Wolf’s Honor: Caedmon Wolves Book Six (3 page)

W
illiam drummed
his fingers on the steering wheel as he pulled into Antonia’s apartment complex. He seemed to be driving slower than usual, and Antonia silently tapped her own fingers in time against the bucket seat of his brand-new leased Porsche. She was set to meet Andrew in less than an hour to prepare for the drop tonight.

The drive from the restaurant back here had taken longer than Antonia had hoped. William had insisted on going to a more upscale Sicilian restaurant when she had hinted to him many times that the regular Italian hotspot they frequented was fine.

Antonia’s “cold-feet” escalated with the number of dates she went out on. It was as if she got another dose of cold feet with each and every one. She’d been dating William for over a month now, and with the exception of a few innocent kisses, they hadn’t made it to the next stage of the relationship yet. He’d hinted twice before that he wanted her to meet his parents, but she wasn’t ready for that either.

She never had close relationships with anyone and, quite frankly, she was comfortable with it being that way. Her parents, whose identity was still a mystery, had abandoned her and her brother when they were just babies. So, based on that, she knew most every relationship could be broken.

The numerous foster parents she and her brother had had were always temporary. They’d never found a permanent home, and she and Andrew had decided long ago that they wanted to stay together. Plus, her counselors, who claimed they were her friends, had applied too many stereotypes to her situation whenever her evaluations had come up. Thank God she wasn’t subject to evaluations anymore. Not since her eighteenth birthday, and that had been over five years ago. Now, the appointments weren’t mandatory. Just because she had grown up an orphan of the State, didn’t mean that she was stupid or mental.

“Well…” William pulled into a parking space and pushed the gearshift into park. “We’re here.” His hand moved awkwardly away from the stick shift.

He turned the sports car off, and that was her notice that he planned to walk her to the door like he always did. He’d never been inside her apartment because she always declined his requests. Her excuse had been the same since day one: She wanted to get to know a man well before inviting him inside. And he’d always accepted that.

William got out and came around the other side of the car to help her out. He walked her to the front step. “I had a great time, as always. I have something in mind for our next date?”

He looked proud of himself. His brown eyes sparkled with enthusiasm and his lips had already broken out into a smile.

“What’s that?” she asked, trying to smile back.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t interested. It was just that nights when she was anticipating pulling off a drop had always been nerve-wracking for her. When she’d accepted William’s suggestion to go out to dinner, she’d thought it would clear her mind until the very last minute, but it hadn’t helped. As the virtual clock counted down, all she could think about was all the reasons why she should have told her brother no this time.

“It’s going to be a surprise.” He lifted her hand and pressed his lips to it. Always a gentleman. He’d given off the nice guy persona since the very first day they’d met, right around the time she’d started a new job at the diner. She had been on her way out the door after working two shifts, and he had an appointment with the manager to discuss funding for the building expansion. William’s people were bankers and big investors. She knew he was wealthy, and she kind of figured that he knew she was not. As they continued to date, she wondered what this rich, privileged, and polite guy saw in her.

“William, I’ve been meaning to tell you some—.”

“—I have everything planned. My parents are driving out to see you since we never got a chance to visit them. They know you’re in school and all.”

“But, I’ve—”

“Next week? What do you say? If the date is not right, we can always change it.”

Antonia sighed and pressed her lips together. “Let me think about it. Thanks for the date.”

“Thanks for seeing me on such short notice. I just wish you could stay out a little longer.” His eyes swept from her face down to her body and then came level with her breasts. His lips parted slightly.

William never acted on his obviously blatant urges to consummate their relationship. She never encouraged it either, which, of course, left her wondering. This was all foreign to her. She’d never had a steady boyfriend before. She’d never had a boyfriend at all.

Antonia fumbled with her keys. “I wish I could stay out later too, but I have an early shift in the morning. Thank you for the date. I enjoyed myself.” She cracked the door open and waved goodbye.

Reluctantly, he held up his palm and returned the gestured.

She entered the home and closed the door behind her. When she heard the faint sound of an engine starting in the distance and tires screeching off, she knew he was gone.

William wasn’t the problem, she was. She’d have to let him go sooner or later. He deserved a better girlfriend.

