Shifted Perceptions (Alpha Division) (5 page)

Chapter 8

All I brought with me was my backpack. Not many clothes could fit in the thing and I hadn’t planned on needing to dress up. Of course, a night at the bar wasn’t a reason to dress up, so jeans and a nice shirt would do. Luckily, I had brought my favorite pair of jeans, and I had done a little shopping the day before, picking out the perfect top for such an occasion.

The Jeans
were so tight, they dug into my skin, but it was totally worth it. My ass looked spectacular. And the candy red halter I wore was cut low enough to show off the little amount of cleavage I had. Most redheads refuse to wear bright red, but I didn’t think it clashed at all. In fact, it brought out the deeper browns in my hair, making it look more auburn than red.

I left my hair loose, for once
, allowing it to lay naturally against my shoulders, and as far as make up, I hadn’t brought any, so I ran down to the drug store in town and picked up the basics. I went light, with a smoldering eye. Once that was done, I threw on my boots and turned to Paul, who had been watching me the whole time, of course, with a scowl on his face.

“That’s what you’re wearing? Why don’t you just go
naked?” he growled.

“What? I’m clothed.”

“Hardly,” he scoffed.

“Seriously, Paul? You’re not my daddy.”

He snorted and shook his head. “Thank God for small miracles.”

Rolling my  eyes,
I walked past him to leave, but didn’t make it, as a large warm hand gripped my wrist. I tugged a few times, then stopped when he wouldn’t let go. Oh, I could have gotten away, but that would have been a fight and I promised myself I wouldn’t fight with Paul anymore, or at least I’d try. All it did was flame the tension between us.

So instead of struggl
ing, I waited patiently for him to say whatever he needed to say, though I didn’t look at him. I couldn’t.

A finger lightly touched my chin, and with gentle pressure, pulled my face towards him. His lips hovered over mine and my breath caught in my chest
. I had no idea he was so close.

I breathed through my nose, filling my lungs with his essence. My lips parted as the warm hair flowed over my face. Breathing in his breaths felt so... intimate.

“Be careful, Foxy, alright?” he said softly, his breath teasing my lips, before he released my wrist and slowly stepped back.

I stood there for
a second, unsure. That was it?

“Yeah,” was all I could get out
, before my feet finally carried me out the door and into the cool autumn night. The air felt good against my hot skin and I breathed deeply, doing my best to get my mind back on the mission at hand. I was surprised at how badly my body wanted to say
screw Stone
and run right back into that hotel room.

Shaking my head,
I opted to wait for Stone in the parking lot. Better than hanging out with Paul and trying to suck in that thick air the hotel room supposedly called oxygen. It was suffocating at times and as I cooled down, I began to look forward to my night out, work or not.

Stone was right on time, of course and driving a
1970 Ford Mustang Fastback as red as my top. It glimmered in the moonlight from a fresh wax, making it obvious that it was taken good care of. I waited as the purring engine cut off and he stepped out of the car, wearing a black pinstriped two piece suit, complete with a burgundy tie.
Another meeting?
I frowned, as he made his way around the car and stood in front of me.

He was smiling
, until he saw my face, then he sported his own frown and raised an inquiring eyebrow. “Something wrong?”

“Actually, two somethings. First, it seems I’m underdressed. I though
t we were just going out for drinks?”

He looked down at himself
, then back at me, taking in my skin tight jeans and revealing top. He caught his lower lip between his teeth, as his eyes finally connected back with mine, and my belly flopped. “I think I’m the one that’s overdressed. You look absolutely amazing, though.”

I raised my own eyebrow and nodded my thanks
, before he turned and open the passenger side door. When I didn’t move to get in the car, he looked back at me, his eyebrows drawn. It only took a second before his expression cleared and a smirk graced his perfect lips.

“And the second thing?” He asked.

I licked my lips. “It’s your car.”

His brows furrowed again
, as he glanced at the car, then back at me. “What’s wrong with my car?”

“I bet you’re thinking most women don’t complain about your car.”

“You’re right. They don’t. They usually drool all over it and beg for a ride, so...”

“So, I’m a Camaro girl. Mustangs have no place in my life.”

“Well, that’s that then. I can’t see this,” he gestured between the two of us. “Going anywhere, if you can’t handle the Stang.”

“No
, I guess not,” I shrugged and turned to leave.

