The man pulled his legs under him and started to stand. Kitty prepared to help him, but he seemed able to do it himself. Her eyes widened as the man rose and rose. She actually had to tilt her head back to look up at him. That usually didn’t happen to her. He had to be scrapping seven feet.
He brushed off his clothes and looked down at himself as though looking for injuries. Kitty knew he wouldn’t be able to see anything in this darkness. She had to get him inside. He might need an ambulance and not know it.
She said, “Let me park my car and then we can go into the club where it’s light. I hit you pretty hard. You might need a doctor.”
He stared at her.
She couldn’t read his expression. He’d spoken English and she hadn’t heard an accent. Had the collision disoriented him? “Hello?”
He nodded.
“Okay. Good.” She took a breath to calm her nerves. “Go to the back door. I’ll park my car and be right with you. Okay?”
He nodded again and walked in the direction she indicated. Maybe he was the silent type. At least he wasn’t the pissed off type. Most men would be more than a little irate at being hit with a car and Kitty wouldn’t blame them.
She parked her car and then hurried over to her victim, who stood waiting. After a quick knock at the door, she said to him, “I’m Kitty, by the way. You?”
“Chigaru.”
The door opening cut off further conversation. Casey, the doorman said, “You’re late.”
“I know that already. Move,” Kitty snapped, pushing the man aside. To Chigaru she said, “This way.”
Casey asked, “Who’s he?”
“None of your business.”
“You know I can only let employees in the back.”
“He’s the exception.”
“Kitty, come on. Ice is on premises tonight.” Casey was whining but Kitty didn’t care.
She reached behind her and grabbed for Chigaru’s hand. When she came up empty, she looked back and paused. His right arm was missing. She hadn’t noticed but didn’t let it faze her. She grabbed the edge of his shirt instead and pulled him after her as she started to force her way past Casey.
Casey spread out his arms. “Kitty.”
“Shut it.” She shouldered him out of the way and rushed past him.
“This is on you.”
“Whatever.” She guided Chigaru to Vincent’s office so they could assess Chigaru’s wounds, if he had any. She had to go to Vincent’s office anyway to give him her late fee. First waking up late, then a late fee, and then hitting someone with her car on top of that. If this night got any worse, she would pack up her stuff and leave town that second.
“You’re late,” Vincent said when she opened his door.
Kitty snapped, “Thank you, Captain Obvious. I hadn’t noticed.”
“Who the hell is he?”
“I hit him with my car.”
“Jesus!” Vincent jumped to his feet and came around the desk. “Are you okay, man?”
Chigaru nodded.
Kitty shook her head at Chigaru as she released his shirt. “He doesn’t seem to talk much. I’m hoping that’s personality and not because I hit him.” She pulled three hundred in twenties out of her purse and held it out to Vincent. “Here. Casey said Ice is on premises, which means Ramon is with him, right?”
“Yeah.” Vincent took the money and stared at it a second before he startled. “Yeah. Yeah. Ramon can take a look at him.” He pocketed the money.
Kitty grabbed it back. “No you don’t. Where’s my receipt? I don’t want you saying I didn’t pay you later.”
“I’ll get the receipt after—”
“Now.”
“Kitty, you just hit someone with your car.”
“He says he’s fine. Write the receipt then you can phone up to VIP and get Ramon. It’s you who’s wasting time.”
Vincent grumbled as he returned to his desk for the receipt book. After a quick glance at the clock, he scrawled out the receipt and handed it to her.
“Thank you.” She stuffed it into her purse. “Now call Ramon.” She faced Chigaru while Vincent called.
The man continued staring at her. He seemed confused about something. Please let it be confusion and not the first signs of a concussion.
Ramon ran into the office. “Where is he?” He stopped short and looked up at Chigaru. “Damn.” He looked at Kitty. “So you must have totaled your car when you hit him, right?”
“Oh ha ha,” Kitty said in a dry voice. “Just check him and make sure I didn’t break anything.”