“I can see you’ve been out with that rich dork again.”

Andrew’s voice came out of nowhere and she jumped. He peeked his head out of the kitchen.

“Yes, and?” She threw her purse on the sofa.

“It’s been what? Two months? Shouldn’t you have a car like the one he has by now?”

Antonia scowled. “Why don’t you shut up? Everything’s not always about money.”

“Oh, is it now?”

Ignoring Andrew, she glanced down at her watch as she made a beeline for the bath. “I need to shower before we head out.”

“We’ve only got thirty minutes,” he shouted at her back.

“I can tell time,” she retorted. “And if you weren’t such an ass, maybe you could find a girlfriend of your own.”

As Antonia retreated down the hall, she heard him chuckle and mumble something to himself.

She loved her twin brother deeply. He was the only family she knew on this Earth because their parents did not want to be known for some reason. However, she didn’t know how much longer she could stand living with him.

A
ntonia couldn’t remember
the last time she’d felt her veins pulsing frantically against her skin. She was used to quick jobs that resulted in fast money where she knew exactly what to do. There was no room for failure or hesitation. Besides, when was the last time she or Andrew had ever botched a job?
Never.

She could see her brother’s back as he clutched a pole in the middle of the bus about ten feet in front of her. He stood between an elderly gentlemen and a woman who was holding on tightly to her rolling luggage.

The city bus rocked and jostled all of its passengers as it progressed at what seemed to be a snail’s pace toward the next stop.

Antonia repositioned the strap of the backpack on her shoulder and pulled her hoodie over her head. The bus came to a screeching halt and her body moved forward then back as the driver parked the vehicle curbside.

She rose immediately with the crowd, ready to get lost in the herd of bodies on the street.

During the night, the city district became the place to be for bar hopping or touring the various eateries along the three-mile strip. With the university only fifteen miles away, this area was also a prime location for college students to celebrate the nightlife.

One would think their liaison would have picked a more desolate place for them to make the drop, but they were given opposite instructions. She partly understood why. No one would be paying attention to two college students in their own environment. Antonia and Andrew weren’t strangers to the strip, in fact, they fit in quite nicely with the backdrop and demographic of the area.

As Antonia looked out of the windows of the bus on her way to the exit, she could already see the rowdy and drunken students prowling around in the streets.

The lingering thunderstorm and pending rain also served as an effective distraction to unknowing bystanders. Of course, she didn’t have the luxury of packing an umbrella either. The hoodie she wore would protect her recently styled hair from the rain. It had taken her an hour to curl it and make it look halfway decent for the date with William, and she expected it to remain presentable for another few days. Between finishing up her last year of technical college during the daytime and busing tables at night, she barely had any time to pamper herself at all.

Having no time was really a blessing in disguise. Ever since she’d started taking a full load of classes again once the semester began to complete her degree sooner rather than later, she’d managed to save up a substantial amount of cash. But what was substantial to her was probably not substantial to anyone else, especially her brother. He’d most likely blow the two thousand dollars she had in a savings account in a day on frivolous things, like the latest gadget. They had shared the same womb but they were complete opposites.
Like night and day.

The one thing that she had decided was that this was the last time she would do something this risky with her brother. It had to stop. Plus, they were doing perfectly fine making ends meet legitimately for just the two of them. If she had to cut the ties from her twin brother, she would. This was not the life she wanted.
Not anymore…

As Antonia exited the bus, the crowd parted and damp air sailed across her face. She shifted the book bag from one shoulder to the other for what seemed like the dozenth time. They were never privy to information about what was contained in the packages they were to drop, but this one certainly was heavy. She didn’t want to know. Her job was to be courier for the one hour and thirty minutes that this job was supposed to last. Once the drop was made and payment was received, she and Andrew would split the proceeds in half. Three thousand dollars would mean she could afford to cut her hours in half at the diner while she studied for her upcoming finals. That was just enough motivation for her. Once she’d secured her degree, she’d look much better on paper. These days, if your resume didn’t pass muster, you hardly got any notice at the well-paying companies in the area. Last time she’d applied to become a flight attendant, they’d told her she needed a degree under her belt. Since when did one need a degree to point to the exit signs and pass out stale pretzels and flat soda to a plane full of people?

