As he was walking back to the projects, Ricardo, dressed in his favorite Hawaiian shirt, took a short cut where he saw a stranger, Frost, working to change a tire on a fancy truck he had never seen in his area before. Ricardo hurried over behind a nearby tree and watched Frost working on the truck from a distance. Thinking there was no such thing as coincidences, Ricardo decided Frost must be a spy from his rival gang and decided to take him out.
Rushing Frost, Ricardo threw a gun to his head, “Don’t move or I’ll kill you… give me your cell,” he said quietly right next to his ear, completely unaware of the sleeping inhabitants inside the truck.
Making a quick call in Spanish, Ricardo ordered one of his gang members, Marco, to meet him at the “safe house” location where he immediately took Frost, throwing him into the old rundown, abandoned house. Leaving Frost watched by one of his gang members, Ricardo again leaves for the projects to coordinate the Everything-Goes Gang Fight, having no idea that the gang member he just left the intruder with, Marco, was really an undercover cop hired to infiltrate Ricardo’s gang.
Sitting on the floor in a room that smelled of cigarettes, old beer and lined with trash, Frost stared up at one mean looking gang member holding a gun. He was covered in tats and sported a super short haircut with a long handlebar moustache, definitely a model for bike gang members everywhere.
Saying nothing, Frost simply decided to watch as the gang member began to pace the room as if he were struggling with something internally. Worried for his life, and the lives of Stephanie and Simon Jr., and hearing Ricardo mention the Everything-Goes Gang Fight that was going to take place at sunup and about all the lives that were going to be taken, Frost knew he had to escape soon. Forcing patience on himself, he continued to watch as the gang member guarding him paced back and forth, just waiting for the proper time to make his move.
Waiting until the gang member’s back was turned to him, Frost jumped to his feet and attacked the gang member before he could turn around. Not having enough time to make the change, he simply snatched up a bottle from the dirty floor, and smacked Marco in the back of the head with it, knocking him unconscious in one blow. Then he fled back to where his truck was, hoping against hope that the sleeping inhabitants were still safely inside.
Racing outside, Frost looked around and ran down a street where he soon skidded to a stop. Seeing another group of gang members approaching him, Frost looked around in disgust, he just couldn’t seem to catch a break. Spotting an old wooden bridge a few yards away, he ran over to it and ducked under, only to find the dead body of a young man he didn’t even know. Waiting until the gang members walked over the bridge, Frost carefully crawled out and ran off trying to get back to his truck before anyone else discovered it – or before Stephanie or Simon Jr. woke up to find him missing.
But before he could get too far he was forced to take cover from more approaching gang members. These guys are coming out of the woodwork! Ducking into a deserted store with a broken window, Frost managed to hide from them in a ruined walk-in freezer lined with broken crates. It took a little doing and all the finesse he could muster, but he did manage to duck these gang members too. But he wasn’t sure how much longer his luck would hold out.
Book 2: The Alpha’s a Bitch: Rise Of The Pack Princess Chapter 2
Meanwhile, soundly asleep inside her truck, Stephanie was deeply involved in a dream about herself and Frost, completely unaware of the danger they all were now in…
In the dream Frost watched Stephanie from where he was propped up in bed as she got dressed. This was one of his favorite activities. Stephanie was so gorgeous that anything she did was sexy to him, even those mundane rituals such as getting dressed.
Feeling his eyes on her, Stephanie glanced over at him.
“What are you looking at,” she asked.
“The most beautiful woman to ever grace the Universe,” he replied with a smile.
Stephanie rolled her eyes at him but she also had a rather pleased look on her face as she turned away.
“I am totally serious,” Frost said. “To me, there’s no other woman as beautiful as you.”
Stephanie didn’t reply at first as she tucked her blouse into her dress slacks. Then she turned and walked over to the bed and sat on the side of it beside Frost. Smiling at him a bit sadly, she put her hand on the side of his face.
“I am so sorry I’m going to have to miss spending Valentine’s Day with you,” she said.
“Don’t worry about it, baby,” Frost replied as he put his hand over hers. “We’ll just have to celebrate our own Valentine’s Day when you get back home. Besides, it will be easier to get into nice restaurants then, anyway.”
“I know, but it still upsets me. I cannot believe that my boss is sending me out of town on Valentine’s Day. She knows how much I was looking forward to spending it with you. This would’ve been our first one together. I’m still annoyed over it. But she didn’t leave me any choice.”
“Really, babe, it’s fine. We will still have our perfect night. You’ll see.”
“You are so very wonderful,” Stephanie said as she leaned in to give him a kiss that caught fire rather quickly. For a few minutes, it seemed as if Stephanie’s clothes were about to come back off again before she pulled away, laughing.
“I know,” he teased. “But not as wonderful as you. How did I get so lucky?”
“You didn’t just get lucky,” Stephanie said as she smiled at him. “This was our destiny.”
With that, she picked up her overnight bag, briefcase and purse. Frost started to get out of bed to help her but she stopped him.
“No. You stay right where you are. I want to remember you lying there naked,” she giggled. Then, she waved at him as she started out of the room.
“I love you, Frost,” she said.
