by Anna Lowe
A dark, burning rage flared in his chest. If Moira so much as hinted at Joey in the same despising tone as she’d used for Cynthia, he’d flip.
“Cynthia. So responsible. So respectable.” Moira’s voice dripped with distaste. “That didn’t buy her happiness, did it?”
A hint of triumph crept into her tone, making Dell blanch. Did Moira have anything to do with the death of Cynthia’s mate?
“Buy happiness?” Dell couldn’t help saying. “Not sure it works that way.”
Moira scowled, finally picking up on the fact that he wasn’t playing along. “I haven’t even talked money yet.”
“You don’t have to.”
She sniffed, letting her eyes drift toward Anjali’s office. “Of course, you can refuse my offer…”
“And if I do?” he said, snapping her attention back.
She shrugged. “You’ll regret it, of course. Everyone will.” Out of nowhere, she flashed a sunny smile as if that was as good an outcome as hiring him. Then she tilted her head. “Or…”
“Or?” Dell let his lion fangs show.
Moira’s lips twitched. “Or you accept my offer, as you should. You won’t regret it, I promise. In fact, I’ll leave your — friend? — and that charming child alone.”
One second, Dell was standing still, shocked at how much Moira knew. Then something in him snapped, and he slammed Moira against the nearest wall, clamping a hand over her throat.
“Don’t you dare,” he spat through clenched teeth.
Moira’s eyes blazed with excitement, even arousal, which was scary as hell. He pinched harder, cutting off her air, wondering if he could actually pull off murder. He could sense a couple of shifters moving in from down the hall — Moira’s personal security, no doubt. But he had the jump on them, and Moira didn’t seem to be in a hurry to shift into dragon form to save herself. She just looked at him with those batty eyes that said, Oh, that feels so good.
Do it, his lion roared. Rid the world of this evil, once and for all.
But outside, people cried in alarm, and a dozen witnesses looked on. To them, it looked like a big man assaulting a slight woman. If only they could sense the ruthless dragon power in Moira. Of course, being charged for murder in a human court would be worth it. His personal sacrifice for the benefit of all shifters.
But then he spotted Anjali holding Quinn, and her terrified eyes said, No, Dell. No.
Quinn’s wispy blond locks moved as the baby cried. The sound didn’t carry into the conference room, but he could feel it tearing at his heart. The toy lion was clutched in her tiny hand, swinging around as the baby shook.
No, Dell. No.
A dozen more voices crowded his mind — the voices of his friends at Koakea. The sound was imagined, but it was enough to make his mind bubble with something other than rage.
He shook Moira. “What exactly are you planning?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Her voice was choked, but her face was alive with all kinds of nefarious plans.
He tightened his hold. One more squeeze, and Moira would be dead.
Do it, her eyes dared. Do it.
Dell’s arm twitched, and a thousand thoughts gridlocked his mind. Should he? Shouldn’t he?
A moment later, he flung Moira sideways, letting her drop to the floor.
Moira laughed, looking strangely triumphant for a woman on her knees. “You are just like your brother.”
He scoffed. He was nothing like Quentin, the honorable, responsible one. Dell was just…Dell.
“You’re nobody. Nothing,” he snapped, figuring that would hurt Moira most.
Then he turned and strode to the door. The crowd that had gathered outside the window scattered, giving him an overview of the office. Three burly men were making their way toward him from the left — shifters hurrying to check on their boss. He snorted. Yeah, Moira needed some new hires, all right. They were flanked by two security men in uniforms. To his right, the hallway led to a second set of elevators.
“Dell,” Anjali whispered, taking his arm.
A river of rage raced through his veins, but at her touch, it quieted to a thin stream. He grabbed the baby in her car seat and slid a hand around Anjali’s shoulders, keeping her close.
“Come on,” he growled, making for the far end of the hall.
Chapter Fourteen
“Dell,” Anjali admonished as he hustled her down the hallway. Everyone was staring, and for good reason. How close had he just come to throttling the new boss?
