Silverback Dragon (Return to Bear Creek Book 6)

by Harmony Raines

  “But he didn’t say if it was good news or bad.”

  He caught hold of Fiona and pulled her into his arms. “And wearing a hole in the carpet will not make him drive any quicker.”

  “What if I can’t stop Roxanne from getting Ruby and Sapphire back? I should have found them a proper foster home, and then I could have argued their case without looking like some crazed child kidnapper.”

  “Fiona, listen, one thing I am sure of, is that whatever Roxanne’s motives are, they are driven by greed. I have money. I expect I have more money than all of Ruby and Sapphire’s family treasure combined.”

  “What are you saying?” Fiona turned and faced Harlan, her eyes wide. She knew exactly what he was saying but wanted him to put it into words.

  “If it comes to it, I will do a trade. My treasure if Roxanne walks away from this.”

  “You would do that?” Fiona asked.

  “It’s only money, and I made my fortune once, I can make it again. If not, we live a simple life in this cabin of yours.” He smiled down at her, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her lips. “As long as we are together. And that we includes Ruby and Sapphire. They are such wonderful children. I won’t see their spirit crushed. We’ve both seen enough of that.”

  “We have.” Fiona rested her head on his chest. “I sometimes wonder what I did to deserve a man like you, Harlan. I really do.”

  “The feeling is mutual.”

  “You are a romantic. I’m beginning to like it,” Fiona murmured against his chest.

  “Good, because I am not going anywhere. And if I have my way, neither are those girls.” He held her close to him, his head resting on hers. How long they stood there he couldn’t tell, but the light began to leach from the sky and an owl hooted from somewhere deep in the woods, and still, they stood locked in each other's arms, like two stone statues.

  Until there was a knock at the door. Upstairs, the sound of Muffin barking could be heard, until Sapphi shushed him and told him it was OK.

  “I’ll get it.” Harlan reluctantly let Fiona go and went to answer the door, hoping Sam might have something concrete they could use against Roxanne to keep her away from the girls.

  Pulling the door open, Harlan was confronted by a large man, with huge hands, one of which he thrust toward Harlan. “Hello, we haven’t met. I’m Sam Spencer.”

  “Sam, good to meet you at last. Come in, come in.” Harlan shook Sam’s hand and then stepped back for the huge man to pass. Sam had to duck to avoid knocking his head as he entered the small cabin.

  “These cabins were not made for men like me,” he said.

  “Go through, Fiona is in the sitting room.”

  “Hi, Fiona,” Sam said, offering her his hand. The man filled the room, but he was in no way menacing. Harlan decided he would still not like to go up against this man in any way. He also wondered how easy it was to be a private investigator, when you were so memorable.

  “Hello, Sam,” Fiona said. “Please sit down.” Her eyes flicked to Harlan’s with an expression that said she hoped Sam did not break the sofa. Sam didn’t carry a lot of fat on his body, but he sure did carry a lot of muscle.

  “Thanks.” He drew an envelope out from the inside of his jacket. “I’ll get straight to the point.”

  “Do you have information on why Roxanne suddenly wants the girls back?” Harlan asked.

  “I may have.” He slid out two pieces of paper and handed one to Harlan and one to Fiona. “This is a copy of the prenup Joe Rochester signed when he married Emerald Ellingham.”

  “What about the prenup Roxanne signed?” Fiona asked while she scanned the document in her hand.

  “She likely didn’t sign one. But it wouldn’t matter. This document is quite clear. Joe was only a guardian of the family fortune. It’s sewn up tight. When Joe married, the money was not his; it was in a trust for the girls. A generous sum was paid each year for him to use to live on and support the girls. And, even once the girls left home, he would receive a smaller, but equally generous amount, for the rest of his life.”

  “So that is it,” Fiona said triumphantly. “Roxanne knows this, and wants Ruby and Sapphire back so that she can pocket the money, at least until she finds her next victim.”

  “It would appear so,” Sam said. “I have spoken to the family lawyer, and he said this is unbreakable.”

  “The lawyer told you this?” Harlan asked, studying Sam.

