“Yeah…it’s a long story I don’t think you should know the details of. But Luca and Alex are…well Luca is the leader of the clan now and Alex heads the fighters. They’re both really great,” I took a deep breath and tried to wrap my mind fully around the fact that I was a half breed and had no idea. And the fact that my dad was a full blown dragon shifter and I had no idea all my life. Then there was the fact that Doc West, Alex, and Luca were right and one twin was Luca’s the other Alex’s. Then, boys!
“I’ve just received a lot of information at once right now…I’m going to have to take a small break,” I said faintly. Doctor West and my dad both nodded and backed away from me as if I was a time bomb or something. They went into the kitchen and I heard Doc West’s upbeat voice greeting my dad warmly and reminding him who he was. An old school friend…
“Chloe!” I heard Alex shout my name before he and Luca came hurrying into the living room.
“What is it?” I looked up at them, my gaze a little glazed over.
“Are you alright?” Luca asked me, his hands patting me down gently while Alex scanned every inch of me.
“I’m fine, I’m fine…”
“We spoke with a scout from the allied southern clans. They told us that they accidentally followed our scent here. That other scouts were incoming and could also make the mistake. We had to make sure though, that you were fine,” Luca said.
“The dragons I sent here had also been caught up with a group of ‘visitors’ coming this way,” Alex sighed.
“Why do you look like you are in shock?” Luca asked me. He glanced back at my dad and Doc West briefly.
“You guys were right, you each fathered one of the twins…” I looked at both Alex and Luca. “And also I’m half shifter. That’s my dad, he used to be a part of the clan,” I said. Their gazes swung back to my dad.
“And the twins are both boys,” I said, their gazes swung back to mine again and excitement registered in both their eyes. Funnily enough the first thing they did was high five. Which had me laughing away all my tension.
“How are you both here when you have a bunch of foreigners around?” I asked.
“Well we just came to check on you…” Luca said.
“And rescue you in a completely heroic fashion if that was needed,” Alex added.
“Can we name our son Luca Junior?” Luca asked me and I laughed again.
“No, he should have a unique name,” I said and he pouted a little, but good naturedly.
“Will you take us?” Alex asked softly. I glanced at him with a quirked brow and he repeated the question. “Will you take us as your mates?” he asked and put his hand on my belly. Tears sprang to my eyes then; it was really too much for a pregnant woman to handle in one hour. All that news and then Alex proposing.
“We want to be your mates. No matter what anyone might think. We both love you and it won’t ever waver,” Luca said sincerely.
“I…I love you too,” I said and looked at the both of them. “Of course I’ll take you as my mates,” I said in a hoarse whisper, more tears threatening to spill over. Alex wiped my eyes and kissed me softly on the lips then Luca did the exact same. It was a little strange realizing that my dad was witnessing it all but hell, he could turn into a dragon.
“As soon as we get all of this business with the southern clans squared away we’re getting married. And picking out names,” Alex said.
“That sounds like a plan,” I couldn’t help my giant smile and felt that even though there was still quite a road ahead. The future would be a happy one and definitely full of love.
THE END
Bonus Story 33/40
Curating a Billionaire
Amos
When I first got a look at the artist Lora Zombie, I was initially entranced by her blue hair and the way she painted with the tips of her toes. I knew immediately that her work was more than art—it was spiritual, transcendent, and surreal. Upon meeting her at her gallery at Gagosian I knew that one day her work would be worth millions.
The image that created the controversy of my life was called Deviled Legs. As I recall, the pair of legs in the painting were white with red leggings, red heels, lying against a purple and black backdrop.
“What inspired you to paint Deviled Legs?” I asked her, sipping from my glass of brandy.
“I was inspired by the woman,” she said. “Because woman is monster.”
That was all Lora Zombie ever said to me, unless you can count her loud cackle after my offer to buy Deviled Legs for a hundred thousand dollars as communication. To this day I’m not sure if she laughed because she thought that her art was worth nothing, or if that someone she knew that the piece would come to be known as one of the most moving and provocative images in contemporary art. In any case, she did not accept the offer.
Now three years after that night at Gagosian I stand in a small feminist gallery in Downtown Culver City that doesn’t even have a name. I’m staring at Deviled Legs, slack jawed, with yet another glass of brandy in my hand. The curator of this quaint exhibit is a five foot three blonde with coke-can thick glasses. She might actually be cute for a wannabe Los Angeles Millennial if she applied some make-up and tried to perk up her breasts.
However, I’m not here to judge the help. I’m here because I am literally baffled at how this dump of a gallery could have possibly acquired an original Lora Zombie. I’ve been staring at Deviled Legs so closely; trying to figure out of it is a potential replica or rip-off before I steal it.
I’ve tried paying fair price for art enough times to know that when something is priceless no amount can really suffice. Needless to say, collecting fine art is not so much a hobby for me as much as it is an addiction. With this opening more popular than some major gallery openings I’ve been too, I’m still the only moderately dressed person in the whole place. Hipsters surround me, young pseudo-intellectuals who think they understand art, but really only wish they did.
