A.L.F.A. Mates

by Milly Taiden

  “How about we change and I buy lunch?” she said. “We can figure out a plan and go from there.” They agreed.

  In her room, Amie decided to take Joey’s gun with her. She wasn’t taking anything for granted anymore. When she reached inside the luggage pocket where she had stashed the weapon, her fingers grazed an envelope. She pulled it out and looked at it. She’d penned Frank’s name on the front. Inside was a letter telling him about their son and how to find him in Mojave with his adopted grandparents. When she wrote it the other day, she wasn’t sure if or when she should give it to him. But if something happened to her, someone needed to know about him and keep him safe from her uncle. She couldn’t let the boy fall into his hands.

  She put the letter and envelope back into the pocket and pulled out the gun. Downstairs, the small group gathered to head out, when an explosion rocked the house.

  CHAPTER 24

  Frank glanced at the women then tore out of the house, heading downtown, where the explosion seemed to have come from. Taking a few steps then shifting into his cougar form, he sprinted down the sidewalk.

  Acrid smoke met his nose, leaving a tang in his mouth he could do without. What in the hell was going on? Was there a gas explosion in one of the buildings? What could account for shaking his mom’s house at that distance?

  He slowed to a fast trot after passing the park. Flames hurdled high into the air from the vacant building on the far end of town down by the corner.

  In the middle of the street sat three black Hummers. The same he’d seen at the Prada store in Vegas. Fuck. How could they have possibly have found his mate here?

  A back window of one of the Hummers rolled down and an RPG launched into the beauty salon, blowing it to shambles. He had to stop this now. He shifted and walked down the middle of the street toward the unwelcome visitors. At the moment, he didn’t give a shit if they saw him shift. Maybe it would freak them out enough to get the hell out of his town.

  “What do you want, Ragusa? You should turn around, the way you came, and leave before the opportunity to escape is gone.”

  Laughing came from loudspeakers mounted on the hood of the front vehicle. “And who might you be, little naked man? You speak for everyone here?”

  His cat became pissed at that. It was ready to tear into the asshole hiding in the truck.

  “I do speak for everyone here. And this little man, as you call me, would love to see you face-to-face. Or are you too afraid to come out?” The front truck rocked on its axle, the speaker making a loud squelch. Then a different voice came over the megaphone.

  “We are here to collect Amerella Capone. Send her out here and we will leave.”

  Frank noticed wolves slinking along the shadows. A couple black panthers crossed the street behind the vehicles. Butch’s fluffy gold mane filled his door window. The town was getting riled. They were backing Amie, not giving her up. A pride he had never felt for his home bubbled inside him.

  She may not have been one of them several days ago, but she was now, and they’d fight for her. Butch shifted back to his human form and joined Frank on the street. Solidarity.

  “Who says this Capone woman is here?” Butch asked, standing proudly as his junk dangled.

  A sigh sounded over the speaker. “We have it on good authority that she’s here. Apparently, not everyone wants her around. Now, hand her over or we’ll blow up another building of your precious town.”

  Butch turned to Frank. “You gotta get back to the house and get Amie out of here now.”

  “How do I do that without looking suspicious?” Frank asked.

  “Easy.” Butch grabbed Frank around the neck and punched him in the face. At the last second, he pulled it. But it was still enough to snap Frank’s head back. Then the meat man grabbed him around the waist with his hands and launched him toward Dorothy’s restaurant.

  “And stay gone, you flea-bitten piece-of-shit pussy!”

  Dorothy, standing at her restaurant’s door, helped Frank inside. “What the hell is wrong with Butch? Has he gone crazy?”

  Frank stumbled through the kitchen toward the back door. He laughed. “Believe it or not, the man is a genius when it comes to being sneaky.” He opened the door and stepped out. “Dorothy, come outside. Don’t go back in. Those RPGs are too close for comfort. Don’t need you going anywhere. You need to feed us still.” He smiled as he shifted and ran down the alley toward the park and his mom’s house.

  • • •

  Amie and Mom cringed at the third explosion. With her shifter abilities, Mom was able to relay what she heard to Amie as they stood in the park, out of sight. Amie was horrified. All this destruction and possible death because of her. No, it had to stop.

  She turned to face Frank’s mother. “Mom Dubois, I have to go—”

  “No! You can’t go with those people. They want you, don’t they?”

  “They do. And I’m going.” She quieted Mom with a hug.

  Amie hurried across the park toward the street just in time to run into a gorgeous cougar. Oh, shit. How did she explain this to Frank? The cat shifted into human form and she was captivated and freaked at the same time. That was her first time seeing the full change. It didn’t look like a comfortable process. But she didn’t have time to think about that right now.

  “Where do you think you’re going, young lady?” Frank wasn’t happy with her.

  “Frank, listen to me—”

  “You are not going with them. It is my responsibility to keep you safe—”

  “Hold on there one second,” Amie fired back. “Your responsibility is not to keep me safe. That’s mine. I’ve done a damn good job of protecting my”—she almost said “son”—“self my entire life and I will continue to do so—”

  “No, Amie. I love you and won’t let you go again.”

