Dragon in the Rough (Elders Enterprises Book 1)

by Jo Vanz

  Paul spent an hour flying around trying to spot her. He had only been out of it for about twenty minutes so he knew she had to be close, but he could not find her. Letting out one more scream, he turned and headed for Elder Enterprises. He would try and connect with Katie that way. He just needed to know that she was alive. He about it lost it thinking that she could be dead somewhere. No, he would not accept that possibility. He could not lose another female. Not when he just found her.

  As he approached the Elders building, he slowed down to a soar, circling around the roof top once before coming in for a landing. When he was a few feet away, he started transforming, coming to land on his human feet. After taking a moment to readjust to this form, Paul took off running for the stairs. He reached out and grabbed the handle to the door and yanked it open. Taking the whole frame with it, he cursed and threw it to the side. Great, just another thing his father was going to bitch at him about.

  He ran down the stairs, being careful not to ruin anything else as he went. When he pushed through the door to the conference room, his father and Mark were sitting there waiting for him. They immediately shot to their feet and rushed over to him.

  “Paul, you need to calm down,” Mark said as Paul tried to walk past him, but he came to an abrupt stop when his brother would not move.

  “Fuck you! I am not going to calm down until I Katie is back here safe in my arms,” Paul growled at his brother.

  “I am not moving until you slow down and take a breath.” Mark took another step toward Paul.

  Wrong move. Paul pulled his fist back and then let it fly. It landed square on Mark’s chin, knocking him backwards. Ahhh, a little relief finally. Paul stepped over his brother and continued on into his father’s office. He closed and locked the door before he sat down with his back against it and tried to slow his breathing down. If he did get ahold of Katie, he did not want her to panic over the way he was acting. A few moments later, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the door.

  Paul reached for Katie. It felt as though he was trudging through waist deep mud. He was just about to give up when he saw the light of her pull. He franticly pulled on it as hard as he could, sending his world spiraling. When everything finally settled, Paul was standing in a cold, dark room. He looked around, trying to find Katie. She had to be here, but where? Then he looked down and he stopped. She was laying on the floor over in the far corner.

  Paul wanted to scream again. She looked too weak and broken. The blood was dried to her head and shirt. He rushed over to her, not really sure what he should do. He knew that he needed to wake her up, she should not be sleeping right now. She needed to be awake and alert.

  He slowly slid his arms under Katie and pulled her into his lap. She started to stir in his lap then suddenly, her eyes popped open. She started fighting his hold on her until she looked up to see who it was that held her.

  “Oh Paul, I knew you would come.” She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed. It broke Paul’s heart. Katie was counting on him to come save her, but all he had done was destroy everything in a fit. How pathetic.

  “Love, you need to look at me. Let me see those gold eyes of yours.” He waited until she relaxed her grip on his neck before he went on. “I am only here in your head, love. I needed to know that you were alive. But I promise, I am going to find you.”

  “Oh,” Katie said as her hand shot up to her head. “God, it hurts. I think I have a concussion.” She laid her head back down on his shoulder. Paul did not want to leave Katie but he knew the longer that he stayed connected to Katie, he was causing her more pain.

  Paul ran his fingers through Katie’s hair, savoring the moment. “Katie, love. I am going to have to go here in a moment, but first I need to know if you saw who took you.”

  Katie sniffled. God, when had she started crying? He needed to get out of here quickly so that he could come find her. “No. When I woke up earlier, I was alone. No one has come in to check on me either. Why would someone want to abduct me?”

  Paul hugged Katie close, careful not to hurt her further. “I do not know, love, but I promise I will find out. Then lord help the fool.” He put his fingers under Katie’s chin and forced her to look up into his eyes. “I need to go but first, I need to tell you something.”

  “Okay, I am listening,” Katie said with a nod of her head. She flinched, reminding Paul that he needed to make this quick. “I love you, Katie Palmer.” He bent down and gave Katie a quick kiss. When he looked back up, he could see fresh tears running down Katie’s cheeks.

  “I love you too, Paul,” she said with a smile that melted Paul’s heart. “Now get going so you can come save me.” Paul gave her one last kiss before he lowered Katie back onto the ground.

  “I am coming for you, Katie. Just stay alive until then, please.” Then slowly, Paul pulled away. It was much easier getting back to his own body. When he finally opened his eyes, he was sitting in his father’s office. He did not move. The tears started to fall freely from his eyes. Katie was alive but she was hurt badly. He had no leads as to who could have done this but damn it, he would find a way to track her down.

