All Characters your recognize belong to Laurell K Hamilton and her publisher. All other characters belong to themselves or their respective writers. I’m not making any money off of this. It is purely for my and maybe your enjoyment. Special thanks to my most excellent beta for catching a lot of the mistakes I missed and encouraging me to try something new. I lubs ya Sis! Oh, any errors still present are mine not hers.
Rating: PG-13 for this chapter. May go higher in the future. Some mild profanity and a touch of violence.
“I’ve Done Everything for You” Words by Sammy Hagar as sung by Rick Springfield.
Maggie
“Yeah right Pat. Who died and made you Goddess of the Universe!” Maggie threw the cell phone onto the floor of the passenger side of the car, not even bothering to make sure she hit the “end call” button first. She was well and truly pissed. It was an emotion she rarely allowed herself to feel and she didn’t know quite how to deal with it. Why did everyone around her seem to feel the need to tell her what to do?
The blare of a car horn brought her back to the present just in time to jerk the wheel, narrowly avoiding a head on collision. Pulling into the parking lot of a nearby Starbucks, the adrenaline rush of the near miss gave way to the deeper emotions threatening to overwhelm her. Had she really just yelled at one of her closest human friends? Guilt quickly washed over her, along with fear because she had made her friend angry. What if she never forgave her? What if she didn’t want to be friends anymore? Cursing her own stupidity, she lay her head down on her arms over the steering wheel and cried her heart out.
Some time later, drained of tears, the smell of strong coffee coming from the shop in front of her lulled her out of her fog. After running in to grab a Café Mocha to go, she started the car back up and headed toward Anita’s house. She was going to be late as it was.
Mentally going over her conversation with Pat, she tried to figure out where she had gone wrong. They hadn’t talked in a while. It was getting harder and hard to spend time with those of her friends that wouldn’t go near supernaturals. They wouldn’t go near the District, and with work and most of her other friends usually found IN the District, it didn’t leave much time to venture elsewhere.
She had only recently told a couple close human friends the full details of her present life. The main issues of concern were the fact she was running a research/medical treatment lab owned by the Master vampire of the city, treating weres, and oh yeah, she had moved in with her wereleopard boyfriend, Noah, too. Pat was a good friend but not one she had ever intended to clue in on what was going on in her life. The young doctor knew the older woman was just incapable of understanding it all.
Unfortunately, a mutual friend thought Pat knew and inadvertently spilled the beans. Taking a sip of her chocolate-laced coffee, the young woman ran the rest of the conversation through her mind. That Pat was upset enough to call Maggie’s cell phone, which she never did, was evidence that something was truly wrong. The frantic tone in the older woman’s voice only confirmed it. She wanted to know if the young doctor was okay. She had heard some disturbing rumors about her at a dinner party.
Afraid she knew all too well what those rumors were, Maggie played dumb and forced the woman to repeat every tidbit she heard and she had apparently heard quite a lot. Pat had never been a supporter of the vampire or were communities. The thought that a dear friend was working for both didn’t sit too well with her.
Then the older woman started in on her choice of boyfriends. Well that was one-step way over the line. Saying she thought her work was amoral or too dangerous was one thing. Telling her that had been brainwashed or else was mentally disturbed for loving a sweet man who just happened to be a wereleopard was too much for even the soft-spoken physician. The fact the older woman had been over out to dinner with Noah and Maggie a couple times and thought he was the best thing to ever happen to her friend before she knew he was leopard spoke volumes in Maggie’s book.
The conversation had deteriorated from there. Pat had told her young friend that she had some contacts that specialized in helping normal humans break off associations with the supernatural community. These ‘friends’ of hers were very good at helping confused humans rationally analyze their lifestyles, regroup, and move on. The doctor coolly told her friend that she was obviously the one that was into brainwashing and she couldn’t believe she allowed herself to become friends with such a bigot. Pat had calmly told Maggie she loved her too much to watch her ruin her life over some freak. That had resulted in the screaming fit from the young scientist that had ended their conversation.
Rolling down a window in the hopes cool air would ease the
headache her tears and the argument had caused, Maggie turned on the radio.
