RILEY
Six Months Later
She hummed to herself as she cleaned the diner counter. They were closed up and she had released everyone to get home and enjoy some time sleep. It was well past midnight and only she was there.
Life had become wonderful after everything with Cameron and Isabella. Spring turned into summer which melted into a beautiful fall, her favorite season.
Her relationships with the pride were strong. Brenton and her explored dark passions she didn’t realized she would love and she ached to hear him order her around. Zachary was nearly the same way but not as strict, more of a bad boy who wanted her to be feisty and disobedient. Andrew and her were like a lazy afternoon, enjoying each other slowly, soaking in the feelings that surrounded them. Troy and Gabe made her heart race, toying with her between them at all times. Those brothers made her feel like a queen, the center of their universe.
It was magical and it was hers. Certainly, they had their tough moments, like when she couldn’t be with one or two of them for an extended period of time but they were working on it.
Star was happy, healthy, and ruling the house. She was the literal star of Riley’s life. She had been debating for months on whether they should her the tripod cat a playmate. The guys all wanted a dog, which Riley found alright but none of them pulled trigger on it yet.
Riley got her lips pierced with Zachary one day, that had been a fun day and she really liked them. Snake bites that she kept rings in since they guys liked to play with them. She also shaved the sides of her head. She had wanted to more rocker and punk with her look for years but work never allowed her too. Andrew didn’t care so she said to hell with it. She stopped short of dying her hair bright red.
Riley also found out what happened with the dumpster fire all those months ago. It still made her laugh. Winter and her friends did it in retaliation for Winter being fired but Winter hadn’t paid attention when Andrew announced he had installed a new security system. All four of them had been arrested and charged with arson. Riley had never been happier. Justice had been served! Damn teenagers.
She was about to go lock the door when someone stepped in.
“We’re closed, sir. Did you see the sign?” She smiled. It happened occasionally, someone just too tired from a trip or work to notice the sign.
He only looked at her. He was very much a human, she could tell that. He had black hair was only about five foot seven. She saw he was Caucasian but couldn’t see his eyes well enough to figure out their color. He wore hunting gear like he was about go out and enjoy deer season.
“Oh no,” he had a strong southern accent. “I’m not here for food,” she watched him reach around his back. She grabbed her purse as his hand came back around. “I’m here for you, kitty.”
She dropped as the gun went off. Two holes were above her head and she pulled her Glock 17 out of her purse. She kept one on her at all times now, promising herself that she wouldn’t be caught without a weapon ever again.
She stayed down, waiting for him to move. As he turned to look around the corner, she aimed and fired. He hadn’t expected her to be armed and he dropped to floor before he could raise his weapon again. She had double tapped him in the chest like she was trained.
She looked over the counter and ran to lock the door. The shutters were closed on all the windows. She took a fast glance out the window. Only her Porsche and an old, beat up pickup were in the packing lot. There was nothing else and no one else out front.
She needed to check the back. She moved silently, ready to fire at a moment’s noticed.
“Joseph, did you get her?” A man called from the back of the kitchen.
She saw him and whistled. He saw her as she fired, pulling two in his chest as well. She locked the back door, stepping over the body to do it. She didn’t bother looking this one over. He was already a corpse.
She searched him and found what she needed. His wallet. She moved back to the front and took the other’s wallet as well.
She looked through them quickly. And groaned. They were card carrying members of the shifter-hunting society, the SHS. She didn’t go into shock like she had with Cameron, she didn’t want to cry. She also didn’t feel very guilty. Somewhere over the last six months, she’d decided that she would do anything necessary to stay with her wild pride including end threats against them. These guys were definitely a threat.
She grabbed her cellphone and called home.
“Hey, baby,” Zachary sounded so happy and she sighed. “We’re all watching a movie, waiting on you.”
“We got a problem, Zachary,” she took a quick picture of the dead guy and sent it to Zachary. She heard him curse. “Yeah, I killed two hunters who came in here trying to take me out.”
Zachary was still cursing as she finally stated the obvious.
“We’ve been outed.”