Ramon was Ice’s right-hand man and a medical school dropout. The story was that he had quit in the middle of his residency and never looked back. Even without the license, he still made a great emergency on-call when they needed one.
“Take a seat.” Ramon pointed Chigaru to a chair. “Anything hurt?”
Chigaru sat then patted his legs. “No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Nothing tender?”
“I have no pain.”
“Where did the car hit you?”
Chigaru indicated his left side, lower thighs and knees. Ramon patted them down while watching Chigaru for any signs of pain. Chigaru looked bored with the whole thing. That made Kitty relax. If he wasn’t in pain, that had to mean she hadn’t hit him hard. Maybe the impact had stunned him and he had fallen over from surprise more than the force of the car.
Her night was looking up.
Ice said from the doorway, “Who is he and why is he in the club when it’s not open?”
Kitty said, “I hit him with my car and Ramon is checking him out to make sure I didn’t cause any damage.” The repetition had started to annoy her. Depending on how many more people saw Chigaru in the club before opening, she might have to give the explanation a few more times.
“If you hadn’t been late you wouldn’t have needed to rush.”
“Ice, don’t tell me stuff I already know. I paid the fine. My bad. Now get over it.” She met his dark expression with her annoyed one. “Or I can cash out and you can see how well you do tonight with me missing. Up to you.”
“Don’t threaten me.”
“Then stop giving me attitude.”
Ramon said, “He’s fine.”
“Good.” Kitty rummaged through her purse again and pulled out another twenty. “His entry fee is on me.” She held the money out to Ice.
He didn’t act as though he wanted to take it. He also appeared as if he would say something. Instead he snatched the money from her. “Get ready for work.”
“Doing that next.” She said to Vincent, “Treat him nice.” Facing Chigaru, she said, “I’m really sorry again. Tonight’s on me. Enjoy yourself.”
He nodded.
It seemed it didn’t get better than that with him. She decided not to question it and left for the dressing room. She hoped nothing else happened tonight. And if it did, she needed for it to happen to someone else. She’d reached maximum on her mishap quota.
Chapter Three
Chigaru watched Kitty leave before turning his attention to the one called Ice, the leader of this group. The way Vincent looked at Ice’s neck instead of the man’s eyes proclaimed him as such. And Kitty’s gruff attitude had seemed guarded when she spoke to him.
Ice regarded Chigaru as the one named Ramon whispered in his ear. Ice nodded once then said to Chigaru, “Come with me.”
Chigaru didn’t like being led around but had no choice. This world made no sense to him. He and Ramon followed Ice through an area of bustling men and women—more women than men. The women wore flimsy-clothed outfits that left much of their bodies exposed. The smell of varied alcohols assaulted his nose along with a myriad of perfumes.
This place reminded him of a human brothel. That his true mate would be in such a location made him regret his acceptance of Silny’s offer. He thought his mate would more resemble Serenity—pure, strong, loyal and cheerful. No other type of
woman interested him.
Silny had said his mate would find him. Did she mean Kitty? But that couldn’t be right. He had seen the way Serenity and Melchior reacted upon their first meeting. It had been instant recognition, a meeting of souls. Chigaru had felt nothing like that for Kitty.
Ice climbed a long flight of stairs to a guarded doorway. The two men standing there stared in slack-jawed amazement at Chigaru. Ramon cleared his throat, which made the men jump before they swung open the door and stepped out of the way.
They continued staring as Chigaru passed them. He didn’t blame them. His height put him two heads taller than them. Most human males didn’t get as tall as him. He didn’t understand why Silny’s spell hadn’t made him shorter so he wouldn’t stand out so much.
Ramon patted Chigaru’s shoulder. “You two have fun. I have work to do.” He left the room, pulling the door closed behind him.
Chigaru watched Ice and waited.
