Chapter 5
Gary didn’t know how the man knew he was behind him, but didn’t care. He was there for Lisa, the bitch more than he was for the man. He asked her where she had gone. Then, he told him to get her right back out there so he could have a talk with her.
“You can talk to me. I’m sure we can resolve anything you have a beef about.” He told him again that he wanted to talk to Lisa. “I’m sorry, that’s not going to happen with you holding guns on the house. For all I know, I’ll have her come out, and you’ll shoot her.”
“She lost me my job at the Little Diner. I want her to either get it back for me or die.” He smiled, trying to make the man see reason.
He really didn’t want her to die, but he’d listen better if he said that.
“She’s a bitch and got me into trouble with the owners.
I meant for her to be in trouble, not me.
So she either gets it back for me or she has to die.
I think that I’ve explained that well enough. ”
“She’s not going to come out here, nor are you going to kill her.
I know the owner of the Little Diner, and if she fired you, she had good reason.
” Gray fired a shot into the air, then pointed it at the man.
“That’s going to get you nowhere at all but killed.
Lisa isn’t coming out no matter what you do to me. ”
“We’ll see about that.” He smiled at the man and, in a bellowing voice, yelled for Lisa. It had worked before in getting her to come to him. “Lisa! Come out here now so that we can talk about you getting me fired!”
Nothing. He even pointed the gun at the man’s head, and she still didn’t come out.
He was going to get his job back or hurt somebody today if things didn’t go his way.
There was no way she should have felt the need to tell on him when he was just doing his job.
So what if he pissed a few people off? It was better than running a slacking ship. He’d learned that in the army.
“You’d better have all your ducks in a row, Mr. Roman. Because if you don’t, there are going to be some sad people around when you’re dead. If you have anyone who would care.” He fired at the man. Just hitting him above the knee dropped him to the ground. “That’s going to cost you.”
He went from man to beast in no time, and before he could move, he fired again, hitting the man in what he hoped was his arm or something. The next thing he knew, he was on his back with the great beast atop him with its mouth around his throat. Just then, a group of men showed up.
“I’m his brother, and since I’ve not shifted as yet, I’m going to translate.
If you’re smarter than I think you are, you’ll get rid of that gun right now before I have to take it from you.
Devlin, are you all right?” He supposed the man was Devlin on him, but he didn’t say anything that he could hear.
He’d heard that shifters could talk to one another through some kind of magic.
He never believed it, of course, but he was willing to bet right now that they were talking somehow.
“You must be Gary Roman. I’m Lica Frazier, brother to the man that has you down on the ground. ”
“He just attacked me.” Lica said that he’d shot him. “Because he wouldn’t get Lisa out here so that I could talk to her. She needs to get me my job back.”
“I’m the husband of Brandy, the woman who fired you.
And she was justified in doing that when you were running the restaurant into the ground.
” He said that he wasn’t doing any such thing.
“Oh yeah? So why is the restaurant making money now that you’re gone?
Not to mention the turnover for the employees is at an all-time low.
They seem to like working there without you around, yelling at them all the time. That’s no way to treat people.”
He realized that he still had his gun on him when it was suddenly gone.
He was going to have to talk his way out of this, or he’d never get things finished with his job.
And he had liked working there. It was fun to yell at people and get them to do what they were supposed to be doing.
But then he’d called the Frazier woman, and that went all to pot.
Christ, he just wanted his job back so that he could have some more fun.
“Devlin said that now that you’re down where you can’t do any harm, he’ll let you talk to Lisa.
You try anything stupid, and he’ll rip your throat out.
” Christ, it felt like he was doing that already.
“She’s coming out now. So you’d better behave yourself or else.
And as much as I’d like to handle this myself, the police need to get involved. ”
“Why?” He told him because he’d shot his brother. “He wasn’t doing what I wanted. And I figured that once I got him hurt, she’d come running. Aren’t they supposed to be married or something? I read about something like that in the newspaper.”