  He loved her? She loved him so much. Her heart broke a little.

  “Frank, there’s something I’ve been trying to tell you, but”—she gulped and shoved her hands in her pockets—“I’ve been too scared of what you might say. Too scared of how you’d react.”

  He frowned, holding her by her arms and looking deep into her eyes. “You can tell me anything, love.”

  “It’s probably easier if you just go back to the house and upstairs to my suitcase. There’s a letter there, addressed to you.” She bit her bottom lip to keep it from shaking. “Will you read it?”

  “Of course. Anything you want, sweetheart. But, Amie, nothing you say in that letter will change how much I love you.”

  She wanted to believe him so bad, but she knew keeping their child a secret had been a mistake. She’d had a reason that felt valid at the time, but now it felt wrong. “I hope that’s true.”

  She threw her arms around him and pulled back quickly. No sense in dragging this out. It was so much easier to sacrifice when there wasn’t anyone else getting hurt in the process. But she had to suck it up. The town was being destroyed because of her.

  “Frank, this is how this is going down. I’m getting in the truck and they will take me to Uncle Giuseppe’s in Vegas. He lives a few houses down from mine. Detective Freeman knows the address. You get with him and pull together a force to get me out of there.

  “My uncle won’t hurt me. If the rest of the family discovered he killed me, they would riot and overthrow him from power. He isn’t risking that. He has around fifteen guards and security people, and cameras all around the exterior and interior of the house. Freeman probably knows all about those, too. Get with him. He’s made it his life’s mission to take down my uncle. Help him.” She looked over her shoulder. The Hummers waited for her.

  “I have to go.”

  Frank grasped her in a hard hug. “Don’t leave me again.”

  Her heart broke all the way. She hadn’t wanted to leave him the first time, but like now, she had no choice. Someone else’s life was
on the line.

  “I love you, Frank. I never stopped loving you.” She pulled away from him. “Now, come get me from my uncle’s house. And if you have to kill him in the process, you’ll get extra sausage licks.” She backed away, then turn and ran.

  She made a vow right then. No matter what it took or what sacrifice she’d have to make, she would bring her uncle down.

  CHAPTER 25

  Worn out and tired from the long ride to Vegas, Amie’s hot head had cooled. She sat behind Tony, who glared at her in the rearview mirror the entire drive. What was his fucking problem? She wasn’t responsible for his fucked-up life. She’d stayed away from him as much as she could growing up.

  Her stomach knotted worrying if Frank had read her letter. He’d know by now that they had a child. Little Francis was his daddy through and through. How would Frank take it? Would he hate her? What if he didn’t want to meet their baby? She rubbed a hand over her brow. Wondering the what-ifs wasn’t going to make anything better.

  If Frank learned to love their son, there would be a future for them. She didn’t dare think about what would happen if he rejected Francis. She already knew that she’d leave him. Her son came before everyone.

  “Tony, what the fuck is wrong with you? What have I done to you that makes you fucking scowl at me all the time?” His eyes glowed red, just like they had the moment he saw her in the bank before shooting Joey. What the hell? That wasn’t natural. A chill ran up her back. Tony looked almost demonic.

  Wait. Before Joey died, he said “demo.” At the time, she’d thought he meant something like “democrat” or “demolition person.” But did he mean “demon”? Oh, god. So there were shifters and demons? What else was out there waiting?

  The Hummer skidded to a stop in the middle lane of the interstate, and Tony turned in his seat to fully face her.

  “You want to know why I hate you?” He could’ve breathed fire.

  Amie grabbed the door handle to her right and gripped the chair cushion on her left. Her heart thundered in her chest from the frantic stop. The guy was insane. They could have been in a crazy accident and both be dead. “‘Hate’ is a bit strong, don’t you think? I am family, unfortunately.”

  Tony’s hand snapped out to grab her throat. She squeezed back into the corner of the seat, barely out of his reach. She hadn’t feared him before. But right now, he could kill her. The red in his eyes pulsed.

  “That’s one reason I prefer you dead. You never appreciated the power your name gave you. You pissed it away, spending time on those who only took from you. There was so much you could’ve done empowering the family.”

  “The family?” Amie screamed back. “The family is worthless. Stealing money to survive? How fucking pathetic is that? Someone who can’t even support themselves, but has to take from others.

  “And killing those who get in their way,” she continued. “Instead of negotiating and figuring out a way to work things out like grown-ups, you just off them. Talk about being a pussy.” Tony lunged toward her as the Hummer shook on its wheels while a semi-truck blew by blaring its horn within feet of her door.

  “Unless you want to join your dead ancestors, I suggest you get us moving.” Amie fought to keep his hands off her.

  He grinned at her. “I’m ready to die. Are you? What about your son?”

  She reached out and slapped him. “Don’t talk about my son, seeing as you have no idea what a real son should be like.”

  He laughed, turned around, and pushed the Hummer to over one hundred miles an hour. Amie felt sure it was to intimidate her. There was nothing she could do about it, and her son would be taken care of, so whatever happened to her now didn’t matter.

  • • •

  Amie stood in front of Uncle Giuseppe’s desk in his study, staring the man in the eye. “I have to say you are the most pathetic creature—let me edit that—second most pathetic creature on this earth.”