  “I asked nicely.” Sam smiled. “There is more.” He took out a photograph and handed it to Harlan. “This is Dougal Campbell and his wife Samantha. I wanted Ruby or Sapphi to ID him as the man they also know as Roger Humphries. If it is, I may pay him a visit. I’d like to know if his wife knows he is screwing around.”

  Harlan passed the photograph of Dougal and his wife, in her wedding dress, to Fiona, who frowned and peered closely at the photo. “What’s wrong?”

  “Are you sure this is Dougal Campbell and his wife?” Fiona asked.

  Sam pushed out his cheeks and then let the air out. “I’m good at what I do, Fiona, and very rarely make mistakes. Very rarely.”

  “How old is it?” Fiona asked.

  “They got married around ten years ago,” Sam said, checking the dates.

  Fiona was out of her seat and heading for the stairs, calling, “Ruby. Sapphi. Come here, please.”

  The bedroom door was flung open and Sapphi came running out. “What’s wrong, is everyone OK?”

  Harlan got up and went to join Fiona, confused as to what Fiona had seen in the photograph. All he could see was a young man and a woman smiling for the camera. “What is it?”

  “Sapphi, is this Dougal?” Fiona asked, pointing to the man.

  “Yes.” Sapphi leaned forward. “Why is he getting married to Roxanne?”

  “Why indeed?” Fiona asked triumphantly.

  “Well, of all the…”

  “Don’t swear in front of the children,” Fiona reminded Harlan.

  “Sorry,” Harlan said, still shocked from the latest revelation.

  “Thanks, Sapphi,” Fiona said and turned to walk back downstairs.

  “I don’t understand, if Roxanne was married to Dougal, how can she be married to my dad?” Sapphi asked.

  “Exactly,” Fiona said. “Exactly.”

  She headed back downstairs, a big hopeful smile on her face. It made his dragon’s heart sing to see their mate so happy. After days of uncertainty, they finally had hope, and a chance to end this once and for all. Then they could get on with the job of making this Ruby’s and Sapphire’s home forever.

  “Sam, this is the woman posing as Roxanne Rochester, nee Cunningham. But she is, in fact, Samantha Campbell.”

  “The plot thickens,” Sam said, taking back the photograph.

  “What I don’t understand, is Roxanne Cunningham does exist. I saw it on the computer system at work,” Fiona said.

  “Sometimes people steal other people’s identities. Roxanne might be off the grid, for whatever reason. Or moved abroad.” Sam shrugged. “I would like to guess that something this sophisticated is not the first time these two have done this.”

  “Only this time they came up against a dragon and their treasure,” Harlan said. “This is just like Ross all over again.” Anger surged through him. “I want these two taken down. Whatever resources you need, they are yours, Sam.”

  Sam nodded and put the information in the file. “I’d do this for free, Harlan, but I know you can afford it.” He shook their hands and gave Fiona a smile, complete with dimples; the guy was a charmer. But Harlan liked him.

  “Whatever it takes. And if ever you need anything, I’m only a phone call away. I will be eternally grateful for this, Sam. And for what you did for Chrysi.”

  “I always like to get the bad guy, Harlan. Always.” A sudden shift in his mood gave Harlan a brief glimpse at a sadness Sam kept hidden under his friendly exterior. However, it was gone as quickly as it came, and Harlan let it go, they all had enough to conte
nd with right now. Instead, he thrust his hand out to Sam. “Anything. Anytime.”

  “Thank you,” Sam said sincerely and left the room. “I’ll see myself out, and don’t worry, I’ll be in touch.”

  Harlan and Fiona faced each other, and no words were needed. They were close to ending this. Or at least the first chapter. After that, they would deal with adopting Ruby and Sapphi and making sure no one could ever threaten to tear them apart again.

  Chapter Seventeen – Fiona

  “I’m so thankful to have you standing by my side,” Fiona said to Harlan.

  He reached for her hand. “There is no place in this world I would rather be.”

  “Are you two sure you will be OK?” Chrysi asked, her concern etched on her face. “What if Roxanne is dangerous?”

  “We’re dragons,” Harlan said as way of explanation.