Surfing stations, she hit one that was doing a Retro 80s Lunch hour. Smiling as
a familiar Australian born voice blasted through the airways, she thought,
“Rick, how do you always seem to be there when I need a musical pick me up.”
Cranking up the volume, his voice filled the car, surrounding her. By the last
verse of the song, she felt good enough to sing along,
Well, I’m going out on the town tonight and get just
as wild as I can be;
I’m gonna find
out what it’s really like to be loose, high and free;
I don’t care what the people say, I’m changing my
mind, I’m changing to stay
I’ve done everything for you, you’ve done nothing for me
The closing chords of the last chorus were ringing in her ears as she pulled into the drive and turned off the engine. Nate came running out the door, with Zane close behind. Stepping out of the car, she headed up the walk to greet them.
“Hi Zane. Sorry I’m late Nathaniel. I had a phone call. You ready to go?”
Before Nate could answer her, Zane chimed in, “Hey Doc, where are you guys going?”
Turning to address Noah’s friend the doctor replied, “We’re going shopping for some gifts for Noah.” Noticing the leopard’s bemused expression, “Yes I know his birthday is months away but I need to shop when I have the time or I get busy and it never gets done. Nate agreed to help me look. I needed a guy’s view on the gifts I’m considering.”
Zane, seeing an opportunity to avoid an afternoon alone, flashed Maggie his trademark grin, “If you need a guy’s view, I can help. How about I tag along?”
“It’s fine with me if Nate has no objections,” Maggie laughed at Zane’s hope-filled expression before turning to the submissive cat.
Nathaniel had moved in close to Maggie, not quite touching but as close as he dared get without permission. Giving her a concerned look, he quietly said, “You’ve been crying. Are you okay?”
Smiling, she reached out to squeeze the sweet cat’s hand, “Yeah, just an argument with a friend. I don’t want to talk about it. So, can Zane come along or do we leave him here to baby-sit Anita’s penguins?”
“It’s alright with me if he comes.” The young cat, feeling the hand squeeze was permission for contact, moved in to hug the woman, leaning his head on her shoulder.
“GREAT!” Moving in Zane hugged her from the other side. “So we gonna cuddle or we gonna shop? If the answer is cuddle, why don’t we go inside?”
Pushing Zane away, she looked over at Nate. The young scientist never knew quite what to make of the submissive cat. Giving him a hug, she gently moved away from him and smiled, “You know I’d love to cuddle with you two, but the three of us on the couch probably isn’t a what you want Noah to see when he and Micah come in. How about we shop instead?”
Moving away from the pair, she headed back to her car. Zane ran around to jump into the passenger seat yelling “Shotgun!” as Nate followed behind to climb in the back seat.
Turning on the car, Maggie had to quickly turn the volume down on the car stereo. “Sorry bout that guys. I was sorta listening to a favorite song when I drove up.”
“We heard. Why do you think we came running out?” Zane replied with a smirk.
Laughing, she pulled out of the drive and headed into downtown. Runaway by Bon Jovi was playing and even Zane couldn’t help singing along. Before long, the trio had arrived in the downtown shopping area not to far from the District. Maggie found a half way decent parking spot and they headed off. The plan was walk to the shops and go back to the car when they were ready to head back to Anita’s place. Maggie wasn’t fond of parallel parking and didn’t want to have to do it more than once.
She led the boys into a jewelry story first. “I don’t need your advice on this one. I just need to make the final payment and put the okay on the engraving I want done.”
Walking over to the counter, she gave her name to the salesman who removed the shiny silver looking ring from below the counter. The two boys had followed her over.
A bit concerned, Zane quietly said, “Maggie, Noah isn’t into pain. You do know the deal with silver right?”
Rolling her eyes that he thought her so clueless, “Yes I do. But this isn’t silver. It’s white gold. Why do you think I had to make payments on it rather than just paying cash?”
Reassured, Zane picked up the ring, rolling it in his hand. “It really is beautiful. Do the symbols on here mean something?”
Reaching over to grab the ring she held it up for him pointing to the detailed metal work. “They’re Celtic. That one means eternity, and the other one means love. A friend helped me pick it out and explained the symbols to me.”
Handing the piece to jeweler, she pulled out her checkbook and handed him the final payment. “You’ll call me when the engravers are finished with it right?”
