Living Proof (Tyler G Book 2) Read online

  Ty just smiled, since it would be good to have more help that didn't need constant sex. Even if he had to cuddle with her on the sales floor occasionally to keep her happy.

  "Sounds good. I really wasn't thinking infiltration. More running the store front so that the place can be kept up. Light paperwork. Getting coffee. Things like that. Lisa needs help, and it's close enough to the kind of thing that the Coalition should be doing that I figured it would be all right. I'll get in touch with her and check, if that sounds good to everyone?" He got a nod from the Bear woman's brother, though he also shrugged.

  "Viv has a job too. Working for central. She does training facilities coordination. So you'll need to get with them to make sure she won't be needed."

  That took calling, but he had his phone, and to his amazement, it worked. The thing had a really good coverage area, it seemed. Then, they were closing on a city, so of course they had cell towers. His first move was to get with Jahn Samson, since the man should be kept in the loop if they were making up plans for his people. That meant lending his phone to Val, so the two could talk for about ten minutes, going over how they both hoped this event wouldn't strain relations between them.

  The guy, being cool like he was, did agree that Vivian would be allowed to work for the Mage's if they wanted her, as long as it wouldn't cost anything. That just meant calling Lisa, and working the rest of it out.

  She sounded annoyed when she picked up.

  "Candles and More. What do you want?" It was a tonality thing, thankfully. It would have been hard not to laugh if she'd spoke the words it felt like should be there.

  "Hi Lisa. I have a full time worker lined up for your store. A very nice lady, Vivian. She's a Shifter? She won't be there to spy or anything, but you can use her for paperwork if you want. She has some experience in that kind of thing, I think? Training facilities coordination, but that sounds paperwork heavy to me, so I bet she can hang that way. You'll need to pay her. Call it twenty dollars an hour?" It was more than he made, but Lisa was in a bind, work person wise. That meant she'd need to be willing to deal.

  She still didn't miss a beat.

  "Full time, and she get's ten dollar per hour, for the first two weeks. If she sticks around after that, and does good work, then she get's twenty. I didn't know you were looking out for me. Did Eve put you up to it? I really won't pay out in sexual favors for it, regardless of what she told you."

  That got attention from everyone else in the van.

  "Yeah, she mentioned you were still being a bit of a prude that way, only liking women and all that. Thankfully Calley said she'd do that part for you. She really wants you to see just how much the Shifters are backing their Mage buddies. You know, in case they ever need anything?"

  There was silence, even as everyone in the van, except Ang, fought to keep from laughing. Even Rupert went this time. Probably feeling a bit of relief, since his sister was being well taken care of, and not shot in the knees. He'd relaxed a lot anyway.

  "She did? Really? That's... I'll have to get something for her. I know I need to move past things, but I can't yet. The thing with Warren is too fresh. Then... Everything else."

  Calley, managing to fight her face into control called out, loud enough to be heard over the phone.

  "Don't worry Lisa, we've got your back." She didn't mention that part where they lived together, he noticed.

  Which was a good plan, after a fashion.

  "So, we can have her in later today? Or would you rather she start in the morning?"

  The woman on the cell phone took a deep breath.

  "I could use the help, whenever she's ready. Thanks Mr. Gartner. I was just about to lose it here."

  "Tyler. Or Ty. Good, so you need what, two more people? You have one, right?"

  "Todd? Yes, but he managed to get in on an internship. With Maddy Morse, our leader? It was too good to pass up, so I had to let him do it, but it's been hard. Nearly constant twelve hour days, except Zack. He has a business, too now. I should have never fired him. I was being a stupid bigot."

  That sounded like a story, but he wasn't going to ask in front of everyone. It probably involved demands for kinky sex. The woman was cute enough for it, after all. A little old for him, maybe, but he could see Zack liking her that way.

  "Okay. I'll try to find people, if I can. Same deal for wages? Full time, ten, then twenty when they prove out in two weeks?"

  "That seems fair. I can get the budget for it. Really, I have it already. It's been building up for a long time."

