A/N: I changed the two shopping chapters to bonus chapters at the end in order to keep the plot moving along. For those who enjoy character and relationship building chapters, they are at the end. Blessings to all who read and commented!
*****

Delivery fir Alex Carson."

Mary Dewey smiled at the delivery people at the front door of her house. "I'll sign for it. What is it?"

"King size mattress."

   "Is it plastic wrapped?"

  "Yep." The man held out his clipboard full of papers.

   "Please leave it on the driveway." Mary signed the papers.

"Yer da boss, lady."

The delivery men looked glad to leave the heavy mattress and box spring on the driveway instead of lugging it into a house.

  "Thank you, Mrs. Dewey," Gabe said from the kitchen. "Rile, Cale. Once the delivery men leave, carry the mattress up to Alex's."

  "Those things look heavy. Better help us, perfect eldest son." Rile bounded up the stairs to Alex's apartment and scratched on the door. He ran back down and grabbed one end of the mattress. Gabe lifted the other end and Cale the middle. They climbed the steps to the small landing in front of Alex's apartment.

Alex opened the door and blinked at the sight before her. "Hello."

  "Out of the way," Rile said. "Heavy."

  Alex stepped into the apartment. "Do I need to point the way into the bedroom?"

"Do you want this mattress or not?" Rile asked.

"Sorry, crawfish lunch as payment?"

"I want something different," Rile insisted.

"Greek food. Wait until you try flaming saganaki," Alex promised.

They hauled the mattress and then the box springs into the bedroom. Alex explained to them how to set it up.

"Glad I found sheets." Alex stretched out the fitted sheet over the mattress corner. She struggled on the third corner and Cale helped her. "The fourth corner is the hardest."

"I'll do it." Cale stretched it with ease. "Not as bad as a tent."

"Tents? Ugh. Give me a hotel any day."

"Princess too delicate to sleep on the ground?" Rile asked.

"Too smart," Alex said. "New Orleans is chock full of hotels. You sleep on the ground, Dragon Boy."

"You still owe me Greek food."

"That I do. I pay my debts. They don't deliver, so I'll drive us."

They alerted at a knock on the door. Alex waved the brothers to move out of sight.  Once they did, she cracked open the door and saw Dr. Dewey's wife.

"It's Mary, dear. The couch and recliner were delivered. They're sitting on the driveway. Perhaps the boys can bring them up as well."

Rile hissed softly.

Alex turned back to her living room. "You have acute hearing. I'll buy baklava for dessert."

"Never had it. Deal."

The three brothers trooped down the stairs to the driveway. Rile tried to lift the recliner by its back. His claws slipped and Alex winced as they punctured the upholstery.

"I'll take the back and you take the front," Cale told him.

"Please don't puncture my upholstery," Alex said when she saw their clawed hands grasp and hoist her recliner.

"We'll be careful. Rile, you walk up the stairs first," Cale said.

The recliner triggered and opened on the stairs halfway up.  The foot mechanism hit Rile in the belly and Alex giggled. Rile hissed at her.

"I'll buy boudin for breakfast one morning," she said in a conciliatory tone.

Once the recliner was in the living room, Alex whispered to Cale, "Did you do that on purpose?"

He only smiled.

*****

The Greek restaurant was off Veteran's Highway, a white washed cubicle of a building fronted by an Astroturf patio with a bubbling fountain with a fake Greek statue. They pushed open the cheap glass doors to find small round tables with white tablecloths circling another fountain with a different faux Greek statue. Peeling, yellowed posters of landmarks of Greece adorned the walls. Plinking music carried from the black speakers sitting on plywood shelves. A small, smiling man in the obligatory white shirt, black pants, and white apron waved them to a table.

"Flaming saganaki to start, please," Alex said as the waiter handed them menus. "We'll have moussaka, pastitsio, and gyros." She handed her menu back and the brothers copied her. "Now watch," she said with a grin.

A few minutes later, the waiter carried out a tray. He set it on the table and took out a lighter. He set it to the tray of square cheese.

"Opa!" he cried and lit the cheese aflame.

"Opa!" Alex cried.

"Fire!" Cale pushed away from the table.

"What part of flaming didn't you understand?" Rile elbowed him.

The waiter extinguished the flames by squeezing a lemon over it. He bowed to Alex who clapped.

"Now we eat." Alex served the dish. "This is the appetizer."

"And baklava for dessert like you promised," Rile said.

"And baklava for dessert," Alex repeated.

*****

The waiter presented the baklava with a flourish. Honey dripped down the sides of the exquisite, paper thin layers of phyllo dough stuffed with chopped nuts.

Cale eyed the waiter. "You are not setting it on fire, are you?"

The waiter smiled and bowed. "No, my friend. This you enjoy just as my mama made it." He left after another smile.

Alex cut through hers with her fork, but Cale alerted, head up and turned to the door. He sniffed carefully and flicked his serpentine tongue out a second. His eyes narrowed and he said one word before he bounded out the door:

Hermann

Rile jumped up and raced out, with Gabe trailing him. The waiter rushed over and Alex threw her purse at him. He caught it deftly.

