Matt rushed to open the door. When Lucien and the others walked in, there was a glaring problem. No one was home.
“Where the hell is everyone,” he barked more than spoke.
“We’ll find out where they are. How about we put Greg on the mats and see if we can get Miss Connie to come over to check on him now?” Blaise asked.
“Yeah, that sounds like a good plan,” Lucien admitted. He was not thinking clearly. Greg was still unconscious, and his mate was gone. It was the middle of the night back on Earth, and she was supposed to be here, safe and sound.
Matt walked the floor, peeking into the ladies restroom and back area were the kitchen was located. When he returned it was clear from his sour expression that they weren’t here.
Lucien sat next to a limp Greg, waiting for Miss Connie to come over. Sending out a probe of the Lair, a new void of heartache echoed back to him. Before he could compose himself, he roared aloud, “Where the fuck is my mate?”
The Lair shook ever so slightly from the force of his inquiry, then nothing.
28
Quinn… three hours earlier at the Lair
“Where is she? Did she come back here?” a frantic Ajax shouted coming through the door.
Quinn and Hildy were waiting for him downstairs when he made it back. Wren had gone into the grocery store but never returned. After spending an hour between looking for her at the store and the surrounding area, he’d finally called Hildy hoping she’d come back home to the Lair.
“No baby, she’s not here. We didn’t want to go out looking for her until you made it back,” Hildy said, rushing into Ajax’s arms.
Ajax looked over his mate’s shoulder to Quinn, mixtures of emotions riding his handsome features. “Quinn, I’m so sorry. I had no idea something would happen. If I’d known, I would have—”
“Shh, Ajax, don’t do that. We don’t have time, and nothing good will come of you beating yourself up over this. We have to think and get a game plan is all.” Quinn looked at him, but her words had done little to calm him.
The man was distraught with worry. His hair stuck up in various angles from him running fingers through it and pulling it. Quinn wanted to scream but stayed as calm as possible. She’d fallen asleep on Hildy as soon as they made it to the quaint apartment only to be awakened to this nightmare. Now horrific images flashed through her mind of all the dangers her friend could be in.
“Ajax, how do we get in touch with Lucien?” Quinn asked. “I need to let him know before we go out looking for her. He might have some insight on what’s going on. Him or even Matt, maybe?”
Anguish made Ajax’s young face look a bit hardened as he said, “I’d have to contact the supervisory counsel of Elder Dragons and Gryphon to get a message to him now. Plus, Matt would lose his shit and do something stupid there if he found out. That would make it harder for the guys to get done with this assignment. How about we do what we can to locate her. If we haven’t located her by morning, I’ll do whatever I can to get in touch with them.”
“Okay, let me think for a moment,” Quinn said, pausing to consider all the questions and beginnings of a plan that bombarded her mind.
Hildy wore an expression that looked more like a killer than a woman as she paced back and forth. Ajax kept rubbing the back of his neck and sweating. Quinn felt like one wrong word or action, and these two would lose their shit.
She had to slow it down a bit, keep her thoughts from overtaking her and concentrate on what to do next. Closing her eyes to shut out the scene of anxiety building in the couple before her, Quinn relaxed every muscle she was aware of and allowed her breathing to find a manageable deep rhythm. Obvious questions popped up like who might have it in for Wren—no one from Quinn’s observation of her life. Wren lived well within the boundaries of safety. Unlike Quinn, at barely twenty-five, Wren had no debt, excellent credit and no crazy ex-boyfriends out to cause her drama.
Quinn wanted to find her so badly that she did the unthinkable. She broke down and found Zia’s number in her contacts and gave her a call. Playing it cool as not to alert Zia to come looking for Wren too, Quinn learned that Wren had sent her a text this morning saying she was hanging out with Quinn and some new friends. Zia added that Wren was excited about a new guy and asked her to be on standby to cover a few shifts at the restaurant for her if things worked out. From a few other things Zia mentioned, it was evident that Wren shared more stuff about herself than she did with Quinn.
