Midnight_Nightmare Dragons

by Terry Bolryder

  “Then what do you do all day?”

  “Keep records.”

  “Of what?”

  His gaze shuttered. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “I thought you were going to tell me everything.”

  “I said I’d give you access to everything. Of course you can see my office if you want. But everything about our business is there on that computer. The only things you won’t have access to are hidden on my person.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “What?”

  “Nothing,” he said, turning to walk to the doors that led to the matrix of offices. “So did you want to start here? I can give you the passwords.”

  “I’ll start in your office.”

  “Fine by me,” he said, opening the doors for her and then leading the way down the hall to an office at the end. “And, Lillian?”

  She glanced up in response as she walked into his office and headed straight for the desk. “Yes?”

  “I never said you could find anything. I only said you could try.” He leaned forward and set a small, handwritten paper full of what looked like codes on the desk in front of her.

  She was about to say she wanted to know more about him, not about his corporation, but with a charming smile, he managed to disappear, closing the door behind him.

  She slumped with her cheek on her hand as she booted up his computer.

  What an interesting guy.

  Chapter 5

  To Lillian’s dismay, the entire morning went by without any breakthroughs. Even with complete access, she couldn’t find a single thing out of place that could otherwise implicate Nathan in anything other than the absolutely sterling reputation with which the rest of the world seemed to regard him.

  But as easy as it would be now to simply get in line with everyone else that viewed him as the purveyor of all things charitable, she had to trust her instincts. The photos she’d seen were real. And for all his stellar looks and gentlemanly veneer, Lillian was certain there was something beneath the surface. Something she’d felt when she was alone with him.

  There was a knock on the door, which jolted Lillian from her deep thinking. But before she could say anything, the door opened and Nathan appeared from behind it.

  “Am I interrupting anything?” he asked, letting himself in.

  Normally, she would have something to say about someone barging in on her like that. But it was his door, after all. His office, his building.

  Nathan crossed his arms and leaned back on the wall behind him. Just the sight of him still managed to make a shiver go down her spine, but Lillian figured that was practically every woman’s reaction to the towering, confident man.

  It wasn’t until she took a second look that she noticed his hair was somewhat mussed as though he’d been running his hands through it. And she could see the muscles in his perfectly sculpted jaw ticking, clenching from some unknown stress.

  Maybe life at the top wasn’t always smooth sailing.

  “Lunch. My treat.” His tone was polite, but the way he said it sounded more like a demand than a request.

  There was still a mountain of ledgers, agendas, and financials she wanted to pore over, but she couldn’t resist the allure of more time with the enigmatic Nathan Lancaster.

  Because each time they were together, she felt she was getting a little bit closer to cracking the case.

  “Sure. What did you have in mind?”

  “Just come with me,” he said, sounding rushed. Nathan strode out of the door, and she followed, matching his pace. But with such long legs, it was hard to do even in the modest heels she wore.

  He called the elevator, and they rode down to the main floor in silence. But even without words, she could feel an intensity surrounding him that seemed entirely unlike him. A silent focus, his mind somewhere else while he kept his arms folded, a single finger tapping rhythmically on his taut bicep.

  The elevator finally dinged, and she followed him as he walked through the main entrance of the building. Maybe they’d be taking a car somewhere?

  “So what kind of fancy cuisine does the world-famous Nathan Lancaster dine on? Sushi? Something French? The blood of virgins?” she asked, curious to uncover more to explain the very odd mood he was in.

  Nathan scoffed. “That’s not funny.” But the slight smirk on his lips said otherwise. “No, I have something else in mind.”

  Lillian just focused on not tripping as he made a left, walking to the end of the block, then crossed the street. To her surprise, he stopped in front of an utterly modest-looking cafe and opened the door for her to go inside.

  Six-dollar sandwiches and burger lunch specials. Definitely not the kind of place she would have expected.

  Then again, who knew what the elusive Nathan Lancaster liked to eat anyway?

  He followed her in, then pointed to a table near the front desk where a cashier was busy checking people out as they waited in line for their orders.

  For someone so private, he’d picked a surprisingly public and loud place to get lunch.

  They both took a seat, Nathan sitting with his back to the window, facing the rest of the restaurant. Lillian took the seat across and looked up at the menu sign displayed in brightly colored letters above the half dozen workers buzzing about prepping orders, cleaning dishes, and constructing ready-to-eat meals for people to carry out or eat at one of the various seats in the cramped place.

  “So what looks good to you?” Lillian asked. But when she looked over at Nathan, he was staring past her, chin resting in the palm of his hand. He didn’t blink, appraising something or someone with an unflinching glare.

  When he noticed her watching, though, he sat up quickly, and for a split second, his eyes caught the light coming through the window behind, reflecting a flash of deep maroon behind the normal dark blue of his irises. But maybe it was just the light playing tricks, like red-eye in photos.

  “Ah, lunch. Yes. Hm, let me see…” He began to look at the menu, but his eyes kept darting to something behind her.

