Survivor

Chapter 10

After picking up their luggage, Sam had called an uber.

On the whole way to the hotel, Ruby couldn't stop looking at the view of the city whose night life had just started. She wouldn't stop rambling about everything she knew about the city, too excited to not share her knowledge. Her enthusiasm made Nikita smile. Ruby seemed to be around the same age as Nikita, but her behavior was just so much... lighter. It was cute.

The car stopped in front of a hotel. The exterior façade was quite unspectacular, but the interior of the lobby was designed in an old, elegant style. The walls were covered with dark wood, which harmonized perfectly with the carpets in red and gold. Two crystal chandeliers bathed the large room in a warm light. Nikita barely had time to look around before Ruby handed her a room key.

"Your room is next to mine. Sam's is unfortunately three rooms next to ours but at least it's on the same floor."

Ruby grinned as she rolled her suitcase to the elevator and excitedly pressed the button. Nikita stood next to her, both waiting for Sam who talked to the lady at the reception. Maybe flirting was the better word. Ruby rolled her eyes and entered the elevator as the doors opened.

"He's gonna need some time. We're going."

Sam actually arrived a bit later, saying a quick good night, when the two women had already finished occupying their rooms. Ruby insisted to lend Nikita clothes for the night, not commenting on the fact that she had nothing with her. Eventually, Nikita agreed after Ruby told her that they would buy clothes for her together the next day.

The evening passed quickly and soon enough Nikita was sprawled out on the large bed. Sighing in pleasure she relaxed into the soft mattress. After being forced to sleep on concrete for years, this bed was heaven on earth.

She missed breakfast the next morning, and it wasn't until noon that Ruby's persistent knocking woke her up. She rubbed a hand down her face, trying not to get annoyed. She was still dead tired and very much regretted the plans she had agreed to yesterday, but she knew that she didn't have a choice but to go along so she wouldn't get punished. And she knew that Sam didn't have any remorse using the collar. There was no way she would risk getting shocked again if all she had to do was go on a little shopping trip.

Sam also seemed very enthusiastic as the three walked through the streets of LA a little while later. When Ruby dragged her into yet another store, Sam walked straight to the changing rooms and gestured for Nikita to come over. As soon as they were both out of sight, he held out a little piece of paper.

"Miller's address is on there. Go and familiarize yourself with the area and the house. I'll explain your absence to Ruby. Tonight, you're doing your job, understood?"

Nikita took the note without saying a word. Satisfied, Sam slapped her on the shoulder as he walked past her. She could barely suppress the angry growl that rose up in her throat.

Pissed off she took a deep breath, before looking for Ruby and sneaking past her and Sam, while he occupied her. She pushed open the door of the store and quickly walked away into a side alley. Then she pulled out the disposable phone Sam had given her yesterday and entered the address into Maps. After the route loaded, she raised an eyebrow. The distance was longer than expected, she had to walk almost half an hour. Annoyed, Nikita sighed. She started walking and followed the shortest route, which led her down from the lively main road. After some time, the area became quieter and the houses bigger. Nikita looked at the ostentatious mansions she passed. Material value had never meant anything to her, but she had to admit that some of the houses had a certain appeal.

She stopped in front of a closed driveway. A gravel path led down the avenue and followed a curve, so its end was out of sight from the gate. Behind the high metal fence that surrounded the large property was a big hedge. It was just as unkempt as the gravel, branches growing through the fence, some spots were brown and dead. Apparently, the garden was hardly taken care of. Tilting her head, Nikita took a good guess of the height of the fence and the width of the hedge. It would be difficult to get over it in human form, but she could do it. Probably. If not, she would end up in the brushes.

She was more concerned about the technical security of the property. Looking around she noticed the distribution box that stood across the street. An idea popped into her mind. Nikita may not only be able to turn off the main security system, but she could cause an entire power outage. That would certainly be a distraction for both, Miller and the neighborhood. She walked along the fence of the property, when a scent made her stop dead in her tracks.

Nikita took a deep breath, cursing at the dull sense of smell as a human. It was still way better then the one of an actual human, but nowhere near a jaguar. The scent was older and very weak but, but if she was right, and she almost always was, she had a fucking big problem. Another shapeshifter had recently been on this sidewalk. That alone wouldn't be much of an issue but they had marked the fence by intentionally trailing their hands over it, rubbing their secent all over the metal. Cursing under her breath, Nikita turned and jogged away. If Miller had anything to do with her kind, it could tonight a lot more difficult.

Killing a human was easy. Killing a human with a shapeshifter at their side was much, much harder.

"Well, shit."