Looting the 13th floor 2, p.1
Looting the 13th Floor 2, page 1
part #2 of Looting the 13th Floor Series
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Chapter 1
I was barely paying attention to my surroundings as I stood waiting to clock out of work. My mind was in Hollowfell, despite the constant drone of my snooty co-workers around me.
It had been a complete accident that I’d stumbled across a portal to another world. I’d just wanted to find somewhere to read my book in peace, and I had discovered a hidden thirteenth floor of my work building instead.
A world that blew my mind in so many ways.
The other dimension I had found was full of magical creatures, beautiful women, and more treasure than I had ever seen in my life. It had become my own personal source of riches that had already changed my whole world.
I couldn’t help the sly grin that spread over my face as I thought about my bulging bank account. Not to mention the two otherworldly beauties who were at home right now on my sofa waiting for me to come back. Life had certainly gotten a hell of a lot more interesting lately, and I was already itching to plan our next looting trip.
“Any weekend plans?” Roberts drawled as he leaned against the time-clock.
My boss’ gelled mustache twitched as he gave me a sickening grin, and I felt my skin crawl as I looked into his beady eyes. His lanky frame always looked awkwardly placed as he pulled at the sleeves of his pinstriped suit.
“Yeah,” I said. “I think I’m going apartment hunting.”
The two men in the line ahead of me snorted as they exchanged glances, and Roberts grinned in delight. My asshole boss loved looking down on his employees, especially me for some fucking reason. But his patronizing shit didn’t matter to me anymore. He had no idea of the incredible life I lived now.
“Apartments?” Roberts asked. “You must be downsizing? So sorry to hear that. But I suppose you run that risk when you get into the field of IT. Some make huge careers of it, but some people just never reach that level.”
He adjusted his tie as the two guys ahead of me laughed, and he was clearly putting on a show for his little buddies. A few weeks ago, that shot would have riled me up, but I sent him a dazzling grin as I pulled my phone out.
“Upgrading, actually,” I said airily. “I was thinking of something like this.”
I pulled up a page on the browser where I had been eyeing some penthouses, and I showed him the screen casually. His dark eyes studied the photo as the two idiots in front of me finally clocked out, and they raised their eyebrows as they turned around to see the phone. Then I slipped the cell back into my leather jacket as I punched my number into the stupid ancient machine.
“But,” Roberts spluttered. “That’s bigger than my place. You’re dreaming a bit too wildly there, Liam.”
“Yeah,” idiot number-one said. “You might want to check your pay slip.”
“I’ll make sure to do that.” I grinned. “See you on Monday!”
I spun around as the three men stood staring after me, and I whistled as I hurried out to the fluorescent lights of the hallway. It was thankfully empty as I quickly slipped into the stairwell to make my way up to the twelfth floor.
I needed to grab my guns from the secret thirteenth floor. It was time to give my beautiful ladies some proper shooting practice, and I had stashed the guns my uncle gave me near the portal.
The metal stairs rang out as my boots raced up to the next level. It wouldn’t be long until two new companies set up business there, and it would make getting to the thirteenth floor a whole new challenge. There was going to be a dating app company along with a law firm sharing the twelfth floor. Hopefully nobody in either workforce asked too many questions when they saw me strolling the floor every once in a while. Working in IT gave me a pretty good reason to be lurking around the building, though.
What business didn’t need a computer fixed at some point during the day?
I swung the door open to the heart-shaped reception desk of the app company, and I stopped in my tracks as I came face to face with a woman. She was middle-aged and very pretty, with platinum-blonde hair in a sleek bun. Her pink lipstick was perfectly applied, and she wore a blue dress covered in little daisies.
“Hello,” she said in a surprised tone. “Can I help you?”
My mind raced, and I tried to look as nonchalant as possible.
“Hey,” I said as I stepped fully into the bright hallway. “I’m Liam, I work downstairs.”