  "Nifty. I'm on it. Let me see who I can find?"

  It was probably a lot easier, if you weren't all that picky about it being a Mage in particular which he wasn't. He had to wonder though, why it was so hard for them to get anyone to work there. Lisa clearly wasn't a bitch all the time. If anything she made you feel like you should run off and protect her innocent personhood. So it wasn't that one.

  After they hung up, he re-pocketed the device, and looked up to see they were stopping at a dock, by the edge of an expanse of water that he hadn't really been ready for.

  Feeling cheesy, and like a moron, he gasped.

  "Okay, that's impressive. I've never seen the ocean before." He really hadn't, but expected people to call him on it. It was just that he'd never really traveled anywhere before. He'd only ever been on one plane flight, for instance. If he hadn't seen a lot of television in his time he would have thought that those always came with a free beating. So this was kind of a big deal for him.

  There was just a general shuffle as people got out of the vehicle, instead of going on about how sheltered he'd been all his life. Calley started looking around, but fixed on an older looking man in front of her. He was grizzled, with about a week's worth of white beard growth. Also dingy white slacks, a sturdy blue shirt to keep the chill off, and a dorky looking, old style, captain's hat.

  The Bat girl waved to him happily and with a lot of energy.

  "Yo, Tom! You ready? We have people with us, so be on your best manners. Important ones." She had to fight a giggle while she said it, and pushed her thick glasses up to cover her face.

  The man spat, or pretended to, since nothing seemed to come out.

  "I hate it when you bring important people. How the fuck can I carry on a conversation with them? Censoring myself never worked too good for me. Anyway, which of these bitches is the important one? The Bear?" He said it like that was really probably right.

  For one of the first times that day Ang cracked a smile.

  "That too. The blonde lady is the local node Ambassador for the Alede. The gentleman here is the head of the Coalition of Nations. This is the big time, Tom. Rupert is Vivian's brother, so good call there, for the day. Shall we get loaded? We have some gear. Food and clothing."

  The sea Captain, if that's what he was bowed toward first Val, then Ty. Awkwardly enough that it felt put on.

  "Your majesties. Yeah then, get your asses on board. We have about ten minutes to get out, or we'll miss the tide on the island side. That's the trick. So hurry."

  Ty jumped out, running to the back, and grabbing the three remaining food boxes, as well as the bags that Valerie had brought, then jogged to the gangplank of the tiny boat. It wasn't really little, but seemed to be the kind used for catching fish, not pleasure cruises. It even smelled like fish to him.

  Which was more pleasant than he would have figured.

  Seeing him do that the others all scurried too, and were on the deck not a minute later, with Tom removing the lines, along with a guy that was a lot younger than he was. He had the same hard and grizzled look though, but with black hair on his face and head, and no silly cap. Lines were drawn in and untied efficiently, and the Captain jogged into a little room on the deck. They could see him still, since there was a lot of windows.

  The other man got life jackets for them all. Bright orange things that were old and didn't seem all that trustworthy. Still, he put the food and clothing down on a green chest that seemed t
o be connected to the wooden deck, and put his on immediately, since they were moving out.

  The deckhand waved at the others. Calley had hers going into place, as did Kyle.

  "Get those on please. If you go overboard they'll help, even if you can swim. I take it that you can all shift into fish?" It was a joke, but Calley actually covered it for him. Like he needed to know the score, just in case.

  "Three Succubi. The hot ones there." She grimaced a bit, when she looked at Tyler, but it was just the truth. They were the attractive people. Always. "Dragon. Land, not water, Bear, Bat and um..." She waved at him, not having a clue what he was supposed to be called.

  There probably wasn't a real name for it.

  He didn't know what to say either, so smiled at the guy.

  "Dead man. I don't know if I float or not." That was an interesting thing, since he'd never learned to swim really. Even when he'd been in school and they had classes, he'd missed them for some reason. It was a thing he couldn't remember. Not why it had happened, at any rate. The other kids in fourth grade had simply loaded onto busses for an hour a day for several weeks, and he didn't go with them. No one had said why really. He was going to take that as his mother not wanting him to be in the water like that. What it really meant, he just didn't know.

