Island Stripe Pride - Chapter 73: Chapter 73

Normally, Rami would enjoy the byplay, but he’d spent the day hunting down leads for his warrant and came up with zilch. He looked through the stack of mail, checking to see if anything had come in for him, when a call came in over the Desk Sergeant’s radio. His ears perked up as the officer rattled off information.
“What was that address, Amos?”
“You got cotton in your ears, Llewellyn? B&E and aggravated assault over at 62nd and Bath. Ain’t that your neighborhood?”
“Fuck,” Rami snarled.
Pulse racing, he almost tore through his clothes and let the beast out right then and there. His Lion had never felt this enraged before. Barely controlling himself, Rami raced out the door and jumped into his car.
Siren blaring, he hauled his ass across town and back to D’Angelo’s Bakery where the call had come in for the B&E and assault.
Motherfuckers, he thought with an angry growl. The sound so loud, it reverberated in the car for minutes on end. But he was just that fucking mad. More than that. He was incensed.
Rami’s heart was still racing, the beast barely contained, twenty-minutes later when he jumped out of his double-parked car and flashed his badge to officers on the scene. Damn the traffic. It took forever to get there. He grunted, trying to contain his growling as he headed towards the ambulance.
“Bless your heart, but no, thank you. I am fine, I swear. I don’t want to go to any hospital,” the sound of Noemi’s sweet Southern twang penetrated his ears, placating the beast inside him just a smidge.
Still, he needed to see her with his own eyes to assess the damage. Every fiber of his being demanded he go to the female, protect, and care for her as if she were his own.
Yes. Mine.
Shit. He had a job to do, and he couldn’t allow his suddenly possessive feline to dictate how he did it. Rami closed his eyes and counted to three, caging the beast before he walked around the large vehicle where two young EMTs were trying without much success to usher Ms. Donato onto a gurney.
“Miss? You’ve had a head injury,” one of them tried to reason.
The fucker leaned in a little too close, and once more, Rami found he had to tighten the rein on his inner cat. His Lion didn’t care for the way the younger male stepped into her space. Like he was trying to use his forward manner to force her to decide.
Fuck no, he thought and moved. But he didn’t have the chance to do anything. Her shoulders tensed, but she stood her ground. Turning just in time to see him approach.
Noemi’s eyes flashed to his, and Rami noticed relief and the ease of her tension immediately. The Lion chuffed in response. Placated that she recognized she was safe now that he was there.
But the fucker from the ambulance didn’t seem to get the memo. He had about two seconds to move away, Rami thought, before his Lion took over. And that would be very bad for everyone. Shit. He had to do something.
But once more, Noemi saved him. Even if she didn’t know a thing about what he was capable of. She was still a smart cookie, his little pastry chef. She seemed to sense the EMT’s pushy attitude was bothering him, and she stepped back. The added space eased his beast’s rousing anger.
“Listen, I got bigger black and blues playing football with my cousins. Really, I can’t go. I have two special orders to fulfill, and I don’t want to let Mr. D’Angelo down.”
He could see the darkening bruise on her forehead, and it angered him to no end. But knowing she was safe, seeing her warm smile, made up for it. Just.
“Noemi?” he called her name, watching the way her face reacted to his presence.
At first, she seemed anxious, then she relaxed, as if his being near alleviated some of her worry and anxiety. It was a heady feeling being responsible for another person’s happiness, but Rami kinda liked it. Dangerous ground for a confirmed bachelor.
“Rami, I mean, Detective Llewellyn. Thank goodness. Will you please tell these two nice young gentlemen that I am fine?”
“Call me Rami,” he murmured.
“Alright, Rami,” she smiled at him, but he could read her tension in the tightness of her lips.
“You heard the lady,” he growled, and both EMTs nodded and backed off.
Even the pushy fucker. Good news for him. The Lion wasn’t happy, but he lost interest in him once Rami turned to escort her back to the store and the scene of the attack. He would see to it, she was okay.
“Officers, please report what you’ve found,” Rami addressed the two uniformed cops on scene.
“Yes, Detective,” Officer Gotes, one of the beat cops from the station, nodded, “Officer McCulley and I responded to a 10-11L. When we arrived, we found Ms. Donato on the ground, obvious signs of an attack-”
“Were you unconscious?” he asked, biting his tongue to keep back his snarl of outrage.
“Um, a little,” she nodded, “the alarm went off as soon as the two men broke the glass window. These two officers arrived within minutes.”
“What happened from your perspective?” Rami asked, watching her face closely for signs of pain or discomfort.
