Falling For Them: A New Adult Reverse Harem Collection

by C. L. Stone

  My cheeks flair with heat at the tone in her voice. I'm not a fucking child. "I'm sorry. I was here to talk--" "Is that the pizza, LeAnn?" Door opens more as Keifer comes to stand at it as well, hair wet, and only in a towel. His muscles are a lot more defined than the last time I saw them. "Sin--I mean, Hope. I wasn't expecting you tonight. I rub at the centre of the my brow. "I guess I should've called. I need to speak with you about Ziggy."

  "Can it wait until later, maybe tonight after you work?"

  I shake my head. "Tonight is no good. It'll just be a second. Get some clothes on and we can talk out here."

  He sighs and the woman gives a forced smile. "Is this young woman one of your informants?"

  I stare up at her. "Listen lady, I may be small, but I'm still twenty-three."

  She holds well-manicured fingers to her rosy lips. "Oh, I'm sorry for the confusion."

  Keifer moves to close the door. "I'll be out in a minute, Hope." The two disappear. I move to lean against the wall. Fuck, she's pretty, tall, and looks like a full-blown woman. While I must still look like puberty hasn't finished its job all the way. Why couldn't I be just a little bit taller?

  The door opens again, Keifer steps out in sweats and and a shirt, he closes the door behind him. "Give me some warning next time. I don't like having to deal with awkward situations like this."

  I shrug. "It would've been less awkward if she did think I was some tween informant of yours. You work with her? What does she do?"

  "She’s a tech analyst. It's the middle of the day, shouldn't you be at Mologan's?"

  "I took the afternoon off. I'm following those leads on suspects you have. I need the current location of Marcus though."

  He shakes his head. "No, I'm not letting you go see a drug lord by yourself. You'll get yourself killed."

  I folded my arms over my chest. "Who said I was going in alone? I'm not stupid, and I'd fit in better there than you. You reek of cop."

  He folds his arms in return. "I could still fit in that scene. Who are you going with?"

  "A friend. I'll be safe. He won't let anything happen to me. We'll get them to talk freely with us and find out if they killed Ziggy."

  He scoffs. "You're just going to walk in there and demand that they give you information? If you honestly think that's going to work, you have another thing coming."

  I take his hand. This always worked when we were younger. "Please, Keif. We can find out who killed him and, and lay him to a peaceful rest."

  The door opens and LeAnn steps out. "I'm going to head out now. Give you guys a chance to talk inside." Leaning over she goes to kiss him, but he turns his face away, forcing her to kiss his cheek. She laughs and rubs at her nose. "Your stubble tickled me. You should shave." She glances down at our joined hands before pushing her body through them, breaking the contact. "Oops, excuse me, I just need to get to the elevator.” She points to it as she gives another fake smile with perfect teeth. I don't even have perfect teeth going for me. "I'll see you at work, LeAnn." Keifer ushers me in to his apartment. I kick my shoes off at the door. "She could've gone around you; there was more than enough room, bitch."

  I glare at the door, as if she's still on the other side of it. He sighs and takes a seat down on his couch. "She has her moments."

  I go to stand in front of him. "So will you give me the address of Marcus?"

  "You're crazy if you think I'm going to help you walk into that lion's den."

  I shrug off my backpack and jacket, tossing them toward the door and leaving me with my skinny jeans and blue-form fitting t-shirt. I don't look like the hundred bucks LeAnn did, when she left, but I need the information from him. I can't go around the streets asking about how to find Marcus. That'll cause more harm than good. "I told you, I'm not going in there alone."

  His eyes travel over my body. "Who are you going in there with then?"

  "He's a co-worker of sorts."

  He raises an eyebrow. "What does that mean? Is he or isn't he a co-worker of yours? Don't you work minimal security?"

  I nod. "Yes, and I see him at work, we don't work together."

  He sits forward. "But if you do security at some house, and you see him at work, wouldn't he be a part of your security team? How big is the place you're guarding?"

  Fuck, too many specific questions. If he doesn't catch me in a lie now, he will catch me sooner or later. "Fine, I'm not working private security."

  He frowns. "Then what are you doing?"

