hung up the phone before her mother could say more. Four days, they had four days to come to terms, because her mother would expect no less than a happy couple when they arrived. Unless of course, one of them was killed in the line of duty, then they would all console her. The thought had some appeal.
***
The rest of the ride to the bar was made in silence. Although Kade chuckled a few times when he could scent her arousal that was going off the charts for being so close to him. Her damn wolf was being a total bitch about this. Demanding that she mate and do it now. Calli actually had to push her wolf back several times when Kade's own arousing scent drifted to them. It was pissing her off the mating heat was riding her so hard. She was a grown wolf, with a lot of practice. One simple mate should not be this hard to handle.
They pulled up to the parking top in Drag Row. Such a catchy name, Calli laughed. A human had named the segments of streets that lined the next few miles. Basically, it was the one controlled area the shifters allowed. It was so humans wouldn't roam into their area and find themselves in a place they did not want to be.
So, Drag Row lasted for three blocks, next there was Pack Row, and after that Pride Row, and so on and so forth. Stupid, yet true. Calli jumped out of the shuttle and checked her vest. Everything was in order. When she went in a bar on official business, she looked the part. She was the Commander of the Drekinn Enforcer Group; and no one should interfere with her job.
Kade did the same and then came around to her side of the car.
"How are we gonna play this?" Kade asked seriously.
"We start from the beginning and work our way through. The tape said she was in a bar called Queenside. It's the third bar to the left. But in my experience, people can work at many different bars to make ends meet. We are just gonna have to search. And don't be scaring her either. Try and tone down the masculinity," Calli said gruffly.
Kade smiled and said, "I can't when I'm with you, babe."
"Stop calling me those stupid pet names. My name is Calli, use it," she demanded and turned around and walked away. But she heard his reply; she just chose to ignore it.
"Sweetheart, you haven't even begun to be called all the names I could call you," Kade laughed.
Chapter 6
They found her in the second bar they looked. Calli stepped over to the bartender and asked for Kiki. The bartender obviously didn't want to share the information, and Calli was sure, given half the chance he would have told the Drag Queen to run. But as it was, she was busy and Kade was blocking for her. Maybe he did have some use after all. He could be her big, scary sidekick, who never spoke a word and always followed orders. Right, and monkeys will fly out of her ass. She loved that saying, ever since she heard it in a late 20th century movie.
"Why do you want to know?" the man asked for about the tenth time.
"Listen here, you little fuck wad, I'm sick of dancing around the issue, gimme her name, or I shut you down for any violation I can dream up," Calli snarled through her teeth. The small man backed up and looked around nervously.
"Fine, Kiki's working tonight in the front section. But she is very delicate and high strung. I mean, you need to approach her just right, or she will freak out. Maybe you should let me come with you to talk to her. She trusts me," the man said quickly, and Calli looked at him. Shit, he was the boyfriend, great, just what she needed.
"I'm sorry; we're talking about official business," Calli said and then turned away from the bar and went to where Kade was standing, watching Kiki move through the room and get her drink orders and flirt with the people.
Calli had not had a chance to tell him the bartender said she was fragile. Calli grimaced and flinched, waiting for the loud screams and crying to start. Instead, she heard, "Handsome, I will come anywhere with you. Just let me drop off this drink list to the bitch behind the bar, and we can find a nice little corner somewhere and talk all you want. You can even bring the skinny bitch with you, I don't think she's into that kind of thing from the looks of her, but maybe we can train her." Kiki said and laughed loudly. Her voice was husky and soft; she could pass as a woman if you didn't look at her hands. They were large, though they were perfectly manicured. Shit, she went to the same place they had been to earlier; she noticed the design as something that Cherri had gotten weeks ago.
Calli smiled to herself; she was gonna give Cherri shit about having the same taste as the Drag Queens. Kiki grinned up at Kade and ran her hand up his bare arm and squeezed his biceps. "Oh honey, you can lose the skinny bitch, and I will totally make all your dreams come true. Kiki would love to have a big, strong man in her bed again."
Calli once again was stunned, skinny bitch? Really? What the hell was wrong with her lately, she should have thrown the woman on the floor and beat the shit out of her, but instead she stood there and watched as she hit on her man. Calli growled, and Kiki looked at her slyly. Her grin widened and she snapped her fingers, "Bitch, don't even, I was just messing with him. I know he's your mate."
Kade laughed and held out his arm to let her know to lead the way. Kiki wore a short, red, shiny dress; it showed off her long toned, tawny-colored legs. Her skin was flawless, no five o'clock shadow for her. She must carry around a hair laser. Her grandmother used to use one every day for her chin. She had the same hair as the video they saw, only this time her hair was blue. It matched her eyes. And though she wore high-heeled shoes, she stood a head taller than Calli. Damn, she was a hot Drag Queen.
