Chapter Nine
“Morning Pervert,” the fat man said, rubbing his eyes when he saw Kalin and Coral enter the warehouse.
“Fuck off, Maurice,” Kalin replied.
“I thought for sure you were going to flash me or something, walking around like some detective from a swordplay magazine,” the doorman continued. “But I guess that’s just something you save for the lady.”
Maurice nodded politely to Coral while referring to her.
“I’m a fighter, not a lover,” Kalin said, walking past the doorman into the long hallway that led toward the Clan Room.
Kalin paused for a moment and then turned around to face the doorman. “How’s security these days?”
“Shercock Bones,” Maurice replied.
Kalin shook his head and turned around once more.
“I don’t know why I even bother,” Kalin muttered to himself.
“That’s what they call you…” Maurice called out down the hallway, “in the magazine.”
Kalin let out a long sigh and led Coral down the hall into the Clan Room. When he got inside, he found Sean working out while Ryder was asleep at the table with a bottle of hard alcohol in his hand and a scantily clad woman in his lap. The woman was rubbing her eyes and watching Sean’s abs flex while he did his morning workout.
“Where are the others?” Kalin asked, removing his trench coat and walking over to the lockers.
The woman turned her head lazily and licked her lips at this new point of interest while Sean continued forward with his workout — clearly not wishing to be interrupted.
“Nice piece of ass you got there, girl,” the woman said, staring shamelessly at Kalin’s body while he put on his clothes.
Coral blushed and Kalin ignored the woman’s comment.
“Does he fuck well?” the woman persisted, “Because this asshole went limp last night after about thirty minutes.”
She lifted the bottle from Ryder’s hand and took a long swig.
“Who the fuck is this broad?” Kalin asked, putting on a shirt and addressing Sean.
“Mufmnn…” Ryder said.
“That’s right,” the woman said, “Molly and don’t you forget it.”
She slapped the back of Ryder’s head for emphasis before leaning in to nibble on his earlobe.
“She’s an elemental Shifter,” Sean replied. “Some predatory stray Ryder picked up last night.”
“Pretty rare,” Kalin replied, directing the comment to Molly this time.
Molly’s eyes were still locked on Kalin, but her teeth were firmly latched around Ryder’s earlobe. Coral thought it would have hurt, but Ryder didn’t seem to mind. It actually brought a grin to the edge of her lips.
Ryder finally got up and bit Molly on the neck in response. Coral thought she saw Molly’s eyes change color, to a rich crimson with a flash of amber, but when she looked again, they were only gray.
Must have been the light, Coral thought to herself.
“She’s hot. Isn’t she bro?” Ryder said to Kalin. “And I mean literally — feels like my cock is burned.”
“Real cute,” Kalin replied, his mind clearly pre-occupied. “They came after me last night.”
“Who’s they?” Sean replied, finally permitting his attention to drift toward the situation at hand.
“Two wolves,” Kalin replied. “I got one of them, but I’m pretty sure the leader is some sort of Shifter himself. Not sure how many others there are, but they are well funded and not afraid to start shit in order to get what they want.”
“Let me guess,” Sean replied, going back to his sit-up routine. “They want her.”
“Doubt it at this point,” Kalin replied. “Likely things just got a bit more personal last night. They probably are more interested in revenge.”
“Fuckers like that…” Ryder muttered. “Ya know, it always starts off with some dumb shit, like turf wars, or whatever…”
“Did they see you shift?” Sean interrupted.
Kalin nodded.
“Then they’ll be coming here,” Sean replied.
“That would be suicide, why would they try something like that?” Ryder replied, all joking manner now absent from his voice.
“Not really,” Molly replied. “Besides Maurice and us, there are probably only ten or so heads in the entire warehouse. The tournament is over and we’re on break before next season.”
The silence in the room was disrupted by an explosion from out on the street. Sean shook his head and pulled the fire alarm on the side of the warehouse. The thin LED track lighting dimmed from the hallways and turned into a light red glow.
“Let’s hope there are at least that many,” he said, darkly. “I get the feeling that you don’t hit a place like this unless you mean business.”
“Oh God,” Coral said in shock, realizing what was taking place around her. “What have I done?”
“Get over yourself, hun,” Molly replied, standing up and helping Ryder to his feet with her spare hand. “Mobster types. This is how they have a good time.”
Molly’s tone was even, though there was a smoldering undercurrent to her words. Coral nodded, realizing that while this may have started with her, events had scaled up well beyond her control.
The group was together in a flash, out the door of the Clan room and down the hallway. Kalin led the charge while Sean and Ryder followed closely behind.
“Unless you’re packing some heat in that blouse of yours, I’d suggest sticking to the back,” Molly offered, pushing Coral gently to the side.
Molly’s kind manner under the stress of the situation struck Coral as benevolent. Coral nodded, feeling hesitant and scared.
“Don’t worry, sweet thing,” Molly offered, reassuring Coral with a wink and a smile. “This will all be over soon.”
Coral stayed behind, heeding Molly’s words. Watching her friends go down the hallway into the smoke that was billowing up in the concrete warehouse, Coral offered a silent prayer to whatever Gods were listening. She sensed that this was going to be a difficult one and she knew that if she joined in the fight, she would be more in the way than not.
Gunshots echoed down the hallway and tears began to stream down her face.
Pray, Coral, she told herself. Just pray.