He held her elbow gently with one hand and led her to an empty table. Ignoring the tingles that traveled through his body at the slight, platonic touch, he held out her chair and waited for her to take a seat.
It was one of two small tables that had been added to the tiny bakery since she’d started working there. Meant for the customer who wanted to sit and have his or her coffee and pastry before heading out. Nice personal touch, he thought, and hoped like hell she was really going to buy the place from Mr. D’Angelo. The idea of her leaving was unthinkable despite having just met the pretty Southern baker.
Rami turned slightly to get control of himself. Couldn’t very well interview a victim with a semi hard-on, now, could he?
He stepped over the broken glass, and felled racks of baked goods, signaling to the two officers to have someone clean up right away. No fucking way was she going to risk injury cleaning that up.
Bastards, his beast roared. They’d done a number on the place. Judging from the way she avoided eye contact, staring at the table, Rami could tell, she was shook up. Poor thing. His need to comfort her was damn near overwhelming.
“Do you need some time before we talk about it?”
“You’re sweet, thanks. I just need a minute to sit. If that’s okay?”
“Of course,” he returned watching relief spread across her face.
He waited while she closed her eyes and breathed in and out. The rise and fall of her chest, the way her brows furrowed, everything about her, called out the most masculine part of him. Rami had to fight his instinct to get up and take her in his arms.
Shit. This was getting out of hand, and it was only the second time he’d seen the female. He better focus on the crime. Clearing his throat, Rami looked around the destroyed room.
It was a good thing the 135th scanned all incoming calls for supernatural threats and headed them off before the human authorities arrived. The bakery had undoubtedly been targeted by supes, Wolves, to be precise.
Rami’s Lion had picked up the unmistakable scent of urine outside the front door. The assholes had marked the place. A punk gang move to tell others this was their territory. The same identifier that had been left at several other B&Es around town. Mutts thought they were the shit.
Not fucking likely, his beast argued.
“Thank you,” Noemi said, interrupting his increasingly agitated thoughts.
Why should he get so worked up over a normal getting a knock on the head? It wasn’t something he wanted to look at too closely. He nodded and handed her the ice pack he’d taken from the EMT, waiting for her to begin.
Part of detective work was getting the story from all angles. True, his enhanced senses had already solved whodunnit, but her perspective would perhaps fill in some of the why. At any rate, his Lion wasn’t ready to go anywhere just yet.
“Okay, well, I suppose I should start with what I was doing.”
“That would be fine,” he murmured, letting that sultry accent of hers wash over him.
“I was in the dry storage closet in the back, getting some ingredients for homemade apple dumplings, when I heard a crash-”
“What’s an apple dumpling?” he interrupted, head cocked to one side.
“Oh,” she blushed a becoming shade of pink, “I guess that’s not a New York staple, huh? Believe it or not, growing up that was a northern dessert. We’d traveled to Virginia and pick some up there for 4th of July fireworks near the capital,” Noemi cleared her throat, “Anyway, think of it as an individual apple pie. Instead of dicing the fruit, I core and peel it, leaving the apple whole. Then, I add cinnamon, brown sugar, and a little something extra,” she added with a wink, “Surround it with a hand-rolled, extra-buttery, extra-flaky pastry dough, and bake. I’m calling it a ‘little Big Apple’ on the menu. Just heat up and serve with ice cream, and I guarantee your tastebuds will thank you.”
“Sounds excellent,” he growled, “Where you from originally again?”
“South Carolina.”
“I thought so,” he coughed to cover up the rumbling growl that followed his otherwise unimpressive observation, “uh, sorry to digress.”
“No really, it’s okay. I appreciate the distraction. Anyway, Mr. D’Angelo told me about the security system he had installed recently, but I must have reacted on instinct. I thought maybe a squirrel, or something had gotten in through the vent and knocked over some bowls.”
“So, you went to investigate?”
“Well, yeah. My mama didn’t raise me to be afraid of a squirrel, Detective,” she laughed then moaned, “Mama sure is gonna be miffed about this.”
“Where is your mother now?”
“Back home in Blue Ridge. She doesn’t like me living up here. Too many people, too much crime, but I don’t know what to tell her other than I love the city,” she glanced towards the large picture window and sighed.
September was pretty in New York if Rami said so himself. The trees that lined the streets wore shades of oranges, yellows, and reds. Their best colors for sure. Noemi’s blue eyes flashed to his and he felt an unfamiliar warmth stirring deep inside.
“You do like it here, don’t you?”
“Of course. There are a lot of things in New York I would never see back home. A lot of people I would never have met.”
