by Selina Woods
I waved my hand at them. “Yeah, I know. I gave you boys the slip.”
“You shouldn’t do that, sir. We’re here to protect you, and now look at you.”
I fished out the key to the elevator. “Lesson learned.”
We waited for the car to return from the top floor where I’d left it, the three of us under the critical stares of my guards. Caesar and Gray said nothing, but I felt their questions simmering under their surfaces. Still, they said nothing until the elevator took us to the penthouse and the doors slid wide.
“I know you have tons of questions,” I said, limping across to the decanters, and pouring myself a golden whiskey. “Can they wait until after I don’t feel quite so pummeled? Oh, and help yourself. The whiskey is first rate.”
I stumbled without spilling my glass to the armchair, and sat down while the two of them poured liquor for themselves. They had no sooner seated themselves than the elevator pinged, and the both leaped to their feet again. “Relax,” I told them. “It’s either the food or the healer.”
It was the healer, whose name I’d finally learned was Robert, a human. He clicked his tongue at me, then helped me to remove my shirt. “Broken nose, more cuts that will need stitches. Logan, pretty soon you’ll look like a rag doll.”
Gray and Caesar looked over his shoulder as he cleaned my wounds, then commented, “You have been a bad boy. Your earlier wounds are nearing infection and the stitches almost ripped out. Have you been taking your antibiotics?”
“Uh, I forgot about them.”
He scowled, looking almost as murderous as the lions before they attacked me. The elevator pinged again, and two guards came in with platters loaded with food. “We need ice for his nose,” Robert snapped at them.
They left quickly while Robert finished cleaning the blood from my face. He stood in front of me, his expression set, determined. “Don’t kill me for this, Logan.”
Before I could react, he reached out and twisted my nose. I half screamed, half roared at the agony, but he stepped out of my reach before I could grab or punch him. I breathed raggedly as he watched me with a clinical expression.
“Sorry, but it’s best if you don’t know it’s coming. The pain will be reduced by quite a bit soon. The ice will help enormously.”
“Bastard,” I muttered.
“Now, now, don’t be nasty.”
The henchman came as Robert happily stitched me up again. Gray and Caesar ate the food while it was hot. Robert paused in his sewing to pack a cloth in ice, then handed it to me. “Put that on your nose. It’ll keep both the pain and swelling down.”
I had to admit, it didn’t hurt as much as it had, and the ice soon numbed it. Robert resumed his task, humming under his breath, and I wondered if I’d have any appetite for whatever food the two of them didn’t devour. I hurt all over, yet still didn’t trust the pair of lions enough to ask Robert for some pain pills.
He gave them to me anyway. “You’ll need these,” he said firmly. “Take them. You have more than enough guards watching over you that you can relax and sleep. And if you don’t take the antibiotics, then you’ll get a raging infection, and if that happens, not even I can help you.”
“Thanks, Robert. I’ll take them. Promise.”
He huffed and departed the penthouse. I sat up, aching all over, and eyed the bottle of pain remedy longingly. Deciding I should at least eat before taking them, I took some roast beef, ham, and bread, and made a sandwich.
“We have been in a lot of cities ruled by gangs,” Gray said. “This seems almost as though you are a gang lord.”
I sighed, and discovered that was a mistake. “I am.”
I recognized that I simply raised a shitload more questions, and I held up my hand. “I’ll give you the gist of it now, more when I’m not hurting so bad. Yes, I rule Miami. I got the title only three days ago when I killed the previous monster that preyed on the people here.”
Caesar chuckled. “I can’t wait for your mother to hear—”
His expression widened with shock, and he stared at me, appalled at what he had said. “Oh, shit.”
I had gone bone chilling cold. “My mother?” I whispered. “You know my mother?”
Gray stood up. “Logan, there are things we can’t tell you; we’re sworn to silence. What this idiot here just said is one of those. Yes, we’re from your mother; she’s very important. That’s why we’re here. To protect you and take you to her.”