“You seem to really love this one,” a female voice says. I can’t help but raise my nose before even laying eyes on the speaker. Before listening to this woman, I down the last of the brandy and slow turn to my left. Surprisingly, it’s the petite curator, looking up at me and nudging the loose spectacles closer to her forehead.
“Lora Zombie is one of my all time favorites,” she says, unable to pull her gaze away from my face. I am the type of man that exudes wealth, glamor, and sex. I know this because I’ve heard it from women all over the world, and these traits have been my sole objectives for my entire life.
“You have great taste,” I say. Even though this little socialite doesn’t stand the slightest chance with me, I can at least slightly respect someone who shares my appreciation for good art.
“Apparently you do, too,” she says. For a moment we both stare at Deviled Legs in awe. There is only one other person on Earth I know who would look at a Lora Zombie painting for its simple beauty and complexity—and that is individual just happens to be the one person on Earth who has tried to ruin me in business. If there is one thing about being Amos Torrany, it’s that being me comes with many enemies.
“I happen to be quite infatuated with Lora Zombie’s work,” I say, smiling. “I have a deep, personal relationship with this particular painting.”
“Deviled Legs is most certainly a rare piece,” she says. I can tell she is entering curator mode and I already get the urge to zone out. However, as her voice picks up I see her own confidence begin to shine.
Maybe I was wrong about the coke-can glasses and breasts in need of perking. Her posture and tone has changed entirely. She’s a quiet talker, but now that I’m in her zone I can’t get her voice out of my head. “With one part of the mind focused on the grotesque, and other part of the mind consumed with beauty, her work exudes a confusion in our social consciousness and, in many ways, the a fractured interpretation of sexuality.”
Who is this bespectacled woman and how have I only just discovered her?
“W
hat do they call you?” I ask. “You must have a very ordinary name.”
“My name is Carly,” she says. “Sounds ordinary to the untrained ear. Kind of like good music, or true art. Don’t you think?”
So coy. I now see her lack of make-up as a choice—not a matter of cosmetic negligence. With a closer look at her face, I admit to being completely wrong about my initial perception of her. I saw a desperate, nerdy type—but actually she is beautiful.
*****
Nick
I wasn’t born into money like some people in this world. Everything I have I earned with hard work, blood, and my wits. I wasn’t always a thief or a criminal. Hell, currently the public wouldn’t even guess the true nature of my business. Growing up in Detroit, Michigan taught me a few things about living hand to mouth. I graduated Magna Cum Laude on the school of Detroit Streets.
One of the most important lessons I ever learned was when I was standing outside the bus station in the snow with no money for the bus. There I was, this 14-year-old kid trying to leave town, begging every person who walked by for some spare change or help with a ticket. You know what they all said to me? Get lost, kid. Go home. You’re going to freeze to death out here.
That night I really did damn near turn into a popsicle, until I saw this poor sap fall asleep on a bench inside. When I knew he was good and dreaming I snuck up on him so quiet, reached my hand into his overcoat, and lifted his wallet. I didn’t buy a bus ticket that day. Instead I took a cab home, went to my cousin Jesse’s convenience store, and loaded up on cartons of cigarettes and cases of beer.
That one decision to take the bastard’s wallet has proven to be the single smartest decision of my entire life. Never in my life have I smoked a cigarette, and if I’m drinking alcohol, it’s aged scotch, not some cheap ass frat boy beer. No, what I did was get the merchandise of Jesse for cheap and then flipped the goods around town for twice the price.
That winter I made just over five grand slinging smokes and booze to the neighborhood kids who couldn’t get the stuff for parties on account of their age. Long story short, I came up in Detroit with an advantage. Everything I wanted from that point on was within arm’s reach.
Eventually I did get the hell out of Detroit and the first city I moved to was Chicago. For me, thriving in the dead of winter is how I’ve always out survived my enemies and competitors. Any hustler or dealer can get caught up in the big bucks and blow their entire load on summer investments. Not me. Any fool will tell you that the squirrel that prepares for winter will survive the year without a splinter.
It didn’t take long in Chicago to triple my earnings, on top of accessibility to mass shipments of good throughout Illinois through the hub of the metro. I’ve never been the type of man to mess with drugs. You won’t catch me pushing dope on anyone. The worst I’ve ever done is the cigarettes and beer. After that it became electronics, computers, hardware, software, digital information, identities, and the list goes on.
However, I left Chicago because I began to feel like the big fish in a small pond. The same thing happened to me in Detroit. Before long my own identity was no longer safe because the individuals in the city who were up to the real, hard crime came looking for me. My wealth has never been a secret. So, I decided to give up my security in the winter and go to the last place anyone would expect me.
California wasn’t my first choice. I actually wanted to move to Brazil. However, at the time it was impossible for me to get a passport because this son of a bitch Amos Tammory managed to get me on the No Fly list. That’s a story for another time.
Here I am in Los Angeles, staring over the ocean wearing the most cliché floral button-down and khakis with aviator glasses. The salty breeze makes me feel new. For dealing in importing and exporting, one might assume that I’ve done a fair share of traveling. But the truth is that this is the first time I’ve ever stood next to the ocean.
