N. Walters: Alexandra's Legacy

Her mother had been a prostitute who’d tried to go straight and had gotten pregnant. When James Riley had discovered he was the father, he’d taken her into his home and looked after her until she’d had the baby. She’d run off just two days after Alex was born, unable to cope with motherhood. She’d never met the woman, didn’t know if she was even still alive and, truthfully, didn’t care. Having a kid to raise certainly hadn’t helped her father find a woman. Yet, he never once made her feel as though he’d have it any other way.

Raising her hand, she rubbed it over her breastbone. Maybe it was loneliness she was feeling at night as she lay in her bed. God only knows, she’d felt like a freak growing up. While other girls her age had been boy crazy, all she’d wanted to do was tinker in the garage with her father. She plain just wasn’t interested. She’d been kissed more than once, even engaged in some heavy petting in her teens, but she’d never had sex with a guy. It just hadn’t seemed worth the effort. Now, she wondered.

“You want to bring me a cup of that coffee?” Her father’s voice yanked her from her thoughts. What was wrong with her? She was never this distracted, at least not in front of her father. He was much too astute and attuned to her moods.

Yanking down two large black ceramic mugs from the shelf above the coffeemaker, she filled them with the thick, potent brew. Black for her father, two sugars for her. Wiping her moist palms on her jeans, she took a deep breath and picked up the mugs. She had to get a grip on herself. It was time to go to work.

She loved the garage. Loved working side by side with her father, repairing vehicles of all kinds—trucks, cars and the more popular, and certainly more affordable, motorcycles. Cars had changed quite a bit over the years, but her father could fix them all. The man was a wizard when it came to vintage cars and had gained a reputation among collectors. Since her father wouldn’t leave Chicago, wealthy clients came from all over the country to gain his expertise. Many brought their own private security team to protect their expensive vehicles.

Alex had questioned her father once about why they didn’t move somewhere else. Not that there was anything wrong with Chicago. She loved the vibrancy of the city, the unique ethnic heritage that made it so exciting. But Alex had always wondered what it would be like to live in the countryside where the constant noise of humanity was silent. The city never slept. Traffic, both vehicular and human, kept the streets alive twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

They had enough money, as her father’s specialized skills did not come cheap. “Because it’s safer here,” had been his soft-spoken reply. His answer hadn’t made much sense to her since they lived in arguably what many would consider a dangerous area, but the look in his eyes had been so bleak and sad, she’d never brought up the subject again. But she did wonder.

He’d passed all his mechanic skills onto her and she was quickly gaining a reputation of her own. She could easily have moved out of the neighborhood and set up her own vehicle-repair business, but instead she’d settled just up the road, continuing to work with her father. She didn’t want to leave him. He was the only family she had. Chicago might give the members of the city council and police force the occasional sleepless night, but to her it was home.

“What’s on tap for today?” She handed her father his coffee and took a sip of hers as she reached for her muffin.

“Not much. The Mustang.” He motioned to the vehicle that he’d been under when she’d arrived. “There’s two Ducatis you need to check out. I bought them from a guy and he delivered them last night. Just check the work orders.”

Motorcycles were Alex’s specialty. She loved the speed and the freedom they offered. Her eyes lit up as she gazed at the two beauties in the far corner, just waiting for her to work her magic. “Sweet.” She planned on convincing her father to give her a deal on one of these fine machines.

“Alexandra.”

She stilled. He rarely ever called her by her given name, always calling her Alex. When he did, it usually meant trouble.

“Yes.” She struggled not to squirm beneath his penetrating gaze.

“We need to talk. Tonight.” His eyes shifted away from her and he rubbed his hand over his face. She noticed that he needed a shave. Peering closer, she realized he looked tired.

Now she was really starting to get worried. “What’s wrong?” She leaned into his chest, wanting to comfort him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and the huge sigh he let out ruffled the hair on top of her head.

“There are some things I’ve got to tell you. Things you need to know about your heritage.” There was a grim note in his voice that she’d never heard before. Her father was her rock, her foundation, but she could tell this was something he was very apprehensive about.

“Is it about her?” Alex knew he would know she was referring to her birthmother. She’d never called the woman by her given name even though she knew it.

“No, it’s not about Charlene. It’s about me.” He drew back and cupped her face in his hands. “Just remember that I love you.” Leaning down, he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Every decision I’ve made has been with your best interest in mind.”

Alex was quickly moving past worried and heading directly into the realm of deeply concerned. “Whatever it is, it’s okay.” The need to reassure her father overrode everything else, even her fears.

“I hope you can still say that after you hear what I have to say.” He dropped his hands and stepped back. “Tonight. I’ll explain everything tonight. In the meantime, don’t leave the garage without me. Promise me.”

She could sense the tension rolling through her father. Her own body felt tight. Stiff. “I promise.” She couldn’t help but sense that her world was about to change in some fundamental way and it would never be the same again. Another shiver raced up her spine and she hugged herself, wishing she’d layered another shirt under her sweatshirt.

His face softened for the briefest of seconds. “It will be all right, Alex.”

“I know.” She didn’t know anything at all at this point, but she was desperately trying to act as if everything was normal. She needed that if she was going to make it through today. It would do no good to demand he tell her everything now. He’d said tonight, so tonight it would be.

Work. She would focus on work. She’d been handling tools and working on vehicles since she was old enough to walk. She could lose herself in the beauty of a fine-tuned engine.

The door behind them slammed open, hitting the wall with a bang. Alex spun around and came face-to-face with a stranger. Huge was an understatement. Shaggy black hair framed a rough-hewn face, all angles and planes. His lips were thin, his eyes dark and piercing as they traced her body from head to foot. Menace seeped from every pore of his skin. Alex stood frozen in her tracks.

Her father jumped in front of her, a low growl emanating from deep inside him. Tension swelled, filling every nook and corner of the room. The stranger turned his gaze from her and focused on her father, but somehow Alex knew that he was still very aware of her.

His lips parted, giving him a strangely sensual, yet cruel appearance. “They’re coming for her.”

Joshua Striker’s heart was pounding, although outwardly none of his excitement or agitation showed. He’d found her. It hadn’t been easy, but he’d managed to stay one step ahead of the two roving packs of wolves searching for her. She was a treasure and they all wanted her.