Bad, Very Bad Shifters- The Complete Mega Bundle

by Daniella Wright

  Luis knew better than to ignore him. After about thirty seconds he sheepishly opened the door.

  Luis was in his early twenties. He was a college dropout who sold drugs to his fellow classmates at the college, but he had ended up developing a bit of a drug habit himself and using way more than he sold. Now he was in hot water with the boss. It was not a good position to be in.

  Joe walked into the house and closed the door behind him, locking the door.

  “I hope you got some good news for me, Luis,” Joe said.

  Luis cast his gaze downward, which pretty much told Joe all that he really needed to know.

  “Where is it?” Joe asked.

  “Ok, I’m a little short,” Luis said pulling a wad of cash out of his pocket and handing it to Joe. “But I’m good for the rest. Business is picking up; I’ll have it all in a few weeks. I just need some more time—“

  Joe held up his hand. Luis shut up instantly.

  Joe counted the wad of cash in his hand. He looked up at Luis skeptically. “Two hundred? That’s all you have?”

  “Yea, I’m good for the rest. Please just give me some more time,” Luis said.

  “I don’t want to hear it. You were supposed to have five hundred dollars today. You’ve had several weeks already.”

  “I know. I’m so sorry.”

  Joe sighed.

  “Well, sorry is not going to cut it Luis,” Joe said. “Where is the rest of it? You had better not be holding out on me.”

  “I’m not—“Luis started.

  “Luis? What’s going on?”

  Joe turned towards the sound of the voice. He saw a beautiful woman walking out of the bedroom. He was taken aback and in shock for a few seconds. She was perhaps one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen. She was a bit over average height with long blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes, a sweet face with a curvy body to match. Her large breasts revealed beautiful cleavage through the tank top she was wearing. She reminded Joe of a Baywatch era Pam Anderson.

  “Just wait in the bedroom, Alicia. It’s ok,” Luis said agitated.

  “What did you do now?” Alicia asked.

  “I said to wait in the bedroom!” Luis said yelling now.

  Joe could see that Luis was definitely high. The poor bastard had used up most of the drugs that the family had given him to sell at a higher price hoping that he could recoup the money he owed them. He was obviously still using and not selling.

  “How much of the stuff have you sold Luis?” Joe asked.

  “Business has been kind of slow.”

  “Well, it’s obvious that you are your best and only customer.”

  “No, I didn’t. I swear,” Luis said.

  “I’m going to hurt you, Luis. You know that’s what happens now, right?”

  Joe stepped towards him in a menacing manner.

  “Just give him the rest of the money,” Alicia said.

  Joe stopped. “Oh, so you are holding out on me with the cash. Is that it? Why, so you can buy more drugs and not pay Mr. Carliss?”

  “It’s right here,” Alicia said as she reached into Luis’ other pocket.

  “You stupid bitch!” Luis screamed as he slapped Alicia across the face.

  Alicia stumbled to the floor.

  Joe saw red.

  He charged Luis, knocking him across the room where he slammed into the wall. In an instant he was delivering blows to his stomach. As Luis slumped to the floor, Joe caught him and jerked him back to his feet. He slammed the back of Luis’ head into the wall and then held his face right in front of his, squeezing Luis’ neck.

  “You don’t ever lay your hands on a woman! You piece of shit! Do you understand me?” Joe screamed.

  Luis could not have spoken if he’d wanted to; Joe’s grip was too tight.

  Joe dropped him to the floor where he delivered two hard kicks to Luis’ ribs. He emptied the contents of his pockets and retrieved almost two hundred dollars more in cash and a baggie of cocaine.

  “You got one week to get the other grand you owe. If you don’t pay, we kill you,” Joe said.

  Alicia was now picking herself up off the floor.

  “How do you like it? You stupid bastard!” she yelled at Luis, who was half unconscious.

  “Come on,” Joe said as he escorted Alicia out of the house.

  Beating people up first thing in the morning always made Joe hungry. It was time for breakfast.

  Chapter 2

  “So, have you been doing this sort of thing long?” Alicia asked as she stuffed the last bit of her pancakes into her mouth.

  “A while,” Joe said as he cut the last piece of his steak. Steak and eggs was his usual breakfast. Nothing more perfect than that.

  “Do you like it?” Alicia asked.

  “Look, the less you know about me, the better. Just eat your breakfast,” Joe said. The girl was starting to get a bit on his nerves.

  Alicia smiled at him. He was not sure why. They continued to eat in silence for several seconds while Joe read the sports section of the newspaper that had been sitting on the table beside theirs.

  After a few minutes Alicia spoke again. She pushed her plate away from her and moaned from fullness. “Wow that was the best breakfast I’ve had in a long time. Luis never would take me out for anything.”

  Joe did not respond. He was not even sure why he had decided to take her to breakfast. She was absolutely the most stunning woman he had ever met and he found something about her to be charming and cute as hell, even if she was interrupting his morning routine. But he usually did not let a woman deter him from going about his business. This was not a job you wanted to allow yourself to get distracted from.

  “I don’t know why I stayed with him so long,” Alicia continued.

