Big And Bad (Book Two)

Chapter Five

 It was warm outside. I couldn't stop thinking about that offer Merlot made last night. I didn't want his help, but I needed that cash. You know what? Fuck it.

 I'll take that offer.

 Candy and I walked to Velma's front door, holding Party City bags. I rang the door bell. Velma opened the door. She was shocked when she saw us. 

 "Hey, y'all. Come in." 

 She stepped aside and we went inside the house. There were purple cups and plates on the brown coffee table. Rose was sitting on the couch, talking on the phone. She smiled and waved at us. 

 Candy and I walked to the kitchen and put the bags on the counter. Beverly came in while we were taking blue party hats and plastic silverware out of the bags. She smiled as she put on one of the party hats. I laughed.

 "Are you ready to party?" Beverly asked. 

 I chuckled. "I'll be ready when the party starts."

 "That's good enough. I'll be right back."

Beverly left the kitchen. I picked up the party hats and walked out of the kitchen. Candy followed me. Before I got to the living room, she grabbed my arm.

She stood in front of me, crossing her arms. I stared at her blankly. Something was on her mind, but she wasn't saying it. I needed to know what that was.

"What is it, Candy?"

"I'm worried about Beverly. What if Maula and Axel hunt her again to get revenge?" Candy admitted.

"That won't happen."

"How do you know? They could be following her or something."

"They don't know where she is. And I won't let that happen again."

Candy was speechless. She closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples. I walked to the living room and put the party hats on the coffee table. I went back to the hall, where Candy was still standing. She didn't need to worry about Axel and Maula following Beverly.

Boone was already following them. They weren't smart enough to notice that anyway. And they had no idea that Beverly was a werewolf.

I put my hands on Candy's arms. She opened her eyes and stopped rubbing her temples. Then, she looked up at me.

"Are we going to hide from them?"

"No. We're just....incognito. They don't even know what really happened five months ago," I told her.

"When you put it that way, I feel slightly safer."

 "Slightly?"

"Yeah. Let's get to the party, baby."

We walked to the living room. Velma played a song about cranes on the radio. Everyone else was wearing party hats. Beverly sang softly. Candy waved a lighter from her purse in front of her.

A brown skinned couple was sitting on the couch with Ruby and Rose. They stared at us for no reason. I've never seen them around town.

They got up and approached us. I noticed they both had hazel eyes. Beverly noticed that too, and stared at them in surprise. They either had contact lenses in, or...

No. They couldn't be werewolves.

The werewolves with hazel eyes were rare anyway. The couple was definitely wearing contact lenses. The woman smiled at us. The man laughed.

"Are you Brandon and Candy?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?" I replied.

"Rose told about you. I'm Ash. This is my wife, Maplè."

"Where are you from?"

"We're from Atlanta. It's kind of quiet around here."

I laughed. Candy and Beverly shared an amused glance. It was quiet in Phoenix City. For now. Ash had no idea how chaotic it was five months ago.

He didn't have to know about that. Since him and Maplé were new here, it would scare them off.

Beverly gave me a party hat. I put it on. When I looked at Candy, she was wearing a party hat too. Maplé took a sip from her purple cup. She licked her lips.

"You and your sister's eyes are ...different. Are those contacts?"

"Yeah. We saw them in the store, and just got them," I lied.

"They look cool."

"Thanks. So do yours."

"I don't have contacts in."

Shit. I didn't know how to respond to that. Candy and Beverly gasped. Since Maplé and Ash's eyes were naturally that color, that only meant one thing.

Ash laughed. Everyone stared at him. I poured myself a cup of Dr. Pepper. Candy and Beverly whispered to each other. I took a sip of Dr. Pepper. Maplé read an article on her phone.

There was a photo of Axel comforting Maula. The caption under the photo was nauseating.

The Woods siblings grieve the loss of their heroic father and brave brother.

Heroic, my ass. Tom was the owner of an underground business dedicated to hunting and selling werewolves. He was guzzling beer the night Candy confronted him. All his 'rescues' were staged anyway.

Hatchet was a cocky dickhead. He got what he fucking deserved for killing my father. If the truth got out, people would've seen him for what he was. A cold blooded killer.

I read the article as Maplé did. The entire thing was sympathetic to the Woods family. According to the writer, Candy and I were monsters. Maplé scrolled back up to the top of the article and I got a look at the writer's name.

Valeria James.

Maplé scrolled to the bottom of the article. A photo of the light skinned woman I followed yesterday was under a description of the writer. What a coincidence. Valeria was working for the Woods family. I didn't say think it was possible for someone to lick dead men's boots.

I bet she loved the taste of leather and dirt.