“One chicken salad sandwich.” Harlan put the plate down in front of his wife and then sat down. “Have you brought news of the birth certificate?”
“I have.” Fiona indicated her purse, which she’d dropped by her feet. “Take a look, Sapphi.”
Sapphi opened Fiona’s purse and pulled out a piece of paper. “A birth certificate.” She skimmed over it, reading the names. “Archibald Jayden Goren. Born to Kimberly Dawn Goren, father unknown.”
“Unknown, so she didn’t put the father’s name on the birth certificate.” Sapphi pressed her lips together, perplexed. “This gets us no closer to the truth.”
“That’s what I thought. But I did a search for Kimberly. And came up with her Facebook profile.”
Fiona took out her smartphone and scrolled through to the relevant page. “I checked through it. She stopped updating around a year ago. But before that, there were photographs, of her and a man.”
Fiona placed her phone on the table, screen facing up, and Sapphi and Harlan leaned in to take a look. “That’s Archie’s dad?”
“I believe so. There’s no name. He’s not tagged in any of the images. But Kim does say lovely evening with the man of my dreams. Thank you, Jay.”
“Wow, you are good at this cloak and dagger stuff.” Harlan grinned broadly as his wife. “So now we’ve proved that Kim’s story, in essence, is likely true.”
“I think so.” Fiona looked from side to side, her eyes dancing as she looked at her husband and her daughter. “Come on, do you think I’d leave it there?”
Harlan sighed. “Of course not. Why leave a thread hanging if you can pull it and let the whole thing unravel?”
“What else do you have, Fiona?” Sapphi asked, intrigued to finally see the face of Archie’s mom.
“I checked out Kim’s last known address. It was close to Holloway County. Which is where Avery was a police officer. And I remember her saying she once worked undercover for six months.”
“Oh wow, we assumed Kim was coming to talk to Neil. But it was Avery?” Sapphi asked.
Fiona shrugged. “Shall we go and ask?” She looked at her watch. “I have half an hour before I am due to meet Dean and Elizabeth. I checked, and Avery is on duty at the sheriff’s office.”
“Let’s go.” Sapphi got up from her seat, hugged Fiona and grabbed her purse. As they made their way out to Fiona’s car, Sapphi pulled out her phone and called Alex. “Meet us at the sheriff’s office. We’ll be there in ten minutes. I’ll explain when we get there.”
Sapphi wanted Fiona to break all the speed limits to get them there quicker, but Fiona always obeyed the rules of the road. In fact, Fiona always obeyed the rules completely. She was a stickler for crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s. It was how she’d survived so long in the modern world, by never drawing attention to herself. Except for her crabby moods. Those always kind of drew attention to her.
“Stop tapping your foot, Sapphi, it’s off-putting,” Fiona told her daughter as they turned onto the main road into town. She slowed, looking for a parking space.
“I can’t help it,” Sapphi replied. “It finally feels as if we are getting somewhere. Maybe we won’t have to fly to Alex’s apartment after all.”
Fiona braked hard. “Fly to Alex’s apartment? When were you going to do that?”
“Tonight. Alex believes we’ll find answers there.”
“And you’re going?” Fiona asked, a look of horror on her face.
“Would you go if it was Harlan who needed your help?” Sapphi asked in return.
“We’re older…”
“He’s still your mate.” Sapphi opened the car door, ready to get out. She could sense Alex’s presence, and couldn’t wait to be close to him again. “None of us can change fate, Fiona. Alex is my mate, and I’d follow him wherever he went.”
“Well, I’ll make sure he never leaves Bear Creek!”
“No, you won’t. You know you won’t. You have to let me grow up. I need to spread my wings.”
“And soar,” Fiona whispered.
“And soar.”
Fiona nodded. “Just remember where your home is. Because no matter how old you are, we are still your family.”
“I’ll never forget.” Sapphi got out of the car and walked along the sidewalk with Fiona toward the sheriff’s office. Alex was waiting outside for them, as eager to see Sapphi as she was to see him.
