The Boss

by Abigail Owen

“What the hell does that mean?”

  “One of yours went rogue and now you have an informant among you.”

  He had to be talking about Rune, but an informant? Who? Finn shook his head. Why was he allowing himself to be sidetracked? “As if I’d listen to you. I’ll never let you take her.”

  Graff angled his head to sharpen his glare. “You can’t stop me. I may have killed three false mates finding her, but I’m sure now. She. Is. Mine.”

  Icy dread oozed through Finn’s veins. Graff had killed that many potential mates? He didn’t know any shifter who’d survived more than one with his sanity intact. Losing that much of one’s soul changed a man, turned them into something twisted, sick. Sociopath didn’t begin to cover it. A creature this fixated wouldn’t give up. Ever. Wouldn’t listen to reason.

  “She is mine,” Graff repeated. This time, the black dragon darted toward him, whipping his tail trying to skewer Finn in the belly with one of those dangerous barbs on the end.

  Finn pulled in his wings to drop suddenly, just missing being gutted. The other dragon pulled up and they held their positions.

  He couldn’t miss the wild light in Graff’s eyes.

  Fuck. Basically, they were dealing with a dragon who’d hit a level of obsession that couldn’t be argued with or stopped. They’d have to put him down or risk this fucker trying to mate Delaney and killing her.

  “I’m right behind you, boss.” Levi’s voice penetrated his mind.

  Finn didn’t break his concentration on Graff. “Delaney?”

  “Aidan and Drake are with her. Lyndi’s coming.”

  His teammate gave no outward signal of his presence. He didn’t smell him, or hear him yet, but suddenly the black dragon paused in one flap of his wings. Graff gave a strange barking sound, then, in an instant, he was gone.

  Finn blinked, then whipped his head around, searching for the black dragon. But Graff had disappeared.

  What the fuck just happened?

  “Boss?” Levi slid in beside him. Massive in form, like most gold dragons, his pale scales glittered in the moonlight. “Where is he?”

  Delaney…

  Holding dread at bay, Finn shoved his body toward the house, gaining speed before leveling out.

  “Boss?” Levi prompted.

  Finn pushed his body faster. “He disappeared.”

  “You lost him?” Levi dropped down from above, his golden body glittering like treasure in the dark.

  “No. He fucking disappeared. Like poof. Abracadabra. Gone.”

  Levi rumbled beside him. “That’s not possible.”

  “No shit.” But it explained how he’d snuck up on them without detection. If Graff could do that as a dragon, he could appear inside the house without warning as well.

  I have to get to Delaney.

  “Aidan,” he shot the thought ahead of himself. The rookie couldn’t answer if he was inside with Delaney, and Finn didn’t wait. “Keep her close. We’re coming.”

  Two miles had never taken so damn long. He shifted as he landed, practically stepping from one form to the other as he hit the ground, changing the details as he hustled for the house. At a full run, he burst inside, Levi right behind him. “Aidan?” he called.

  “Kitchen, boss.”

  Finn’s chest eased the second he saw Delaney’s pale face, her gold and brown hair a bright contrast. He barely noticed Aidan along with Drake’s sister, Lyndi, beside her, his focus entirely on the woman upending his up-till-now ordered life. Her eyes grew larger as he stalked toward her, but she didn’t back away, holding her ground, chin tipping up.

  So brave.

  Finn didn’t stop until he stood directly in front of her. “Are you okay?”

  “Lyndi’s been filling me in.” She waved in the direction of the petite woman who was a miniature, feminine version of Drake. “Are you okay?”

  Hell. She’d had the shock of her life tonight and she was asking about him? He needed to touch her. He put his hands to her cheeks, her skin soft and warm, alive, under his touch. “I know this is crazy, and terrifying, but I only want to protect you. Do you believe me?”

  She stared at him, searching his eyes, then slowly nodded.

  Relief punched from him in the form of a pent-up breath. “Good.”

  He slid one hand around the back of her neck and tugged her close, wrapping his other arm around her. He breathed her in—sunshine and lemons. She was safe, and she wasn’t running away screaming.