  He was lean though, and that probably meant he'd just sink to the bottom, if he wasn't careful.

  The guy just nodded.

  "So, no one will argue about wearing the life preservers? I mean, I can change into a dolphin in a pinch, but the rest of you..."

  It was a good thought, so they all agreed, even if they weren't the sexiest pieces of clothing in the world. The food was stowed away, along with the clothing to keep it dry. The rest of them just stood there as they got underway, watching the waves. It would be a while but there weren't a lot of places to sit down.

  As it turned out, he didn't get sea sick at all, though Robert did. Rupert too, but he just tossed his cookies over the side and didn't moan about it. The Alede man turned a color near to true green, if a pale shade, and sounded like he was dying. Quietly. Kyle went to him and patted his back the whole time.

  When they got to the island they had a bit of a time limit it seemed. He knew that because the Captain came out of his little house, and waved him and Calley over. It was a bit odd, but for some reason he seemed to think they were the ones to talk to.

  "We don't have long. The dock here won't let us approach much longer, and it will be a good eight hours, or longer, before we can get back in. Prisoner pick-ups can be hard that way. If she gets difficult, or needs to transform, this won't work. I can give you twenty minutes, then we'll need to pull back and try again later."

  It was nature working there, which meant they had to just go along with it, and do their best, so he just nodded.

  "It won't be a big deal. I'll go with Rupert to get her. The rest of you stay here, with no weapons showing? We should get the food and clothing ready." That would give the others something to do while he and the large Bear fellow tried to coax Vivian onto the boat.

  It turned out that they still had to dock, which took a few minutes, and the boat was really low in the water already, next to the wooden structure. They had to use a ladder to get up, to it. The thing was slippery, even though made of wood too, and strong. On the good side the island really wasn't that large, so Vivian came out to meet them from the tree line about two hundred feet back. Armed with a long stick.

  She didn't rush them though, so he waved both hands in the air.

  "Vivian! Over here! We're here to get you home. We brought food and clothes for you." He made himself sound happy, worried that the woman would be scared or upset. That, or dead, like Calley had mentioned.

  She just walked over, buck naked. That was a normal thing though, since when they were dropped off, they weren't left with clothing for some reason.

  "Rupert? Is it safe?" She sounded a bit hesitant, but her brother nodded when she got close enough.

  "Yep. Tyler came to make sure you knew you were loved. So did some Alede..."

  The woman winced, but Tyler just made a silly face at her.

  "They just came to cuddle you. For real. To them this was a hell sentence. Two weeks alone would probably take one of them out. They were all crying about it earlier. Calley and Ang decided that it wasn't enough of a punishment, so you have to put out for Val whenever she wants. Oh, I also got you a new job. It's cleared with your people. It pays okay and everything. Working with the Mages? Just doing shop stuff probably, but whatever they need that way. Light paperwork or whatever."

  The woman froze, but didn't cover herself. That was both nice and kind of a shame. The nice part was that she was cute without clothing. A bit muscular, showing abs, but only a hint of them with a layer of flesh over that. Her nipples were dark, and her skin a bit pale. She had nice breasts too, that were bigger than he would have assumed from when he'd seen her last. Her hips were nicely curvy to round the whole thing out.

  The bad part was that he was getting aroused, and her brother was right there. Her face was a bit plain, but not that bad, so he stared at that, trying not to be a total pervert.

  "Anyway, hurry, the boat can't get out if we stay too long. We have clothes for you. Valerie brought them."

  The woman came then, a bit downcast, but not violent. Her lank hair was shoulder length, and a medium to dark brown. So was her pubic hair, which he tried not to stare at. It was interesting though, since she clearly shaved it all off most of the time. She had two weeks of growth, but it wasn't that bad.

  Also not meant as a show for him, so he tried not to look at her too much, as she got into place.