The truth bomb had landed. Even though Zia was beautiful with all the things society seemed to love from her naturally flowing flaxen hair and sparkling gray eyes to her tiny waist expertly separating voluptuous breast from ample hips, butt and thighs, the woman took the time to listen to Wren and talk with her about her. Sadness threatened to swallow Quinn up as she realized she’d been so caught up in all things Lucien that she hadn’t been there for Wren to talk about what was happening to her as well.
Wren had been right. It always had to be about her, but this wasn’t the time to be selfish by wallowing in self-pity. Quinn had to move on and find her best friend. And when this was over, and they found Wren, Quinn would be the best friend Wren had been to her.
The next obvious questions involved her life. Speaking of crazy ex-boyfriends and her massive ego, Quinn had to ponder on if someone she’d worked with or Craig would be demented enough to do something to Wren. They’d had their differences in the past but not enough for him to seek to cause her any more harm besides the financial one he’d placed her in. Plus, Craig was too full of himself to get his hands dirty with snatching Wren. That was one thing about her, Quinn knew she must have put up a good fight.
Her mind began to drift past that train of thought to float out of the Lair and outside. Quinn’s mind’s eye recreated the Diner across the street, the land and trees in front of the Lair and other places someone could have been lurking to spy on them. Settling into the mirage forming before her, Quinn mentally turned around in a circle, taking in interesting views and angles. The last one was different from what she remembered.
With her eyes still closed and on this mental journey of surveying the memory of the Lair and its surroundings, it was this view that didn’t resemble the real one. No, this time she stood across the street at the edge of the parking lot of the Diner. Instead of seeing a copse of trees and open meadow, Quinn could clearly see the Lair. It’s red brick, and stately facade stood proud and tall amongst the trees. Taking a mental step forward, she crossed the street to come closer to the Lair.
That’s when Quinn spotted the anomaly. In the front of the Lair, close to the street stood a wooden post and sign near where her car had been parked. The car—it was still gone but now was the last thing of concern to her. It was all about this sign. The post was made of solid wood that had been installed more than placed firmly in the cold ground. Coming around to stand before it, Quinn bent down to read only to discover the sign was a sealed message. That post hadn’t been there before, but what did it mean. Was she lucid dreaming or awake but dreaming? Again she looked across the street at the Diner, and nothing was out of order. The only things different were this sign and the Lair, exposed for all to see. That was it. The Lair was vulnerable in some way, and the sign must be a message to them all.
Still, she had to drill down more. What was real and what was symbolic or fantasy? Quinn continued to stare at the front of the Lair. She’d not seen it in real life, save the huge metal and thick wood doors surrounded by red brick. Her gut said the vision of the Lair was real. Her car was missing from the front as well. That was real. The Diner was across the street—also real. The only element that grabbed her as out of place was the sign. The certainty of that fact snatched her out of the mental imagery.
When her eyes popped open, Hildy and Ajax stood before her looking as if they’d seen something strange.
“What? Why are y’all staring at me like that?”
“Um, because you were acting like it was a seance up in here. W
ith you’re swaying and eyes moving all fast behind your eyelids, we didn’t know what was up,” Hildy said, leaning in to check her eyes. “Plus your eyes are super dilated right now. What’s up Quinn?”
“Nothing wrong with me. I got something though. We need to check the front yard. There might be some clue out there about what happened to Wren. Do you have a flashlight or something larger than a cell phone light that we can take to scour the area? It’s crazy dark out there.”
Less than ten minutes later, they made their way to the edge of the property to look for a sign. There was nothing there. Quinn wanted to cuss and spit in frustrated failure.
“Hildy, do me a favor and shine your light back toward the Lair,” Quinn said, instructing her.
The Lair was there, and she could see it, but only by sQuinnting and willing herself to look past the obvious landscape that she’d seen up until now. Quinn knew the Lair was there. Thus, she expected to be able to see it now.
“Why are we looking back at the Lair in the dark?” Ajax asked.
“So you can see it too?” Quinn asked.