Kiki sashayed over to the bar and dropped her list off to the bartender and then slapped another waitress on the ass and pointed to her tables. Once she was done, she turned and cocked her hip and waved. Would this day ever end?
Kade led the way since Calli was too busy trying to shake off her feelings of inadequacy when she was next to Kiki, the Queen was built. Her bra size had to be at least a D. While Calli's was a respectable C, she wondered if Kade liked Kiki's chest more. OMG, she thought, I did not just compare mys
elf to a Drag Queen.
They ended up in the back of the bar at a round booth. Kiki slid toward the center and Calli and Kade each took a side. She grinned and said," I didn't know ya'll were into the sandwich thing, but I'm game if you are."
Calli rolled her eyes and then pulled out her communicator and pushed the button to show her the video. "Do you remember this?"
Kiki leaned forward and put her hand to her chest as she watched the two men. Calli had muted the sound, so she couldn't hear what was being said, but soon Kiki came into the picture. Kiki frowned, "Damn, my ass looks big in that dress; I have to throw that away."
Kade laughed, "Ma'am, can you tell us if you remember those two men?"
Kiki nodded and smiled at Kade, "Of course I do, gorgeous. I remember everyone who leaves a hundred dollars for no drinks. Fred and Barney, that's what I called them because the first guy, Fred, he was all growly and bossy. He had a scar across his face, but it made him look all handsome and dangerous. Then, there was Barney, he was kind of a goof, like he tried to act like he was a big guy, but you knew he was totally not in charge. He was a lackey. But he had the nose, you know, like he drank too much, red and shit."
Calli looked at Kade, who was listening and taking notes in his communicator. They were going to have to take her into protective custody. Somewhere that the Ulfer couldn't find her. She could lead them right to the Bondi King, and she didn't even know it.
"Kiki, I hate to tell you that you have just become a federal witness of the Drekinn Agency," Calli said and then stopped when Kiki snapped her fingers in front of her face.
"Hey, hey, hey. Hang on for a sec there. I can't stop working; I'm barley hanging on to my apartment as it is, lady. Kiki can't afford to be a witness. Besides, I know what happens to people who go into your witness program. We all heard about the last shifter who went into the so-called program," Kiki said, and folded her arms across her chest. Yep, she was a cat alright.
Kade put a hand out to the Drag Queen, "We really don't have a choice. I'm sure we can make some arrangements for your apartment. But the first thing we need to do is get you out of here and safe. Then we can worry about everything else."
Kiki smiled, "If you're guarding my body, I'll go where you want."
Calli rolled her eyes; they rose from the table and followed Kiki into the back to get her things and talk with her boss. The man was a fat, lazy asshole that fired her when Kiki said she had to leave.
Kiki flipped him off and then went into the changing room to change out of her work outfit and grab her stuff. Kade leaned against the wall and watched as his mate began to get pissed. She had bristled when the boss had treated Kiki like shit. He knew she was going to say something, and he couldn't wait. Calli could feel his gaze on her back as she turned.
Calli had never actually given a shit one way or the other, what the bosses of her witnesses said. Often she had seen this and stood back, ignoring them. But there was something about Kiki that had grown on her. Calli stepped up and flipped out her badge, got nose to nose with the foul-smelling man, gritted her teeth and then showed her fangs for a second. "That would be a very unwise decision for you to make. The Drekinn Agency is in full support of Kiki coming back to work when all is said and done."
The fat man blustered and turned red, "Of course, what I meant is that I would tell people she was fired until she returned. It's a good cover, huh?"
Calli laughed, "Sure, just remember I will be bringing her back."
Calli turned and ignored the smirk that Kade had on his face. The door was flung open, and a tall man walked out. Calli stopped and looked closer. It was Kiki; she was now a he and Calli had no idea what the hell to call her. Shit, he was handsome too. Tall and thin, with short, black hair and smooth, make-up free caramel skin. He still had delicate features, and she could tell he still liked to dress with a flare. His purple, silk shirt was open to the waist showing off his chest, as she looked closer she could see the nipple rings through the material. He wore hip hugging, worn jeans that showed off his great legs. But when he opened his mouth, he still sounded like Kiki.
"Don't go getting any ideas, Ms. Thing, I still don't swing your way. But I figured this would be a good disguise. Usually, I would change into my lovely after work dress. Now," he said and cocked his hip the way that he had in the bar, and Calli saw the shoes he was wearing and grinned. He was wearing purple stilettos. "Where the fuck we goin'?"
Calli laughed out loud and then led them back through the bar to the exit. She was trying to think where the hell she was going to put Kiki and who she was going to be assigned to him when she felt the air around them change, and her head snapped up.