Stunned, I forgot all about the sandwich in my hand. My mother. Denver. The weird pulling feeling in my blood. It’s her. It’s her. “This can’t be real,” I muttered, staring blankly at nothing.
“Logan? That’s why you know you can trust us,” Caesar told me, near panic. “We’re here to safeguard you. It’s our sacred duty.”
“Sac—” I stared at him. “Sacred duty? Who the hell are you guys? Who is my mother?”
“If we could tell you more, we would,” Gray said, placatingly. “When the time comes, you’ll know everything.”
I swallowed hard, the singing in my blood pulling, tugging me to the north and west. I almost couldn’t resist it; the urge to go to the elevator, ride it down, get into a car, and drive almost overwhelmed me. “She calls to me,” I muttered thickly. “It’s her.”
I stood up, perhaps to do that very thing. But my feet tangled together and I crashed to the floor, my head spinning sickly. Then I passed out.
Chapter Ten
I woke with bright sunlight streaming through the window and onto the great bed in the penthouse. My pain roused with me, but its fires had been banked and only simmered beneath the surface. Sitting up, I discovered I was stiff and sore, and clad in my jeans, my newest stitchery running around my sides and back. Remembering Caesar and Gray, I gently touched my swollen nose and then climbed out of the bed.
Gray stood on the balcony admiring the view while Caesar slept on a couch, his shirt unbuttoned to reveal a very hairy chest. I averted my eyes from it, and moved to join Gray. “There are other bedrooms here, you know,” I said, jerking my thumb at Caesar.
“I slept in one,” Gray answered with a smile. “He chose to sleep there in case you woke up in the night.”
“I’m not a helpless infant,” I grumbled, leaning against the rail.
“No, but you’re injured, and by the way you went down last night, we wondered if you had a concussion.”
“I don’t think so.”
We watched the ocean for a while, and my stomach rumbled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten the night before. “Breakfast?” I asked, turning to go in.
“Now that you mention it, sure.”
Our voices and activity woke Caesar, who stood to stretch. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been through the wringer.” I popped an antibiotic and thumbed the intercom to order breakfast. Shoving the bottle in my pocket so I’d remember to take them, I sat down, and gestured for the other two to sit with me. “I run a small market with my partner, Derek,” I began, seeing their nods. They knew this.
“An enforcer named Kell was killed, and the gang’s boss ordered me brought to him to question me.”
I quickly told them about Duke’s arrogance, his challenge, how I killed him. Their eyes widened slightly, and I stopped my story when the elevator announced the arrival of breakfast. After the guard left, I resumed my story through a full mouth.
“I run this city,” I told them, “but I’m not going to rule it as Duke had. We’re working to turn it into a safe zone with a council and militia of citizens. But the enforcers will try to kill me, as they don’t want anyone interfering with their greed.”
“They will try,” Caesar said, chewing bacon. “But we have orders. We have to take you back.”
I shook my head. “Not until this town is free of the rabble that is preying on it. This is my place, my people. You try to take me, I have a bunch of guards that will chew you down to your ankles.”
Gray laughed. “I think your mom would approve. We
’ll stay here and guard your back, Logan. Count on us.”
I eyed Caesar, who shrugged. “Why not? We need more free cities in this world. What’s the plan?”
I explained to them the need for guns and a storm to sneak the fishing boat from the marina, Kiana’s gathering of fighters. “As soon as we get our hands on the weapons, we can go.”
The elevator pinged, announcing Ramsey. He came in, eyeing Gray and Caesar warily. “Logan, I didn’t know you had friends. I’ll come back.”
“No, sit and eat,” I told him. “These two are not just friends, but my personal bodyguards.” I made introductions. “They know about our plans, so you can speak freely. Breakfast?”
“Sure.”
He sat down, and filled a plate with the still warm food while staring at my face. “What happened?”
“Night hunters. Would have had me if not for these two.”
