3. Mia

Chapter three

Mia

I grabbed the black business card and read it:

Ronald Crawford - $10,000.00.

I wonder what Mr. Crawford did to get himself on a hitlist—only one way to find out. I went to the kitchen and stood over the sink. I did not want to get burned or get a scorch mark on my stuff. I extended a single claw, nicked the pad of my thumb, and pressed it to the card.

I quickly dropped the card into the sink before it caught on fire and braced my hands on the counter as everything I would ever need to know about Ronald Crawford beamed into my head. Knowing what would happen didn’t prepare me for the feeling of so much information being forced into my brain. It made me a little light-headed. I turned my back to the counter and lowered myself to the floor as the pressure subsided and I was able to start sifting through the information.

Ronald was a disgusting human. He was a local politician who regularly took kickbacks and built quite the empire to reign over. All of that was plenty of reason for someone to take out a hit on him, but that wasn’t why. The real reason was far worse.

Ronald was sexually assaulting staff members’ wives and sometimes daughters at functions and blackmailing them into continuing to please him, or their husbands would be fired. Times were hard, and nobody could afford to be unemployed or blacklisted. The husbands finally had enough and banded together to get rid of him once and for all.

I was more than happy to assist with that.

I searched through the information on him for where he would be tonight. Ronald had a standing appointment at a Gentlemen’s Club every Thursday night, where he had a private room to do all sorts of unspeakable things to whatever unlucky dancer he chose that night.

Clubs existed for what he liked to do, but Ronald preferred a more unwilling playmate.

Tonight, he will get me.

I shifted back into my fully human form and got dressed. Now that I was an assassin, I needed to look the part. It was time to go shopping! When I got to the mall, I went straight to Hot Topic. Actually, that’s a lie. First, I stopped at Cinnabon and then went to Hot Topic.

I understood that wearing black was important if your occupation was killing people without getting caught, but it hurt my fluffy little heart not to have any color. I already missed my pink clothes, so when I was shopping for the outfit I wanted to wear tonight, I grabbed the short pink plaid ruffled skirt and pink long-sleeve fishnet shirt. I was going for the e-girl look, which I was willing to bet Ronald Crawford would enjoy very much.

“You know,” the cashier said while checking me out, “if you want to complete the look, we have cat ears on the back wall.”

I glanced toward the wall of ears and then back to the cashier. “Thanks,” I smiled, “but I have my own.” She shrugged and continued ringing up my items, unable to appreciate my joke. I found myself hilarious and had to bite my cheek to keep from grinning like an idiot. I paid for my purchases, collected my bags, and left the mall. When I got home, I went into full self-care pampering mode. If I was going to pretend to be a dancer, I needed to exfoliate. Plus, I never turned down a grooming session. It made me feel better about myself.

I spent the rest of the day and evening reading in my window seat. When the sun had finally set, and I knew the nightlife was crawling out into the world, I drove to the club. My plan was simple. Sneak into the club, send Ronald’s chosen girl away before she enters the room, and take her place. Then I’d kill him and sneak back out. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. I locked my car and crossed the road into the alley beside the club. Once hidden in the shadows, I shifted into my cat form and climbed onto a window sill to watch the club entrance for Ronald’s arrival.

I watched him arrive, the club valet falling over himself to open the door for him as soon as the car stopped. The club owner rushed forward to greet him. I focused on their lips to figure out what they were saying and realized I didn’t have to try all that hard. My hearing was also enhanced, so I could hear what they said as if I were standing beside them.

“Mr. Crawford, how are you this evening?” the club owner asked, nodding his head in a respectful bow.

“I’ve had a rough day, Joe. What do you have for me tonight?” Ronald replied as they fell in step together.

“Your regular room is ready for you, and I just hired a sweet little thing that I think you might enjoy. Shall I send her to you, or would you like to choose from our regular girls?” the owner asked.

“Is she new to the business?” “She is.”