  Her uncle’s brow raised. “Who, may I ask, am I second to?”

  “Really?” Amie rolled her eyes. “You have to ask? Who’s fucking stupid enough to blow up a town to get one person?”

  He chuckled. “My dear niece, if that is the worst you have to say to me, then I will accept it.”

  “It’s not the worst by far, but I don’t care to stoop to your gutter level of intelligence to tell you how I really feel.”

  “Amerella”—her uncle sighed—“you have always been a step higher than the rest of us.”

  “What do you mean?” That almost sounded like a good thing, but coming from him, it couldn’t be.

  “My sister—your mother—always thought she was better than I was. She had it in her head that the lesser intelligent made their living stealing and killing—”

  “Like mother, like daughter,” Amie added.

  Uncle Giuseppe chuckled again. That frightened her. He never laughed or even smiled when she was growing up. “What you and your mother believe no longer concerns me. I have found a way to show the world the Ragusa family was meant to shine. And you, my dear, are a vital part of that process.”

  A side door to the office opened and a stunning blonde in a slinky dress strutted in. She eyed Amie and slowly made a circle around her, looking her up and down. Then she sat on the corner of the desk.

  “She’ll do perfectly, Giuseppe.”

  Amie’s eyes narrowed. “I see you’re back to fucking whores for fun, Uncle. She’d do perfectly, too, looks like.”

  The woman returned her glare. “Be careful, bitch. I’ll turn you into a frog, which wouldn’t be a far cry from what you look like already.”

  Oh, shit. Magic was real, too? Wonderful. Shifters, demons, and witches, oh my. Wait a minute. “If you’re a witch, and not fucking him, why are you here?”

  A grin slowly spread across the witch’s face and an evil spark flashed in her eyes. “You’ll find out soon.” She hopped off the desk and slithered toward the double doors leading into the ballroom at the far end of the study. “Good thing you found her in time, Giuseppe. Otherwise, we’d have to wait a month. And I’d rather spend a month in hell than in this place with you.” The witch turned to the guards hovering around the edges of the room. “Take Miss Priss to the room, then I need all of you in the ballroom with me.”

  CHAPTER 26

  Amie paced the bedroom on the second floor. What was going on? Why would her uncle have a witch here? And how was she personally involved? No matter how she tried to look at it, it was all bad.

  She stood in front of the barred window. Bars on a bedroom window. She really shouldn’t be surprised. And to think that all the years she lived here growing up, she never came into this room. The second floor was always off-limits to the kids. She never questioned it; same with so many other things. Just accepting what she was told. Not finding answers on her own.

  The sun brushed the top of the trees. Soon it would be dark. Would Frank be able to get with Detective Freeman in time to gather a posse and rescue her from this place? She didn’t think her uncle would hurt her, but she doubted that anyone who threatened to testify against a Ragusa would go unpunished.

  She had to get out of here on her own. If Frank came through, great. If not, she was on her own, like she’d been the previous four years.

  Slipping off her shoe, she headed for the door. After studying the hinges, she hit the bottom of one, making a nasty noise. She dumped a pillow on the bed from its case and padded the bottom of the hinge and struck again. Much quieter. After all three pins were removed, she pried the back side of the door off the hinge.

  Hurrying back to her purse, she pulled out Joey’s gun, then tiptoed down the hall toward the stairs. No one was around, which was strange. Then she remembered the witch wanted the men to help her with something in the ballroom. The woman couldn’t possibly be having a party, could she?

  Heart pounding, she rushed through the downstairs
hall toward the kitchen at the back of the mansion. If she could get out the back door, she might have a chance at getting out of there.

  “Miss Amerella?” She jumped and almost peed her pants.

  “Chef Louis,” she said, slamming a hand on her chest, “you scared the crap out of me.”

  “So sorry, mademoiselle. I did not know you vould be joining us for dinner.”

  “No worry, Chef Louis. I just dropped by. Don’t plan on staying long.” She kept the gun behind her back to not frighten the man. He did notice her feet, though.

  “Vere are your shoes, girl? You cannot valk around vithout shoes.”

  Amerella wiggled her toes. “Uh, I left them outside and am going to get them right now.” She stepped toward the door leading outside. “Thank you, Louis. See you later.” She slid out to the man’s shaking head. He rattled off in Italian like he always did when going on about kids nowadays. She loved the man. His good cooking was most of the reason for her curvy body. The man had a way with a spatula.

  Outside, she stepped through the grass to the back corner of the rectangular house and peeked around the side. The sun shone on the other side of the yard, putting her in darkening shadows.

  Rubbing her body along the shrubs, she hoped to put her smell where Frank would find it and follow. When she got to the tall ballroom windows, she ducked before someone saw her. Security guys were carrying in boxes, a few tables, chopped wood, candles, and all kinds of weird shit.

  Two men leaned the tallest ladder she had ever seen against the wall with the fifteen-foot windows. Behind them, three more men carried in a long black roll of material. They laid it at the foot of the ladder, then one of the guys grabbed a corner and walked it up the ladder.