  If he knows what I'm talking about, then we can both talk about the supernatural world, if he has no idea then he'll think I'm a lunatic, and I'll know the Sins are lying sacks of shit. "I work as a guard at Triangle prison." I hold my breath. His green eyes meet mine in an instant. "You know about Triangle prison?"

  I let out the breath "Well, yes. I work there."

  He stands. "But you know what it holds, right?"

  I nod. "All the criminal supernaturals of the city."

  He runs a hand through his hair. "But Ziggy and I tested you when we first met, and you thought we were talking about fairy tales. You didn't know what you were."

  I shrug. "I didn't know back then. It wasn't until I went to stay with the Morgans that it was mentioned I was a fairy. I thought Mr. Morgan was nuts, so I didn't say anything to anyone. Then I met Mologan and he exposed everything to me. I'm still new to it all, but not so much I can't be a guard at the prison."

  He puts his hand over his mouth. "How did you know it was safe to come out to me?"

  "I didn't fully know. If you didn't know what Triangle Prison was, I would've come up with another lie. Wait, Ziggy and you tested me? He was something as well? I knew it! That's what I wanted to talk to him about the other night." I rub at my face. "He was a tiger shifter. You don't want to know what I am?"

  I shake my head. "I already know. You're a Fae like me."

  "How do you know?"

  I can't look at him. "I had a dream the other night that told me."

  He takes a step toward me. "What kind of dream?"

  I go to the window. "Do the details matter?"

  "I had a dream the other night with seven angel dudes. It was weird, but they mentioned you."

  I nod. "They're who I watch at the prison. The angels of sin. They told me about you, that you...could be the Fae to help me." I don't know why I changed my mind not to mention the defiant Fae at the last second.

  "Wait, you guard them?" He touches my arm, nudging me to face him. "That's my sole job in the whole prison. One of them will be going with me to investigate suspects."

  He stumbles back until he hits his couch and sits down. "This is a bit much. I thought that was just a dream.”

  "So did I, until I started my job that day." I sit down next to him and take his hand again. "Will you help me now? With one of the Sins by my side, I know I'll be safe, and we can get the information we need." He gulps. "No one can ever find out about this. No one."

  I nod. "Of course, I would never rat you out to your boss."

  He turns his body to face mine. "And I want you to move in with me. If you're working for Triangle, you'll be making more money, but not enough to afford a place on your own. I could upgrade to a two bedroom here and we can split the rent."

  I let go of his hand. "You want me to move in with you?"

  He nods. "Just as a roommate. With a two bedroom, we'd both have our space."

  I bite at my lower lip. "Why are you offering this to me now?" He smiles. "Because now you know everything. I don't have to hide anything about the supernatural world from you, and you'll be able to pay your part of the rent."

  I would be stupid to turn this offer down, but at the same time, is it a good idea? We would still have our own rooms. I wouldn't be stealing his bed from him, or feeling cramped on his couch. "Okay."

  He lets out a sigh of relief. "Awesome. I'll set up a meeting with the landlord this week. It shouldn't be too hard to get you on the lease and upgraded. I've been a perfect tenant, and my credit score
should be good enough for the two of us."

  I stand. "Wait, how will LeAnn feel about this?"

  He shrugs. "She'll deal with it, or she won't. I'm not that worried about it. We aren't in a relationship like that."

  I fold my arms over my chest. "Is she aware you two aren't in a relationship like that?"

  He shrugs. "I think so. I let her know I wasn't interested in anything serious from the start."

  "To most women's ears that means you're not ready on the first date, but if you do enough casual dates, you'll eventually become an exclusive item." I go to the table. My phone chimes in my bag. It must be that person. I'm with the only person who ever truly tries to get a hold of me. Keifer shakes his head. "No, I think she understands. I don't think it'll be an issue." Standing he goes to his bag hanging from a coat hook. "Are you going to check your phone?" He takes his bag to the dining table. Getting my own bag, I fish out my phone. Ziggy: I'm excited to see you tomorrow, baby girl.

  I stare at the message; the writing has changed. It has all correct spelling. Did they give up trying to be Ziggy, or did they forget?