“Excellent,” Ronald chuckled darkly as they went inside. “You did good, Joe.”

His laugh made my fur stand on end. It was pure evil. I couldn’t let that girl go into the room with him. I jumped off my ledge and went around to the back door. A man came out to smoke a cigarette and used a rock to prop the door open, leaving just enough room for me to slip through without being seen. I slinked through the hallways, searching for the right room. I rounded a corner just as Ronald was entering a room.

“I’ll go get her,” Joe told him, rushing away in the opposite direction.

I ducked into a vacant room across the hall and shifted back into my human form, leaving the ears and tail. My tail lifted the back of my skirt, showing off my lace-covered ass.

While I wasn’t a fan, considering where I was, it fit. I watched through a crack in the door for the girl to come down the hall. When I saw her, my heart broke a little for her. She couldn’t be much older than eighteen, if at all. I could tell she was nervous as she stopped in front of Ronald’s door and wiped her palms on her schoolgirl uniform. Joe was playing up her innocence. If she stepped into that room, any innocence she still had would be shredded.

The petite brunette turned toward me when I swung the door open, and before she could react, I grabbed her and yanked her into the room. I covered her mouth to keep her from screaming as I pushed her gently against the wall.

“Listen to me. The man in that room was going to hurt you, and Joe was going to let him.

I don’t know your story, but I know you aren’t safe here and do not want to go into that room. Lucky for you, I’m going to go in there instead. Do you have any personal belongings here?“ She shook her head, her eyes wide with fear. “Good. Go out the back door and never come here again, understand?” The girl nodded.

“Who are you?” she asked when I removed my hand from her mouth.

“Judge, jury, and executioner,” I replied, opening the door to make sure the coast was clear. “Now go.” I pushed her toward the back door and waited until she was out of sight before stepping across the hall. I straightened my clothes, attempted an innocent expression, and tentatively knocked on the door.

“Enter!”

Here goes nothing. I opened the door and stepped inside the brightly lit room. Ronald didn’t want to miss a second of his time here tonight. He was sitting in a black throne-like chair in the corner of the room. I closed the door, leaning against it as my eyes darted around it.

Chains with cuffs hung from the ceiling, and an array of what looked like medieval torture devices sat on a table against the wall to my left. The floor was white linoleum— not at all romantic or seductive, but seduction didn’t happen in this room, and it was likely for ease of cleaning the blood left behind.

Ronald Crawford eyed me hungrily. “Joe did far better than I expected. He sent me a sweet little pussy.” He cackled at his joke before his face smoothed. “Come here, whore.”

I bristled at the insult but took a step toward him. I had to get close to him if I was going to kill him.

“Not like that!” he yelled. “How many paws do cats walk on? Two... or four?”

He wanted me to crawl to him as if this entire exchange wasn’t already demeaning enough. Just get close enough and finish this, Mia, I told myself as I dropped to my knees and crawled toward him.

“That’s a good girl,” he praised, his legs spreading wider as I got closer. I could see he was already hard and ready to go, and the sight sent a shiver down my spine. Maybe I’ll rip it off and feed it to him before I leave. He cocked his head to the side as I stopped between his legs, studying me. I saw the monster swirling in his eyes as he contemplated all of the ways he planned to hurt me. I tensed my body as my claws extended, ready to pounce, but before I could, he suddenly pulled his hand back and backhanded me across the face, sending me sprawling to the side with the force he used.

“Sonofabitch!” I yelled as I held my cheek and looked up at him.

A sinister smile spread across his face as he stood. “Oh, I do love one with a little sass; it makes breaking you so sweeter.”

“Fuck you,” I growled, springing toward him, claws extended. As a para, I was stronger and faster than him. It should have been an easy kill—if I hadn’t shifted mid-jump into my cat form. Even as a para, I was a Ragdoll, and he managed to deflect my flying body like one. I slammed into the wall and slid down it to the floor. I shook my head to clear it as I climbed to my feet and shifted back to my human form.