“Oh,” the woman said. “Nice to meet you, Liam. I’m Stacey, I own Blissful Hearts.”
I was about to ask what the fuck that meant, but then I realized it was the name of her dating app company.
“Awesome.” I smiled. “I just wanted to come and see how things were going up here. It’s exciting to have some new faces around.”
Stacey seemed satisfied with my answer, and she smiled as she turned her attention back to a box on the desk.
“Things are going great,” she said. “I’m just adding a few welcome treats for all my staff.”
She pulled little wrapped chocolates out of a box as she carefully placed them on the desk, and she arranged some pink pens alongside them.
“What is it that you do?” Stacey asked. “Is it the accountant you work for?”
“That’s right,” I said. “I’m the IT guy. I actually help out all over the building, so I’ll probably be up here sometimes between your company and the law firm. If you need help, that is.”
I slid that little fact in as casually as possible, and she hopefully wouldn’t question if she saw me up on the floor again.
“That’s great,” she said with a pristinely white smile. “I’ll need to keep in touch with you. Tech is obviously very important to a dating app! I would tell you to sign up, but a young man with your looks probably doesn’t need to.”
“I do okay,” I chuckled.
“Your boss could do with it,” Stacey said and sent me a wry glance. “He keeps trying to flirt with me, and I just can’t see past that horrible mustache. Someone needs to tell him the seventies were fifty years ago.”
I snorted as the blonde woman straightened out her pen display, and she shot me a friendly wink.
“I’m just going to see if the law firm’s boss left me any notes,” I lied. “Someone mentioned he might want a laptop set up.”
“See ya!” Stacey smiled. “I’m going to get everyone’s desks set up with goodies before I head home.”
She hummed to herself as she rummaged through her box, and I quickly left her to it. I turned the corner and passed the elevators before I stepped onto the depressingly gray carpet of the law firm’s half of the floor. The offices around me were all closed and silent as I raced down toward the end door.
I glanced back to make sure Stacey wasn’t there before I pushed open the door, and I hurried up the short staircase to the thirteenth floor.
The rush I got from stepping into the hidden hallway never got old.
I grinned as the glow from the Hollowfell door lit up the ground, and I walked up to the pile of provisions I had made for our trips. There were wipes for cleaning filth off our faces, spare bags to transport loot, and the rucksack full of guns and ammo my uncle had provided. He really was a bit of a hot-headed guy, but he had sure hooked me up.
Then I swung the weapons over my shoulder and turned back to leave the floor, even though it was hard not to just stride over to the otherworldly door and look inside. There was a universe full of ugly gargoyles, green skies, and piles of treasure just waiting for me over there. But I needed to make a plan before I strolled into that dimension again.
It was like the fucking Wild West in there. Chaos was everywhere, my face on wanted posters… I needed to be prepared.
I peeked out through the twelfth floor door before I came back inside, and I made my way toward the elevators. The sound of a swinging door suddenly creaked, and I winced as I heard the unmistakable drawl of my slimy boss.
He must have just come up from the stairwell to the reception area. Unfortunately, Roberts would be suspicious if he spotted me on the floor. He knew I hadn’t had any assignments up here. Not to mention he had just seen me clocking out.
“Stacey,” he said loudly as I raced to the silver elevator doors. “What a fine evening it is outside. Any plans tonight?”
I pressed the elevator button as I listened to my boss hit on the poor woman somewhere down the hall, and I tried not to laugh out loud at his sleazy tone.
“There’s a new bar that just opened up,” he continued. “Perhaps I could pick you up around eight to try it out?”
“I have plans,” Stacey’s voice rang out. “Going out with the girls.”
“The more, the merrier!” Roberts said. “Bring them, too.”
“It’s my friend’s birthday,” Stacey said firmly.
“Great!” Roberts said. “I’ll bring a cake. I hope she likes old… fashioned… vanilla.”
