Phoenix Under Fire: A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance: Aries

by Crystal Dawn

  He rolled off to the side, but pulled her against him. “So, was that any good?” He teased.

  “It wasn’t bad,” Annie joked.

  “Really? Are you saying I need more practice?”

  “It never hurts to keep working at honing your skills.”

  “I think you want a spanking.”

  “I don’t think so. I’ve never had one.”

  “You didn’t get spanked as a child?”

  Annie shivered. “There are worse ways to punish a witch.” A shadow seemed to pass over her. Annie had gotten serious and he wanted her playful side back.

  Ram kissed her, trying to offer comfort and make her happy again. He was learning to sense her moods and someday it might be easy. Right now, he was struggling to figure out what had upset her. It was probably a bad memory from her childhood. These seemed to be the things that bothered his sweet mate the most. While her father was nowhere near the worst one anyone could have, he wasn’t the pick of the litter either. He was glad her mother was a good one. It amazed him how mismatched Annie’s parents seemed to be. Maybe there was some large master plan and he just didn’t see it.

  He touched and stroked his mate until she forgot about whatever it was that made her sad and became fully involved in the pleasure they shared. A couple hours later, they fell into a deep blissed out sleep. Morning still seemed to come too soon, but once it did, he knew he had a lot to do.

  Once they got ready for their day, he escorted his mate to breakfast where his parents already waited for them. While he and his father discussed political happenings on the home front, Annie tried to explain what her job was to his mother.

  Annie had some funny stories she shared with his mother and before long, Ram and his father were listening to the females talk instead of talking to each other. His mate was a skilled storyteller and she had them all laughing. Breakfast was finished and he kissed his mate goodbye before she left for the day.

  “That’s one sweet girl you’ve got there,” his mother observed.

  “I know it, too,” He admitted. “We’d best get to planning if we want to attack tomorrow.”

  They quickly made a note of the teams, who was on them, and what skills they had. Calls were made notifying every one of the time to meet at the Phoenix headquarters. No one begged off, they would be fully equipped and supplied.

  The next list had pictures with it. These were Hubolla supporters, at least the ones they knew of for sure. It was never good not to have a way to distinguish the enemy, but they had IDs on less than half of them. The only way they could tell who the enemy was would be when they were attacked. No, that wasn’t a good way to find out. Right now, it seemed like it would be the only way.

  Annie came home late, because she would be off work tomorrow for their mission. It was important not to let the evil root too deeply in their communities. Ideally, they wouldn’t have allowed them access at all, but it was too late to change it.

  His mate made it just in time to share supper with all of them. Dae and Nite were there as was Cam. They discussed the teams they would each lead and Ram issued them each a notebook with plans and the pictures of known Hubolla supporters. After supper, they said goodbye so everyone could have time to themselves and get their heads in the right place. These raids were dangerous and dying was a real possibility.

  That was one of the reasons he was unhappy about Annie’s insistence about coming along. His mate had no experience and wasn’t a tough person. He didn’t even want her to get jaded by seeing the harsh side of life. If Ram had his say, she would learn about the hard realities of life slowly or maybe even not at all. Why couldn’t he shelter her from those things?

  Ram and Annie turned in for the night. They talked a while and relaxed, and eventually they fell asleep. They would get up early and be prepared to meet everyone at dawn. He didn’t feel nervous and he was confident in their plan. Still, there were dangers especially since they would go in armed and prepared to shoot, if necessary.

  It was still dark when they woke. That was unusual but he was full of energy, fueled by adrenaline. Annie seemed nervous but that was no surprise. This was something new and dangerous for her. If there were risks inherent in her usual job, he wasn’t aware of them. He suspected there was some risk, it was magic after all and weren’t fairy tales full of magic gone wrong?

  Now that the thought had occurred to him, he couldn’t shake it. “Annie, how much danger is there in the magic you do?”

  “What?” She looked confused.

  “Magic. How much danger is there in doing it?”

  “There is danger in every job. If you don’t take on something beyond your abilities and you apply the basic rules you’re taught as a beginner, there’s only a small risk.”

  “Are you just telling me what you think I want to hear?”

  Annie shot him a blinding smile. “Ram, I wouldn’t do that. I do want to reassure you, but you know I’m good at what I do, right?”

  “I’ve heard that you are.” Ram looked at the clock. “Hell, we’d better go before we hold everyone up.”

  He led the way to the rec room where breakfast was waiting. His parents had beaten them there again. Three teams were already there and parts of the two other teams. He and Annie grabbed plates and filled them with food and set them on the table. They got drinks and placed them by their plates before sitting down.

  “Good morning, everyone,” Ram said and Annie echoed it.

  They immediately dug in wasting no time finishing their meal. Once they were done eating, they sipped their drinks and took part in the discussion about the mission. “The center of this small community is the pool hall,” Dae observed. “That’s where we need to go first. Those late-night males will be just getting up. We’ve been told Hubolla’s supporters are night people. None of them get around before ten. Even then, they are sluggish at best. The sad part is after this raid, they’ll be expecting it. The next ones will be so much harder.”