  Joe rolled his eyes and folded the newspaper back up before placing it back on the adjacent table. It was obvious that he was not going to get any more reading done this morning. He would just have to sip on his coffee.

  “Why did you then? The guy is a dirt bag.”

  “Well, he wasn’t always that way. We met in college; he was sweet and charming then. But then he started selling drugs and things were fine at first. He took me places and had all sorts of money. At first he was just doing it to pay for his tuition; he comes from a poor family. But then he started to sample his own product and pretty soon the drugs had a hold on him. Now he is just a dirty drug dealer. He is a waste.”

  “Yea, drugs will do that to you,” Joe said.

  Alicia gave him a naughty smile just then. “So, are all of the mafia enforcers as handsome as you?”

  Joe felt his eyes widen until they were ready to pop out of his skull.

  “Would you like to keep your voice down and not say things like that in public?”

  Alicia cringed sheepishly. “Sorry,” she said.

  Somehow Joe found himself laughing at this. This girl was just cute enough to get him killed.

  “So, all finished? Let’s roll,” Joe said.

  He had a few more visits to make and he did not have time to sit their idly chit chatting with Alicia. There might be another time for that.

  “Well, it was nice meeting you,” Joe said as she walked out of the diner and started towards his bike.

  “Wait. That’s it? How am I supposed to get home?” Alicia asked.

  “You aren’t going back to Luis’ house?” Joe asked.

  “I don’t live with Luis. I just sleep over sometimes. I actually live in mid-town. A girlfriend and I have an apartment together.”

  “So, call her.”

  “She has classes all morning. If she does answer she can’t come all the way down here to pick me up.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you; it’s not my problem.”

  “Can’t you take me home?” Alicia asked leaning on the hood of the bike.

  Joe could not ignore the pang of lust he felt rush through his system right then. He had a sudden impulse to bend her over the bike and get deep inside of her s
weetness. He imagined it would be like Heaven.

  But he had stuff to do.

  “I really can’t. I have work to do,” Joe said.

  “Oh, come on. It’s like ten minutes away.”

  Joe sighed heavily. He knew he was going to regret this.

  “Ok. Hop in.”

  They had just left the parking lot when Joe’s phone buzzed.

  Chapter 3

  “I have to make a stop first,” Joe told the girl as he drove out of the parking lot of the diner. He had just received a text from the boss telling him to stop and make the drop of the cash he’d just confiscated from Luis. Usually with an amount this small he would have just taken turned it into Marco, the treasurer for all intents and purposes in the Carliss family, but he had to do what he had to do.

  Normally he would have just taken the girl home first and then come back that way to make the drop, but he was already a bit behind schedule and it was on the way. The drops changed every day anyways. The family actually employed a few guys who scouted out locations where they could hide the money and keep it out of the banks and out of circulation from the money that was laundered through the businesses. There were possibly up to five hundred different drops at any one time.

  He took a few quick turns down a few short alleys. The drop that the boss had texted him was in behind an abandoned Deli that used to serve up some good sandwiches. Joe had no idea why it had been shut down. It might have been of theirs and the cops started getting wise. He wasn’t sure. There were too many little businesses to keep track of. He tried not to know any more than was necessary to do his job; it helped him stay safe.

  He pulled up to the end of the alley behind the deli. The boss told him there was a bunch of little rocks with a bigger rock in the middle of them. Under that was a little hole where he could drop the cash. It was not even one of the stranger places he’d found drops.

  “Stay here,” Joe told the girl as he started to get out of the bike.

  That was when he heard the engine of a car pulling up on the other alley that ran perpendicular to this one. Joe felt like he was at some sort of a crossroads like you found down south.

  “Hide behind the dumpster and stay down,” Joe hissed at Alicia pointing at the dumpster on the side of the alley. He was instantly pissed at himself; he knew better than to bring some random girl to a drop.

  Alicia did as she was told and Joe got out of the bike with the cash safely tucked in his pocket.

  The car was a Lincoln Town Car. It stopped and a man stepped out of the vehicle.

  Joe recognized him as Bill McNamara. He was actually one of the up and coming bosses who had made a reputation for himself extending the business on the lower east side. He was a smarmy bastard and Joe didn’t trust him at all.

  “Hey, Bill. What’s up?” Joe asked. What the hell was Bill doing here?

  “Oh, the boss asked me to stop by and pick up the drop personally. I was close by so I got the call,” Bill said with that goofy grin he always wore. Joe had no idea how anyone ever took this guy seriously.

  “Really? I just got the text; told me to drop the cash in the drop spot. The boss didn’t say anything to me about you picking it up,” Joe replied.

  “Well, he’s a busy man. He told me to tell you. So hand it over,” Bill said.

  “Sorry, I got to clear it with the boss first. You know how it is,” Joe said feeling the tension in the air.

  Suddenly, Bill was pointing a gun at him. “Did you hear what I said? I am a boss. Now hand it over.”

  “Ok, just chill. It’s in my pocket,” Joe said. He knew he had to time this right. Where Bill was now standing he was within striking distance. If Joe let the money get stolen from him the boss would kill him, even if a member of the family took it.

  “Just hurry up and don’t try any funny business.”