  Finally, in curiosity, Lillian looked over her shoulder to see whatever the heck it was he was so fixated on. But there was nothing but a line of people waiting to put in their orders. Sure, the second person in line, a guy with a beat-up jean jacket and a dirty cap, was looking a little nervous, but maybe he was just in a rush to get back to work.

  It wasn’t until she saw him fidgeting with something in the pocket of his jacket that a rush of adrenaline went up her spine, making her heart pound. No, it couldn’t be what she thought.

  The lady in front of him walked away, sandwiches in hand, and he approached the counter. Then, in a flash, a matte-black firearm appeared from the guy’s jacket, and he pointed it at the cashier.

  “Open up the cash register, bitch. Give me everything you’ve—”

  Lillian turned to look back at Nathan, but before she could even fix her gaze on him, he stood, moving past her in a blur of motion so quick her eyes couldn’t even track it.

  Before the man at the front could even finish his sentence, Nathan’s hand was on the gun, pulling it downward and out of his hand like an adult takes away a kid’s toy when they’re being bad.

  With a snap, a click, and pop, Nathan ejected the magazine and popped the slide off the back of the gun. Now in two pieces, it fell from Nathan’s hands and clattered to the ground before the shock on the would-be robber’s face could even fully show.

  He opened his mouth to say something, but Nathan grabbed the robber’s arm and wrenched it backward and behind him, and Lillian could swear she heard something crack. He screamed in pain as the people around them, both scared and confused at the rapidly changing turn of events, gave out a collective gasp that silenced the restaurant.

  The man, face screwed in pain, tried to struggle, but Nathan pushed him down, slamming his upper body into a table next to where Lillian was seated, making the ground rumble from the force of it.

  Even more surprising than the speed at which the whole thi
ng had transpired was the utter calm on Nathan’s face. His eyes were relaxed, looking down at the robber with thinly veiled disdain as he held him there for a prolonged second.

  Then from nowhere, Lillian heard the exclamation, “Police!” from the entrance of the cafe, and she looked over to see two patrolmen walking into the place, appraising the situation with caution.

  “Here’s your guy,” Nathan said nonchalantly as the two officers approached, noting the disassembled pistol on the ground at their feet.

  One of the officers instantly recognized the world-renowned philanthropist currently restraining the sizable wrongdoer as though he were a kid. “Nathan Lancaster?”

  He didn’t respond to the admiration and shock in their voice, but just moved aside nonchalantly as the other officer handcuffed the criminal.

  “I’m sure everyone in here will be more than willing to give a statement, so you shouldn’t need mine. I’d prefer to remain anonymous,” Nathan said, coming over to Lillian and offering a hand to help her up out of the booth.

  “Yes, of course, Mr. Lancaster. We understand,” the star-struck officer exclaimed, helping his partner take the perp into custody.

  Lillian released Nathan’s hand once she was standing, and he nodded and strode out of the place as quickly as he’d come in. Lillian managed to follow him, not wanting to get left behind as people around them shared exclamations of wonder and surprise at the whole thing.

  As they exited onto the sidewalk, people outside peeking in to see what all the fuss was about, Lillian caught up to him. His profile was so sharp, so stoic in the noonday sun.

  He huffed in annoyance. “Let me guess. Now you’re going to blame me for a robbery just because it’s where I wanted to go.”

  “Honestly, I don’t know what to think.”

  He looked down, an eyebrow raised, and slowed so they could walk side by side more comfortably.

  Thank God. She was getting tired following him around like this.

  He sighed. “There’s nothing to think. The guy seemed off, and I was able to stop him just in time. Just dumb luck.”

  Perhaps a normal person would have taken that as an acceptable response. But nothing about the entire situation seemed lucky. Yet it seemed entirely unlikely to be some sort of setup. Someone as high profile and private as Nathan Lancaster didn’t need to pull stunts like that to get notoriety. Everything about him seemed to hate even being in there, and he’d left without more than a few words to the police.

  Which raised another question.

  “Wait, so how did the police just happen to show up on time to arrest that man?”

  “Must have been walking the street and seen the commotion. Again, lucky.”

  He was being cagey again. She could feel the secrets, the untold truths he was keeping from her. But there was nothing she could say to unearth them.

  “What about your mood before? You were acting strange all the way to the restaurant and right up until the robbery happened. Something was off.”

  Nathan shrugged, picking up his pace again and making her almost jog to keep up. “If you’re going to follow me around, carrying your bias with you, you might as well just stop what you’re doing now.”

  His voice was agitated now, his body tense, like a tiger being prodded one too many times.

  But why? Was she getting too close to the truth? Was she on to something?

  They came back into the giant building, and Lillian’s mind continued to whirl with possibilities, with unanswered questions, a thousand boxes that only Nathan had the keys to unlock.

  “I’ll be in my office the rest of the afternoon, so you’ll need to continue your work at the main desk. Sorry about lunch. I’ll have something sent up to you shortly.” He pulled his suit coat taut around his shoulders and did the button. “As for what you just saw, don’t speak of it again.”

  Heavy silence rested on them once more as the cogs in Lillian’s mind turned at full speed. The ding of the elevator bringing them back to his floor interrupted her momentarily, and Nathan disappeared down the long hallway that led to his office. She made her way back to the front desk, still in thought.