“Yes Ma’am,” The storeowner replied. “It should only take a couple days at the most. We have your number on file from the deposit. You need to double check the order form for the engraving and initial that it is correct.” He passed the piece of paper across the counter to her.
The young doctor smiled as she read it. “Heart to Heart Forever – Your Angel”
After initialing the sheet, she looked up into the shocked face of Zane. He had read the inscription over Maggie’s shoulder and was surprised she was willing to make that kind of declaration.
“What? Noah has been saying I’m his true mate for months. Just because I’m not usually as comfortable saying it out loud as he is, doesn’t mean I love him any less.” The woman’s face turned two shades darker pink as she confided the tightly held secret.
Zane smiled and chuckled, “Yeah I know HE says it, but you do realize what power you’re putting in his hands by admitting it yourself? You’re pretty brave Doc.”
“Brave or stupid. It all depends on your point of view,” the woman replied, shaking her head at the warning.
Nate walked over, looked at the inscription order and touched the woman’s hand. “I think it’s very sweet.”
Smiling, she turned her hand over to clasp the young cat’s in hers, “Thanks. How about we go looking for those other gifts?”
At his nodded assent, Maggie headed out the door hand in hand with the submissive cat; Zane followed close behind. A couple hours and several shops later, the trio found themselves in a trendy men’s clothing store. Unable to agree on anything for Noah, the boys soon separated from the young doctor to search separate sections of the store. Eventually, she went to find the pair, following her nose to the leather section. Where else would the two them be?
Zane was trying on a pair of black leather pants and an emerald green skin clinging spandex shirt that seemed to sparkle as the light hit it. Walking up to the leopard, Maggie ran her hand over the shirt, noting it’s smooth texture and the barely visible reflective golden threads that ran through it. That explained the sparkle at least. She had been beginning to think she was seeing things.
Nathaniel walked up to stand beside her. “I picked out the whole outfit. It looks good on Zane but it would look great on Noah,” he smiled.
Laughing the doctor conceded, “It would look incredible on Noah. That green matches his eyes and the gold sparkle even hints at his beast’s coloring. Not to mention how great he looks in leather pants. ” Sighing she added, “but I could never get him to wear it.”
With a devilish gleam in his eye, Zane chimed in, “I’m sure you could get him to wear it for you given the right incentive. Maybe tell him if he puts it on, you will take it off?”
Giggling, she agreed to try and they added the outfit to her purchases. Arranging to have the packages delivered to her lab as she had at the other stores, the trio headed out onto the street, walking toward the edge of the District with plans to stop by Guilty Pleasures. Nate needed to pick up his paycheck and since it was daylight, Maggie agreed to tag along with them.
As they entered the club, she was struck by how ordinary and harmless it seemed in the daytime. With the vampires safely resting elsewhere, she could wander past the tables and even jumped up on the stage to see what the performer’s view of the audience might be. Of course, she could only vaguely imagine what the view was really like for them; the club was deserted and quiet. There was also the fact she wasn’t a vampire or a were so what her human eyes saw looking out might not really reflect what this evening’s performers would see.
Shaking her head, she sighed. Even after nearly 9 months of running a lab for Jean Claude, dating Noah for over 6 months, and despite the were friends that surrounded her, she didn’t really understand what life for a preternatural was like. More days than not she felt like an outsider who would never truly fit in. It was one of the reasons she was ready to admit the depth of her feelings to Noah. She hoped that if she took the chance to open up more to him, he would reciprocate and really let her be an equal partner in his life. Sighing she noticed the daytime manager had come out from the back office.
The doctor walked over to stand with the two weres as Nate explained he was there to pick up his paycheck. The manager nodded then greeted Zane and Maggie. Remembering that Jean Claude had left the checks for all his businesses with him to disperse, he told the young woman he has a reimbursement check for lab supplies she could take with her too. The trio sat down at the bar to wait for him to grab the checks.
The boys turned to look at the front entry a moment before the doctor realized they had company. A handsome man who appeared to be in his late twenties had walked in. He stood about six feet tall and had dark brown hair that curled just over his collar. The man wore tight blue jeans and a muscle shirt that displayed his chiseled form to perfection. He walked into the room, looked over the trio and asked to see the manager, who just happened to be walking back out from the office.