  Joe felt his fingers grabbing the money and he pulled it from his pocket easily. He handed it to Bill and kept his hands in the air all nice and innocent like. He was just waiting for the right moment.

  There it was.

  Bill dropped his gaze for a split second to glance at the money.

  Joe slapped the gun out of his hand and it scattered to the pavement. With his other hand he punched Bill in the mouth. Bill flipped backwards on his back, whacking the back of his head hard on the pavement. Joe hoped that would knock the pig out, but Bill was still in it.

  As Joe ran at him ready to give Bill the beating of his life he saw the other gun. Bill had a small pistol hidden in the inside pocket of his coat. He pulled it out and whipped it at Joe, ready to fire. Joe knew it was going to be close but he had to try anyway.

  He flipped his body away from the shot. He could practically feel the wind from the bullet as it sailed past only inches from him. Joe landed perfectly right beside the other gun. He picked it up and fired at Bill who was aiming to fire at him again.

  The bullet hit Bill in the chest and he slumped to the ground. It was a heart shot; he died instantly.

  Joe double checked Bill’s condition. He was stone dead. Joe grabbed the money back from him and counted it once again to make sure none had spilled somewhere that he didn’t see.

  “Oh, shit! Are you ok?” Alicia asked stepping out from behind the dumpster and running up to Joe.

  “I told you to stay put,” Joe said.

  “That was crazy. Is he dead?” Alicia asked.

  “Yes, he is quite dead,” another voice replied.

  Joe jerked his head and stepped in front of Alicia. His body was still in fight mode and he was ready for anything.

  Alfred Carliss stepped out of the alleyway. Joe had no idea where he had been hiding. But he must have seen everything. By Alfred’s side was Jimmy Stubbs, his bodyguard and all around right hand gofer. Joe hated them both.

  “What’s going on?” Joe asked.

  “I had a feeling that Bill was the one stealing money from the drops recently, so I thought I’d set him up and catch him in the act.”

  “So, you knew that he would be here?”

  “Yes. I sent him to make sure that you put the drop where it belonged, leading him on like I suspected you. I knew that he would try to take it from you and might try to kill you. But I guess this is why you are my number one enforcer,” Alfred said.

  “That’s pretty messed up,” Joe said as he handed Jimmy the money.

  “You forget what business you are in?” Alfred asked. “That is the way this game is played.”

  “Well, I’ve had enough games for one day,” Joe said.

  “Not so fast,” Jimmy snarled.

  “What?” Joe asked. He was begging Jimmy to make a move. He had been aching to beat that bastard into the middle of next week.

  “Have you forgotten all of the rules? Who is the girl?” Alfred asked.

  “Don’t worry about her,” Joe said.

  “I worry about everybody. You know the rule. She has seen too much. She is not part of the family. We have to take care of her,” Alfred said.

  Joe couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  “What? She is just an innocent. Billy is a dirt bag who tried to kill me. She is not going to say anything.”

  Jimmy pulled a pistol from his back pocket and cocked it. “You got that right.”

  “No. This is wrong. You can’t do this to her,” Joe said.

  “Get out of the way Joe. You know the rule,” Alfred said.

  Joe knew the rule. He knew that Alfred was right about the rule. The Mafia code was one of deception and secrecy. That was how they had stayed so underground and kept thriving. They were going to kill Alicia because she knew who they were and what they did. She had to die in their eyes.

  Joe had to act fast.

  “Ok, I’ll take care of it,” Joe said.

  Alfred smiled. “That’s the Joe I know.”

  Joe turned to face Alicia who was starting to back away. “When I make a move, you run for it!” He whispered. She seemed confused, and continued to back away. />
  Joe held the pistol that he had taken from Billy in his hand and aimed it at Alicia who was now starting to run down the alley. In a flash Joe dropped to the ground spinning and bringing the gun up to fire two shots. He hit Jimmy in the stomach with one and Alfred in the chest with the other.

  Both men fell to the ground, shocked looks on their faces.

  Joe bounced to his feet and ran towards Alicia, who was now standing in the alley looking in total shock.

  “We have to go!” Joe shouted as he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the bike.

  Chapter 4

  The hotel was a bit of a dirt ball, but it was perfect for keeping a low profile. Joe said he had been there once or twice before looking for people who owed money to the family. They often holed up in places like this to get high or to sell drugs to others. It would be a good place to hide out.

  “I still don’t see why we are running. How in the world are they going to know that you did that?” Alicia asked as she sat down on the bed beside him. He was trying to relax and he obviously just wanted to get some sleep, but she had to know what type of danger she was really in. She could not stop replaying it in her head where those men who had never laid eyes on her before were going to kill her just because they thought she knew too much.

  “It will be traced to me. Every scent is always accounted for. The captains know that I went to Luis’ this morning. I texted the boss that I collected money. They are bound to know he told me to go to that drop. We can’t take the risk,” Joe said.

  “What are we going to do? Are we just going to keep running?” Alicia asked.

  “Well, first I’m going to get some sleep and then when I am rested we will worry about what to do.”

  “And you are sure that they can’t find us here?” Alicia asked.

  “Well, no place is completely safe. There is always a possibility, but I think we are ok for now.”