“I love you more,” he called back.
He could hear her laughing as she went downstairs to the front door where her cab was now waiting to take her to the airport. The sound of her laughter was something that he loved. It was like tinkling bells. That’s just how musical it was.
As Frost continued to sit propped up in bed, he smiled as he thought of the surprise that was coming to Stephanie later tonight. Everything had gone off without a hitch. She was going to be getting the surprise of her life and he couldn’t wait to see her face.
He was also thinking of all the things that Stephanie and he had endured through the months of their relationship. His family had gone well above the norm to try to end things between Stephanie and him. Obviously, he wanted to believe that his family was a good one and that he meant something to them. Once he realized that wasn’t the case; it did hurt. Yet, Stephanie was right there to help him pick up the pieces. That proved her love for him was real.
Suddenly, he reached over and opened the drawer to his bedside table and withdrew some cream colored paper. After digging around a bit, he located a red ballpoint pen. He repositioned his pillows behind his back and started to write.
My Dearest Stephanie,
You have only just left me to go on your trip and I miss you already.
The thing is I’ve realized that throughout all of the hard times that we’ve had, you’re still here; right here with me. Many times, I was ready to give up and throw in the towel but you refused to let me. Actually, you refused to let me give up on myself or us. You allowed me to see what I needed to see all on my own even though I know you saw things more clearly much faster than I did.
Another, more important thing, that I have realized is that I have never told you just how much all of your love and support during these trying times has meant to me. In fact, I have to say that it was you and your love that helped me make it through successfully and come out on the other side in one piece. I made some decisions that should have been difficult but, because of you, they were almost simple.
Stephanie, you are my love. You are my life. Each time that we make love, I feel as if we are even more connected. Not only phy
sically, but also from the heart. You have my heart and I never want you to hand it back to me.
You give me a reason to get up every day and a reason to smile. I mean these things not just on Valentine’s Day, but every day of my life. I cannot imagine you not being there for me to hold and kiss. You are the reason I breathe.
I hope you don’t find this to be too mushy or something. I just felt the need to let you know how much I love you and how much you mean to me. Please hold these words close to your heart and never forget them.
Happy Valentine’s Day today and always.
Forever yours,
Frost
He re-read the letter and then folded it, placing it in a sealed envelope. He would present this to her along with her other Valentine’s Day surprise.
Thinking of that caused him to leap from the bed. He had a lot to do and needed to get started.
Stephanie couldn’t understand everything that was going wrong in the dream – it had started out so nicely. First of all, the meeting she was supposed to be attending had been inexplicably cancelled, but that word didn’t reach her until well after lunch when she had been waiting for hours. It was too late for her to catch a flight back home. She had called and checked. It seemed that the next flight out wasn’t until the morning.
Worse, when she went to her hotel in the dream, she found that the room that had been reserved for her wasn’t actually available. She didn’t know what was going on but this was turning into the worst Valentine’s Day ever. The front desk staff told her that there would be a room available that evening and, if she wanted to wait for that one, they would give it to her at a drastically reduced rate.
Well, she thought to herself. What choice do I have?
So she settled in the hotel lobby and tried to relax as she waited. As it turned out, she didn’t have to wait that long before she was summoned back to the front desk. The room they had promised was now ready and she could go up to it.
Finally! Something was going right! She couldn’t wait to get to the room so that she could call Frost. At least they could speak on Valentine’s Day if they couldn’t be together. She would just order room service and kick back for the night.
Stephanie exited the elevator on the floor of her room and made her way down the softly lit, carpeted hallway. When she arrived at the door of her room, she used her key card to unlock the door. The door opened into a small foyer. She turned and closed the door, making sure that it locked. Then she turned around and walked into the main part of the suite.
There, she stopped and stared, her mouth gaping.
Standing across the room from her was Frost. Not only that, but he was dressed in a suit and tie, holding a bouquet of deep red roses. Beside him was a table filled with covered dishes. A bottle of champagne chilled in a bucket of ice and lighted candles decorated the room.
Smiling at her, he crossed the room to hand her the roses.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, sweetheart,” he said before taking her in his arms and kissing her deeply.
“How on earth did you do all of this?” Stephanie gasped.
“It was easy once I got your boss to help me out. She set up everything on her end to make you believe that you were going to a meeting. I had made the reservations for this room already and I also enlisted the hotel manager to help me make sure it was a surprise. You are surprised, aren’t you?” Frost asked as he tilted his head to look into her eyes.
“Oh yeah, I’m surprised, alright,” she laughed. “You’re the most incredible man in the world!”
“Oh wait, here’s something else for you,” Frost said as he handed her the letter he had written to her earlier.
Accepting it with a puzzled look on her face, she opened it and read it. Tears started to form in her eyes and slowly coursed their way down her face. When she had finished reading it, she folded it up again and replaced it in the envelope. Then she looked up at him with a tremulous smile and shining eyes.
“Oh Frost,” she whispered in her sleep, a small smile forming on her face as she repositioned herself in her seat. “You are going to get so lucky tonight!”