Nothing happened. What the fuck!

I tried again to no avail. I looked at Ronald, expecting him to be at least mildly freaked out by seeing a human turn into a cat. Unfortunately, it was the exact opposite. He looked at me like I was the shiniest new toy he’d ever seen.

“Look at you,” he crooned, crouching to get closer to my level. “Oh, I am going to have fun with you, Treasure. C’mere kitty.”

I hissed at him as I bolted to the other side of the room. I was in trouble—big trouble. I spent the next five minutes dodging him and trying to find a way out of the room. My eyes fell on an air vent without a cover behind his throne. As far as I could tell, that was the only way out. It was a start. Where I would go from there was up in the air, but my first step was getting out of the room and away from this monster. I was going to have to seriously consider using poison as my weapon of choice if this was how things were going to go.

I howled as hands seized me. While I had been planning my exit, Ronald had crept up behind me. I struggled in his hold, clawing and biting at his hands in desperation.

“Easy, girl. It’s ok. You’re mine now; you may as well accept it.”

The fuck I was. I struggled even harder in his hold, determined to escape. I was not some pet to be locked in a cage!

“Stop fucking fighting me!” he growled. In a rage, he slammed my head into the wall in an attempt to knock me out. I tried to shift again, knowing it was likely my only chance of escape. I didn’t shift, but something happened. “Ow, what the fuck!” Ronald yelled as he dropped me.

I hurt everywhere, but it wasn’t from my struggle or the fall. No, it was from the

onyx-colored razor blades that had shot from my skin. I didn’t wait for either of us to recover. I bolted for the vent and slipped through it, hoping my new fur didn’t get me stuck. Finally, something was going my way. Instead of hindering my escape, they helped me stick to the air shaft and crawl up it.

“You won’t get far, Treasure!” Ronald yelled up the shaft, his voice bouncing off the walls of the metal tube.

I heard him yelling for help as I continued climbing. Now I needed to find a way out of the damn ventilation system. Preferably before they started searching for me, I suspected there was little Ronald wouldn’t do to capture me again. When I reached the top of the vent, I was relieved it didn’t have a cover either. I poked my head through the opening and looked around. The second floor was an attic, and it was empty of humans.

Finding my first moment to stop and assess my situation, I sat and closed my eyes to try to shift again and then stopped. If I shifted now and couldn’t shift back, I wouldn’t be any better off than before. Ronald would send more men after me now. Staying in cat form was my best bet to sneak out of the club successfully. Decision made, I searched for a way out of the building. I had just found a broken window pane when my ears picked up footsteps pounding on the stairs. They were coming!

I jumped onto the window sill and peered through the hole. I was only two floors up, but that was still a long fall for a little kitty. I searched for a better way down but didn’t find one. The door slammed open behind me. I was out of time. I glanced over my shoulder just as Ronald spotted me.

“NO!” He screamed as he lunged forward as if there wasn’t an entire attic between us, and he could have caught me.

I jumped out the window and briefly tensed my muscles before forcing them to relax and let my cat instincts take over. Cats don’t always land on their feet, but usually they do. Tonight was not going my way, but hopefully, I’d get this win and not end up as a pancake on the pavement. I don’t care how good my healing is; it’s hard to heal when you turn into a bloody pile of goo. I wish I could say I landed gracefully on my feet and trotted off, but I can’t. I did land on my feet! For all of two seconds before, my legs gave out, and I rolled three times before skidding to a stop on my stomach with my legs splayed. That was going to hurt for a day or so.

Feeling like a beat-up bag of warmed-over shit, I climbed to my feet and left the alley as quickly as my aching paws would let me. I needed to put some distance between me and the club. Running to my car would do me no good if I couldn’t shift back to my human form to unlock

it and get in, so I would have to find somewhere else to hide until I could return to my human form. My car was also entirely too close to the club to risk it even if I could shift back. I stuck to the shadows as much as I could as I ran, knowing that a cat with knives sticking out of it would attract attention no matter how much I hugged the wall. I just hoped that anyone who spotted me thought they were tripping.