Not that Anjali would have minded giving Moira a good shake. But she was scared of how far Dell might go. She’d never seen anyone look more angry or dangerous — a warrior ready to make the ultimate sacrifice.
But as threatening as Dell had been for Moira, for Anjali, he was pure protector. The moment he came close, he wrapped an arm tightly around her shoulders, creating an armored cloak. He was that determined, that strong. His arm felt like solid steel, though the anger flowing through him eased slightly when she touched him. Quinn’s frantic cries had quieted to a bubbling kind of weep, and that helped too.
“Don’t you worry, sweetie,” he murmured to Quinn. “I got you.”
Never had Anjali seen him channel protective daddy that intensely. Not just doting uncle, but daddy. A rough, tough daddy who’d stop at nothing to protect his little girl.
“Dell,” she whispered, trying to calm him down.
“We’re out of here,” he muttered.
When they reached the elevators, he stabbed the button and whirled to glare back into the office. Or rather, at Moira, who’d come out of the conference room, looking strangely satisfied.
What was with that woman? Anjali frowned. “Does she like being roughed up or just provoking people?”
“Both,” Dell grunted.
When the elevator door opened, Dell motioned everyone out with one uncompromising stare. Then he ushered Anjali in and hit the down button.
“I can’t just leave work,” she protested.
“Yes, you can.”
“I just got back from a week away. I could lose my job.”
Dell didn’t say anything, but his cheek twitched.
“Dell…” she started, but when she realized it would get her nowhere, she tried another tack, hoping it would help him settle down. “You want to hold Quinn?”
His lips curled into a thin smile. “Yes, but no. I think we ought to keep her in the car seat for now. Okay with you?”
His hands formed fists, and Anjali nodded. “Fine. Just try not to kill anyone on the way out.”
He snorted. “Just that bitch if she crosses my path again.”
Anjali let the twelfth, eleventh, and tenth floors tick by before asking, “You know Ms. LeGrange?”
“I know of her.”
His mouth formed a tight line after that, and Anjali decided it was time to give in.
The elevator stopped at the ninth floor, but after one look at Dell, the two businessmen waiting there stepped away with a meek, “We’ll take the next one.”
Dell’s eyes were practically glowing, and his teeth were all but bared. They stayed that way all the way through the lobby and onto the street, where it had started to rain. Pouring, in fact, with pedestrians scattering for shelter. Anjali opened her blazer, covering Quinn, while Dell held his jacket over both their heads. Still, Anjali was soaked by the time they ducked into the cab he hailed.
“Where to?” the driver asked as the wipers jerked back and forth at top speed.
Dell barked out the North Astor address then pulled out his phone.
Anjali buckled Quinn in and watched Dell in silence. Everyone knew Moira LeGrange was demanding, but Dell considered her dangerous. And no wonder, considering the creepy feeling she’d given Anjali in her office. The question was, what exactly gave Moira that aura of power? And why did it feel similar to the simmering sense of power in Dell?
“Connor?” Dell murmured into the phone. “Listen…”
He went on,
making arrangements, checking the rear window the whole time. The driver had the radio on, and Anjali could barely hear Dell, but what she did catch made her jaw drop.
“First flight… Moira… Quentin…”
She frowned. What did Dell’s brother have to do with Moira? And what was that about a flight?
“We just got here,” she protested.
Dell covered the phone and tilted his head toward Quinn. “Not safe for her. Maybe not for you either.”
What about you? Anjali wanted to ask, but he’d gone back to the phone.
The cab drove slowly as rain hammered the roof and windshield, giving Anjali the sense of rushing through space and time even if their speed over ground was slow. She frowned at her own reflection in the window. Was this out-of-control feeling what Lourdes had experienced in her last, desperate days?
Anjali leaned over to cuddle Quinn, who studied her through saucer-sized eyes. Anjali did her best to exude positive vibes, but it was hard.
“Want your lion?” she asked, pulling the stuffed animal from the baby bag.