“Ah. I made up the strategy you asked for,” he said, his mouth full. “Once we can get weapons, we can position our fighters around the city to start seizing the enforcers. Did you find a place to moor the boat?”
“Yep. We can run it straight into the street and unload it. Derek is looking for an experienced seaman to run it when we get a nice storm.”
“What if we don’t get a storm?” Gray asked.
“Then we’ll snatch it using a diversion,” I said, still eating hungrily. “I’ll tell the guards I think some people escaped with it.”
Ramsey nodded thoughtfully. “The storm idea is better, but if we have to go the other way, then we do.”
“We need a few more days to gain more fighters, to get organized,” I said. “More planning.”
“If things go the way I think,” Ramsey added, “we can remove more than three quarters of the enforcers in one sweep.”
I raised my brow. “That’s great. What about the guards?”
“They are assigned here,” he replied. “We surround them, demand they drop their weapons. They don’t, they get shot.”
“Any guard or enforcer who refuses to cooperate with the new government,” I said, “will get dropped off in the swamps.”
“Eww,” Gray stated with a grimace. “Yuck.”
“Let them fight the alligators and snakes,” I said. “They don’t get back into the city. They have one chance only.”
“If the guards want a place in the new ordinance,” I said to Ramsey, “they can form the heart of the militia. Provided they swear an oath of obedience to the new government.”
“You should be the president, Logan,” Ramsey said. “You’d be great as the future leader of Miami.”
I glanced at Gray and Caesar. “That may not be possible,” I replied. “It’ll be between you and Derek, I think. Or another equally good candidate.”
He had seen the look that passed between us. “Who are these guys, Logan?”
“I can’t tell you. But they are with us, and will help keep me alive.”
For a moment, I thought he’d protest, but he simply nodded. “If you live, I probably will, too. All I care about.”
The intercom buzzed, and I stood up to answer it. “Yeah?”
“That whore is here to see you, sir.”
I stopped myself from laughing just in time. “Send her up.”
“Yes, sir.”
All three of them gazed at me in bafflement as I shrugged under their questioning gazes. Within a few minutes, Kiana stepped off the elevator and strolled arrogantly, complete with a hooker’s attitude, across the foyer. She dropped the act the instant she saw me.
“Logan!”
Garbed in simple jeans and an off the shoulder blouse, she ran to me and cupped my cheek with her hand. “What the hell?”
“Night hunters,” I told her, then planted a swift kiss to her lips. “It’s all good. I have people you need to meet.”
My arm over her shoulder, I introduced her to Ramsey, Gray, and Caesar. “This is Kiana, and she’s no whore. She’s my lady, and if you are to protect me, you protect her, too.”
Ramsey laughed into his bacon. “I knew she looked to classy to be a hooker,” he said.
“We made up the story so the guards might not be inclined to use her as leverage against me,” I said. “If they think I pay her for sex, she’s of no use to them.”
“Smart,” Gray said, smiling at Kiana. “So, you’re the one gathering our new forces.”
“We now have over fifty willing to fight,” she said, “and word is spreading faster than I can talk to them. In days, we’ll have hundreds, if not thousands, ready to take the enforcers out.”
“Count me impressed,” Caesar commented with a grin.
Kiana grinned back. “Now, as soon as we get that storm, we can disperse the guns. Derek said to tell you he found an old coot that can sail the boat through bad weather.”
“So now all we need is a damn storm,” I said. “The ancients used to be able to predict them. I sure as shit can’t.”
“If it doesn’t happen,” Ramsey told me, “we can distract the guards on the marina with a fire or an explosion of some kind. When they run to investigate, Derek’s old coot can sail it to your location. Folks have tried to escape on boats before. This might be the time they succeed.”
“Are you willing to stay here and govern in my absence?” I asked him. “I want to see Derek, and talk to our new soldiers. At least a few of them, anyway.”
“That’s what you pay me for,” he replied with a grin. “Just watch yourself. I have heard very faint murmurings of discontent among the enforcers. Some may try something.”