This was love, real love, and Sapphi wanted to wallow in it for eternity.
Chapter Twelve – Alex
“Hi, guys, what can I do for you?” a female officer asked as they entered the sheriff’s office. She was pregnant, very pregnant.
“Hi, Avery,” Sapphi said in a friendly tone. “I didn’t know you were so close to having your baby.”
Avery sighed and looked down at her baby bump, smoothing her hand over it lovingly. “I still have four weeks to go. I think I’m going to pop before I reach my due date.”
“You should be at home with your feet up,” Fiona tutted.
“Says the woman who worked up until the day she went into labor,” Sapphi said, rolling her eyes.
“That’s not true,” Fiona corrected. “I stopped work at least two days before.”
“If you’re anything like me, you needed something to keep you occupied. I need to spend at least a few hours a week talking to an adult. My loving husband Jacob doesn’t count. So here I am.” Avery planted her hands on her desk. “I man the office, while Brad goes out doing all the other stuff.”
“He’ll miss you when you go on maternity leave,” Sapphi said. Alex wished they’d steer the conversation back around to why they were here. But he kept his opinion to himself. He trusted Sapphi and Fiona.
“Brad is trying to get Neil to take over my position while I’m on maternity leave. But he’s so busy with the store, and they have a baby of their own on the way. Beverly is blooming. I bloomed for the first two months, now I just look like a balloon.” Avery cast a glance Alex’s way. “So is this the new dragon shifter in town?”
Alex started. “How did you know?”
“Neil paid me a visit.” Avery looked at their surprised faces. “I know why you are here.”
“We went to see Neil because we figured he was the undercover cop Kim was supposed to meet.” Sapphi leaned forward on the desk. “But it’s you, isn’t it, Avery?”
Avery sighed and then stood up, using the back of the chair as support as she waddled across the room. Taking her keys of her belt, she opened her desk and pulled out a package. “This came to me. It’s addressed to Kimberly Goren, care of Avery Cooper.” She set it down on the desk in front of them.
“Who is it from?” Alex picked it up, under the wary eye of Officer Avery, and turned it over in his hands. “No return address. No name.”
“I don’t recognize the handwriting.” Avery smoothed her baby bump while she watched Alex closely. “You know, if you weren’t Sapphi’s mate, I’d have you in for questioning.”
Alex looked up sharply. “I don’t blame you.”
“Let’s look at the evidence.” Avery held out her hand for the package. “I think this is now police evidence in the possible disappearance of Kimberly Goren.”
“You’re going to open it?” Sapphi asked.
“We need to know what’s going on,” Fiona stated, looking at her watch. “Damn it, hurry up, Avery, I have a meeting in five minutes.”
“The police force does not work on your schedule, Fiona.” However, Avery turned around, took a letter opener from the drawer and cut open the brown paper package.
“What’s in it?” Fiona asked.
Avery turned around, holding a sweater up against her chest. “Clothes.”
“Clothes, that doesn’t make sense.” Alex slipped around the desk to take a closer look, followed by Sapphi and Fiona.
“No, it doesn’t.” Avery lay the sweater down on the desk and began to examine it, inch by inch. “I can’t see anything hidden in it. Not the label, or th
e seams.”
“The paper.” Sapphi pointed at the wrapping paper. It was doubled over and peeking out from between the folded sheets was a document folder.
Avery put her arms out and pushed everyone back out of the way. “I need to put gloves on.” She pulled two latex gloves out of a box and peeled them over her hands, before lifting the edge of the paper and opening it up fully. Then she inspected the folder carefully before opening the flap and easing out a sheaf of papers.
“What are they?” Alex asked, hoping for some clue as to what had happened to Kim or her mate.
“I don’t know exactly. All that’s listed are properties. These are real estate brochures.” She leafed through them. “Some are in Holloway County. Others in other small towns and cities.”
“Do they mean anything to you?” Sapphi pressed for information. “Kim was coming here to see you. Was this information meant for you, too?”
