by Jadyn Chase
I couldn’t stop blinking at the bed. Where was James? Where did he go? How did he know to hide himself from Tristan?
Tristan continued to pace around the room not looking at anything in particular. I waited for him to finish, but I almost had a coronary myself when he slid back the closet door and stuck his head inside. He rotated his neck one way and then the other and shut it.
“You surprise me, Paige,” he remarked. “I thought for sure you had him hiding out here. I thought you couldn’t possibly let him escape like that without taking him into your personal custody.”
I compressed my lips. “I told you already, Tristan. I didn’t let James escape, although I wish now that I had. I wish I had shot you and Sweeney and the whole department the finger. Your being here only proves that you’re all rotten to the core and I hate you.”
I probably shouldn’t have said it like that, but his smug attitude made me so fuming mad I could spit. He rambled around the bed. For half a second, I thought he was actually going to leave. He got within a few feet of me and dropped onto one knee. He whipped up the valance and bend down to peek under the bed.
My heart skipped another beat, but nothing happened. He checked and straightened up. When he faced me this time, a curious expression tugged at the corners of his eyes. I couldn’t make out if he was happy or disappointed. “Well, I can see he’s not here. I guess I don’t have to remind you to bring the monitor back to work tomorrow. Tech Support will want to take a look at it to make sure you didn’t make a mistake with the settings.”
I squared my shoulders and drew myself up. “Is that what you came in here to tell me—that I might make a mistake with the settings? You’re a toad, Tristan. I hope you’re going to run along and tell Sweeney all about this visit the same way you would have told him if you had found James here. Go on and tell him how you broke into his office, hacked his password, and looked up classified department records so you could find my address. Then tell him how you threatened me to get inside my house so you could hunt around for an escaped fugitive I had nothing to do with. Tell him all about how you checked my kitchen and my laundry and my personal bedroom. Tell him how you looked in my closet and under my bed and found nothing. Go on. Go tell him. If you don’t, I will.”
I stared him down savoring the wilting appearance of his facial expression. The hint of self-satisfied arrogance vaporized and left him frightened and uncertain. Suck on that, you arrogant piece of shit. I hoped he would spend the rest of the night afraid of what would happen when Sweeney found out what he’d done.
He opened his mouth once and shut it again before he found the voice to speak. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Paige. Sweeney doesn’t need to know about all this. It was just a little misunderstanding.”
“Is that what you told yourself when you came over here—that Sweeney didn’t need to know?”
He opened his mouth again when my phone pinged in my pocket. I took it out and discovered a Facebook notification on the screen. The name Rosie Crockett appeared in the top line. I spotted a few more words below that. Hi, Paige. It’s really good to hear from you. I wasn’t at the reunion, but Thomas, Alexander, and William were all disappointed not to see James there. I know they would….. That was all the space in the window.
My chest tightened. This was it. So Rosie Crockett did know Alexander and William. What else did she know? I itched to check that notification, but I didn’t dare with Tristan around.
Too slowly, I put the phone back in my pocket and looked up to find Tristan studying me. “Is anything wrong, Paige?”
“Yeah. Something’s wrong. You’re what’s wrong, Tristan. Get the fuck out of my house. If I see your face again outside the department, I’ll call the Police.”
I seethed in anxious anticipation watching him scuttle for the exit. He let himself out and shut the door behind him. Even after his footsteps faded down the street, I stood in one place and waited. I couldn’t rush this.
I turned around and made my way back to the bedroom. I opened the door. I found it just as empty and lifeless as I left it. Where was James? Where did he hide to prevent Tristan from finding him? I couldn’t imagine.
Just then, a human head popped up over the window ledge. James peered through the glass from outside and his eyes widened. I rushed over and slid up the casement. “What happened to you? He almost caught us!”
He slung his leg into the room and climbed up. “I heard him. He belongs in that containment pen. Maybe then he’d learn some manners.”
“We have to get out of here.” I charged for the door.
“Why?” he asked. “You put paid to him for a while, at least.”
“If he put the pieces together enough to come looking for you, someone else could do the same thing. Come on. Let’s get out of here. Besides, there’s something I need to do before we go to the airport.”
“What?”
I didn’t hang around to explain. I barreled into the living room and snatched up the tablet. I flipped open the cover and propped it next to the serum concentration monitor. I navigated to the video of the cattle prod test. I set the tablet on the table so anybody who walked in would see it. I scribbled on a sticky note and stuck it to the screen. Press Play. “There. That’s done. Let’s go.”
I grabbed his hand and towed him to the garage. We got in the car and I opened the outer door. I hit the gas and drove onto the street. I turned out of Bonner Hill Road and headed for Richmond Park.