"Take the cash," Alex said. "Enough for dinner and a big tip. I may or may not be back."

Alex ran out to see Cale gaining on a man, who was pounding down the pavement. Rile was on Cale's heels but Gabe was fanning out to the side. The man skidded a sharp left into an alley. Alex speed-burst up, temporarily invisible. She could never maintain the speed-burst and thus the invisibility, so she flew low into the alley. The man was almost at a white van and its back doors opened.

"Ambush!" Alex screamed In warning and dove for the man.

In response, Rile grabbed Cale's arm, deployed his wings to help brake them, and swung Cale 180 degrees so that he now faced out of the alley. Cale dashed out, catching Gabe's arm as he passed and swung him in the exact same manner.

Alex blasted the man as he jumped into the back of the van, but then she was blinded by searing light. Startled, she stopped to cover her eyes and her slipstream vanished. She thudded to the ground only to have Rile haul her to her feet and drag her into a run. The van's tires squealed as the engine roared into reverse, chasing Alex and the brothers.

"Hold on," Alex said and restarted her slipstream. "Gabe! Cale! Hold onto each other and hold out a hand!"

She flew by them and grabbed Cale's outstretched hand. The slipstream adjusted to surround all of them and Alex shot upwards, holding onto Rile and Cale, who held onto Gabe. Their wings spread gracefully from the slits in their shirts and Alex caught her breath at the sight of the elegant golden wings. Then she banked hard to circle back to find the white van. They saw no sign of it, unaware that the top was painted dirty black and blended with the hundreds of other black car roofs. Alex speed burst down to the deserted alley behind the restaurant.

"Sorry, but I can't fly around Veteran's Highway or New Orleans without becoming a beacon," she said.

"Hermann's upgraded his weapons," Gabe said. "Are you hurt, Alex?"

She shook her head. "It only startled me."

"Now what?" Rile asked.

"I'm paying our bill," Alex said. "Then a shot of ouzo to calm my nerves. Then I strip the license plates from my car and we leave it here. They probably saw it or maybe even followed it."

Gabe scowled and Cale clacked his claws.

"You shouldn't lose your vehicle because of Hermann," Gabe said.

Alex shrugged. "It was cheap and I paid cash for it. Tell you what: I'll donate it to our waiter." She strode inside the glass doors to forestall any further discussion.

The brothers watched as Alex spoke quietly to the waiter and handed him both a wad of cash and the keys to her car. He protested, she smiled at him, and patted both his cheeks in a maternal way. He responded by kissing both of her cheeks and the brothers could see her blush from where they stood.

"Time to go," Alex told the brothers. She whispered, "Back into the alley. I speed-burst out of there as far as I can. Then we walk until I recover and can speed burst again. No one can follow us with that combination."

****

They arrived at the carriage house an hour later after Alex's circuitous route of walking and speed bursting. Gabe waved his brothers into their apartment.

"I'm going upstairs," Alex said. "Gabe, please come with me?"

"We should stay together," Rile said, "After what just happened."

"We split up," Gabe commanded. "They won't capture all of us in one place."

"What?" Rile burst out.

Alex grabbed Gabe's hand and started up the stairs. Cale interposed himself between the stairs and his angry younger brother, allowing the two to escape.

They climbed the stairs to the upper story and Alex unlocked the door. She flicked on the lights.

"This will be my first night in the apartment. I don't feel safe in it," Alex said as the blood pounded in her ears. "Morgan has never tracked me to my place before. Has Hermann ever tracked you anywhere?"

Alex didn't tell Gabe that she wanted to curl up with his soft hide and breathe his leathery scent again. It had haunted her dreams since that first night and was much better than her usual nightmares.

"He has not. I don't believe he could have followed us with your gift of flight. But I understand." He stretched out on the couch.

He doesn't or he wouldn't be on that couch. I have a lot more courage facing thugs than talking with Gabe. I would wonder why except I never ask 'why'.

***

Hours after she conceded defeat and went to bed, alone, Rile and Cale walked in, using the key that Alex had given Cale.

"Where's Alex?" Rile asked

"She's asleep. Alex was nervous about staying alone. She asked me to stay with her," Gabe said.

"You picked the couch?" Rile laughed. "Moron. You already slept with her. What did you think she was asking?"

"Slept next to, not with." Gabe poked Rile in the chest with an imperious claw.

"You're a moron. No wonder you're still a virgin."

Gabe threw a punch and Rile stopped it cold, but then was too busy blocking all the other punches to continue talking.

"Will you two stop? Do you want to wake up Alex?" Cale hissed. "She might blast the lot of us."

Gabe and Rile broke apart.

"Rile, return with Cale to our apartment. Now." Gabe stood, fists clenched.

"Why not? Not like you'll be doing anything up here. Idiot." He swaggered to the door.

*****

A/N: Continued world and relationship building. Do you think Alex should pursue Gabe more? Or give up? Or turn her attention to another brother?

Dedicated to @ray_of_sunshine9 thanks for your support!

Thanks also to
Cocosghost
For her unflagging support of the book and its rewrite !