He was shocked at the truth of her words, so plain on her face. Was she flirting? Maybe. Yes, if he was lucky.
One thing he knew for certain, Noemi Donato was breathtaking. Her innocence and optimism called to him like nothing else ever had. There was no faking it with her. She liked the city, she liked her job, and just maybe she liked him too. An interesting piece of information if ever he found one.
“New York City was always this abstract notion when I was a young girl back home. A place people talked about like a fairytale or horror story depending on who was doing the telling. But I love it. So much to do and see. I mean, I’ve only been here a few months, but I am still glad I saw Mr. D’Angelo’s ad.”
“I see. Even after getting that bump?”
“Oh yes,” she laughed, wincing gingerly as he lifted the ice back to her head.
“Sorry.”
“No need. Anyway, the second I saw D’Angelo’s Bakery I knew I needed to get this job, to have this opportunity to see if I could make a go of the place. It’s been great so far,” she said, and withdrew the melting ice pack from her head.
Rami did not like the reminder she’d been hurt. Hell, he didn’t like the fact of it either. The only consolation was he’d get to find the bastards. Shifter law was a tad different than human law. Where one failed to account for the rules with which Shifters were supposed to conduct themselves, the Council made sure they were addressed.
In other words, if the Wolves responsible could not be brought to justice by conventional means, the men, and women of the 135th would see to it they paid for their trespasses. There were simply some things a Shifter could not get away with. Especially not in Rami’s city.
Rrrooaarrrr.
“Detective?” Officer Gotes interrupted.
“Yes?”
“We’ve found evidence of the robbery. Ms. Donato claimed upon our arrival that there was over nine hundred dollars in the till. The receipts confirm her accounting, but the register is empty now. The thieves took all the cash, they only left some loose change.”
“Oh no! I don’t know what I am going to tell Mr. D’Angelo, I feel so guilty,” Noemi frowned, and shook her head.
“Thank you, officer,” Rami said, dismissing the uniformed cop who nodded and walked back to his post.
“Ms. Donato, I assure you Mr. D’Angelo will not blame you for this occurrence.”
“It was my job to mind the store-”
“And do the baking? Now, I’ve lived in the area a long time, and I know Mr. D’Angelo has help to work the counter and register. Where’s Terrie? Did she show up?”
He could tell by the way Noemi’s cheeks deepened to a dusky shade of pink that she was hiding something. Terrie was a young Lioness Shifter who lived in the neighborhood. Her older brother Timothy was on the job, worked out of the 135th with Rami.
“Oh, well, when Mr. D’Angelo left me in charge, as a trial run before I buy the shop, Terrie sort of decided to take a few personal days,” Noemi cleared her throat, “I haven’t had the time to look for a replacement,” she said politely, but he could tell what was going on all too clearly.
Terrie did not want to work for the human. Unfortunately, prejudice existed in the supernatural world just like it did in the human one. Some thought they were higher on the food chain so to speak. Lions were apex predators, but they were all human too. The idea of anyone disrespecting Noemi did not sit well with him or his Lion.
“So, she didn’t show up for work or call, huh?”
“Yeah, that about sums it up,” she nodded, but the movement must have hurt her head because she winced.
“Look, I am going to take the lead on this. You just, put that ice pack back on, go home, take some aspirin. I will check in with you later.”
“Oh no, I have to work. Someone has to clean this mess-”
“I will see to it.”
His Lion approved of the idea wholeheartedly. Though not in his job description, it felt entirely right that he should take care of the tiny female. She was so soft, so sweet.
Mine.
Fuck. He gritted his teeth, fighting against the impulse to shout the word now that it took root in his mind. But now that he thought it, he couldn’t exactly unthink it.
Mine, his Lion growled in agreement. The great, dark-maned beast chuffed loudly, pressing his human half to stake his claim.
“Where do you live?” he asked, taking down her address, which was conveniently located around the corner, “And your number?”
“What?”
“I need your phone number, so I can call to tell you when we are finished processing the bakery. I’ll call a clean-up crew to take care of the glass and replace the window. Don’t worry, I know Mr. D’Angelo’s insurance and security firms,” he added before she could ask.
He wrote down the number, heart pounding as he did. He wanted her. No doubt about it.
The other thing wasn’t a lie. All the businesses in town that were owned by supernaturals were governed by the Council. They took care of things like this. Protecting their own against crimes and vandalism, especially when they were committed by other supes.
“I guess I should get going,” she stood up after a few more minutes of questioning.
“I’ll take you home Ms. Donato,” Rami insisted.
The Lion would allow for nothing else.