“But, I might be able to live with it for a night, if you can,” he
called out and I stopped. “Think you can lower your standards for the night and ride in this old rust bucket? I’ll make sure to park far out, so no one sees you getting out of it.”

“Deal.” We smiled playfully at each other
, as I climbed inside, sitting on the butter soft leather seats.

The ride wasn’t in complete silence, but neither of us were exactly full of chatter either. He turned on the radio and I nodded my head as Kings Of Leon’s Sex On Fire came on.
“This is a good one,” I commented, thinking how ironic. Being confined in such a tight spot with Stone, with his scent surrounding me, was making me feel like my sex was on fire.

“
I love this whole album,” Stone agreed. “So, Foxy, tell me, is that your real name?”

“Is Stone yours?”

“Touché. But, seriously, I don’t see
Foxy
being put down on a birth certificate.”

“What’s with all the questions?”

“It was only one. And I’m just trying to get to know you. Isn’t that what people do on a date?”

“So
, this is a date?”

“Are you going to answer ev
ery question with a question?” he asked, glancing at me before turning back to watch the road.

“Maybe, but if I told you my real name, I’d have to kill you.”

“You’re funny, you know that?”

“Hmm,” was all I said. If he only knew.

“Then, tell me something, Stone. What do you do for a living?” I asked, watching his reaction. He turned the wheel at ease, not a hint of tension at being asked the
question. Interesting.

“I run a couple of businesses.”

“What kind?”

He shrugged. “A bar for one. That’s where we’re going now.”

“Really? You don’t look like a guy who would run a bar. How did you get into that?”

“Fell in my lap, actually,” h
e chuckled. “I came in for a drink one night and the owner was there. He was also the bartender and drunk off his ass. He was spouting nonsense about being tired of the place and asked if I wanted to buy. I thought, why the hell not? And that was that.”

I narrowed my eyes at the obvious lie. He looked calm, no hint of decept
ion in his features and posture, but I could smell it. “Sounds like there’s more to the story. What did the owner say when he sobered up?”

He laughed, though I heard how off it was. It wasn’t the pure laugh I’d heard earlier that day at the hotel. “He was surprised, forgot all about it actually, but was happy he finally got
up the nerve to do it. He was ready to retire.”

“Wow. Seems you lucked out.” I smiled at him. “
I had thought you to be mysterious, Stone, but now you’re starting to sound like a normal guy.”

“Oh, I still have my secrets.”

“I’m sure you do.”

“Don’t we all?” h
e asked, his gaze cutting to mine.

I smiled and nodded.
“I guess so.” And I’ll find out yours soon enough, Stone.

Chapter
9

“What do you think?”

About twenty-five pairs of eyes met mine and I stared them all down. Some shifted their gazes away more quickly than others, but all went back to what they were doing, eventually.

I glanced around the bar, taking in the scenery. It was old, a bit run down, but looked clean enough and though it looked small from outside, there was plenty of space inside. Some groups sat at tables that were scattered about, while others played pool in the back corner. A few couples danced in the center of the room.
And each group had a mixture of shifters and humans. It was the shifters that stared the longest, their expressions saying they knew what I was and would be keeping an eye on me.

“Charming,” I replied to Stone
, as I turned to him. “Are they all regulars?”

“Why do you ask?”

I shrugged, “They’re looking at me like I have two heads.”

Stone chuckled
, as a man with dark, unkempt hair walked up from behind the bar. Human. “The usual for me, Doug. What would you like, Foxy?”

“What’s the usual?”

“Beer.”

“Then I’ll have the usual.”

He nodded to Doug and smiled back at me, but it still didn’t reach his eyes. “You definitely don’t have two heads, but if you did, I don’t think anyone would mind seeing two of your beautiful face.” I rolled my eyes. “You’re right, though. They’re all regulars, and we don’t see new faces around here often.”

“Sounds comfortable.”

He only nodded, as I watched him take the beers from Doug. “Come on, let’s get a table.”

With a nod
, I followed him to one of the tables in the back corner and I didn’t miss the fact that he made sure he sat where he could see the whole room, including the front door and the back hallway. It’s where I would have chosen to sit if asked, but I wasn’t asked. Instead of taking the seat directly in front of him, though, I pulled the chair around to sit beside him. It wasn’t the best view, but it was better than putting my back to everyone.