  “Hopefully, this one will be a complete surprise since it’s been what, a week or more since the last time we hit them?” Ram asked.

  “That wasn’t intentional and I’m sure they knew it. We were just checking things out and they captured one of ours. This time it will be a true attack against them,” Dae concluded.

  “Is everyone here?” Aha asked.

  “We’re waiting for two more and it’s not quite time yet,” Nite mentioned.

  Right about then, the last two males came in. They still had a couple minutes and the big guys grabbed some food and wolfed it down. Yes, they were both werewolves. These two were on Nite’s team, making Ram wonder if she was a werewolf too. Dae seemed to have mostly vampires. It wasn’t that Ram could tell what they were, most paranormals especially ones in law enforcement used scent blockers.

  Ram knew because he’d studied their personnel files. Some of these guys were the best of the best. All of them were extremely skilled and capable. They’d have no problems one on one against the less than top notch guys Hubolla seemed to be recruiting. Everyone on the team also had cutting edge equipment and was trained to use it properly.

  He would have liked to see Dae’s and Nite’s personnel files. Not because he doubted they were qualified, but just out of curiosity. He’d bet money it would be some interesting reading. They were each in charge of a team so that said something about them. The guys all seemed to know them and each other so they’d worked together before. That was always a plus.

  The teams his dad had brought in were mostly Phoenix, but a few were from the security company they ran. He’d not brought in humans because of the extreme danger of this raid. Most of their human employees knew about paranormals. Hell, he thought all of them might. It seemed impossible to work with paranormals every day and not know. Ram hadn’t worked with that part of the business much.

  “It’s time, everyone,” Ram announced. They all exited and loaded into a row of black SUVs. There was one per team. Six people in each SUV. He drove one
and Annie sat next to him. The other guys could fight for their position. Aha, Dae, and Nite were the other drivers. His mom rode next to his dad.

  They headed out with Dae in the lead. He’d been to the community in question. Nite was next, then his dad, and he was bringing up the rear. Ram didn’t feel the need to be first all the time. Okay, maybe most of the time. He’d grab the lead position coming home. That would satisfy his need to lead. The guys in back talked a bit and he listened in. They usually were guards or did detective work for his people’s company. They had some wild stories, just like Annie did.

  That was just the way it was when you dealt directly with the public. You got to see and hear some crazy shit. Some of the misunderstandings they talked about were hilarious. It made him wonder if that stuff really happened. Annie had assured him her tales were completely true. Ram had told her she should write a book. She said it was hard to get published and took a lot of work. He’d not really thought about the process only that her stories were funny and didn’t people who wrote books make a fortune?

  The trip stretched out and long silences fell along the way. It was a relief when a sign showed Tampa was near. They weren’t going to Tampa, but to an outlying community where paranomals lived. Werewolves tended to prefer those areas while vampires liked the nightlife the larger cities provided. So far, Hubolla had only turned his attention to those places werewolves tended to gather. If he ever got enough of those under his control, he would move on to the cities. That was something that couldn’t be allowed to happen.

  They went a few miles past Tampa. It was a spot in the road with a gas station, pool hall, laundry mat, and a hardware store. There were four houses along the road and possibly some others behind them that weren’t visible. Dae pulled in by the gas station which happened to be next to the pool hall. They all pulled in near him. The parking lot was small and they’d immediately garnered attention.

  Everyone put on their earpieces before getting out of the vehicles. They headed toward the pool hall, a small rough looking building. With all the big guys they had, it looked like a severe case of overkill. Once they were all inside, there was little room to move. Even though the door was unlocked and the open sign lit, there was no one to be seen.

  Just when Ram had decided the place was deserted, someone stepped out from the back. “What you people want?” A large man with ebony skin asked. “We not looking for any trouble around here.”

  “We’re just here to play some pool. You got anyone around that’s any good?” Dae asked.

  “You think I’m a fool, man? None of you look like pool players. You’re either cops or crooks, sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference.”

  “You got a lot of crooks around here?” Dae wondered.

  “More than our fair share. That’s the truth.”

  “Where are they?” Dae questioned.

  “They don’t get around until noon. Lazy crooked asses.”

  “What’s your name? I’m Dae.”

  “I’m Bastion. I own this place, even though they are trying to take it from me.”

  “You help us and we’ll help you.” Bastion shot him a disbelieving look. “What have you got to lose?” Dae asked.

  “You ain’t lying about that. What do you want?”

  “I need some place nearby where my friends can park where they won’t be seen. Not so far that they can’t walk back.”

  “There’s parking in back but no one ever parks back there. They all prefer the front.”

  Several of them left to circle around then move to the back. Ram, Annie, his parents, Nite, and Dae all stayed talking to the man. Turned out he was a wolf of considerable years and had retired here to run his pool hall.

  “Why here?” Nite asked.

  “I don’t need much and I don’t want to be bothered. It’s quiet here, or it used to be.”

  “What changed?” Dae asked.

  “These strangers came. They follow some God and want to control the world. They hang out in my pool hall and steal the money I make. Those males threaten my friends, neighbors, and customers. If it was only one or two, I’d have taken them out, but there’s at least six most of the time. Heads up, one of them is headed this way,” Bastion said.