He handed the checks to Nate and Maggie, “There you go guys. Jean Claude got payroll and expenditures done on time for once. If his other interests don’t even out soon he’s going to have to hire an accountant to take care of his businesses. Nate, if you want to pick up some extra sets tonight Greg called in for the night off at the last minute so just show up a little early.” The submissive cat nodded his assent. Belatedly realizing the stranger had asked for him the manager looked him over, “You found him, what can I do for you? We’re closed until 8pm tonight.”
Shifting from one foot to the other, the man nervously looked from the weres to the Maggie, afraid to look anyone in the eyes. Eventually, he raised his head to answer the manager’s question. “Actually, I.. um I’m a stripper and I was looking for a job.”
Taking in the man’s embarrassed tentative demeanor, it was clear to the manager that he was not a stripper, at least not one with experience. Looking over to Zane, he shook his head that no, the man was not giving off any energy that would make it obvious he was shifter. He wasn’t familiar as a pard member or any pack member Zane had seen while hanging out with Anita either.
Trying to let the man down gently the manager replied, “I’m sorry, we aren’t hiring right now.”
Getting desperate, the man pleaded, “I would work cheap. Hell I’d work for tips. I need the experience and I heard this is a hot spot.”
Sighing the manager explained, “Look it’s not that you don’t appear to have a fine form. But the truth is that we cater to a special interests crowd. We generally don’t hire humans as entertainment here. The ladies come to see the vampires and shifters and we aim to please. I know the names of a couple places downtown that hire humans if you want to go try them.”
The young man shook his head, “Thanks anyway.” He gave the trio standing by the bar with the manager a hard angry stare before heading out the door onto the street.
Looking at her watch, the young doctor realized she still had a few free hours until she needed head home and nowhere to spend them. Not wanting to go back to the office, she asked the two cats if they were up for a late afternoon movie and early dinner. Then she could drive Nate back to the club and drop Zane off wherever he wanted to go for the evening. The boys were agreeable and waving their goodbyes to the manager, they all headed out the door. The young would be stripper was standing right outside, apparently waiting for a cab. They gave him a wide berth as they headed out onto the sidewalk and down the street. None of them noticed the lone man that came out of the alleyway behind the club to follow them, dogging their steps.
The trio walked back out of the District in the late afternoon sunlight, heading towards the shopping area they had left and the multiplex theatre there. After lengthy negotiations, they agreed on a light comedy and headed in to waste a couple of hours on popcorn and cheesy jokes.
Coming out of the theatre, they decided to walk to a nearby Indian restaurant. Maggie was in the mood for some eggplant curry and saag paneer and had managed to talk the boys into at least trying the spicy cuisine if she would buy. Dinner ended up taking a lot longer than expected as it took a while to convince the boys to try anything and once they did, getting them to stop eating was just as difficult. Fortunately they kept the young doctor entertained after she gave up keeping up with their appetites. Nate was a bit quiet, but Zane apparently had been dying for a chance to quiz the doctor about life with Noah.
“So does he tell YOU anything?” the purple haired cat asked.
Laughing the young woman, nibbled on a piece of Naan flat bread and responded, “Are you kidding? The soldier boy, original James Bond wanna be? I’m lucky he thought that living with him did require him to confide his complete name to me. You know Noah and his secrets.”
Latching onto the Bond reference, the cat asked, “Oh so he did let you in on his Bond obsession?”
Nearly choking on her Chai tea, she replied, “Yeah. Well if he hadn’t, the complete video and DVD collection would have given it away. I mean I can understand having all the videos if you really liked the movies or having all the DVDS, but BOTH? I told him never to say another mocking word about my Rick Springfield collection or I was going to the press with his Bond problem.” She couldn’t help giggling at the remembered look on his face.
Nate quietly mused, “Maybe he just likes looking at all the pretty Bond girls.” At the clearly not amused look the scientist gave him he added, “Or it could just be the spy thing. Knowing Noah it’s the spy thing for sure.” The woman chuckled and squeezed the young cat’s hand to let him know she wasn’t angry with him.