His eyes widened a little in surprise, but he smiled and took a sip of his beer. I did the same and waited for more of his date questions, but they never came.

Just as he opened his mouth to say something, we were interrupted, as a shadow fell over the table blocking the light from the lamp hanging above us. Stone didn’t turn to look at the intruder, but his eyes darkened to a shade I hadn’t seen yet. A lesser woman might have been shaking in her boots, but I wasn’t a lesser woman. I was intrigued.

I tore my eyes away from his angry expression and looked up, way up at the man that stood in front of us. He was huge, his muscles stretching his plaid shirt
, as he towered over us. His brown hair was shaggy, his face gruff and for a moment his blue eyes sparkled down at me before they became flat and expressionless, as he turned his attention to Stone.

“What do you want, Ben?”

“Sir, I need to talk to you.”

“So talk!” I turned to Stone, surprised by his nasty attitude. Did he know
who, or what, he was talking to? Ben wasn’t human and he wasn’t the type of shifter you messed with and lived to tell about it.

“Business, Sir,” Ben said,
never breaking eye contact with Stone, his posture defiant.

Stone narrowed his eyes, obviously displeased with both the interruption and Ben’s attitude. He stared at him a moment longer, his jaw ticking
, before he finally turned back to me. I raised an eyebrow and watched, fascinated, when his expression softened. Not by much, but enough to put someone at ease.

“Sorry, but I have to deal with this. You’ll be okay here?”

“Yeah,” I waved my hand and nodded. “Go take care of business. I don’t want your bar to suffer because you were having a drink with me instead of working.” I lifted my beer and took a swallow, as he stood, shaking his head. “I’ll be right back,” he said and walked away with Ben on his heels.

I watched them turn the corner into the back hallway, then shifted my attention to the rest of the bar
.

One guy caught my attention, mostly because he was the only shifter in the room not watching me out of the corner of his eyes. He was a lion shifter with golden hair that hung down to his shoulders and he was leaning forward, holding the hand of the woman seated in front of him.
She was staring at him like he was her world and I wondered what such a loving couple was doing in a gang like this. I also wondered where the rest of his harem was.

Two more females glided past me and headed toward the couple. And there they were, I thought
, as they both sat down on either side of the male. I didn’t want to sound stereotypical, but most lion shifters were polygamous, both the women and the men, though, I’d run across a few that weren’t.

The four of them looked comfortable and as the two new women looked at the man and he them, the same love shined in their eyes. Hmm, a loving foursome, a pride for all intents and purposes, were part of a
n organization that dealt in drugs, weapons, and murder. I narrowed my eyes in thought, as I glanced around at the rest of the people in the bar. I found more couples slow dancing, one even making out in the corner. These people didn’t look like killers to me.

Then my eyes caught sight of Flick and Flack or I should say Puckered Lips and Smiley.
They were sitting on the other side of the room, glaring holes into my forehead. I smiled, waved, and drank in the glory of their scowls, especially when I saw the nasty bruise Puckered Lips was sporting. Smiley wasn’t so smiley tonight either. My grin widened just for them. The room was filled with more assholes than I thought.

“You know
, you shouldn’t taunt them.”

I looked up at Stone, smiling for all I was worth. “I wasn’t taunting them, I was just saying hello.”
I looked around him, but didn’t see Ben anywhere.

“Sure, you were. And earlier today you were just offering them coffee and cakes when they came for a visit.”

“My mama taught me to be the perfect hostess,” I winked

“Well, I have to say, I am impressed by your hosting skills. Surprised actually.” He raised an eyebrow
, as he looked me over, taking in my long, yet slender frame. “Those two aren’t ones for being all that neighborly and you had them eating out of the palm of your hand.”

“More like shoving it down their throats.”

He chuckled and this time I saw his eyes light up with real humor. “That you did. I’m impressed.”

“Thank ya. So
, why don’t you sit down and we can talk some more, or do you want to dance?” I pursed my lips, as I narrowed my eyes playfully. “Didn’t you promise to make it up to me with dancing?”

“Hey!” A guy called out, claiming both mine and Stone's attention. He weaved through a small crowd that stood by the pool tables and made his way over. As he plunked himself down in Stone’s empty chair, the stench of alcohol wafted off of him, burning
my nose. The human was slap-ass drunk.

