by Jane Jamison
“What do you want?”
“Aw, come on. You’re smarter than that.”
“Leave now and I won’t call out. Or take the Jeep. Just let me go.”
“Now where’s the fun in that? Sorry, honeybun, you and I are taking this ride together.”
* * * *
“Where’s Julie going?” Ryan had just ended the call to the station when he noticed Dane’s Jeep pulling away from the curb.
Dane frowned. “She didn’t say she was going anywhere.”
Micah, who had been standing outside the van, started running toward them. “Damn it. He’s got her.”
“Who?” Yet Ryan had already guessed before Micah confirmed it.
“Hank Arlan.”
“You’re sure?” asked Dane.
Micah shot him an angry glare. They’d studied Hank’s mug shot often enough to recognize him.
“Dane, see if you can head them off. Here. You drive.” Ryan tossed his keys to Dane. If anyone could catch up to them as a human, it was Dane. He might not have wings, but he was one hell of a driver.
“Damn it. I need some fucking wings.” Dane took off running.
“What about Brenna and Molly?” Ryan was already hotfooting it toward his pickup with Micah by his side.
“They’re all right. I told her to lock themselves in the van and wait for the police.” Micah grabbed Ryan’s arm. “It’s dark. We can catch up faster if we fly.”
“And when we find them?”
“We wait until they stop. Don’t take the chance of running them off the road.”
“Are you ready?” With only a sliver of a moon overhead, Brenna would have a difficult time seeing them shift.
“Let’s do this,” answered Micah.
The two men spread out, needing more distance between them before they transformed. As dragons, they were huge, taking up a lot of room. Their wings measured several yards wide.
Ryan turned his dragon free, giving way to the roaring beast inside him. The shift took him, hard and fast, tearing him apart, only for him to reform. His body stretched, skin sliding away to reveal blue-hued scales. Red overtook his vision as wings sprouted from his arms. He growled, needing to voice the pain to withstand it. Before long, he stood taller, his tail swishing back and forth over the grass to knock over a small play fort.
Summoning his cloaking skill, he flicked his tongue over his fangs and watched as Micah completed his transformation, morphing into his green dragon. Throwing back his head in a soundless roar, he looked to the sky and took flight.
* * * *
“Hank, you’re going to get caught. They know you took me.” Julie eased her foot off the gas. With any luck, he wouldn’t notice.
But luck wasn’t with her.
“Step on it. But not too fast. We wouldn’t want to draw attention to us.”
Or maybe that was exactly what she needed to do. Increasing her speed, she kept pressing her foot on the pedal until Hank gripped her shoulder.
“Don’t make me blow your pretty head off,” he warned. The gun was still pointed at her head.
Suddenly, anger washed through her, making her careless. “That’s what you’re going to do anyway, right? Then do it, damn it. Just get it over with.”
“Nah, honeybun. You’re not getting off that easy. I’m going to make you suffer for what you did to me.”
“What I did to you? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Shut the fuck up, cunt, and drive.”
“Will you stop waving that thing at me? Where are we going, anyway?”
“Just keep driving.”
She struggled to keep panic at bay. If she was going to die, then she’d be damned if she’d die without a fight. Hank had already taken too much from her, and if it was the last thing she did before drawing her final breath, she’d take her dignity back.
“You planned everything, didn’t you?”
Hank had always loved it whenever she made him feel more intelligent than he really was. “I sure did. That dumb fuck Randall didn’t have a clue that I set him up. I knew you’d have to help his wife and kid, and sure enough, you did.”
“I don’t get it. Why not get me on your own?”
“With those three guys hanging around? It was always either them or some off-duty cops watching your place. Besides, I wanted the police to go after Randall when he kidnapped his wife and kid. If they hadn’t fucked it all up by killing him, chasing him would’ve given us a head start. We would’ve been halfway to Mexico before they knew anything was wrong.”
“You can still make it on your own. Put me out on the side of the road outside town. By the time I make it back, you’ll have a lot of miles between us. Don’t add murder to your list of crimes.”
“Shit.”
“What’s wrong?” She glanced into the rearview mirror and found him gazing into the side mirror. Looking there, too, she saw a sight that made her heart leap for joy. Ryan’s pickup was on the highway not far behind the Jeep.
“Fuck.”
She checked again and saw only Dane in the pickup. Where were Micah and Ryan?
“Take the next exit.”
“We’re going to the River Walk?”
The San Antonio River Walk was a famous tourist destination as well as a popular location for locals. Bars and restaurants lined the San Antonio River where colorful boats offered rides from one end to the other. Umbrellas for outside dining made a colorful landscape. Sidewalks wound under bridges, giving lovers the perfect private spot to exchange a lingering kiss.
“There’s the exit.”
She took the exit as slowly as she could, glancing back once to see how close the pickup was. “They’ll be a lot of people there.”
“Damn it, bitch, just do what I say.”