“Of course we can. We’ve all been granted access to the Lair, so we can see it when we’re outside,” he said.
“And why is that? You know, being able to see it. I thought Lucien said it wasn’t here and that it straddled many dimensions.” Quinn was onto something and wanted to make sure she wasn’t grasping at straws and wild conjecture.
“From what I’ve been taught, those who have been allowed to come into the Lair can see it. It stands to reason that if we can exist in a place that simultaneously inhabits different dimensions, we too can do the same. So, our vision expands to be able to see more things in different realms and planes of existence. How’s that for a bastardization of quantum physics?” Ajax asked.
“You did great, baby.” Hildy gave him a quick peck on the lips.
Quinn pondered what he said and compared it to her vision. If she could see the Lair, she should be able to see other things. Concentrating and a lot of sQuinnting, Quinn had Hildy turn the light back toward the street and boom, there it was!
“Stop, do y’all see it?” Quinn asked.
Hildy nodded her head and said, “Yeah, not sure why I didn’t see it before.”
Ajax looked around and then at them, “What do you see? I still don’t see anything.”
Hildy stepped forward, closing in on the sign. It looked as it had in Quinn’s vision.
“Stay back you too. I don’t want anything else happening tonight,” Hildy said. “I’m going to get the message, and when I do, we’re all going to step away from the post and high-tail it back to the Lair. Do you understand me?”
Quinn noticed how hardened her voice had become. Hildy had shifted into a no-nonsense mode and was in no mood for disobedience.
“Yeah, that works, but why take the message back to the Lair? If it’s dangerous, we could be making matters worse.”
“Quinn, you just got here and are still learning about this world, but I’d put Lucien’s magic up against anyone’s. If the message has any harmful spell on it, the wards of protection that man has put on the Lair will take care of it. I’m banking on the Lair keeping us safe, instead of opening it out here where there’s no buffer between us and danger.”
“Now who’s the sexy one?” Ajax said. “Sounds like a great plan. I don’t know what you and Quinn have located, but I also trust the Lair to protect us from it.”
“Then let’s make it back inside the Lair, fast,” Quinn spoke up, taking off toward the building.
Hildy made it in first, followed by Quinn and Ajax, bringing up the rear. She made a beeline to the table where they’d eaten earlier and placed the sign on it. In the light, it looked like an ordinary poster board folded in half and sealed with some ordinary tape. Quinn still wasn’t buying it, though.
“Can you see it now, Ajax?” Quinn asked, pointing to the sign on the table.
“Nope, not yet. The only way I know something is there is by the way Hildy moved. It looked like she carried something and placed it on the table.”
A sign that couldn’t be seen by Ajax was interesting and terrible.
“Shoot, I thought if you could see it, you might be able to tell us what it was,” Quinn said, frustrated and a little weirded out by the turn of events with this magical sign. “Well, I saw it in my vision, so I guess I’ll open it. The Lair hasn’t done anything to it yet, so it can’t be all that bad, right?”
Hildy gave her a look and offered a bit of advice, “Take it slow. Anything hinky about it and you stop, okay? The last thing I want to have to do is kill Lucien because he killed Ajax because something happened to you.”
“No one’s going to kill anyone around here. Now you two stand back—just in case.”
Quinn didn’t take it slow. If she was going to experience anything supernatural, might as well bum rush the hell out of it. She snapped the tape in two to open the poster board. On it, written in what must have been a woman’s handwriting, it said:
In exchange for the girl, give us the Dragon’s Eye treasure, Hildy Newton, and $100,000US. Go to this location address and await further instructions. You have until 11:59 p.m. tonight. Fail to show with those three MANDATORY items and your friend is gone forever.
Quinn gave the sign to Hildy and watched her face as she read it.
Looking up with shock etched into her features, Hildy said, “Quinn, I don’t know what to make of this. I’m so sorry about Wren. In a million years I wouldn’t have thought this had anything to do with me.”
Ajax spoke, “Hildy, what the hell are you talking about? What does the sign say?”