“Ramon is a sensitive, a human able to feel the auras of those around him and able to detect preternatural beings. He tells me you aren’t human. In fact, he thinks you’re a dragon but he’s not sure since he’s never seen a dragon like you.” Ice looked Chigaru over. “Neither have I. You are a dragon. There’s no mistaking that. But what type of dragon is a mystery.”
“I am bhresya, not a dragon.” Chigaru didn’t know what a dragon was.
“You have the feel of a dragon.”
“To me, you feel like bhresya.”
“Then we agree.”
“Do you hide your true form as well?”
“Hide my true form?” Ice looked at himself and then at Chigaru. “This is my true form. Precious few dragons are born who can call upon their majestic form. I can only manifest a shadow. We have too long bred with humans.” Derision coated Ice’s tone as he said the last.
“What will you do with this knowledge?”
Ice walked to a nearby chair and sat. He didn’t indicate Chigaru should do the same and didn’t seem ill at ease having to look up at Chigaru. Ice’s air of menace remained unwavering.
“I want to know why you’ve disguised yourself and why you’re here,” Ice said.
“I have come from an alternate version of this world to retrieve my mate.”
“Really?”
Chigaru regarded the man. “Why do you question my words?”
“I don’t believe everything everyone tells me, especially things told to me by people I have just met. I’m not that gullible. Neither am I that stupid.”
“We are less alike than I thought if you question the truth of my words. No bhresya born can lie.”
“Interesting. Then you admit this”—Ice gestured in Chigaru’s direction—“is not your true form.”
“It is not.”
“An alternate version of this world.” Ice repeated the words in a musing tone.
Chigaru nodded.
“I’ve heard of the possibility. Interesting to find it is true. This mate you mentioned, I’m assuming there is a reason you traveled all the way here to find her.”
“This is where she exists.”
“Why not marry a woman in your version?”
“A true mate is special. She is bonded to my soul as I am to hers.”
“Ah. A soul mate. That’s what we call what you described. How will you know her? There are billions of humans on this planet and over half that number are female. The inhabitants of this world spend lifetimes searching for their soul mates with little to no success. Is there some spell or charm you will use?”
“The mage who cast the spell sending me here stated it would put me in my mate’s path.”
“And then you got hit by Kitty’s car.” Ice chuckled. “Can’t argue with instant results.”
“She is not…” Chigaru wanted to say Kitty wasn’t his mate, but he couldn’t. As much as he wanted to deny it, a small part of him believed Kitty was his true mate. The spell had put him in her path. Since arriving in this dimension, he had met no other females. It had to be her. “She is not what I expected.”
“Kitty prides herself on not living up to people’s expectations. Is there another way to make sure she’s the one?”
Chigaru shook his head. “I have seen one other when confronted with their true mate. There was instant recognition.”
“You didn’t have that with Kitty?”
“No.”
“Then perhaps it isn’t her.” Ice stood and walked to the wall of glass. “There are twenty girls here tonight. You can see them all from here.”
Chigaru moved to the glass and looked down at the people milling below. His impression that this locale was a brothel didn’t wane. A few women wandered the room. While their scant outfits were distracting, they held no interest for him.
He started to say as much when Kitty walked onto the stage. Of all the girls, she wore the most, clothed in pants and a jacket. A hat covered her head, shielding her face from view, but Chigaru knew it was her. She spoke to a few men standing below her. They nodded and rushed off to do whatever she had requested. After looking around, she turned her gaze upward.
Chigaru studied her. Her appearance wasn’t displeasing. She had light brown eyes she hid behind a guarded expression that flattened her full lips into an unflattering line. Though her body was thin, she had good-sized breasts that distracted the men around her—a number that had grown in the last few minutes.
The men congregated around small tables while others sat around the stage where Kitty stood. She smiled down at them, but the act was forced. Even from a distance, he could see that well enough. The men surrounding her didn’t seem to mind or didn’t recognize the falseness of her demeanor.
Ice said, “From the way you’re staring at her, I think Kitty might be the one.”