Shrugging she responded, “Probably. He does love his games. Bottom line is that I know he loves me and is really just trying to protect all those he cares about with his security obsession.” She looked from one cat to the other to make it clear she was including them in those Noah cared enough to drive insane. Maybe they would be more tolerant of his antics if they knew the guard was only trying to keep them from getting hurt.
The talk soon turned to current affairs and what was new with both men. Maggie asked Zane if he would tell Cherry to give her a call next time he saw her. She could use some help with her special patients that dropped by the lab and thought Cherry might appreciate the extra work. Looking at her watch, Maggie realized it was time to get Nate over to the club. Paying the bill the trio headed back out to the street. As they passed a dark suited man standing alone near the door, he put out the cigarette he was smoking. He ground it into the pavement as he watched them walk away.
The street lamps formed a luminary trail heading back down the street towards where they thought they left the doctor’s car. Zane forced a path through the crowded area with Maggie following close behind. Nate brought up the rear and was holding the doctor’s hand so he wouldn’t lose her. As they headed down the street, the crowd began to thin out to the point trio could walk side by side without fear of colliding into cross foot traffic. Still, there was no sign of the car. Nate was worried about being late to the club and Zane was a bit anxious to be off as well but they knew Noah would kill them if the left the young doctor stranded downtown alone so they continued to search for her car.
Stopping in front of a store, Maggie looked at address on the front door and blushed. “Um guys, I think I figured out the problem. We’re on 10th Avenue. We parked on 12th. Sorry. Did Noah ever mention I’m a little forgetful sometimes?”
Zane just shook his head in disbelief and the trio started looking for a way to cross over to 12th. Realizing the design of the shopping area made true intersections few and far between, the boys decided to look for an intersecting alley. Normally they could have traveled from shop to shop to cross the area but the stores were closed for the night.
As the trio headed down the first alley they came to, Maggie stopped to listen, turning around to see if anyone was following them from the deserted street. The reflected glow from the streetlights didn’t quite reach that far back. Shadows created would be demons everywhere. She thought she could sense someone, something near by. She usually tried to discount such twinges as paranoia but she couldn’t shake it.
The boys stopped to look back at her. “You lose something Doc?” Zane teasingly asked.
“Yeah, my car,” she laughingly replied trying to ignore her unease.
Smiling, the older cat looked at Nate who shrugged, then replied, “That’s why we’re taking this short cut.” Sensing the doctor’s rising fear, he added, “You aren’t afraid of a dark alley are ya? With your two cats to guide the way, you’ll be fine.” The boys walked back to where the doctor was standing. Zane took one hand, and Nate moved to mirror him, taking her other. The three of them headed down the alley swinging their linked hands between them. Their footfalls echoed off the walls creating a rhythmic pattern with a backbeat the woman couldn’t quite figure out.
Maggie tried to squelch her growing unease, knowing the cats
were picking up on it. “Well it isn’t that dark back here with your neon hair
to shine the way Zane.”
”Yeah you’re just jealous because my hair attracts more attention than yours
does.” The flashed his trademark kitty teeth at her as he replied.
Laughing she answered, “Yeah but a billboard sign attracts more attention than my hair too. That doesn’t mean I want to start wearing one as a hat.” Even Nathaniel joined in the laughter. The trio headed further down the alley, oblivious to any possible danger approaching them.
Meanwhile, two men dressed in midnight blue clothes and ski masks had moved into the alley behind them. They hugged the opposing walls as they followed the small party. As the trio reached the midway point of the alley, the first stalker signaled the second one into position. He indicated the other man should take the male on the left. He would get the other two companions. They dropped to their knees, aimed and fired in quick succession.
The first shots hit Zane and Nathaniel both in their necks, dropping them to the ground. Maggie, still clutching their hands was pulled forward with them. Her face scraped the pavement as she went down, leaving the skin on her right cheek raw and bloody. The shot intended for her had gone wild. She lifted her head to look back the way they had come, trying to make out the figures in the darkness. Her heart was pounding, it was hard to catch her breath, and she couldn’t move. A black Chevy suburban was pulling into the alley. The tinted windows prevented the doctor from seeing who was inside. The two men that had followed the three friends into the alley came running up to open the back doors of the vehicle and headed over to where the two cats and their human companion lie. “Shit, you missed one!” was the last thing the woman heard before the world went dark.