Avery shook her head, then her face paled. “This one.” She jabbed her finger at the photograph of a large suburban house, the kind you found in most towns across the country.
“What about it? Please, Avery, any information will help us,” Alex implored.
Avery shook her head. “It was a few years back. I was fresh out of police academy and was called out to a domestic incident. When my partner and I arrived, the incident was a shooting. The husband had killed his wife and then turned his gun on himself. The worst part about it was he was a police officer. The theory was the stress of the job had gotten to him.”
“Why send a brochure?” Alex asked. “Some kind of sicko. But what does this have to do with Kim?”
Avery placed the brochure down on the desk and opened it up. Instead of house details, there were details of the shootings, along with pictures of the scene. “Oh, goodness.”
“Sapphi, don’t look.” Fiona shielded Sapphi from the images.
“None of you should look. I need to ask you to leave. I have to call Brad.” Avery, face pale, ushered them all back around the desk.
“Is that why these were sent to you?” Alex asked quickly. “Please, it’s important. Do you have any further information? Kim’s life might be in danger.”
“You need to leave this to the police,” Avery said firmly, the phone already in her hand.
“Anything, Avery.” Sapphi took hold of Avery’s hand. “Please, you have a son, you have another child on the way. Archie might never see his parents again if we don’t do something.”
“I’m going to blame my hormones for this.” Avery lowered her hand, not making the call just yet. “The son of the victims was a cop. Jayden Monroe. He made a lot of noise about it not being a suicide. But there was no evidence.”
“This might be your evidence?” Alex asked.
“It could be,” Avery nodded.
“Why you, Avery? Why send it to you?” Sapphi asked.
Avery closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. When she opened her eyes again, they were misted as if she were fighting back tears. “I worked with Jayden. A few years back when I did a brief stint undercover. He was still talking about it then. But I had this whole thing going on with my boss. And I never listened.”
“But you are listening now,” Sapphi said and hugged her, albeit rather awkwardly around Avery’s baby bump.
“Be careful.” Avery tapped her phone and turned away as she talked to Brad.
Alex, Sapphi, and Fiona left the sheriff’s office, leaving Avery to deal with the rest of the brochures. “They were all murder scenes, weren’t they?” Sapphi asked.
“We don’t know that,” Fiona said, but her expression told a different story.
“I still plan on going tonight,” Alex said. “Sapphi, I don’t want you to come with me.”
“Tough,” Sapphi replied hotly. “You are not going alone.”
“What if this is a trap?” Alex asked.
“Why trap us? We don’t know anything!” she hissed.
“Neither of you should go,” Fiona said. “This is a matter for the police.”
“You don’t mean that, Mom,” Sapphi replied.
“As your mom, and as a professional, that is my opinion.” Fiona’s face contorted in pain. “However, as a mom, I would hate for a child to grow up an orphan if there was anything to be done to save his parents.”
“We’ll go, see if Kim is at my apartment, and if she is, we get her out of there, even if we have to kidnap her.” Alex’s eyes flashed with anger. He hated the thought of Sapphi being involved. But she wasn’t going to stay behind just because he ordered her to. They were partners.
And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Chapter Thirteen – Sapphi
As soon as twilight covered the town, Sapphi and Alex shifted into their dragons and flew away across the mountains. Her family stood and watched, a somber mood covering them all.
Their plan was simple, hug the mountains until it was fully dark, and then turn east and fly as straight a route as they could. Once they reached the apartment building, they would search for Kim, and if they found her they would somehow persuade her to leave and get out of the city before dawn broke.
They would find somewhere to rest for the day, and then fly on tomorrow night, returning to Bear Creek as soon as possible and leaving no trail.
All they had to do was find Kim.
They flew side by side across the lower slopes, keeping close to the ground and using their dragon senses like a radar to check for any humans in the vicinity. The whole situation left Sapphi feeling nervous, as if they were being sucked into a huge conspiracy. Did Kim know about the photographs? Why hadn’t she come to Bear Creek to be with her son?