Unable to deny Ice’s words, Chigaru remained silent. Kitty glanced in Chigaru’s direction once more before someone else called her attention away. A small sense of loss flowed over him. Disappointment followed soon after.
If Kitty was his true mate, he couldn’t bring her to Gezane. Her confrontational attitude would be at odds with everyone in the palace. Chigaru didn’t want to do anything that would upset Serenity. Bringing Kitty back and introducing her as his true mate would do just that.
He shook his head and turned away from the glass. “It is possible she isn’t the one.”
“Correction, you don’t want her to be the one. Is it because of this place? I admit most men wouldn’t want to marry a stripper. Have a fling with her maybe, but not marry.”
“Stripper? I am unfamiliar with this term.”
“She dances and takes her clothes off for money.”
“Nothing else?”
“You must mean sex. No. The customers can look, but they cannot touch. Any of the girls caught prostituting while in my club will be fired. I dismissed half the girls for that reason when I first took over this club. The previous owner encouraged that behavior to bring in more money. This is a strip club, more specifically an all-female revue, not a whorehouse. If the girls want money for sex, they can go walk the streets with the rest of the hookers.”
Stripper. From Ice’s description of the word, Kitty’s profession sounded like a court entertainer. The men and women in such a profession were paid to dance while wearing outfits they tended to remove during the course of their performance. Not all court entertainers bared their bodies, but it was an accepted part of the trade.
Chigaru tried to picture Kitty dancing for the enjoyment of Serenity and Melchior. The image wouldn’t come to him. He could not think of her inhabiting his world. As such, she shouldn’t.
He said, “If Kitty is my true mate, she has the power to send me home.”
“I wondered if and how you planned to return. Will you take her with you?”
Chigaru shook his head. As much as he wanted to say the words, he couldn’t force his lips to comply. He didn’t know that he wouldn’t take her with him if given the chance, so he couldn’t answer in the nega
tive.
“There’s no need to linger here if your business is over. Kitty can send you home now.”
“Yes.” Chigaru glanced down at the scroll…or that was his intention. The scroll wasn’t there. He should be holding it. With all the excitement of the last few minutes, he hadn’t noticed he’d dropped it.
“Something wrong?” Ice asked.
“The scroll containing the spell is gone. I had it when I arrived in this dimension. I must have dropped it when Kitty struck me with her conveyance.” He headed for the door so he could go outside and search for it.
Ice followed after him and then passed Chigaru to lead the way to the place where Chigaru had arrived. Both men searched the area. Ice said, “I feel the remnants of the magic that transported you.”
Chigaru ignored the soft buzzing, like a fly too near his ears. The magic that had brought him to this dimension wouldn’t help him get home. He focused on finding the one thing that would.
“I see no scroll.”
“See?” Chigaru frowned at the man. “You can see in this darkness?” He noticed Ice’s brown eyes were rimmed in red, resembling bhresya dual-colored eyes. They hadn’t been that way earlier.
Ice smiled. “Don’t let my appearance fool you, friend. I am far from human.”
Chigaru nodded and returned to scanning the area. After a few minutes, he said, “I do not see the scroll.”
“Someone might have picked it up.”
“It is lost.”
Ice crossed to Chigaru’s side and clapped his back a few times. “You’re in luck. You happen to have access to a woman who is a pro at finding missing things.” Ice’s expression turned thoughtful. “In fact, we might have misinterpreted the meaning of putting you in your soul mate’s path.”
Chigaru waited for Ice to elaborate.
“Kitty might not be your mate, but the one to lead you to your mate. She has the ability to reveal hidden truth. If you ask her, she can tell your mate’s identity. Maybe that is why the spell dropped you here. She can also tell us the location of the scroll.”
Some of the anxiety weighing on Chigaru lifted. Of course Kitty couldn’t be his true mate. He knew he hadn’t been wrong to think his mate would more resemble Serenity. She was the type of woman he wanted and knew to be the most compatible with him.
Kristar (Bookstrand Publishing Romance) Page 5