  For now.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Graff was a dragon shifter. How on earth was she supposed to wrap her mind around that. The man who’d made her life miserable for three years was a dragon…

  Another round of hysteria threatened to tip her back into that spiral from earlier. She’d managed to calm down, to reach a place of numbness when she’d touched Finn as a dragon. This piece of information was just one more thing in a long line of shitty things.

  “I didn’t catch Graff.”

  Delaney stiffened in Finn’s arms. “Of course not,” she muttered into Finn’s shirt. “Because my life is cursed.”

  Finn backed away, though he didn’t release her. Good thing, because right now, his warmth, his touch, was the only thing keeping her sane. Which landed her squarely in the batshit variety of crazy. The guy who kissed her, then turned into a dragon, then flew away to fight another dragon, was her safety net?

  “You are not cursed,” he said, his voice all authority, making her shiver. “And I will catch him, I promise. This guy is obsessed with you. He’s the cause of all your problems, I’m also fairly certain. You never were the one setting those fires.”

  The fires.

  Oh my God, the fires.

  It all made sense now.

  Delaney closed her eyes as relief whooshed through her, leaving her a tiny bit dizzy. Thank goodness for that.

  Then snapped them open on a wave of agitation. “Why would he do that? Set those fires? Does he want to kill me?”

  Finn slowly shook his head. “He wants to mate you.”

  This time she couldn’t hold back the hysterical gurgle of sound that burst out of her. “Mate me? As in fuck me. Like an animal?”

  Finn grew serious. “As in a bond that lasts all your life, which is long. Mates are…precious.”

  “Then why the hell would he think setting fires would make me want to do that with him?”

  Finn grimaced, exchanging a glance with his men. “Best guess? Humans who can be mated show dragon sign, but it’s triggered by being near dragons. I think he’s been trying to trigger you. And I think your blackouts are because he steals your memories.”

  “Steals my…” Delaney closed her eyes again and swallowed hard, struggling to keep her shit together. Graff sounded like he wasn’t balanced or rational. Figuring out the whys was probably an exercise in futility. What she needed was a way to stop him.

  She opened her eyes to find Finn watching her closely. “So, what happens now?”

  His lips tipped up in a smile she might label as proud. Of her? What for?

  “This team is sort of like special forces for our kind. Enforcers,” Finn said. “We’ll figure this out and take care of him. Then your life can be normal again.”

  Take care of meant kill, she’d bet. She had no idea how to feel about that.

  “Normal.” She hiccupped a little laugh. “Because knowing about men exist who turn into massive dragons is normal?”

  He huffed a reluctant sounding laugh and the sound skittered over her nerves and tightened parts of her that begged for his attention…which was so damn wrong.

  Carefully, Delaney stepped back, pulling away from Finn’s touch. She might not be setting fires, but clearly, that didn’t get her released from the loony bin quite yet. How could she be responding to him right now?

  “Maybe we should order pizza for dinner,” she said. Then immediately did a mental eye roll. Her thought process was all over the map.

  At Finn’s raised eyebrows, she s
hrugged. “I’m…not up to cooking tonight.”

  Again, his lips quirked in that way-too-sexy way that drew her stare. “Pizza sounds good,” he said.

  He glanced at Levi. “Have the guys bring Sera and her son here. They can pick it up on the way.”

  Levi practically saluted. “On it, boss.”

  That seemed a bit much. Granted Graff was still out there. But they were safe in here together, and Sera was safe with her guard. Right? “There’s something else you’re not telling me.”

  Finn searched her face, as though making sure she could handle what he was about to say. Hell. What now?

  He reached for her hands, but she pulled hers out of his reach. “Just tell me, Finn. It can’t be worse than dragons.”

  He grimaced.

  “Wait.” The bottom fell out of her stomach. “It’s worse than dragons?”

  “Not worse. Just, complicated.” He cleared his throat. “It appears Graff can disappear and reappear at will.”

  “Fuck me,” Aidan muttered, earning a glare from Finn.