“I’m Jerry,” he held out his hand and I shook it politely before pulling away. His hand was sweaty
, giving me the urge to wipe mine off on my jeans. Then I remembered they were my favorite pair and stopped.

“Hi Jerry, I’m Foxy.”

“Foxy? I like that name. Foxy name for a foxy girl,” he laughed and slapped his hand on the table, causing my beer bottle to wobble. I grabbed it before it fell and looked up at Stone. He was staring at Jerry with a blank expression on his face.

“I had to come over and say hello to Stone’s new woman,” he hiccupped. “Cassie isn’t gong to be happy, man,” he continued
, not realizing Stone’s expression wasn’t so blank anymore.

“Man, when she sees you, you better watch out. Cat fight! Meow!” He threw his head back and laughed. I looked up at Stone and raised an eyebrow.

“Jerry,” Stone warned and I started to feel sorry for the drunk man. If eyeballs had lasers, Jerry would be a goner.

“So
, where are you two going?” Jerry asked, ignoring Stone. Bad fucking idea in my opinion. “It looked like you were about to leave.” He listed to the side, then straightened up again. “You just got here and I haven’t had a chance to say hello. You going to the scrap later on?”

I didn’t know what he was talking about, but Stone’s face was so red, I thought he was going to have a coronary. “We were just about to dance, Jerry. Does that jukebox over there
have anything worth dancing to?”

“Actually, I said if you were lu
cky.” Stone’s eyes bore into mine intently, his face purple with anger. “And I’m afraid your luck has run out tonight.” I stiffened slightly as a small tingle of fear ran up my spine, though I held my smile and tilted my head in confusion. What was he talking about?

“Something’s come up,” he continued, “and I have to go. Maybe another time?”
he asked, and smiled tightly, as he held his hand out to me.

I breath
ed a silent sigh of relief and nodded. He was just pissed about Jerry. I placed my hand in his and stood. “Of course...”

“But, Sir,” Jerry burped and I scrunched up my nose in disgust.
“Don’t you want to take her to The Pit?”

My eyes widened. “The P
it?” I asked Stone, watching as his own eyes widened slightly before narrowing into tight slits. Jerry stood suddenly and took a wobbly step back. “I’m sorry, sir. I thought–”

“That’s enough, Jerry,” Stone snapped. The way he focused on the drunken man, I could see he would bring retribution down on the poor guy for opening his mouth, but I was still confused.
Was
The Pit
what I thought it was?

“Yes, Sir,” Jerry mumbled before running off. I watched him scurry out
of the bar, before turning back to Stone. “So, what is this pit Jerry was talking about?”

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Stone replied, closing his hand around my arm and gently pulling me toward
s the door.

I allowed him to lead me through the door and out into the parking lot
, before I dug in my heels. Stone stopped, but didn’t let go of my arm, as he looked at me curiously.

“I’m not worried about it,” I said. “But I am curious. Jerry asked if we were going to the scrap, so are we talking
a fight here? Is that what The Pit is?” Stone’s expression was a closed book. I got nothing. “Tell me.”

He sighed and looked away, his head shaking in exasperation. I waited, though not patiently
, as I tapped my foot. His eyes connected with mine and our gazes locked uncomfortably. If I didn’t know better I would have thought he was reading my mind, but that was impossible. I lifted my chin and firmed my jaw. I wasn’t leaving here without answers.

Stone nodded, happy with whatever he saw. Pulling his hand away, he said, “I wasn’t sure you would be interested, but now that I think about it,” he said. “With the way you took down Chris and Stevenson
–”

“Who?” I interrupted.

“The two guys I sent to pick you up today.”

“Oh, Ken and Barbie,” I nodded, crossing my arms.

Stone’s eyebrows furrowed before he shook his head. “You are something, you know that?”

“We’ve already established that, Stone. Now
, you just have to define what that something is.”

“I’m still working on it,” h
e chuckled. “As I was saying, after the way you took down my men, I think you might be more interested than I thought.”

“Interested in what?”

“Come,” he held out his hand. “I’ll show you.”

I hesitated, hoping this wouldn’t come back and bite me in the ass. The mission demanded I get answers, so I knew I needed to follow
Stone and find out about this pit. It could lead me to Red, but it could also be a trap.

With his large, warm hand encasing mine, I followed Stone to the car. Here’s hoping I didn’t end up as someone’s fur coat.