  “Inside you are dragons. On the outside, you are just two ordinary people.” She paused. “Two extraordinary people, but you know what I mean.”

  “We look like a middle-aged couple.” Harlan stepped forward and kissed Chrysi on the cheek reassuringly. “We can handle ourselves. When I was a boy, I was a champion at unarmed combat.”

  “Were you?” Chrysi asked surprised. “You never said.”

  “Some things don’t exactly come up in everyday conversation,” Fiona said. “I jousted once. Borrowed my father’s horse and went to a tournament.”

  “Did you win?” Chrysi asked.

  “No, I ended up on my bottom in the mud. Never tried it again. Plus, my father gave me hell for stealing his best horse. Half the county knew it was me.”

  “You were kind of famous?” Chrysi asked.

  “Not me, his horse was. Everyone knew Silver Sailor, dappled gray, with silver streaks in his mane and tail.” She shrugged at Chrysi. “I was a woman, I was invisible. I much prefer living in today’s world.”

  Chrysi shook her head. “All these tales you can tell this little one when he or she finally makes an appearance.”

  “I look forward to it. So much.” Fiona looked down at Chrysi’s swollen belly, and a small sob erupted from her mouth, which she covered with a cough. Harlan put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her head.

  “You won’t have a shortage of babysitters,” Harlan warned Chrysi.

  “I can see that.” Chrysi turned away for a moment, before adding, “I’m so happy you are part of our family, Fiona.”

  “I’m so pleased to be part of it. Even if I have brought a couple of troublemakers with me.” She turned around as Ruby and Sapphi entered the kitchen with Muffin. “You will behave for Chrysi, won’t you?”

  “We’re not five-year-olds,” Ruby retorted. “Hi, Chrysi.”

  “We’ll be good,” Sapphi assured her.

  “Then we should all go.” Harlan checked his watch and led them all out of the house. Chrysi was taking Ruby and Sapphi into Bear Creek; they were going to look around the local stores, and then go back to the Bear Creek News offices, where Nevis and Theo would help keep an eye on them all. Just in case things went wrong.

  “See you later.” Chrysi hugged her dad and whispered, “It will all be OK.”

  “I hope so.” He watched them get in the car and drive off, then he and Fiona got in his car. “Even if this does go OK, there is a good chance we will have to let Ruby and Sapphi go for a few months.”

  “Let’s take it one step at a time,” Fiona said. “As long as Roxanne is out of the way, I am sure we can all survive.”

  “I want to wring her scrawny neck,” Harlan said.

  “I have dibs,” Fiona said calmly. “You can have what’s left.”

  He chuckled. “We would have made a formidable team once upon a time.”

  “We still can. But for different reasons.”

  “I finally met my match,” Harlan said.

  “And so have Dougal and Samantha Campbell.” Fiona sat back in her seat as Harlan put the car in drive, and steered them away from the small cabin. She was going to have to move, or build an extension for when they adopted Ruby and Sapphi. The girls needed a room each, personal space.

  Fiona filled her head with these dreams of the future as they drove to the social services offices where the woman posing as Roxanne would be waiting. The meeting between her and the girls had been set up, but what Roxanne did not know, was that the girls were going to be far away, out of her reach. At the same time, Dougal Campbell would be taken into custody for conspiring to defraud.

  “Jerry Oswald, my lawyer, thinks they will fast-track us,” Harlan said. “I didn’t like to say in front of Ruby and Sapphire.”

  “Fast-track?” Fiona asked. “That is usually for very special cases, those with disabilities.”

  “He made inquiries, and shifter children are often fast-tracked. Especially those at puberty. He also has it on good authority that they will be particularly interested to find Ruby and Sapphi a home with people who understand their very particular needs.” He glanced at Fiona. “I think they are afraid she might bring fire and damnation down on anyone she doesn’t like. They have never had dealings with an orphan dragon shifter experiencing the shift for the first time.”

  “That is good news,” Fiona said. “Very good news.”

  “And since one of us is held in such high standing and has extremely good references, that it should be completed quickly, after the required home checks.”

  Fiona looked across to him, meeting his eyes, her love for him shining through. “Then I did pick the right man. Or fate did.”