James gasped when I veered off the road. “What are you doing, Paige dear?”
I set the parking brake and got out my phone. “We’ve got a situation here. I got in touch with a woman in Dover who knows your brothers.”
“Really?” he exclaimed. “What does she say?”
“I didn’t get a chance to find out. The message came through when Tristan was in the room. If she knows your brothers, maybe we should go to Dover instead of Nairobi.”
“If we did that,” he remarked, “the military would come there looking for all of us, not just me.”
“I thought of that.”
I tapped the screen and pulled up Rosie’s message. I read the rest of it in a tizzy of excitement.
Hi, Paige. It’s really good to hear from you. I wasn’t at the reunion, but Thomas, Alexander, and William were all disappointed not to see James there. I know they would really like to see him. Their parents are also anxious to know that James is safe. I know it might be hard for you to get down to Dover, but we’re all looking forward to seeing James. Let me know if there’s anything we can do on this end to make that happen. Cheers, Rosie.
I started to speak when the Messenger bot flashed. “Look at this!” I whispered. “She’s online right now. Let’s talk to her.”
He frowned. “How will we do that?”
I waved that away and tapped Messenger. I typed in a message. Hi, Rosie. It’s me, Paige. I’ve got James here and he’s really anxious to see his family, too, but we have a problem. He got taken into custody by a secret government agency who was testing him for the military. He escaped, but they are still hunting him. We were actually getting ready to flee the country when we found out about the reunion. We don’t want to go to Dover because we’re worried we’ll put the whole family in danger.
She took a long time to answer. Was Alex or one of the other brothers there with her? Was there any chance we could nick down to Dover for a quick visit and still catch our flight?
I’m sorry to hear that. Are you guys okay?
We’re fine, I wrote back. I’m just sorry we missed the reunion. We are trying to prove that James is no longer a dragon. I’m not sure if you guys have figured this out yet, but it seems that falling in love breaks the curse and turns the guys back to human. Did you know that?
I dreaded hearing her answer. Yeah, we figured it out. Thomas is married to a lovely woman named Allison and I’m with Alex. I’m happy to hear about you and James. I’ll pass that on to his parents and let them know he’s safe—for
now at least.
I’m worried about you guys, I told her. If the military doesn’t catch James, they might come after you next. Will you please let the others know of the danger? I wish there was some way we could see each other before we leave, but our flight is in less than two hours. We’re on our way to Heathrow now.
I’ll tell them. If you guys are leaving the country, maybe we all should. Maybe we should rendezvous somewhere else. I see from your profile that you’re from Chicago. I’m from Madison, Wisconsin, and Allison is from Wichita.
I thought it over. James raised his eyes to my face. “What is going on, Paige dear? Who are you talking to?”
“Her name is Rosie Crockett. She’s your brother Alex’s sweetheart. They’ve broken the curse and your brother Thomas is married to a woman named Allison. We’re trying to figure out if they should flee the country, too, and if there’s any way we can all meet up later somewhere else.”
He gasped. “My God! Do you really think it’s possible?”
I looked back and forth between him and the phone. “I don’t know. I only know that if we don’t drive to Heathrow right now, it will be a hundred times harder for us to get out of the country another time. Every time we plan it out, we leave a trail for the military to follow. They’ll be more likely to catch us in the future. I think we should go now. Are you ready to do that? Are you ready to turn your back on your family for now? I hate to say so, but it seems like it’s the safest thing. We can hook up with your family later.”
His deep brown eyes drifted before my sight. “I quite agree with you, Paige dear. We don’t want to miss our chance to get away while we can. Let’s go to the airport.”
I tapped at the screen as fast as I could. We’ve decided to go to the airport. We’re going to Nairobi first. I don’t know where we’ll go after that, but I’ll start working on a secure way to contact you. We can work out when and where to meet up later. I really encourage you and the others to get out of England as soon as possible. We have no way of knowing when the military will come looking for you.
Thank you so much for telling us, she replied. We never considered the danger of someone wanting to use the dragons, but we should have. I’ll pass on your message. I think they’ll want to flee, too. I wish you guys all the best. We would have loved to meet James, but hopefully, we can do that later. Have a good trip. I hope I talk to you again soon.
You guys take care of yourselves, I wrote. Give our fond regards to the rest of the Shelton family.
Thanks, Paige. Good luck.
I clicked the phone off and shoved it in my handbag. “Let’s go.”
I turned the motor and hit the highway. We drove the rest of the way to Heathrow in silence. What was James thinking? Did he resent me for taking him away from his family? Did he really wish he could go to Dover instead?