“Yes, they’re married.” He started screaming about how she was supposed to be working for him when his airway was suddenly cut off. “Devlin said to tell you to shut your mouth before he kills you.”
When he could breathe again, he took a moment to swallow.
It was difficult with teeth in his neck.
He couldn’t even move without cutting himself more.
When he decided that he’d had enough of this shit, he tried bargaining with the men.
They had to need money, being that they were marrying a waitress.
“I have a lot of dough. You just tell me how much for you to turn your back on me, and I’ll give it all to you.
” The man, Lica, he thought his name was laughed.
“Everyone can use a bit of money now and again. I mean, if he’s married to an out-of-work waitress, he has to need something to tide him over until she has her job back at the diner. ”
“She doesn’t work for the diner anymore.” He said he knew that, but she should be if they wanted to have any money. “My brother does well enough for the two of them. He’s an attorney and plans on suing you when this is all finished. The police are pulling into the driveway now.”
“Why the hell did you have to call them? I thought we were getting along just fine here.” He said that he shot his brother.
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. He’ll be able to heal once the ambulance gets him to the hospital.
Just let’s be friendly like to the cops, and I’ll be out of your hair.
That’s the least that you can do for spoiling my fun with Lisa. ”
“The least I can do is kill you.” He had been watching Lica and didn’t see his mouth move.
Asking what was going on, the voice laughed at him.
“I have a connection with you now, you shit. There is no place you can go that I won’t know what you’re up to.
Leave my wife alone, and I might let you live. ”
“How are you doing this? You there? Likin or whatever your name is, how is it that you’re not moving your mouth and talking to me?” He told him that it was his brother Devlin talking to him. “That’s not possible. He’s a dog.”
“Wolf, actually. You should understand that he’s going to be able to track you wherever you go.
Not to mention knowing your every thought now that he has tasted your blood.
But I’m sure he’s told you that. Devlin is a stickler for following the rules of engagement.
And this isn’t going to bode well for you once the police make it back here.
” He heard them talking, but couldn’t move his head.
“This man is Gary Roman. He used to work for the Little Diner that my wife and I own. He decided to seek revenge since she fired him over something that Lisa, Devlin’s mate, said about him. He said he was going to kill her.”
“We don’t take too kindly to people taking revenge on people that they used to work for.
” He knew that voice. It was the police officer that he’d spoken to today, trying to find out where Lisa might live.
Of course, he’d not remembered her name was Lisa, just that she’d been a waitress for him, and that got him tossed out of the stationhouse.
Stupid people. “I’m going to ask Devlin to get off you now, and then I’m going to arrest you. ”
“For what? In the event you didn’t notice, I’m the one who is being held down by a big dog.
” Wolf was said by several people. Like he gave a shit what people called the beast that was on top of him.
“Get him off me and give me back my gun, and I’ll go away.
I’m not finished with this yet, but I can see that I’ve caught you at a bad time.
I’ll regroup and come back to you some other time to talk.
I know now it was wrong of me to say that I was going to kill Lisa.
She still got me fired, and I’m owed something for that, but I won’t hurt her so long as she gets me my job back. ”
“You with him?” He’d completely forgotten about his brother being with him. He wondered why he hadn’t stepped up and saved him. Asking him that, he didn’t get an answer. “I asked you a question. Are you with this man?”
“I’m his brother, James. He only said he was going to talk to the young woman, not kill her. I want nothing to do with this.” He was told he was going to be arrested as well. “That’s fine. I don’t want any wolf taking my blood either. I like it where it is right now.”
He could see James being put in cuffs. When he started to protest about him being under the big dog still, it was suddenly gone. But before he could react, he was jerked up from the ground and handcuffed, too.
“I didn’t do nothing.” He had shot the dog a couple of times, but once they got him to the vet, he’d be just fine.
“You have nothing to hold me on. I was just coming to talk to her, and things got out of hand. Just let me go like I said, and I’ll be on my way.
I didn’t hurt her, so there isn’t any reason for me to be arrested. ”