  Me: What time and where?

  Ziggy: 5pm, Hart Island, the women's asylum building. What the actual fuck? No one goes to Hart island unless they’re one of hundreds getting buried in a mass grave. Me: You r kidding, right?"

  Ziggy: No. I'll be waiting for you, Hope.

  Keifer stands over some open files, writing down something in a notebook. "Was that the killer?"

  I shove my phone into my bra. "No. Mologan. Wanted to see if I'd wanted to go half in on some Mrs. Peacock tomorrow. I should be getting my first paycheck tomorrow too, so I told him sure."

  "Mrs. Peacock is amazing. You should try some of the bubble bath she sells in the back store of the restaurant."I look down at my feet. "I may have tried some of that the other night. It was amazing."

  He laughs. "I thought my bathroom smelt of lavender and roses the other morning." He torethe piece of paper he was writing on and handed it to me. "Do not go there without one of them, do you understand me?"

  I roll my eyes and take the paper. "I'm not an idiot, Keif. I'll keep you updated on if we find out anything."

  He shakes his head. "I shouldn't be letting you do this."

  I smile at him, before going to pick up my jacket and backpack. "Well, you are. Can I use a Void out of here?"

  He nods. "None of my wards should keep you from making one. I didn't even know you knew how to make one."

  I shrug. "I just learned. It’s the only magical thing I know how to do. Maybe you can teach me more?"

  He grins. "Of course. It will be easier once you move in with me."

  My heart skips a beat. "Yup."

  13

  I let out a deep breath before knocking on the Warden's door. It's the middle of the day, so I doubt he'll be expecting me.

  "Enter!"

  Edging the door open, I enter the office and close the door. Sam stares at me with wide green eyes. "Hope, I wasn't expecting to see you until the evening."

  I hold my hands together in front of me. "Greed has requested time outside, so I will need the bonding bracelets in order to take him. They assured me it would be fine, if I was the one to take him."

  He sits forward in his chair. "I won't say no to a request when proper protocol is in place. Are you sure you want to do this? Greed wasn't too big of an issue in the nineties, I would be more worried if you took Wrath somewhere."

  I nod. "I have confidence that Greed will be on his best behavior with me."

  He sighs and stands. "Just one at a time. We learned more than one causes issues for everyone involved."

  I nod. "I understand, sir."

  He motions. "Follow me to the equipment room."

  He leads me past the offices and down two flights of stairs, before coming to a room with safety gear and other things I don't recognize. I guess when magic’s involved, guns and tasers don't have to be. Taking a ring of keys off his belt, he goes to a black safe and unlocks three locks, before pulling out two bracelets with yellow stones. They look pricey. There's no way we'll be able to walk around New York with these on. We'll get hit up for sure.

  "And there's leather covers to go over the top." He pulls out the slip-overs. I let out a sigh. "Oh thank God, I thought we would have to try and walk around the city with them out in the open."

  He shakes his head. "No. Not in this state.” He hands them to me, my fingertips buzz with energy. "How do they work? Do I need to know any spells for them, or drink some kind of potion? Sam chuckles. "No. The magic has already been embedded into the silver. You both put one on and they link up. He won't be able to go more than a hundred feet from you, if he respects you enough. You can get him to stop using his magic if he tries something on someone."

  I nod. "Okay, sounds easy enough."He cocks his head to the right. "Don't count on it." *

  Thomas frowns at me as I walk into the cell room. Looks like he just got done feeding Glunttony his lunch. "What are you doing here? It isn't your shift yet."

  I hold up the bracelets. "Greed asked to go out today, so I'm taking him out for a few hours."

  His eyes widen and he uses his cane to sprint over to me, leaving Gluttony’s cell door open. "Boss allowed you to take him out? But you don't know what you're doing. Do you know what happened the last time one of them left this place? Chaos, people died!"

  I nod. "I know. They told me last night while we were discussing whether or not it was a good idea."

  He stumbles back a bit as I go to close Gluttony’s cell door. "You discuss things with them, like they talk with you and each other.” I frown. "Yeah, don't they with you after forty years?"