  “He meant you, Fiona.”

  She blushed and opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She simply turned her head forward and stared out of the window, her words stuck in her throat. Fiona had tried to live in the background, unobserved and unliked, for a long time. When had these changes in her taken place? Not when she met Harlan. No, she had already become softer, more open to friendship, before that.

  “Here we are.” He picked up his cell phone and dialed Sheriff Brad’s number as they sat in the parking lot in front of social services offices. “Hi, Brad. We’re ready. OK. We’ll go in. Yes, Fiona will stall her until you have Dougal.”

  Fiona got out of the car and walked into the office she had worked out of for the last decade or more. So many children had passed through her life, so many she had tried her best for. And now here she was, trying her hardest, because if this failed, and they were wrong, then Roxanne might get the girls back.

  Not happening, her dragon said firmly.

  Fiona agreed but now was not the time to make decisions. Everything might go in their favor, and Roxanne, or Samantha, would be spending the first of many nights in a prison cell.

  She signed Harlan in. To anyone watching, this was just a routine day. But what no one knew was the couple upstairs, pretending to be potential foster parents, were actually Brad and a member of the local police force, whom he was liaising with on the case. They were going to move in and arrest Roxanne for both fraud, and bigamy, as soon as they got the all-clear.

  “I’ll be OK,” Fiona told Harlan as they reached Suzie’s desk. “Suzie, you remember Harlan?”

  “I do. I certainly do,” Suzie said, eying Fiona carefully. “Roxanne is waiting for you.” She pointed to the waiting room. “Do you want me to sit in on the interview?”

  “No, I’ll be just fine. Just fine,” Fiona purred, making Suzie frown at her.

  “Be careful,” Suzie said, lowering her voice. “There is something about that woman I don’t like.”

  “I have all the backup I need,” Fiona said with a smile.

  “She’s right, be careful,” Harlan warned. “If anything happened to you…” He left the words trailing, and Fiona had to stop herself from hugging him in an attempt to reassure him.

  “This old bird can take care of herself,” Fiona said. “I’ve been around long enough.”

  “I want to make sure you are around for many, many more years,” Harlan said.

  “Not
hing will stop me,” Fiona returned.

  Suzie sighed. “You two make such a cute couple.”

  Fiona opened her mouth to contradict Suzie. She didn’t want to be cute. However, Harlan, always the gentleman, replied first, “We do, don’t we?”

  “You do.” Suzie had that happy expression on her face that people wore when they were dreaming of how they would like their life to be.

  “One day, you will meet a man you love,” Fiona told Suzie graciously. Goodness, what was coming over her?

  Leaving Suzie with her mouth open, and Harlan chuckling to himself, Fiona strode down the corridor and entered the waiting room. “Roxanne. Good to see you again.”

  Roxanne narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Let’s not play games. Have you brought the girls?”

  “Let’s go through to my office,” Fiona said.

  “I want to know if Ruby and Sapphire are here.” Roxanne stood up but didn’t follow Fiona.

  “Their foster parents will be bringing them once we have a chat.” Fiona smiled brightly. “Or I could call them and tell them you wish to postpone the meeting.”

  Roxanne clutched her purse and followed Fiona out of the waiting room and along to her office. Fiona could feel Harlan’s eyes on her, but she did not turn around.

  “Take a seat.” Fiona indicated the chair on the opposite side of the table, and sat down, placing a file open in front of her. She sat in silence pretending to read for a few minutes. Harlan had coached her on how to make people uncomfortable. It worked. In a short time, Roxanne began to fidget.

  “I thought you would have been up to speed on all of this,” Roxanne suddenly blurted out.

  “I was just trying to familiarize myself with what was in the file, Roxanne. I can call you Roxanne, can’t I?” Fiona asked easily.

  “I suppose.” She huffed. “Can we move along? I have spoken with my lawyer, who will be requesting copies of all the files. If you refuse to let me see Ruby and Sapphire. I am sure a good lawyer can find something in them that will put your department in a bad light.”

  “Possibly. Although I have a couple of questions of my own to ask,” Fiona said. “Just routine.”

  “Very well.”