I parked at the airport, but when I grabbed the door handle, he held me back. He leaned close to my face and murmured low. “Thank you, Paige. Thank you for everything. I am eternally in your debt.”
I hung my head. “I’m really sorry about this, James. I wish there was some way to get you down to Dover.”
“Nonsense.” He straightened up and smiled. “You’re doing this to protect me and all the others. I understand and I appreciate it. Think no more about it.”
I squeezed his arm. “Listen to me, James. I love you. We’re never going to stop searching for a way to reunite with them. Do you understand? We’re leaving now, but we’re not giving up. There are ways to use computers to stop anyone from finding out where we are when we communicate with your family. We can contact them again and arrange to meet up. The world isn’t anywhere near as small as it was in 1840.”
His eyes brightened. “I trust you, Paige. I trust you with my life. I am very happy to be leaving the country with you. I consider myself exceptionally fortunate to have you. I don’t need anything more. If we wind up rendezvousing with my family, that would be a nice addition to an already ideal scenario. That’s the way I see it.”
“Really?” I grabbed his hand in both of mine. “Do you really?”
“Of course, Paige. You are my prize. You are the one who makes this outcome such a success. If I never held out any hope of seeing my family again, I would still be delighted to be leaving with you. As long as we’re together, I can be happy.”
I kissed his knuckles. I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted so much more for him and I felt sad that I couldn’t provide it. I only wanted him to be happy and fulfilled.
He cupped my cheeks in both hands. “Come along, Paige dear. We have a plane to catch.”
I got out of the car blinking back tears, but I was never happier in my life. I felt the same way he did. If I went with him, I was winning. I didn’t need anymore.
I unloaded the suitcases and showed him how to wheel his like a real person. We set off for the concourse, but in my mind, I confirmed my commitment to finding his brothers and his parents. We would bring the family together again. I would bring them together if it was the last thing I did.
I had no other family in the world. I didn’t have any living relatives waiting for me back in the States—not any I would want to see again, anyway.
I had a family, though. I had the Sheltons. They were out there somewhere. They were all in Dover now, but soon enough, they would scatter to the four winds. They would get on planes and fly off to Australia and China and Azerbaijan and God knows where else. They would disappear and it would become exponentially harder to locate them.
Once I got to Nairobi and buried our identities in endless passport changes, I would have my work cut out for me to make contact with them. I needed to start putting together a plan and fast.
I took James to the check-in counter and steered him into a waiting area bench. “Sit down here.”
“What for?” he asked. “Don’t we need to get on the airplane?”
“We need to get your passport first. You wait here. If anything goes wrong and I get caught, get yourself to Dover in a hurry. I don’t know how. If I get taken into custody, get out. Understand?”
He nodded up at me with huge eyes. “I understand, Paige dear. Just…..just don’t get caught.”
I gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “I should be fine. You’ll be able to see me from here.”
I took a firm grip on myself and walked away before I lost my nerve. I didn’t dare look left or right. I marched up to a bank of lockers and found #39. I took out the key that arrived by courier last night. I slipped it into the lock and turned.
The locker opened and I took out a plain white envelope. Without even looking at it, I shut the locker and walked back to James. I sank into the seat next to him and ripped it open.
“You didn’t get arrested, Paige dear,” he whispered.
I shot him a grin. “We’re not free yet. Here’s your passport. It says your name is Richard Quincey Montague.”
He made a face. “How revolting.”
I laughed and took hold of my suitcase. “It’s only temporary. Come on. Let’s get this over with. Once we’re in the air, we can relax for real.”
We checked in. Then came the long wait to board. Finally, we got into our seats and I clicked my seatbelt into place. James cast a questioning glance my way. “Now what do we do?”
“Pretend you’re bored out of your mind. Here. Read this. It will educate you on modern times.” I handed him the in-flight magazine. “Maybe later we can watch a movie.”
He flipped the pages, but I couldn’t relax. In spite of what I told him, my pulse throbbed in my head and my stomach ached from tension. Would we really get away with this? Would we really disappear into nowhere?
The plane vibrated and the flight attendant started the safety briefing. I paid no attention. I concentrated all my attention on the scenery passing outside the window. The plane taxied into position. Then it started charging down the runway. My guts lifted when the wheels left the ground.
The next minute, London whizzed away undernea
th me. England faded into the past and the wide blue ocean welcomed me into an uncharted future.
James’s fingers closed around my hand. I looked up to find him staring down at me. His eyes glistened. This was it. We were free—free to love each other, free to discover what this world held in store for us. I couldn’t imagine what I would find out there, but he would be there. Whatever I did or wherever I went, he would always be there.
The End.
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