  One thing was for sure. Spending time with Nathan was only making him a greater mystery.

  Chapter 6

  By the end of the day, Lillian didn’t manage to find anything else on the computer at work, but she guessed it was partly due to still being distracted thinking about what had happened at lunch with Nathan.

  She’d only spent a day in his vicinity, and already it was uncanny, his ability to be in the right (or wrong) place at the right (or wrong) time.

  After all, during a robbery, they could have been shot or something.

  So why did someone like Nathan, presumably born with a silver spoon in his mouth, know how to be so calm when disarming a robber like that?

  Where had he learned those moves?

  He’d also interfered that morning with crazy Bill, and she had to admit he saved her.

  But she refused to believe Nathan Lancaster was some kind of hero. Combined with his looks and money, that would really be too much.

  She yawned and looked up at the clock, seeing it was far past usual work hours. The remnants of the deluxe lunch he’d sent up to her were still sitting on her desk, and she swiped them into the trash, savoring the memory of the most delicious sandwich and homemade potato chips she’d ever had in her life.

  Working here really wasn’t bad. She could get used to it if it was actually her job. But eventually, the hunger to hunt the next story would get to her and she’d want to be a journalist again.

  She yawned as she saw Nathan walk out of his office and down the hall toward her desk. When he reached her, he put one hand in his pocket, jangling his keys.

  “So do you want a ride home?”

  She frowned. “No, I walk. But thanks.”

  “Are you sure?” He looked slightly worried. “I can hire a car if you don’t want to go with me. But I’d prefer you didn’t just walk home alone. It’s getting dark soon.”

  “I’ll be fine. I always walk home from work, and I work just across the street usually.”

  “Right,” he said, sitting with his hip on the edge of her desk. “Is that how you became obsessed with me? Watching my building from outside your window?”

  She felt a flush color her cheeks but looked at him defiantly. “I’m not obsessed with you.”

  “But you’ve been stalking me.”

  “Trying to get an interview.”

  “And you’re now working for me—”

  “Trying to get the secrets you’re hiding—”

  “And you went to lunch with me—”

  “Because I’m your employee and you invited me.” She stood abruptly. “But seriously. I can find my own way home.” She began to gather up her things, flustered by the way he’d called her on something that was probably a little truer than she wanted to admit.

  Did her interest in Nathan really go further than the story? If so, had that started before or after she’d actually met him?

  She gave him a wary look. Why did he have to be so damn attractive? He was smiling down at her, looking as calm as she was ruffled, damn him.

  “All right, then,” he said, putting up both hands. “We can at least take the elevator down together.”

  “Fine,” she said. “But no following me or trying to talk me into a ride. I actually enjoy my walk home.”

  “Sure,” he said. “No problem.”

  They were quiet in the elevator as the doors closed, and then she stared up at him. “That was pretty impressive… what you did back at the cafe.”

  He cocked his head. “Really? I just did what anyone would have done.”

  “It was crazy… almost like you expected it.”

  “Please, how could anyone expect something like that? I just wanted a burger.”

  “But we didn’t get one.”

  “Well, I didn’t want to stick around for the perp to press charges.”


  “Why would he do that? He was clearly in the wrong.”

  He leaned against the wall with his arms folded. “When you have the kind of money I do, everyone wants a piece of it. Which I’m happy to give in most cases, but I don’t want to be dragged to court. I like my time to myself, and I like to keep my things private.”

  “Understandable. I guess there isn’t a lot of privacy when you’re rich.”

  He shrugged.

  “So what, now you’re going to tell me it’s just as hard to be rich as it is to be poor and you’re the one who should be pitied?”

  He gave her that shark-like grin, his perfectly white, straight teeth reflecting the light from the elevator. “Of course not. I’ve been poor and I’ve been rich, and rich is vastly more fun.”

  “What?” She lowered her eyebrows in confusion and followed him out of the elevator as the doors opened. “Hold on. I’ve looked into you, and from what I can tell, you’ve always been rich. I mean, no one really knows where you came from, but—”

  He just shrugged again, looking as though he was no longer in the mood to talk, and gave her a wave as he headed for the glass doors that led out onto the street. A black town car was parked in front, awaiting him. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Lillian. And don’t worry. You won’t see me following you.”

  She bit her lower lip as he stepped into the back of the car and it slowly pulled away.

  Once he was out of sight, she took a deep breath and released it. Ah, city air, redolent with hot dogs and garbage and the occasional tree or flower. She began her walk down the street in the direction of her place, wondering if she should pause for dinner on the way.

  Nathan was right; it was already starting to get dark out. Despite feeling she was generally safe between here and her apartment, she decided she should probably get home on time.

  The walk home felt pleasantly familiar, and she enjoyed each storefront she walked by, waving at people she knew and had bought from.

  She would see Sasha soon, and Sasha would be curious how her first day at work had gone. She’d need to call her boss and update her on her progress, but that could probably wait until tomorrow. All she wanted was to sit down with Sasha’s cat and a cup of coffee and try not to think about her very weird day.