  He shakes his head. "No."

  "Yes! I'm going outside!" Greed dances in his cell as I go to it and open the door. "Put your wrist out." He holds his arm out to me as I step up to him. My head barely comes to the centre of his chest. I clasp the bracelet down around his thick wrist, it doesn't even need to shrink to fit tightly. Next I tie the leather over it. I do the same with my own bracelet, though mine has to shrink down quite a bit. It rests against the nullifying one. "Here, let me help you with the cover." He takes the leather band from me and ties it around the showy thing.

  He shocks me as our skin makes contact. "Sorry," I murmur.

  "No worries. Let's go." He moves to walk, and I let him, but he stops as he gets to the door and can't go any further. It's as if a leash tugs at my wrist, but I don't move. "Good, it works." I hurry to catch up with him and lead the way out of the prison.

  * We rock back and forth on the subway. He keeps a gentle hand on my shoulder, his massive body blocking me from the other people around us. We have to go into the upper east side of Manhattan. Classy-ish place. I hope we don't stick out too much. I'm not that surprised to know Marcus spends most of his time there. "This city hasn't changed that much in the last couple of decades." His deep voice vibrates in my back.

  I shrug. "Change is a slow evolution usually."

  The train comes to a stop where we need to get off and lead him through the horde of people off it and onto the platform. "The smells haven't gotten any better. Can't they invent mass air fresheners by now?" He holds a hand over his nose. I nudge him. "Stop that. We'll be above ground in no time."

  *

  My heartbeat picks up as we near Marcus's place on foot. It's not cheap looking, a penthouse in one of the nicest apartments I've seen in a while. His men stand with the doormen on the outside. The doorman stops us as we walk up. "I'm sorry, miss, but I don't recognise you or your gentleman friend. May I ask what your business here entails?"

  Marcus's men watch us, their chests puffing out at the sight of Greed.

  "I need to speak with Mr. Lopez in the penthouse." I smile at him, looking him straight in his brown eyes. He nods and smiles. "Of course. I'll let him know you're on your way up."

  One of his men step forward. "Hold on, he's not expecting a visit from a girl today."

  Wow, I
didn't even make whore level in his book. Just girl. I sigh. "Ask him yourselves. I'm one of Ziggy's girls, tell him that."

  The other one talks into an earpiece, not paying me any mind with his eyes. He nods. "He says to let her up."

  I go to move through the doors. "Not him, just you," the man points to Greed.

  Greed stands a good half a head taller than both of Marcus's men. "I go where she goes. There's no discussion here."

  One man opens his jacket, revealing a gun. "You ain't going anywhere, where you're not wanted."

  Greed laughs. "Does numbnuts over there know you told Marucs that you did the Jamberie heist, and that's why his cut was smaller than yours?"

  The smaller guard growls. "You did what!" He attacks the other guard, punching him in the kidney. Greed ushers me through the revolving door before they can notice we both went in.

  "Wasn't that reaction a bit much?"

  He shrugs. "My influence over them was strong. They're two very greedy bastards, and I was able to see all the things they've recently done under the influence of their own greed."

  We enter the elevator, and I hit the guest button for the penthouse. It waits a second, before the doors close and we move up fifteen floors. When the doors open we step out into a living room. Three of his men sit around a table bagging what looks like blow with masks on. One of them points their gun at us. "Boss said just the girl."

  I raise an eyebrow. "I don't go anywhere without him."

  "It's fine, Leo, more the merrier I always say." Marcus steps out of a room with white, double-set doors and crystal doorknobs. He's lean, and tall, his head devoid of hair, his eyes small and black. Not how I've been picturing him, but a fat godfather always takes the reference place for a Kingpin. He holds his hands behind him. The hairs on my arms and neck stand up. "Thank you, sir." I nod to him. He shows one of his hands. "Please have a seat over here, don't mind my men."

  I take Greed by the hand and lead him over to the pure-white couch. Instead of sitting with me, he chooses to stand behind the couch with his body leaning on the back. Marcus watches us both, before he takes a seat in a nearby matching armchair. He reveals both his hands now. "You're one of Ziggy's working girls, yes?"