N. Walters - Alexandra's Legacy

“Go on.” he urged.

She raked her fingers through her bottle-blonde hair. “I’d just talked to Alex on the street, not a half hour before, when Otto comes running in saying he heard a gunshot at the garage. We came down to check it out and found the bodies. I told him to go back to work and I’d stay and wait. There were men watching the place, so Otto had his sons watching them all day. They all left several hours ago.”

“Not all of them left,” James muttered under his breath.

“Oh.” Divine’s eyes widened. She swallowed hard, not asking the obvious question. She already knew the answer. “What did they want? I know you’re not into anything illegal, James. You’ve been here too long for us not to know if you were.”

James sighed, needing to get rid of Divine so he could take care of the bodies. “I’m not who you think I am, Divine,” he began gently.

“This has something to do with that werewolf stuff, doesn’t it?” She nodded decisively.

James froze. “What do you mean?” What the hell did she know?

She shook her head and sighed. “James, did you honestly think you could live here for over twenty years and no one would ever find out? You and Alex were here about five years when I first saw you change. I’d been out late and you were just coming back to the garage. I have to say, you gave me quite the fright. I’d never seen a wolf before, except on television, let alone a werewolf. For a while I convinced myself I’d just had way too much to drink.” She laughed. “But there were other signs as well. You kept to yourself and were extremely protective of Alex.”

He was stunned. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

She shrugged, the strap of her dress falling down the curve of her upper arm. She pushed it up impatiently. “What was there to say? You’re a good man, a wonderful father and a heck of a great mechanic. You never judged me for what I am and you raised Alex to be the same. She’s a fine young woman, James. She treats me like I’m a real person, not just some cheap, drunken whore.”

“I don’t know what to say.” He truly was at a loss for words. Acceptance in the human world was rare for his kind and he’d never expected to find it here of all places.

“Nothing to say,” she continued briskly. “I know most folks think I’m crazy, but I know what I see out on the streets. I know there are werewolves, vampires and other creatures out there.”

James nodded. “You’re not crazy.”

She glanced toward the stairs at the back of the room. “The thing now is to worry about the bodies upstairs. I was hoping you’d show up, but Otto and his sons are bringing some tarps and the bakery truck in a few minutes. We didn’t want to leave the bodies any longer. The smell is getting bad, even for this neighborhood.”

“Why would you do that?” James still couldn’t quite believe that, not only Divine, but also other people in the neighborhood were willing to help him. His eyes narrowed. “Does Otto know?”

“About the werewolf thing?” She didn’t wait for him to answer, but continued on. “I imagine so.” She cleared her throat. “Bill from the barbershop and Stanley from the bar also offered their help. I assume quite a few folks are aware that you’re different.” She paused. “What about Alex?”

James knew what she was asking and considering all she’d done for him he figured he at least owed her the truth. “Yeah.” Sighing, he ran his hand across his face, trying not to think about Alex. He longed to know where she was, to hold her in his arms to assure himself she was safe. “I’d hoped she’d be fully human, but there were signs. She’s reaching maturity as a female now. Somehow word got out that she existed and now single males from packs from all around all want to claim her, whether she wants it or not.”

Divine’s hand flew to her mouth. “That’s barbaric.”

James laughed, but it was a bitter sound. “That’s nature, Divine. Humans are no different. Thing is, the years haven’t been kind to the packs and their numbers are dwindling. They need females to reproduce and restore the population. The ironic thing is a hundred years or so ago they might have killed her because her bloodline is tainted because her mother was human. Now they all want her as a breeder.”

“That’s why you’re here and not with a pack?” Once again, Divine was proving to be an astute woman.

James nodded. “I wanted a different life for Alex.”

“Where is she, James?”

“Honesty, I don’t know. We split up this morning and I sent her off with the son of an old friend. He’s the only one I can trust until this mess is resolved.”

“What will you do?”

James reached out and stroked his fingers over Divine’s hair. “It’s best you don’t know but, rest assured, Alex will be taken care of.”

“I believe you.”

The sound of a truck pulling up in front of the garage had James whirling and moving in one motion.

“That should be Otto,” Divine yelled after him. He pulled out his gun and hid in the shadows, not willing to take any chances.

The door to the garage was opened enough for a truck to pull in. It wasn’t a large truck, but it had an enclosed box on the back with Bykowski’s Bakery stenciled on the side. Still, James waited in the shadows until the truck was inside and the door closed and bolted. Two younger men waited by the side of the truck while an older man opened the truck door and climbed down from the cab. “Divine,” he called. “You see any sign of James or Alex yet?”

“Hello, Otto.” He stepped from the shadows, shocking the three men who stood not four feet from him.

The older man was startled for a moment, but recovered quickly, rubbing his hand over his mostly balding head. “James.” He strode forward, hand extended. “Bad business up there,” he motioned upstairs with his free hand as he shook James’ hand with the other. “Bad business. We’ve got tarps in the back and me and my boys will make sure they get dumped in the lake far away from the neighborhood.”

“I appreciate it, Otto.” He hesitated. “I suppose you want to know what happened?”

Otto shook his head vehemently. “A man’s business is his own. You are one of us and that is all that matters.” Releasing James’ hand, he turned to his sons. “Come. We have work to do.” Both his sons were in their early twenties and were carbon copies of their father. They looked as if they were bursting with questions, but said nothing as they followed their father, tarps tucked beneath their arms.

James shook his head, feeling oddly out of control of the situation. If he hadn’t returned his neighbors would have taken care of the situation for him and he’d never have known. It was strangely humbling. He’d had no idea people felt this way about himself and Alex.

Divine started upstairs, but James put his hand on her arm, stopping her. “You don’t need to see this.”

She looked mildly surprised. “I’ve seen worse.”

“I know,” he gently replied. “But that doesn’t mean you need to see it again.”

A slow smile covered her face. This one was natural without the artifice she usually displayed. James was surprised to notice she was actually quite pretty beneath her façade. “That’s really sweet of you, James, but I want to help. I need to help.”

Nodding, he started up the stairs with her close behind him. Otto and his sons had already wrapped the two bodies in tarps. Someone had boarded the window shut. “Who did that?” James motioned to the window, noticing the glass had been swept away as well.

One of the younger men straightened. “I did. I didn’t want anyone sneaking in and stealing anything.”

“My Dominik is a good boy.” Otto beamed and his son blushed.