  A small guy, especially for a paranormal, was headed their way. He entered like he owned the place and his smell entered before he did. His hair was greasy and stringy and his eyes were crossed. There was a rash that covered all the skin Ram could see and the guy scratched at it incessantly. Scrawny was a good word to describe him because he was more than just skinny, he looked ill.

  “Someone needs to restrain that male,” Dae said, but he didn’t make a move to do it himself.

  Ram didn’t want to touch him, the guy looked gross. While everyone stood around looking at everyone else, the male figured out they were after him and turned to get away. Annie must have noticed because Ram heard her say something and the male fell down. Golden ropes restrained him. Now they all turned to look at Annie. She just shrugged.

  “Can you magic him into the back of an SUV so no one has to touch him?” Dae asked. Annie whispered something again and the male disappeared. “He is loaded, right?” Annie nodded.

  “One down, four or maybe five to go,” Ram said.

  “Here come the next two,” Annie observed.

  “Put them on stun, everyone,” Dae instructed.

  With only five of them in the pool hall, it wasn’t so crowded. Most of them leaned against the walls with only Bastion and Dae standing where they could be seen through the door by the two males approaching.

  “It’s two more of them,” Bastion said as he spat on the floor. His distaste of these guys was clear.

  The two males who approached were bigger guys and looked to be in decent shape. They were average in looks, neither handsome nor ugly. Not too bright though, judging by the way they barged in without caution. Once they were inside, Ram moved to block the door.

  “What’s going on, Bastion? Who are these people?” The bigger guy asked.

  “They’re here to see you and your crew, Ned,” Bastion replied.

  “You two are here representing Hubolla?” Dae asked.

  “I don’t have to talk to you,” Ned said.

  “No, I can just arrest you and take you back to Orlando,” Dae said.

  “I’m leaving,” the other guy said. Ram stood in his way refusing to let him pass. “Fuck this shit,” he said then he tried to punch Ram.

  Ram blocked the punch then landed an uppercut on the guy’s chin. He fell out cold. “That was easy.”

  “What you do that to Steve for?” Ned asked. Ram got out zip ties and restrained him. As soon as he was done, Steve disappeared. Ram nodded to Annie. She was coming in handy.

  “You can just stay here with us for now as long as you talk to us, Ned,” Dae said.

  “I don’t know much,” Ned admitted. “Steve, Archie, Sam, Earl, and I are here most of the time. Vin comes by once or twice a week to check on us. He was here yesterday so he probably won’t be back for a few days. Hey, is she a witch?”

  “Yes, she is a powerful witch. She has this neat trick she does. When we get a prisoner that won’t cooperate, she holds out her hand and his beating heart appears in it,” Dae described.

  “What? You’re kidding man, aren’t you?” Ned asked. He looked panic-stricken now. “I’m telling you what I know.”

  “Where’s your other friends?” Dae asked.

  “Archie is usually up first,” Ned said.

  “Is Archie really thin?”

  “Yeah, Steve says he’s wormy looking.”

  “Okay, I know where he is. It’s Sam and Earl I need to find,” Dae observed.

  “Sam’s shacked up with a local girl. She lives two doors down. Earl stays with them part of the time and with Archie when Sam runs him off.”

  “Heads up, someone else is coming,” Bastion said. “Looks like Earl.”

  “He’s a kid,” Annie observed.

  “Y
eah, I think he’s sixteen, but that’s one mean kid. Pinches babies and kicks puppies,” Ned said.

  The kid in question came through the door. “What’s up?” He cast a concerned look around and then started backing up to the door where he backed right into Ram.

  “Oh, no. You’re not going anywhere,” Ram said.

  “Hey, I’m just a kid. I hang out here in my free time. What do you want with me?” Earl asked.

  “We hear you’re in this up to your eyeballs,” Ram charged. Grabbing the kid, he restrained him with zip ties.

  “I don’t think Sam is going to show,” Bastion said.

  “Let’s toss the kid in the back of one of the SUVs and go get the last guy,” Dae instructed. “Thank you for your help, Bastion. If they try to get a foothold here again. Call me.”

  “I will,” Bastion said as he pocketed the card Dae gave him.

  “This whole raid has been crazy,” Nite said. “Let’s move and grab their last guy and get home.”

  Dae had called two of his guys in and one tossed Earl over his shoulder and the other one led Ned out to the SUV. “This is going to fill up our jail,” Annie said. “This raid wasn’t very exciting.”

  They all followed Dae out and walked two houses down. It looked like a shack and when Dae knocked on the door, the whole house shook.

  “Yeah, yeah! Is that you Ned?” The door was thrown open. “You’re not Ned!” The guy, supposedly Sam, said and he streaked past Dae and ran out into the street.

  Annie stood next to Ram and he heard her whisper. Sam went flying forward into the street bound by golden rope. They’d gotten their last target without any real fighting and Annie had been the most useful team member present. This whole trip had been anticlimactic. That didn’t matter though, because they’d accomplished what they’d come for. All their targets were loaded and they headed home.

  Chapter 12

  Battleground