  Delaney glanced between them. “Why is that bad?”

  “Tell her, Finn,” Lyndi, who’d been silent since he arrived, spoke up. “It’s better she understands the danger. She needs to be afraid.”

  Finn ran a hand around the back of his neck. Wow. Was disappearing and reappearing really that bad?

  He met her eyes. “We don’t know for sure, because we’ve never met a dragon who could do that. It’s possible he could get in here and take you without us knowing.”

  “Oh.” Delaney dropped back onto one of the island stools. Her stalker could just snatch her away? She frowned. That didn’t make any sense. “If he could do that, why hasn’t he already? What’s with the random fires and threatening notes and appearing at windows?”

  “No idea,” Finn said.

  “Awesome,” she muttered.

  “But until we catch him or understand the full extent of what he can do, you can’t be alone.”

  Delaney started to nod, then stopped. “Wait… Ever?”

  “You and I are about to spend a lot of time together. Day and night.”

  Yeah. That was not going to be conducive to any kind of good sleep or getting her head straight. She’d be a blathering mess after a few nights of that. “What about Lyndi?”

  The female shifter shook her head, her silky, dark hair tumbling about her shoulders. “Sorry, sweetie, but I’m not a fighter. Plus, as a female I’m smaller. I’d never be able to keep him off you if he showed up.”

  “I understand,” Delaney muttered.

  She’d spent maybe ten minutes with Lyndi, but already liked the woman. Though physically similar, beautiful with her straight black hair, flawless skin, and eyes that were more red than brown, she was Drake’s opposite in personality, that was for sure. All light and bubbly to his dark aloofness.

  “But what about showers?” Delaney asked.

  Lyndi laughed. “I can drop by in the mornings before you go to work. I’ll bring my computer so you don’t feel like I’m watching you naked in the shower.”

  “There’s a mental image I’ll never unsee,” Levi joked as he entered the room.

  Delaney barked a laugh and lifted her gaze to the ceiling as if she might find deliverance there. She didn’t. Now all the guys were picturing her naked with another woman watching. This day just kept getting better and better.

  She dropped her gaze to find that Lyndi didn’t appear too happy about it either, giving Levi a narrow-eyed shake of her head.

  “Sorry, Delaney.” The muttered apology from Levi had her shifting to find Finn glaring at his friend.

  Instead of being grateful for the backup, annoyance spiked. She added her glare to the mix, but for Finn, not Levi. “I can stand up for myself, thanks.”

  He switched his regard to her, then gave a jerky, flat-lipped nod.

  She sent Levi a half-hearted smile. “Don’t worry. I thought it was funny.”

  “I didn’t,” Finn grumbled.

  She ignored him. He didn’t get to be offended for her. Granted, he was her protector. And, okay, the guy she’d come this close to fucking on the front porch until he turned into a fire breathing monster.

  …

  Something was different.

  Staring at Delaney from through the kitchen window as she sat at the table, she seemed withdrawn, as though she had more to think about than dinner. She’d make a good little mate, with the way she enjoyed cooking for the men every night. Soon, she could cook for him. Take care of him. Once she proved herself worthy, he’d take care of her, too.

  Her fire was undeniable. She didn’t know it yet, but she was his.

  First, he needed to get her away from the other dragons before one of them claimed her. The way Finn watched her, he had to feel it, too, the pull a mate had on a dragon before she was turned. But Finn’s need wasn’t real. He wasn’t destined for her. He’d kill her if he tried to mate her.

  I’m running out of time.

  He did his best to keep quiet, not make a sound, though he had to hush the growl threatening to rumble up his gullet.

  He couldn’t tip them off, and that sound would do it.

  Blind fools. They didn’t know yet what they had among them, the precious gift that Delaney would become.

  She had to be his. Her soul connected with his—her interactions with him, a certain light in her eyes, had proved it. There was a deeper message in them. A cry to be claimed by him, and only him.

  Either she’d prove to the fates that she was meant to be a dragon when he pushed his fire inside her, or she’d die. By his hand alone. None of these other bastards would touch her.