In the entrance to the club stood four Ulfer, and they were staring right at them. Calli reached backward and pushed Kiki back into the bar, right into Kade, who was following closely. They both let out a yell of surprise, one high and one low, if she had time, Calli would have laughed at the picture they made. But because she pushed them back and didn't follow, it caused her to be trapped in the small entry with the four beefy Ulfer. She grinned and moved her shoulders around a little getting ready to kick some ass when the first one laughed and shifted into a fuckin' tiger.
She had dealt with tigers before, and they were the worst of the cat family, besides the lions. Calli jumped to the side and then raised her gun, which she had loaded with real bullets, thank goodness, and fired. She hit the tiger in the ass and grinned. That was going to hurt, if he managed to make it out of this place alive, he would be limping for a week. Her bullets had silver in them. Even though a shifter could heal at accelerated rates, when silver was involved, it took longer. She loved the bullets that she had designed herself.
One of the other Ulfer shifted into a wolf and attacked. The entry was small enough she didn't have a lot of room to work with, so she raised her leg and pushed off the wall and flipped over the wolf and tiger that both hit each other and fell into a mass of fur on the floor. She was done screwing around. Looking at the two Ulfer, who were standing there waiting, she raised her gun and shot one of them between the eyes, dropping him where he stood. The other one looked at her with a shocked expression, raised his hands and backed out of the door.
Nice, it left only the two that shifted. They would not have enough control to shift back, so she turned the gun to them, but she wasn't quick enough and the wolf bit down on her arm, hard. She could feel the bones snap, and she growled.
Then she heard a loud growl, and she looked over her shoulder to see a huge wolf and smaller cougar enter the entryway. He was gorgeous. Kade's wolf was all black and had his eyes. And he was huge. She could not believe that his wolf was so big. He had to come up to her waist at least. His coat was sleek and shiny. He treated his wolf well, she could tell.
Some shifters did not groom their wolves like they should. Calli had learned from her mother the wolf liked to be pampered, just like the cats. Her wolf liked to run through the fountain and then rub against a tree until her coat was smooth. There were even nice salons now that you could go into, shift, and they would pamper your animal anyway you wanted.
Kiki's coat gleamed also, so she knew that she went to the salon, there was no way a cat could get that shiny by licking himself. Wait a minute.
Oh shit, he did not just bring a witness to a fight; she thought. She was going to have to have a serious talk to Kade about protocol. But she watched as the cougar jumped on the tiger's back and dug his claws into the shoulders of the tiger, causing it to rear up and try to throw Kiki off, it didn't work. Kiki was clawing and biting the tiger while it ran in circles bucking.
Kade didn't waste any time; he grabbed the Ulfer wolf by the back of the neck, which caused him to release her arm. She raised her gun again but couldn't get a good shot of either one of them. Kade had the Ulfer on the ground and pinned, while Kiki held on to the tiger. It was like a comical show.
Finally, some of the Enforcers busted through the front door with silver collars and stun poles. They
took the Ulfer down as Calli leaned against the wall and held her arm. She was going to have to shift to start the healing, but the damn Ulfer had broken it good. It would take over night before she was a hundred percent. That meant that Cherri was going to make her drink the green shit she created for healing.
With loud pops and shimmering, the cougar and wolf turned back into Kade and Kiki. "Woo Hoo, that was fuckin' awesome!" Kiki screamed. All the Enforcers stopped to watch the handsome and completely strange man dance in a circle.
Kade shook his head and then glared at her. "What the fuck was that?" he growled, and she raised her eyebrow at him.
Her Enforcers knew her, and they hustled the two Ulfer out of the entry. Kade ordered three of them to stand guard outside the door until they could secure the bar and get Kiki out of there. But first he had a little business to take care off.
Without taking his eyes off Calli, he said, "Kiki, is the dressing room empty?"
"Sure, sugar, I will wait in the fat man's office. No one can get in there because of his own stupid, personal security, like anyone would want his sorry ass." Kiki muttered and went back into the bar.
Kade grabbed her good arm and dragged her behind him. Calli finally shook out of her stupor and pulled back, but Kade glared at her over his shoulder. She shrugged and allowed herself to be led but still leaning back, giving resistance. She was not going to cause a scene or anything, but she was not a weak woman who could be manned handled like this.
When they finally reached the dressing room Kiki had come out of, Kade threw open the door, shoved her inside and slammed the door. "Shift," he demanded.
Once again, she raised her eyebrow but did what he said because she wanted to be at least half strength to kick his ass for being a domineering asshole. Since she knew she was in a safe place, she closed her eyes and allowed her wolf to come forward. She had been howling inside of her to get out.