I even take off my cheap sandals so that I can dig my toes into the hot sand. I’m waiting for a special delivery here in Malibu. Any minute I expect a man driving a white van to pull up next to my black Jeep, idle for approximately five minutes before stepping out of the van with the keys still inside, stepping into my Jeep where the keys are still inside, and driving off. From there, I will wait for seven minutes until the sun fully sets, enter the van, and drive away.
In the back of the van is an object of great rarity and uniqueness. I collect such treasures. I find that doing so makes life sweeter and worth living. I have one of the greatest collections of rare items in the world. I am also a wanted man in twelve states, and on the no-fly list, and I once came close to ruin, and intend to kill the man who brought me there. Firearms have never been a problem for me to secure, naturally.
The white van arrives. I see it pulling off road and toward me, into the sand at this very moment. The driver dims the van’s headlights and rolls slowly over the bumpy dunes toward me and the Jeep.
The van parks next to the jeep and I turn my gaze back toward the ocean so that I can catch all the oranges, crimsons, and violets as they fade into navy blue then black over the Santa Monica Mountains. I listen carefully for the actions behind me—the shutting of a door too early, or perhaps even the cocking of a pistol. I can’t be too cautious because if the driver wanted me dead, he could do it no question. There ain’t nobody coming to look for me, dead or alive.
I didn’t bother coming armed, because flipping art is such a delicate process that weapons are actually counter productive. The piece that I am currently in the process of acquiring belongs to one of the most promising feminist artists of the world—Lora Zombie. Within the van are numerous pieces of mildly rare art—nothing that would sell for two commas, but that’s not the point. The Zombie piece that I’m after is certainly in the six zeroes bracket; the other pieces are just to mask the one valuable work of art so that in the event the van actually does get inspected, it will seem like I’m just hauling a load to a gallery. If the dumbass in the driver’s seat followed directions then the Zombie piece should actually be under the floor board of the back of the van, hidden within the infrastructure of the vehicle.
At last, longer than five minutes by my count, the door of the white van opens and clicks closed. I hear the driver get into the jeep and start the ignition. I see the glare of the headlights slightly illuminate the night sky before he quickly shuts them off to resume the blackout. The Jeep rolls backward over the dunes and the driver continues the route he was on before he pulled over into the sand. I hear traffic from the road a few yards away and wait until the noise around me returns to static silence before making my way for the van.
*****
Carly
With the last of the stragglers in the gallery finishing off the free wine, the only person making me nervous is the man whom I spoke to earlier, the one who hasn’t budged from Deviled Legs. I went over to him to speak with him and be polite, but honestly I was trying to get him to move from the spot. Frankly, the Lora Zombie piece is the highlight of the exhibit and the reason why most people came to my hole-in-the-wall gallery in the first place. Apparently I’m too shy to be blunt, even when I’m running the show, because I didn’t have the courage to tell the man the other people were waiting to get a glimpse of Deviled Legs but were too afraid by his money stink.
Either he is totally oblivious to the snide comments the gallery-goers have made about him behind his back, or he simply doesn’t care one way or the other. Typical Los Angeles type. I’ve been here for less than a year and already and I can hardly tolerate these people with such a strong sense of entitlement they have no common courtesy because they think they own the place. It wasn’t like this in Cleveland, or any other Midwestern city that I’ve lived in.
“Well, sir, that’s the last of the attendants,” I say in my most professional tone. “It’s been a long day for me. I should probably close up here.”
“You won’t take any money for this picture, will you?” he asks, refusing to turn to face me
.
“I’m sorry, sir, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, tilting my head as if I could magically become Deviled Legs so he would stare at me instead.
“Is this painting is for sale?” he asks. I have to think about his question for a moment before answering. Part of me should have expected him to come throwing dollar signs around at me. I love art, but have never been in it for the business. It’s no lie. All my life people have told me I’ve been horrible with money.
“Well, what is your price?” I ask, as if the picture is not for sale at all unless he makes a grand gesture.
“I once offered a hundred thousand for this same painting,” he says, slowly turning around, placing his back to Deviled Legs at last. However, he has not turned because he wants to show respect for me. He has turned around because already in his mind he thinks that he owns the painting. “How about double that?”
“Wow,” I say, proud that money doesn’t affect me. “That is a lot. Unfortunately, you were correct, sir. That particular piece is not for sale.” It’s true. I don’t want to sell this one just yet.
He extends his right hand for a formal shake and says, “Please, Carly. Call me Amos.” I hesitantly reach my hand out to meet his and take the firm grip into my delicate, fragile one. Any time I shake hands with a man I get self-conscious about my long fingers. They’re too long for a woman, but have helped give my own art a specific style. I haven’t found my true voice yet, but I can only aspire to one day be as great as Lora Zombie.
“Just as I thought,” he smirks. After looking from his hand up to his face I’m suddenly trapped in the gleam of his sky blue eyes. His dark brown hair is slicked back like a living James Dean, only crossed with Ryan Gosling and Adrian Brody.
The Crime of Protection Page 106