“It says to get Wren back they want to exchange her for me, some jewel called the Dragon’s Eye and a hundred thousand dollars.”
Ajax turned white and sat down.
“What’s the matter Ajax? Don’t worry; there’s no way we’re giving whoever this is Hildy, that money or jewel they’re talking about. They have to know we don’t have that money and not sure even what the other item is. What we are going to do is find a way to get Wren back without any more of this foolishness.” Heat and energy lit Quinn up from deep within her belly. “How dare whoever this is. The nerve of those dicks. Now I’m thoroughly pissed. This is about some jewel and money? And why do they want Hildy so badly?”
Ajax said, “The cash isn’t a problem.”
“Then what is it? You don’t look too good,” Quinn asked.
The sadness in his hazel eyes was overwhelming. His words were laced with it as well as he said, “It’s not just Hildy they want.” He looked up at Quinn and added, “They want you as well. The Dragon’s Eye isn’t a piece of jewelry or a monetary treasure; it’s the leader of the Clan’s mate—like the First Lady of a country or something like that. Quinn, you’re the Dragon’s Eye.”
That was enough to knock the breath out of her. Quinn didn’t like how fast this had gone to shit. She’d been Billy-Bad-Ass when it was only Hildy they wanted. Now that she was included in the lot, everything changed.
“Wait, who could this be?” She almost begged the air around them for the answer. “And, why of all people would they want Hildy and me?”
“Don’t you see?” he asked. Only you two can read the message, and they seem to know that you’re the mates of Dragon’s.”
“Baby, it could be way more than that,” Hildy said. Both Quinn and Ajax looked at the woman pleading for her to continue. “Sorry, so much going on in my head. What I mean is that there’s something else you should know about me, Quinn.” Hildy took another frustratingly long sigh and continued. “Before I met Ajax, I was a highly skilled secret agency asset.”
Quinn couldn’t believe this shit. “Asset? As in a fucking spy?” She and Wren had been around a freaking spy. “Are you on the lamb from them or something? How could you have put us in danger like that? You should have given us some clue that our lives might be in danger being around you. You bitch!”
To her astonishmen
t, the tall woman hadn’t done anything to stop her from saying those words to her. The pain of this revelation was evident in every part of Hildy.
Hildy’s head hung low to her chest as she spoke. “Quinn, I’m not a spy. It’s worse. I’m an assassin. And I didn’t mention it because I thought that part of my life was over. Ajax and I faked my death. I’ve taken precautions whenever I leave the Lair for the most part. And I thought the agency had moved on.”
“I know for a fact you didn’t take that many ‘precautions’ when you drove Wren to the apartment all out in the open last night or even when you were out earlier at the Diner with us. They could have been watching you all along.” Quinn stopped. She had to calm down. There was no need blaming Hildy. This was more than Hildy or her. Something else was afoot. She could feel it. “Look, Hildy, I’m sorry for that. You don’t deserve my harsh words or blame. I can’t be so high and mighty either. They want my ass too. So there you go.” She looked at her friend who was in her mate’s arms, as Ajax gave her comfort. “Hildy, please accept my apology.”
All the woman did was nod. It didn’t take special sight to see Hildy struggled to keep the tears that rimmed her large eyes from falling.
It was Ajax who spoke. “We can spout conjecture and what ifs all night.” Looking at his watch, he went on, “We have about three hours before the meetup has to happen. In that time we need to develop a solid plan. And remember, the bigger issue is that we’re dealing with someone who knows about us; and that we exist. They know we’re Dragons and your relationship to us. We might be dealing with supernatural beings with Goddess only knows what types of powers. This is way bigger than a ransom or retrieval of a precious asset.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, new words—foreign and vile—manifested in Quinn’s consciousness. Quinn still didn’t believe that this was about some supernatural in fighting, though. Weren’t the Guardians supposed to be keeping all the bad aliens off the Earth? This was about getting Wren back, no matter what.
Lucien: Dragofin Mated: Book 2 (Dragonfin Clan Mated) Page 23