Her dragon gave her a mental dig in the ribs. We’re out here, flying with our mate. Forget about the future, don’t worry about the past. Enjoy the present!
She swooped down low, taking a drink from a mountain lake, before rising to join Alex, whose vast wingspan cast a shadow over her as they flew beneath the moon and the stars. It was perfect. If not for their mission, she would be happy, content in her new life, with her new mate.
They flew on for a couple of hours before stopping at the edge of a forest, where they landed on the ground and shifted back into their human forms. Sapphi checked her phone for messages, there were none, and then they shared a bottle of water and some of Harlan’s chicken salad sandwiches.
“It’s a beautiful evening,” Alex said softly as he stared up through the branches at the sky above them. “So many stars.”
“Do you ever wish you could fly up there and touch them?” Sapphi asked.
“Not really. They are magical and just perfect from where I’m sitting right now.” His eyes caressed her face. “And very beautiful.”
Sapphi smiled at him, her eyes dancing as she ate her sandwich. “What are the mountains like where you are from?”
“Higher, colder, more desolate. Especially in the winter, when snow covers most of the ground. But it keeps people away. Except for a few climbing expeditions, we rarely see people.” He finished his sandwich and drank some water before passing the bottle to Sapphi. “Will you come with me, when this is over?”
“You already asked me that,” Sapphi said.
“I don’t believe I got an answer.” Alex stood up and stretched his arms above his head, before he rounded on her, his hands placed either side of her, trapping her as she sat on a fallen log. And she so wanted to be trapped by him. Cornered, ensnared by his lips.
“Yes. I’d love to come and visit your family. Since you have to put up with mine.” Her eyes flickered from his eyes to his lips, and she ran her tongue along her lower lip, moistening it, ready for him to kiss her.
“I like your family.” He leaned forward, his face an inch from hers. “I like them a lot.”
Their lips met, and she let the water bottle drop from her hand to land on the damp forest floor. Coiling her hands around his neck, she pulled him in closer, her need for him urgent. Alex slipped his hand between her thighs and
rubbed her clit through her jeans, pinching her, stroking her, making her wet and aching with need.
“Not fair,” Sapphi said when he pulled away from her.
“I wish we could stay longer. But we have to go.” Alex picked up the water bottle and handed it to her. “We’ll rest again in a couple of hours.”
“I can fly longer, if we need to.” Sapphi put the water bottle in her pack.
“I know a place we can set down. We don’t want to get stuck over open ground or a city.” Alex looked up at the sky. “If the moon wasn’t so bright, we could risk flying over some of the smaller towns. As it is, we are going to have to do some creative maneuvering.”
Sapphi stifled a smile. “I’d like to do some creative maneuvering myself.”
Alex’s teeth flashed white as he grinned. “I will hold you to that.” With those words hanging in the air, he shifted into his dragon and launched himself into the air. Sapphi followed, a blue blur of shimmering scales as she rose up into the dark night sky and followed him as their journey resumed.
Six hours, and four detours later, they reached the outskirts of the city where Alex lived. There, the dance began. Weaving in and out of dark alleys, flying low over skyscrapers, they headed for the apartment building where they hoped to find Kim.
A thrill traveled through her dragon veins at the chance of being sighted. Sapphi had always been so careful, but Alex had a daring side that made her feel reckless. Only when they set down in an empty park and shifted back into their human forms did her fear slip away.
“We might have been seen,” Sapphi told him as they strolled hand in hand out of a wooded area.
“No one looks up in the city,” Alex replied. “They are all absorbed in their own worlds, and those who do look up barely see past the light pollution from the buildings and the streetlights.”
“I worried for nothing,” Sapphi grumbled.
“No, it’s always better to be safe. But I’ve traveled that route countless times and no one has ever seen me.” He turned right, and they followed a gravel path alongside a lake, and then took a left turn and walked toward a busy road.
Single Daddy Dragon Page 8