Book 2: The Alpha’s a Bitch: Rise Of The Pack Princess Chapter 3
Back in the present, and certainly not in a dream…
Once he woke back up, Marco rushed from the rundown house and looked frantically for Frost. “Damn it, where’d he go?” Marco asked no one in particular before he spotted Frost crawling under an old wooden bridge just before another group of gang member’s saw him. Marco watched as the tank top wearing gang members walked right over the old wooden bridge, completely unaware that Frost was hiding beneath it. Rubbing the back of his head, Marco saw Frost scramble out from under the bridge a few minutes later and run off with an aggravated look on his face.
Feeling he had scared Frost more than the other gang members that had almost spotted him, Marco hurried over to the old wooden bridge and jumped under it to see if the stranger had left any clues as to who he was. That was when he found the long dead body of the step-son of the sheriff. Things were getting worse minute by minute. Throwing his back against the dirt under the bridge, Marco knew what he had to do. He pulled out his cell phone and quietly called the body in.
To his surprise, he soon realized was speaking to the sheriff himself. “This is Marco… I need to… Sheriff? Sheriff Stallings… this is Marco. I’ve got some bad news for you sir. First of all, there’s a big gang fight over here planned for sunrise…”
“I know that already son – listen to me carefully, DO NOT interfere. Do you understand, son?”
“But sir…” Marco said.
“I mean it son,” the Sheriff interrupted, “DO NOT interfere. And arrest any perps in the area that you think might be involved. Got it?”
“Got it,” he said, confused, Marco ended the conversation and closed his cell – he simply knew something was just not right. He felt it in his bones.
What is going on here? Knowing he had to find Frost and obey orders, he carefully began to search for him while staying out of sight of everyone else too. Passing the store with the broken windows, he spotted a piece of torn shirt out of the corner of his eye that matched the shirt pattern Frost was wearing.
Grabbing the piece of torn shirt from off the door frame, Marco carefully entered the ruins of the old store. Slowly moving around broken glass and run down shelves, Marco soon made his way to the back of the store where he heard faint movement from inside the broken walk-in freezer.
“Stranger…” Marco started, “I know it’s you. I know you’re in the freezer. I don’t know who you are but you’ve managed to wander into a great deal of danger.”
Marco decided to just lay it all out on the table and confesses to the stranger he’s tracking, “I am an undercover cop… it’s safe to come out.”
Scared that Marco is lying, Frost trusts his better judgement and just doesn’t respond in any way.
Once he didn’t get an answer Marco decided to edge his way into the walk-in freezer, where he saw Frost hiding behind a pile of broken crates.
Once more he assures Frost that he is an undercover cop. “Dude, come on out. You’re safe with me. I know you saw a body under the bridge too – I was following you and saw you duck under there. I know you didn’t do it… but whether you know him or not, that’s the sheriff’s dead step-son you saw there.”
Marco warns Frost, “I don’t know what’s going on but I do know that something wrong is happening here. If you ask me, it’s almost as if the two gangs in the hood were being set up to fight and kill each other off.”
Listening to Marco, Frost decided to take a chance and came out from behind the crates to let Marco walk him out of the freezer. Uncertain of how to proceed, Marco once again called in his position. This time he spoke to his direct superior who ordered him to stay right where he was with Frost.
“Good work Marco, I’m going to send an unmarked patrol car to come pick you both up. Just hang tight a few minutes,” Marco’s s
uperior says to him, in an unusually nice tone.
Ending the call, Marco tells Frost what his supervisor told him. “They’re sending an unmarked patrol car to come and get us.”
Pacing the back room, Frost noticed Marco becoming even more worried. “What is wrong, Marco? You’re still acting kind of nervous.”
“I don’t know man, but I just have a weird feeling about this….”
Moments later when the unmarked patrol car arrived, two men get out and hurry into the back room with guns drawn. Unable to find Frost and Marco, they hurry back to the unmarked patrol car and speed away. Crawling out from beneath the crates in the walk-in freezer, Marco now knows the two men were sent to kill him and Frost.
Book 2: The Alpha’s a Bitch: Rise Of The Pack Princess Chapter 4
With no other option, Marco decides to rush back to the projects with Frost to find Ricardo. As soon as they arrive there he is greeted by other hostile gang members.
“I need to talk to Ricardo…” Marco demands of the tank top wearing, tattooed group but he is instantly punched in the face. Frost is outnumbered, beaten unconscious and thrown into the trunk of a car.
Using his detective skills, Marco manages to escape from the trunk leaving Frost behind where he thinks it’s safe. Marco finally manages to find Ricardo next to an abandoned house deep within in the projects.
“Ricardo, I need to talk to you now. It’s important…”
“Where is our prisoner, Marco?” Ricardo asked.
“Well, that’s not the most important thing… listen, here’s what’s happening…” Confessing his identity, Marco tells Ricardo that he’s being set up to fight the ‘Silver Switchblades’ and explained why he thinks so.
Furious that Marco had deceived him, Ricardo pulls out a gun and shoots him in the shoulder right there on the spot. Then he threw him into a bedroom and locked the door behind him to deal with him later after the Everything-Goes Gang Fight was over.
The Alpha's a Bitch: Rise Of The Pack Princess Complete: A Paranormal Werewolf Romance Page 4