  She was rushed as soon as they were on the deck, with Val hugging her closely, and kissing her like a lover. It didn't seem to hurt her feelings at least. Then she was hugged by the guys. Even Ang took a turn. So did the Dolphin deck hand. In fact he took the longest, and came away with an erection in his pants. No one commented on it.

  Calley noticed. That was pretty clear from her lingering look at the man's pants and her wistful expression.

  Then, so had he, so it wasn't exactly some kind of dating crime. She'd told him that her kind weren't really into monogamy. Also that she didn't expect that from him, either. So they could both hit the Dolphin guy up for sex.

  Not that they were going to have time for that sort of thing just then.

  Vivian looked around, and shook her head.

  "I'd sort of expected a death squad. I mean, only two weeks..."

  Calley moved in and passed her the bag of clothing.

  "Well, everyone is being really understanding. It will be harder than it seems, working with Lisa. I mean, Jahn Samson signed off on that, so it's official, which is a big deal. That isn't punishment. Really, you're getting off easy, so don't fuck it up, you understand? I don't want to be that mean person, hitting you with reality before you even get off the boat, but instead of kicking your ass like they should, everyone is pretty much kissing it. Including the President. You won't get that kind of treatment again. No one can afford to let that happen. In fact, if anyone asks, you were tortured for two weeks. Got it? I mean that. We had you on a rack and beat you constantly. Electroshock up the hoo-ha and all that good stuff."

  The larger woman nodded, and started to unpack the clothing. She didn't seem self-conscious about the nudity, but it was kind of chilly it seemed. Not that he was feeling it, himself.

  She glanced at the fashions in the bag and then started to dress.

  "These are really nice. From your place at the mall? Pretty Plus: Passions. I'd always thought it was a sex shop. Lingerie and all that?"

  Valerie lit up a little at the praise.

  "That too. I have a great bustier for you in here. Let me see..."

  They dressed her up on the deck, in front of everyone, and then capped the whole thing with a life jacket, ruining the effect. She did look nice though at the end. In the middle too, since the underclothing was kind of hot on
her. That was the point, though Tyler didn't think real women dressed like that most days. It would be kind of uncomfortable to lounge in he bet. Especially the thong panties that had been put on the Bear woman.

  Trying to ignore all that, he made sure she got to eat. She'd been mainly fishing for her food, as it turned out.

  "Which worked, but it's been a little light on sweets. This is really, really good. Thanks." Her look went to her brother, who pointed at him.

  "Mr. Gartner brought the food. Given that you beat him up too, I think that means he's claiming you as his new girl. That will make mom happy anyway. She was never that keen on the whole lesbian thing." He looked at the others and then down at his hands. "She wants grandkids."

  Tyler nodded then, and looked at Vivian who was blushing at him pretty hard, embarrassed by the whole thing.

  "Parents, right?"

  Ang chuckled a bit, agreeing.

  "Besides, I'm nearly certain that she didn't actually win, Rupert. Tyler handled himself pretty well, and talked a Bear in a rage down. After taking her weapon away. Still, that is something to consider, Vivian. How do you plan to pay him back? He isn't an Alede, so sex isn't the answer, I don't think. From what I hear, he gets it where he wants, and isn't even a player. That's the right term? Player?" That was addressed to Calley.

  "Uh-huh. True, too. Everyone wants a piece of Ty. I know, you can work as the coalition rep for us Shifters. In your spare time. You won't be paid for it. That works, right?"

  It kind of did, so he nodded.

  "That... Actually sounds good, if you want to try it? I'll keep things light for the time being though, if I can. You can type right? And use computers?"

  That got a conversation going that didn't make him sound like a ladies' man, which he really wasn't. Not that he was going to shout about how he never got any either. There were a lot of opportunities, and he was, he knew, being kind of picky. Really pretty girls left him feeling shy and uneasy still, so he kind of ignored them that way. It was a lot easier to deal with them when he knew he wasn't going to be having sex. As it was he'd kind of slipped Viv into that mental file too, in order to handle the fact that she was as cute as she had been when naked. Plain in a lot of ways too, but still enough to get him going.