It was actually painful to listen to someone being that deluded, and I groaned to myself as the elevator took its sweet time. I watched the lit-up numbers grow higher as I glanced over my shoulder, but t hen I heard the thud of high heels against the carpet.
Shit. Stacey was probably trying to get away from my boss’ leering stares, and the elevator was just passing floor ten.
“Fuck,” I murmured. “Hurry uuuup!”
“I really have work to do,” Stacey said coldly as her footsteps approached. “Have a nice evening!”
“The bar is pretty classy,” Roberts drawled with zero awareness. “You would fit right in.”
Her high heels stopped what must have been inches away from the corner of the hall, and the elevator doors finally slid open at a painfully slow pace. I pushed inside and heard the blonde woman’s voice ring out as I hit the button to close the doors.
“Mister Roberts,” Stacey said sharply. “I may not be as young as I once was, but do you honestly think a woman who looks like this needs to scrape the bottom of the barrel for dates? Please, leave me alone. Good night.”
Her heels started to thud again right as the elevator doors shut, and I let out a snort of laughter as the elevator raced down.
Damn. Stacey was one of my new favorite people. Anyone who could shoot down Roberts that ruthlessly was okay in my book.
The silver doors didn’t slide open again until I reached the lobby, and there weren’t many people around as I strolled onto the marble floor. There was usually a stampede to get out on a Friday, but I had missed the clocking-out rush.
Stan was at the security desk, and he gave me a wave as I headed over to him. The old guy was close to retiring, and I knew that was going to add challenges to my Hollowfell heists. A new security guard might ask questions or even conduct searches, so I would just have to be ready for anything. Nobody was going to take my Hollowfell treasure away from me.
“Liam,” Stan said as he unwrapped a sandwich. “Big weekend plans?”
“Apartment hunting.” I grinned as I leaned on the desk. “Some family member left me money in their will, so I can now afford something a little bigger.”
“Nice!” Stan chuckled. “About time you started moving up in the world, my boy.”
The elevator doors pinged open, and I glanced over to see a red-faced Roberts hurry out with his head hung low. He muttered to himself as he scurried over to the turnstiles, and Stan raised an eyebrow at my boss.
“Fucker just got rejected,” I hissed with a grin. “The new boss woman upstairs turned him down cold.”
“That checks out,” Stan snorted. “She’s a smokeshow, and he’s an asshole.”
He bit into his sandwich as we watched Roberts scurry out the glass building, and then I gave the security guard a wave as I turned to leave.
“Enjoy your weekend!” I called.
Stan nodded in reply as he turned to look at the CCTV screens, and I stepped through the metal turnstiles. Then I made my way through the revolving doors and out into the California heat.
The air was the perfect level of Southern California warmth without any humidity as I strolled over the road to the far sidewalk. It wasn’t a long journey back to my apartment, but I would soon have a different route.
I grinned at the prospect as I considered how fucking lucky I’d gotten lately.
My buddy Elijah had a family who bought and sold precious metals and gems, and his dad had become my link to riches as I brought Hollowfell treasure back to Earth. Thanks to him and Elijah, all my heists were paying off in spades, and this was only the beginning.
It had finally sunk in that my life of debt and money problems was over, and I could start to change the mundane shit I had known for so long. My tiny apartment wouldn’t be my home for much longer. It was time to move on to bigger and better things.
The sun warmed the back of my neck as I hurried down the street, and I tried not to think about the bag of weaponry on my shoulder in case someone noticed my expression. It was some very illegal shit I was carrying around.
I couldn’t wait to get back to my monster girls, either. Cleo was a cat-girl who had been hunted all her life by the rich gargoyles of Hollowfell. They wanted her as a trophy to prove their wealth, and she had spent years on the run. She had quickly become my lover after I’d saved her from that fate, and I was still in awe of how badass and hot she was.
Kali was a Dusk Nymph who we had saved from the clutches of pirates. They had been all set to sell her as a trophy, but I had broken her out before that could happen. The pink-haired beauty was endlessly sweet with a heart of pure gold, and just thinking of her made all my worries melt away.