I eyed Gray and Caesar. “Got guns?”
“No.”
“Ramsey, can you get these guys a couple of guns, please?”
“I’ll have them waiting downstairs.”
He left while I changed into some clothes that weren’t torn or bloody, Kiana following me. “They really ripped you up,” she commented, seeing my new stitches as I changed into some of Duke’s less vibrant clothes.
I put on a blue shirt of his that weirdly shimmered when I moved, and Kiana instantly grinned. “That is so you.”
I snorted. “Get real.”
Duke never wore jeans, so I found a pair of trousers that Kiana claimed made my ass look like a ballet dancer’s, and a pair of boots that fit me fairly well. When Gray caught sight of me, he snickered and Caesar said, “You look like a pimp.”
I put my arm around Kiana and my nose in the air. “A whore and her pimp. Perfect disguise.”
“Yeah, right.”
Ramsey provided the guns when we reached the foyer, and we walked amid the guards to the sedan Caesar had driven. They were clearly unhappy that I left them behind, didn’t choose them to accompany me. I grinned before I got inside with Kiana.
“You’ll get your chance, boys,” I told them. “I’ll need lots of guarding in the near future.”
Caesar drove us away toward the turnpike as Kiana nestled under my arm. “If those guys are loyal,” she began, “will Tony and Albert be safe in the penthouse until this is over?”
“You don’t think they’ll be okay at the market?”
“I don’t know. I’d feel better if they had more around them than just walls.”
I pondered the number of rifles between the enforcers and the boys if I did send them here and nodded. “Yeah. Let them work at the market today, and I’ll bring them back with me tonight.”
“Who are Tony and Albert?” Gray asked.
“My little brothers,” Kiana replied. “I don’t want them caught in the crossfire.”
The air felt thick and humid as I stepped out of the car in front of the market, the sky not quite as blue as it had been. A breeze cooled the sweat on my face and neck, making me think a storm might be on its way. I saw no sign of one on the horizon, however.
Derek glanced up from waiting on a customer and did a complete double-take as he took in the sight of me and my companions. His eyes widening, he continued taking the cash for the groceries, pretendi
ng as though we didn’t exist. Tony and Albert busily cleaned and stocked shelves and only gave us a passing glance.
At last, the customer left, and Derek looked me up and down with no smile. “What happened?”
“I was attacked by the night hunters,” I told him, gesturing toward Gray and Caesar, and introduced them. “They saved my life.”
He shook hands with them, smiling a little. “What’s with the fancy threads?”
Kiana laughed, and I rolled my eyes. “I’m gonna go back to my place and change,” I muttered. “Kiana said you found someone to drive the boat?”
“Yeah. An old wolf shifter who used to work on sailing ships when people still did that. He runs a small shop over on Tenth and Main. I told him you’d probably be by.”
“I also want to talk with some of the fighters Kiana found,” I went on. “Get a better feel for what’s going on.”
“Good idea. I expect I’ll stay here and run the store.” Derek cocked his eye at the boys. “Those two work harder than you do.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
The four of us returned to the car, my outrageous clothes catching many an eye. Of course, as whoever wore such things no doubt had to be the boss, the expressions of the people tightened or grew fearful where once they might have greeted me with friendliness. I can’t blame them. They don’t know what I’m trying to do for them.
“First stop is my apartment,” I said, getting into the car. “I need back into my own clothes like yesterday.”
“We were just getting used to them,” Gray replied with a grin.
“Ha, ha.”
I didn’t live far away from the store, so within minutes, Caesar pulled up in front of my former abode. The two of them stayed in the car as Kiana came with me to the second floor where I opened the door to my apartment. She gazed around at the simple furnishings with interest.
“This isn’t bad,” she commented as I went into the bedroom to change clothes.
“I spent most of my time at the market,” I said, pulling on a t-shirt and tucking it into my jeans.