Quinn grabbed it and sucked on the ear.
Anjali forced a smile. Lourdes had insisted that lion would protect Quinn. If only that were true.
Dell looked over, staring at the lion as he continued his call. Then he touched Anjali’s shoulder and patted Quinn. It was only when Anjali touched his arm that he relaxed slightly, so she covered his hand with hers and held it for the rest of the drive. When they reached the limestone mansion, the butler met them at the curb with an umbrella and escorted them into the house. Inside, he disappeared after a quick nod that suggested he was in on whatever Dell was planning.
“First flight where?” Anjali demanded once they entered the second-floor parlor and shut the door.
“Maui.” Dell took Quinn out of her car seat and started pacing. The baby reached up for his beard, and he nibbled gently on her fingers, making her coo.
“Maui?” Anjali yelped. “I can’t just leave. I don’t even have my laptop.”
He stopped and looked at her. “First of all, listen to yourself.”
She made a face. It was fairly warped to think of her laptop at a time like this. But, heck. She couldn’t just up and leave her job.
“Second,” he continued, “It’s not safe.”
She knotted her fingers. Having her apartment ransacked was bad enough, and Moira had creeped her out too. But was that truly grounds for fleeing the city?
“Dell,” she pleaded, touching his arm. “Tell me what’s going on.”
He pulled her into a hug with Quinn cuddled between them. “I will,” he whispered into her hair. “I swear I will. Just as soon as I get this all set up.”
He rested his head on top of hers for a moment, then sighed and eased away at a beep from his phone, handing Quinn back.
“Connor?” He paused, then cursed. “Damn it, can’t you do better than that?”
Anjali’s eyebrows shot up. Connor might be Dell’s friend, but he and Cynthia were clearly the leaders of that group, and she’d never seen Dell challenge either one of them.
“Damn it. Then take the chopper and meet us in Oahu. Yes, Oahu. Just do it, okay?” He clicked off the phone, scowling. “The first flight to Hawaii isn’t until tomorrow morning. And it’s via Oahu. But Connor can fly us home from there.”
Home sounded so good, but Anjali forced herself to shake her head. “Hawaii? I can’t.”
He took her by the shoulders. “You have to. This is bigger than either of us thought.”
She froze. “Bigger? How?”
He shook his head. “I’m still working it out, but Moira is bad news. Really bad news. That, and what happened to Lourdes.”
Outside, the wind howled as the storm reached its peak.
A lump formed in Anjali’s throat. “Not a suicide.”
“Not a suicide,” Dell agreed. “Not with your apartment ransacked. That’s not a coincidence.”
She blinked. “You’re saying whoever killed Lourdes came to my apartment? What were they after?”
Dell didn’t say a word, and fear spread through the pit of her stomach. Slowly, both of them turned their eyes to Quinn.
“No,” Anjali whispered, holding Quinn tighter. “Why?”
Dell stroked Quinn’s cheek, making the baby gurgle happily. “I think it may have to do with Quentin as much as Lourdes.”
Outside, the storm raged on. Rain pounded the windows and streamed down the glass as if trying to get in.
“How?”
Dell glanced at Quinn. “It has to do with her, too.”
“How? Who would want to harm an innocent baby?”
Dell made a face. “Moira, for one.”
Anjali gasped. He couldn’t be serious, but apparently, he was. Dead serious.
“Listen, Quinn is special,” Dell started.
Anjali couldn’t help a smile. Dell had definitely slipped over from uncle to proud daddy. “Of course she is.”
He shook his head, fingering the stuffed lion. “No. I mean, really special.”
“Every baby is special.”
“This one is even more.” Dell looked into her eyes, and his lips moved, giving her the sense of some great announcement about to come.
But then a knock sounded at the door, and Dell whipped his head around. “Yes?”
“Sir,” the butler murmured, calling him away.
Dell hesitated, and Anjali wanted to scream. What had he been about to say? What was going on?
“I’ll be right back,” Dell said, easing away.