She turned right at the curve up ahead where she expected to find a sidewalk full of eateries. Any cuisine one could imagine eating was offered on this strip. Anything from Italian to Indian. And, it was fast food where you could walk up and order an entire meal to go. The convenience was fitting for a city district that consisted mainly of tourists and college students, like herself.

“Hey,” a young guy stepped in front of her holding something in his hands.

He was a head taller than her and about twice her size, so he blocked her entire view and her destination up ahead. She made quick eye contact with him, passing a look of annoyance, but didn’t consider him a threat.

She frowned.

He continued talking to her anyway and held up a small black electronic device. “You need a Bluetooth speaker? It’s quite nifty and it—”

“No.” She brushed passed him.

“You sure? It’s usually fifteen bucks, but I’ll give it to you for ten.” He was persistent. They all were—college students looking to make a quick buck to pay the next semester’s bill or to ensure they could eat the next night. Just like her. But she wasn’t interested in buying, and one look at the countdown on her wristwatch told her that this
street merchant
was wasting her time.

Antonia sidestepped him once more and caught sight of Andrew’s back again. There was a tall guy with a chalky white complexion leaning against the wall just a few feet in front him. A patch with a dark red symbol was displayed on the cuff of his jacket. The symbol was what they’d been trained to look for.

She kept walking, but the annoying street merchant brushed into her again, whether intentionally or unintentionally she wasn’t sure. He made contact with her arm and tried to reach for her hand.

She snatched her arm away, offended and irritated. “Look, usually I give people ten seconds to get the fuck out of my face after I’ve told them no, but since this is your lucky day, I’m giving you five.”

As she expected, the street merchant immediately disappeared from her sight. At only five-six with a small frame and dainty demeanor, she attracted a lot of people, both men and women, but never for the right reasons. The moment she was crossed or threatened, she brought out the Scorpio in her. The side and wall she built with cinder blocks because she had no choice but to. Growing up and moving from group home to group home had taught her how to fend for herself, even if that meant being as sweet as pie one moment and then as aggressive as a wolf the next.

When she looked up again, she didn’t see Andrew or the chalky man with the red symbol on his wrist. Right above where he’d been standing was a sign. It read
Dockhouse Bar
. She’d heard about this place, but had never been. Word on the street was that you needed to know someone to get in. There were rumors of strange happenings occurring inside, but these events never aired on the news. People only heard about it through the grapevine.

Antonia drew a small card the size of a stamp out of her back pocket. Apparently, this was her ticket inside.

As she walked up toward the entryway, she still felt uneasy about not being able to see Andrew anymore. Whatever it was they were delivering was to be done in two separate shifts fifteen minutes apart. Glancing down at her watch, she noted that Andrew would be making his drop right around this time. Now it was up to her to look inconspicuous in the club without bringing too much attention to herself for another fifteen minutes. Maybe she should have pretended to be interested in what the street merchant was trying to sell her. That would have bought her some time. Waiting around wasn’t her thing, and the pounding crescendo of her heart was all the reminder she needed of that fact.

“Pass?” the security guard barked at her when she reached the front of the line.

She handed him the card but she couldn’t help but notice the way he sized her up. He also smelled of something feral, like mud and pine trees. It wasn’t a nice combination to the liquor breath he also possessed.

“Take off your hood,” he commanded in a gruff voice.

Antonia pushed her hood back, looked him straight in the eye and smiled sweetly. “Is that better?”

He chuckled deeply then nodded toward a second security guard, who opened one of the double doors. As the doors closed behind her, she could have sworn that some invisible breeze was pushing her forward into the bustling nightclub. The sound of her heartbeat was drowned out by the electro-fusion beat, and she felt claustrophobic in the mob of bodies around her. Something was a little off with the way some of the patrons looked at her as she passed, or maybe she was the one that looked a little awkward to them.

She held her chin up and attempted to put on an expression of what she hoped was confidence about where she was and her familiarity with her surroundings.

In less than thirty minutes, she’d be on a bus back home. Tonight, she’d be a few thousand dollars in the green. Tomorrow, she’d speak with her manager about reducing her work hours a bit. Right now, she didn’t even want to think about the disadvantages. There was no time to fail.