She followed his directions, realizing at the last moment that he was taking her to “their spot.” Located between two buildings at the farthest end of the river was a small cramped space. It was just big enough to accommodate one vehicle. He’d taken her there when they’d first started dating, and at first, she’d loved the seclusion. From that spot, they’d walked a seldom used trail down to the river to catch one of the boats.
“That’s it, honeybun. You know where to park.”
* * * *
There. She turned into that alley between the buildings. Micah sent his telepathic thoughts to both Ryan at his side in the sky and Dane in the pickup under them. Stay with them, Dane.
“Will do.”
Dane slammed the pickup to a stop behind the Jeep and bailed out of the cab. He was off and running, doing his best to catch up with Hank and Julie.
Micah dipped and ebbed, his long wings narrowly missing the trees lining the river. Flying close to the city was bad enough, but the River Walk was located below street level, making it even more hazardous. Although their bodies were hidden from the crowd of humans below, if they collided with any structure, no one would miss seeing the resulting damage. Worse yet, they’d lose control of their cloaking skill and show themselves.
“Careful,” warned Ryan.
I am. Micah lifted his neck, soaring upward in time to narrowly miss one of the bridges. Where’d they go, Dane? Do you see them?
“Damn it. He pulled her onto one of the boats.”
What about the boatman? As soon as he’d asked the question, Micah saw the prone body of a man lying next to the dock.
“He knocked him out. They’re heading up the river. I’ll run along the sidewalk and try to keep up.”
Dane’s panted breaths echoed in Micah’s head.
“There. I see them,” answered Ryan. “Follow my lead.”
* * * *
“This is crazy.” Julie knelt in the middle of the boat. “Where do you think you’re taking us? God, Hank, I think you killed that man. You didn’t have to hit him so hard.”
“Shut up.”
The tension in Hank’s voice had her turning around. His face was a mask of anger, his eyes blazing with fear.
“Bullshit.” His laugh tore into her. If he’d been sane before, he wasn’t now.
Should she jump? How deep was the water? She studied the murky depths. If she flung her body over the side and swam deep enough, would he be able to shoot her? Or would the water set the bullet off course? She searched around her, hoping to find a safer way to escape.
The night was dark, especially in the lower level of the river. Glittering lights decorated the bars crowded with happy people. Delicious aromas drifted to them as the sound of music filled the air. If she screamed, would anyone hear her? Or would her voice be lost in the noise of the partiers?
Yet even as dark as the night was, she noticed something even darker pass over them. For a moment, the moon and stars were hidden. A hard breeze, reminding her of another time, brushed over her, blowing her hair around her face.
“What the fuck was that?”
She lifted her gaze and searched the sky above them. “I don’t know.” And yet, she’d seen it before. A ripple in the sky. She squinted, trying to see something that wasn’t visible.
Another shadow passed over them. Another breeze blew against her.
Hank let out a yelp and hunkered down. “There it is again.”
They were approaching one of the many bridges along the river. If the strange occurrence happened again, she’d take the one chance she had left.
“I’m scared, Hank.” It wasn’t a total lie. She was scared, but she was also determined to fight. She moved closer to him. As she’d hoped, he was too fixated on the sky to notice.
Where is it?
She stared into the night and waited until they passed under the bridge. Getting ready, she inched even closer to Hank.
Come on. Do it again.
And then she saw it. The strange ripple swept under and over the bridge, almost as though it had divided into two separate entities. Hoping her timing was right, she leapt toward Hank, throwing her body against him. He stumbled backward, his hands reaching for anything to stop his fall.
But he didn’t fall. It was as though he’d been caught with invisible hands. His eyes became huge circles, and a silent scream filled his open mouth as his feet left the boat.
She crouched down, slapping a hand over her mouth as Hank flew into the sky. The strange ripple changed, becoming solid for only a moment.
Oh my God.
A dragon, its blue scales shimmering in the darkness, carried Hank away. Another dragon, its green scales highlighting the quick whip of its long tail, appeared at the first dragon’s side and turned its head toward her.
Then the dragons disappeared. Hank’s body was soon lost in the darkness.
“Julie!”
She whipped toward the sound of Dane’s voice. He landed on the boat, jumping from the sidewalk. Taking her into his arms, he held her to him.
“Dane.” Her voice was barely a whisper, but it was enough.
“You’re safe now.” He turned her loose, leaving her to get behind the wheel of the boat.
“Did you see them?”
He kept his attention fixed on the river as he headed for the nearest docking station. “Did I see what?”
Without a doubt, he was lying to her. “You know what I’m talking about. Hell, I saw them, and I’m willing to bet more people saw them, too. You were right there, close by. There’s no way you didn’t see what I saw.”
He pulled the boat to the shore. People milled around the edge of the water, curiously talking among each other.
Did they see the dragons? Did they see Hank?
Several people snapped cell phone photos of them, even as she ducked her head and hurried past the onlookers. Dane led her through the crowd and then down a crooked path leading into the heavier darkness of the alley between two restaurants and away from the crowd.
“The pickup’s parked nearby. We’ll get the Jeep later. Let’s get back to the ranch.”
She shook his hand off her arm. “Not until you admit it. You saw the dragons.”