While Dell stepped out to speak to the butler, Anjali went to the window. Just that morning, there had been an incredible view of the lake. Now, she could barely see as far as the sidewalk. Water flooded the gutters, and trees bent in the wind. A man rushed by, holding a briefcase over his head. Another stood hunched beside a lamppost looking…up?
Anjali skittered away from the window. Had that stranger looked in her direction?
She peeked again, but the man was gone. Had she imagined him in the first place?
She hugged Quinn and went back to pacing. Crap. Now she was seeing danger everywhere. Was Dell paranoid, or was the danger really that great? And if it was…
She looked down at Quinn, listening to her own heartbeat. Whatever the danger, she would do anything to protect Quinn.
What if that costs you your job? a little voice asked from the back of her mind. Or ruins your career?
Anjali stared into the empty fireplace and let out a long, slow breath. Would it really come to that?
* * *
It took ages to get Quinn settled that evening, but she finally fell asleep in the nest of blankets Dell had made for her by the bed. They’d retreated from the parlor to the cozier guest room in the back of the second floor. The room was decorated with paintings of castles, and a fire crackled in the fireplace. A dragon with jeweled eyes had been sculpted into the mantelpiece, and the flames seemed to flicker in its eyes. Not a spooky kind of flicker, though — more like a comforting, protective one. Anjali sat on the couch with Dell, watching flames swirl every time a gust of wind howled down the chimney.
“For the record, that wasn’t as good as my mom’s.” Anjali tried to lighten the mood, pointing to the picked-at cartons of food that littered the table in the middle of the room. Their second night of Indian takeout had been just as fraught with anxiety as the first.
It was good to see Dell smile, if faintly. “Someday, I swear I’ll cook that dinner for you.”
He’d been on and off the phone all evening, though in between, he’d explained a little more about Moira. How she’d tried to hire Quentin and been turned down. How Dell’s friends had tangled with Moira in the past. Though for everything he revealed, Anjali had the feeling there was more he held back.
“She and Silas go way back,” he’d said.
Anjali looked around. “Silas — the guy who owns this place?”
Dell nodded. “His family is one of those blue
-blood clans. He inherited a fortune, including this place. But he’s a great guy. Very grounded. A good commander.”
Anjali wanted to hear more about how exactly Silas had tangled with Moira — and what kind of clan Dell was referring to — but it didn’t seem like the time.
“You guys are all really close, aren’t you?” Anjali whispered.
Dell nodded. “I guess ten years in the service together will do that to you. All that training. All that waiting. All that fighting.” His voice soured, and he cleared his throat. “So, yeah. We’re close.”
She wove her fingers through his. You were close to your brother too, she nearly said. You miss him more than you want to admit.
Someday, she’d get Dell to let the grief out. But tonight… She blew out a long, slow breath. They’d had enough to deal with for one night.
Gradually, she’d resigned herself to the idea of leaving Chicago. Whatever was going on, she was way, way out of her league. And if she was going to survive a second long-haul flight in the space of two days, she needed to relax a little. Dell too. She’d never seen him strung so tight.
“Okay,” she announced, standing up.
Dell blinked up at her. “Okay what?”
She hauled him to his feet. “Yoga time.”
He groaned, resisting. “I’m too tired.”
She shook a finger at him. “A wise man once told me that’s when you need it most.”
A vision of that day in Lahaina flashed through her mind, warming her with the memories. She looked up at him. He’d been the one to pull her out of a funk that day. Now, it was her turn to help him.
Dell made a face. “That deadbeat? No wisdom in him.”
She stepped closer and cupped his chin. “That guy was never a deadbeat. He just didn’t know what he had in him until now.”
Dell didn’t say a word, but his Adam’s apple bobbed.
“And he definitely needs to loosen up,” she added. “So, mountain pose. Here we go.”
She’d long since changed clothes and toed off her shoes, so all she had to do was press her hands together at her chest to begin. Dell mirrored her, standing three feet away and a head taller with a grateful shine in his eyes.
