Free Melabeth Forgive Me, For I Am Sin! by E. B. Hood Page B

Alice was powerful, but I had assumed it was because of her power. Now I realize she was much more. I should know better than to read a book by its cover. I asked Michael, “What is the name of the company she works for?”
    Michael answered with, “I don’t know, I don’t know if she works for just one company anymore. There is more of a need for global security across international waters. I do believe that Alice is in service to most all U.S. shipping com panies, in one form or another.”
    “Do you work for her as well?” I asked.
    Michael said with pride, “Yes, in fact that’s how I was caught on fire.  Ezra and I were on a mission for Alice. You never know when she might need me or Ezra to go abroad and deal with issues.”
    Before I asked anymore questions about the family business, we came to a stop in front of a little building. There in neon lights were the words Ed's Tattoos . We had walked for awhile now and gotten some distance from the strip. In fact this side of Vegas was somewhat run down and scary looking. The only people on the street looked haggard and hard up. Three black men, dressed like thugs, passed by me and Michael giving us a hard looks. They acted as if this was their neighborhood.
    I couldn’t help myself, I started to sing, “Because I’m bad, I’m bad-Come On You Know- I’m Bad, I’m Bad- You Know It.” I always had a thing for Michael Jackson, but lord behold my new friends didn’t take the same appreciation to music.
    The three men stopped and turned around.
    Michael shook his head back and forth, “Come on Melabeth, really… you could just let them pass.”
    I smiled big, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I love to sing.” I felt my teeth get longer as I became excited about my future meal.
    Before Michael could say another word , one of the men walked up to me and looked me straight into the eyes. He said with a deep voice, “Girl, you can sing, damn, I haven’t heard anything that pretty since Whitney Houston.”
    One of the men behind him joined in, “She sure sings like an angel, she sure does, yes indeed.”
    I covered my mouth as I said, "T hank you." The three men went on for a little bit and gave me a chance to get control of myself. These men were really nice.
    After talking with them for a minute, one of the men told me that I should try out down the street at this lounge. The other two men thought that I should go to some blue’s mus ic bar. I kind of like the idea. I had never thought of pursuing a carrier as a singer.
    After a few more minutes of going back and forth , the men took their leave, I waved them off, “See you guys later… and thanks.”
    I turned to look at Michael , who was just staring at me, “What?” he didn’t answer. “They were nice. Don’t you think so?”
    Michael cracked a grin, “D isappointed?”
    I could feel the mischievous grin spread across my face, “I was a little bit hungry, who would have guessed… nice guys.”
    Michael took my hand, “Y ou’re about to meet my oldest friend. Try your hardest not to start a fight, so what I am saying is, don’t be yourself.”
    “He y,” I tried to sound indigent, but I wasn’t really pulling it off.
    The tattoo parlor was much nicer on the inside than the out. Michael introduced me to his buddy Ed. Ed was a forty-five year old vampire that had a tattoo on every inch of skin. He was also a black vampire and one of the most talented artists that I have ever laid my eyes upon.
    Me and Michael hung out at the parlor for a couple of hours laughing and joking, Ed was full of jokes. I spent a lot of this time looking at the different drawings for tattoos. There were some really cool pieces that I thought would look good, but they weren’t perfect.
    Ed worked on editing some of the pictures. He finished his drawing and slid it over to me, “Now, that would go all over your upper back. Then this pattern would follow down your spine and flare out into this pattern