He paused and took a hard look at the crowd before leaning closer. “Yeah, I saw them. Now will you come with me? I promise I’ll answer your questions later.”
She wasn’t imagining it. She’d seen real live, flying-in-the-sky dragons. “You can tell me on the way.”
“Nope. You’ll have to wait until the four of us are together.” He put out his hand and waited for her to take it. “Are you coming, or do I have to get one of the dragons to swoop down and carry you home?”
She was tempted to see if it would really happen. “Fine. Let’s go.”
Chapter Eleven
Julie and Dane reached the ranch before Micah and Ryan. Instead of going inside the house, they sat on the steps of the porch and waited.
“They shouldn’t be much longer.”
“Why didn’t they get here before us?” She’d told him what Hank had said, relating how Hank had tricked Randall into doing his dirty work for him. “Why didn’t they come after me, too?”
Where were they when I needed them?
“I told you, sugar. All will be revealed when they get here.”
She inhaled then let it out in a long, slow breath. Trying to relax, however, was out of the question. “Tell me about the dragons while we wait.”
“What dragons?”
She shot him a glare. “You know what dragons.”
“Oh, yeah. Do you mean those dragons?” He pointed toward the sky.
She followed his direction. At first, all she saw were ripples in the air, just as she’d seen before. She studied the outlines of two distinct forms. Anyone looking at them wouldn’t see what she saw, but now that she knew what to look for, it was much easier to make out the two very large bodies.
The rippling effect grew less intense as clear, solid forms began to materialize. Astonished, she gripped Dane’s arm. “Oh my God.”
Two immense dragons landed on the front yard. They were magnificent with strong bodies vibrating with power. Their tails swished back and forth as they strode toward her. Huge jaws exposed vicious fangs, and horns decorated their heads, leading the eye to the sloping necks. The ground shook with each step they took. The air around them thickened as if they put off hot steam. Thin tendrils of smoke drifted out from between their jaws.
Julie stumbled to her feet and clamored up the steps. Taking what little refuge she could, she hid behind the porch column.
Dane strode toward the dragons. “Where the hell is he? You didn’t take him to the station. Not with him seeing what you are.”
“Dane, what are you doing? Get back here.”
He continued toward them. “Don’t worry, sugar. It’s Micah and Ryan.”
“What?”
An effect similar to steam drifting off of hot coals surrounded the animals. The dragons’ bodies blurred, making it difficult to see them. But she could see enough to know that they were changing. Their bodies shifted, growing smaller. The tails soon disappeared while human arms and legs formed. Before long, Micah and Ryan stood before her, dressed in the clothes they’d been wearing at the park.
She couldn’t stay on her feet any longer. Holding on to the column, she slumped to the porch.
“Damn it, guys, you didn’t have to change so fast.” Dane spun around and dashed back to her. “It’s okay, sugar.”
Micah and Ryan came to her and helped Dane ease her into one of the nearby chairs. They spoke to her softly as though speaking to someone in shock.
Am I in shock?
She studied them, remembering their transformations from dragon to man. “I don’t believe it.”
“It’s a hard thing to wrap your mind around, but it’s true. We’re shape-shifters. When we change, we change into dragons.” Ryan to
ok her hand in his two. “Dane’s one of us, too, but he doesn’t have wings so he can’t fly.”
Strangely, she wasn’t frightened and didn’t want to get away from them. Instead, she wanted them there. Their presence was the only thing keeping her sane. “You’re really dragons. But that’s crazy. Dragons don’t exist.”
“Obviously, we do.” Micah took a seat in the chair next to her while Dane stood over her, his hand on her shoulder. Ryan stayed kneeling in front of her, his gaze imploring her to understand and accept.
Her mind searched for something she could understand. “What happened to Hank?” Hank was real. That much she knew for certain.
Ryan glanced at Micah. “After I took hold of him—”
“And lifted him into the air,” she added.
“Right. We were just outside the city limits when the damn asshole took a shot at me.”
“So he still had hold of the gun?” Would things make more sense if she helped talk about them?
“Yeah.” Ryan’s expression grew even more solemn. “I didn’t have a choice. He shot me in the leg. I couldn’t keep hold of him.”
She sucked in a hard breath. “You dropped him? So he’s—”
“Yeah, baby. He’s dead. We’ll give the police an anonymous call later. They’ll find the body and come to their own conclusions about how he died. We can’t tell them the truth.”
Micah touched her arm and, without thinking, she leaned toward him. “You can’t tell them about Hank or about us. If you do, then the world will know dragons are real. Do you understand?”
Did she? She nodded, but was she telling the truth now? Touching her fingertips to Ryan’s face, she studied him, still trying to believe what her eyes had shown her.
“Are you all right, sweet thang?”
“I think so.” She laughed, a short, brittle sound. “Maybe.”
“We’re sorry you had to find out about us this way.” Ryan took her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “But there’s more.”
“I’m not sure I can take much more.”
“We love you. You know that, right?”
If nothing else made sense, that did. “Yes.”