They both deserved the world, and I wanted to use the weekend to treat them. Maybe we could go to a fancy dinner, and they could come with me to view apartments on Saturday. They were both so stunned with my basic home, I couldn’t wait to see their reaction to a penthouse.
I turned onto my street as I was lost in daydreams of balconies, heated floors, and huge fridges. The trash covering the road didn’t seem as depressing when I knew I would be leaving soon. I hurried up the stone steps to my building and shoved the key in the rusty lock. The stink of piss and booze hit me as I went inside, and I carefully stepped over a suspiciously dark puddle as I made my way upstairs.
The buzz of TV hit me as I pushed open the door of my apartment to see the two Hollowfell beauties curled up on my sofa. They were watching some nature documentary with wide eyes as a lion chased down a herd of gazelle. But their attention snapped to me as I stepped inside, and they both leapt to their feet.
Cleo’s chestnut-colored legs stuck out from one of my oversized shirts, and her cat ears twitched happily at the sight of me. Her black tail swished from side to side as tiny fangs poked out of her beautiful smile. She was a tall, lean, insanely sexy creature, and I drank in the sight of my lover as she ran over.
“You’re home,” she purred as she jumped into my arms. “My human guy has returned.”
She looked up at me with her golden eyes before I planted a tender kiss on her plump lips. Cleo moaned happily as she slid her tongue out to meet mine, and her large breasts pressed up against me like pillows. It was a moment of pure bliss, and she grinned slyly as she pulled away. Then memories of her whining with pleasure echoed through my mind as I remembered how it felt to fuck the stunning cat-girl.
Holy shit, I was the luckiest guy I knew.
“Liam!” Kali squeaked. “I’m so happy you’re back!”
The Dusk Nymph’s pink curls framed her glowing face, and her blue eyes were insanely gorgeous as she smiled at me. She had also pulled on one of my shirts, which was huge on her petite frame, and it hid her wings from view. She looked unbelievably adorable this evening, and my heart rate immediately increased at the sight of her.
Kali had kissed me not so long ago, and my mind couldn’t help wondering what might be the next stage in our relationship.
“It’s good to be home.” I grinned. “I brought back the supplies my uncle gave me. I’m hoping we can head over to his place over the weekend to practice.”
“Guns?” Cleo asked curiously. “Do we get to use them soon?”
“It makes sense to prepare for that, yeah,” I said. “The gargoyles don’t have weapons like this, and I want to be at least ten steps ahead of those ugly fuckers at all times. Besides, you’ll look hot as all hell shooting them.”
Cleo grinned as I placed the rucksack on the floor, and I slipped off my leather jacket.
“What shall we do this evening?” Kali asked. “Will we get the magical food men to come to the door again?”
“I have a better idea,” I chuckled. “How about we go out for dinner? Somewhere fancy as fuck. Only the best for my two beauties.”
“Really?” Cleo asked. “Outside for dinner?”
“Of course,” I said. “Go and get some pretty dresses on, and we can head out.”
Kali squealed excitedly as the two women raced to their shopping bags. I had given them a credit card to take to a designer clothes store just the other day, and they had been overwhelmed with gratitude when they came out of the shop with new outfits and shoes.
“I’m going to go change,” I said as I headed for my bedroom. “We’ll grab a cab after!”
“Grab a cab,” Cleo muttered to herself as she rummaged in her bag. “Cab. Cab. Cab.”
It was adorable when she tried to get used to human words.
I shut the door as I pulled off my work gear. Then I grabbed the nicest pants and shirt I had, and I realized I was in serious need of a shopping trip, too. Treating the girls felt so good that I had forgotten I could use a wardrobe upgrade myself. I wasn’t exactly a fashion guru, but a few new shirts and pairs of jeans would be welcome. Maybe even a new leather jacket.