  If he killed her, then so be it. Then she didn’t deserve to live.

  …

  It didn’t take too long for Rivin and Keighan to show up with Sera and Blake. Right behind them, Kanta walked in with several boxes of pizza, filling the kitchen with yummy smells. Only she couldn’t quite savor the scents of cheese and pepperoni and sauce.

  Too many thoughts.

  Several warning looks passed among the men who knew what had happened. Delaney already knew she couldn’t tell Sera anything. They’d warned her that humans technically weren’t allowed to know about their kind, so they all played it off as though this was just a spur-of-the-moment, fun night. Still, Sera’s woman’s intuition must’ve kicked in because she crossed the room and gave Delaney a hug. “What a good idea,” she said loudly for everyone else. “You okay?” she whispered in Delaney’s ear.

  “Yeah. We had a bit of a scare.”

  Sera pulled back, eyes wide. “Graff again.”

  “Yes. He…approached Finn. Warned him off.” The story they’d all agreed to stick to.

  “He got away before I could detain him, though,” Finn added.

  Sera nodded solemnly. “Thanks for taking care of her…” She glanced at Blake. “And us.”

  While Blake was staying with his grandparents, Sera couldn’t bear to be without him, and so took him for a few hours each day. Her six-year-old, apparently comfortable with the guys after seeing them the last few days, was already digging into a slice of pizza Rivin had dished up for him.

  “This is awesome,” Blake said around a huge bite.

  “Ewwww, dude. Close your mouth,” Keighan teased.

  With childlike enthusiasm, Blake opened his mouth wider, laughing as Keighan and Rivin made gagging sounds.

  Sera shook her head, smiling at her son. The band of steel around Delaney’s chest eased. At least Blake hadn’t been negatively impacted by all this. Yet. If anything, the kiddo seemed thrilled to have the attention of a bunch of… Were they even firefighters? Or was that just part of their cover story?

  Delaney allowed herself to be pulled along to dinner. Granted, she’d suggested the pizza, but she doubted she’d get anything down. Not while her mind was still reeling.

  She found herself seated between Sera and Finn, a fact that had her even more on edge. She’d exp
ected Finn to take the farthest seat from her at the exact opposite end of the kitchen, to resume ignoring her the way he had since she’d arrived.

  Only he didn’t. Instead, he scooted his seat closer as they squeezed more people around the table. His heat radiated to her, warming her and increasing her tension at the same time.

  Under the cover of friendly banter, Delaney pretended to eat her one slice of pizza, nibbling at it and trying to let the conversation wash over her.

  “Hey,” Finn murmured low, just to her.

  She turned her face to collide with those eyes. Searching eyes.

  “Are you okay?”

  Her lips quirked. “Would you be?”

  Finn pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. “Sorry.”

  “Again with the sorries,” she hmphed. “Stop apologizing for trying to take care of me. Okay?”

  He stared at her for a long, drawn out moment, his mouth pulled up in a little quirk that was not quite a smile, and she got the distinct impression that he liked her. Truly liked and respected her. “Yes, ma’am,” he finally said, that dark voice flowing over her.

  Titus and Hall walked in, breaking the moment. Both men pulled up short when they spied Sera and Blake and Lyndi in the room. Was it her imagination, or did they both also look exhausted? Where had they been anyway?

  Dragon shifters… Maybe she didn’t want to know.

  Suddenly, with no discernable signal that she caught, all the men stood and left. Only Levi stayed behind, ostensibly to guard her and Sera.

  “What’s going on?” she asked Lyndi.

  She glanced at Sera who was busy getting Blake another slice. “Finn will fill everyone in on the details and they’ll likely form a plan.”

  “A plan. That sounds promising.” Could they end this nightmare?

  Lyndi smiled. “You found the right people to help you with this.”

  “That’s right,” Levi tacked on. “Finn won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “Why is this so important to him?” She’d been wondering that since the day he brought her here.

  Levi and Lyndi both glanced at Sera who was listening now with obvious interest.

  Levi grinned. “Let’s just say that we don’t like bullies.”