When I was a couple of blocks away, I turned down another alley. This one was a thruway, so I couldn’t get trapped. I hid behind a dumpster and took stock of myself. The first thing I needed to do was try to get rid of the dagger fur. Random pieces of garbage were now stuck to me, and I was tired of it. It’s a neat party trick, useless if I can’t control it. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my soft, beautiful fur. I felt the air shimmer around me, and my skin tingled a little as the blades retreated into my body. At least it didn’t hurt when they went away, too. Dr. Parote and I were going to have to have a conversation. Why on earth would I want knife fur? What good would that do me? Granted, it came in handy tonight, but it wouldn’t have been necessary if I hadn’t shifted unexpectedly.

“Here, kitty, kitty, kitty,” someone called softly from where I had just come.

With a sigh, I looked at the pile of black garbage bags along the alley’s wall. I really did not want to go in there, but I didn’t have any other choice, so I slipped between the bags until I was hidden and peered through a space with one eye.

“Why the fuck are we out here looking for a cat?” a man said. I recognized him as one of the bouncers at the front of the club.

“Do you want to go back and tell Ronald Crawford that you don’t want to?” the other bouncer said as he came into view.

“Hell no, that fucker scares me, and I don’t want to know what the fuck he wants with this

cat.”

“Exactly, so keep looking for the fucking cat.”

“Found it!” the first bouncer announced. I braced for the bags around me to fly, but nothing happened. I heard a cat howling further into the alley. “Ouch, fuck!”

“That’s not the cat. Let it go,” his friend laughed. “He said it was a fluffy white and gray cat, not black.” I jumped at the sound of a gun firing. “What the fuck was that for?!”

“It bit me!”

“Ok, well, you missed him.”

“But I scared him,” the first bouncer replied smugly.

“You’re a fucking moron. Come on, if that cat was in the alley, we won’t find it with you shooting up the place.”

They left the alley, but I didn’t dare move an inch in case someone else came along. The safest place for me was now this alley because they already checked here, even if it meant being surrounded by disgusting trash; so much for my day of pampering. My mind drifted as I settled into my cat form. In high school, I spent a lot of time in cat form, trying to escape the bullies and the angst of being a teenager. I didn’t have to think much in cat form. I just gave over to my instincts and catted out. It can be rather pleasant, provided you aren’t stuck like that.

I was the picture of Zen hidden in the pile of trash until a rank taste filled my mouth. My mind snapped back into my body to find my paw lifted to my mouth and my tongue mid-lick. Oh fuck no! That was gross. I was licking the garbage juices off my fur. Nope. Didn’t like that. No more Zen kitty. Only laser sharp kitty because I do not want that flavor lingering in my mouth when I finally shift back.

At some point in the night, I must have fallen asleep because I awoke to a beeping sound, and the sky was much lighter than it had been. Also, I was human again! And covered in trash. I brushed off what I could as I strolled out of the alley, saluting the sanitation worker backing into it as I passed. I was pretty sure he saw me emerge from the pile of trash like the Banana Peel Queen.

I looked around the corner toward the club and saw the place was deserted. Quickly, but not so quickly as to draw attention to myself because a garbage-covered e-girl on the street was not super common. I made it to my car and unlocked it. I breathed a relieved sigh from finally beginning to feel safe for the first time in hours and wrinkled my nose.

As much as I wanted to shower, I didn’t have time for that luxury. I needed help, and there was only one person I knew that I could talk to. I pulled up to the beach house and rang the doorbell.

“Please be home. Please be home,” I prayed. “Mia?” Evangeline said when she opened the door. “I fucked up, Evangeline.”