  Paul stood and wiped the tears from his face. It was not doing anyone any good just sitting there crying. He needed to start looking. Slowly, he turned and reached for the door handle and pulled it open, careful not to rip the damn thing off its hinges, too. As he stepped out, he looked around. Mark was up off the floor and heading for him and his father already stood to his side, neither of them saying anything.

  “She is alive but hurt badly. We need to find her ASAP. Do we have any leads?” He flinched when Fabian put an arm around him and pulled him close. They stood there for a moment before his dad pulled away again. Paul could see the sympathy in his eyes.

  “We think that Miss Embers is the most likely suspect. We are trying to track her down now.” Paul nodded in agreement. She would make the best suspect, but Paul got the feeling that there was more to it.

  Paul turned to his brother as he approached. Looking at Mark’s bruised chin, Paul felt a tinge of regret but pushed it aside. “Who all did you tell we were going to the hospital? Katie nor I told anyone.”

  Mark looked around nervously, “I only told Dad and Sam.” Paul’s heart skipped a beat as he looked around and realized that Sam was not here. Would his brother really set him up? No. At least Paul did not think he would.

  “Where is he?” Paul growled

  “I do not know. We have tried to reach him, but he will not answer.” Mark looked down at his feet. Paul knew that he was having a hard time believing that their own brother could do this, but everything just kept stacking up against him.

  “Keep trying him,” Paul ordered. “Now, will someone please get me the dash cam footage from my Mustang?” He walked over and sat down at the table.

  “How badly was she hurt?” Fabian asked as he took a seat next to Paul. Paul welcomed his closeness. His father knew how he felt, he was there but not invading Paul’s space.

  Paul shook his head. “She smashed her head against the window when we were hit. She thinks she may have a concussion. That is why I did not stay with her very long. It was causing her too much pain.” Tears threatened to spill down his cheeks again. He had not wanted to leave Katie, and even now he was having to fight himself from going back to her. He was needed here. Plus, he did not want to cause her any more pain than what she was already suffering.

  Fabian put a hand on Paul’s shoulder. “We will find her, son. I promise. Then we will make whoever took her suffer, too.”

  Mark chose that moment to walk over holding a tablet in his hands. “I do not believe that we will be hearing from Sam anytime soon.” He handed the tablet over to Paul and then sat down.

  Paul looked down at the screen in his hands. He watched as a truck on the side of the highway peeled out in the grass and gunned it for the Mustang, hitting them on the driver’s side. He saw the glass shatter and heard the metal of the car bend as they flipp
ed over.

  Paul wanted to throw the tablet as he watched Sam climb out of the driver’s seat of the truck. He walked over, pulled a gun out of his waist band and trained it on Paul. He pulled the trigger before rushing over to the passenger side of the Mustang. He pulled Katie free just as another car pulled up beside them. Sam carried Katie over and threw her in the trunk like a bag of trash.

  Before anyone could stop him, Paul hurled the tablet against the far wall. Pieces of it rained down almost instantly. His brother had done this. His own brother had hurt and taken Katie. Paul was not even mad that he had been shot in the process, all he cared about was his Katie. A female dragon! After everything their family had been through, how could he do this?

  “Someone run the damn plates of the other fucking car now!” Paul roared, causing everyone around him to jump.

  Chapter 16

  Katie woke right after Paul left. Talking with him had helped her relax a little, knowing that he was safe and alive. But why was she here? No one seemed to have the answer to that. The logical choice was this Julie person, but she did not know who this person was. So why would she be after her? Katie did not know but she sure as hell was going to find out.

  Footsteps sounded outside the door. It sounded to Katie as if it were two different people. Okay, so maybe she was wrong, but it still left her with the questions who and why? Katie instinctively stood, pushing past the pain in her head. She pushed her back against the wall as to keep anyone from sneaking around behind her.

  A light flickered on causing Katie to wince in pain, but she refused to cower away or show any weakness. She stood her ground as the door was pushed open. A skinny red head walked in with confidence. She made Katie’s skin crawl. But it was the man that walked in behind her that did Katie in. Sam. What the hell was he doing here? Katie thought that he was pissed off about something but to abduct her? None of this was making any sense.

  “Oh look, the little bitch is awake already,” spat the red head. “Guess we will not be having our fun waking her up.”

  Sam laughed. “True, but we can still have our fun in other ways.”

  Katie watched as they inched toward her. She stood tall, even when all she wanted to do was curl up and cry. When they were a few inches away from her, Katie let her fist fly, landing a hit in the red head’s stomach. She doubled over and Katie did a small happy dance in her head.

  Sam closed the space between them, grabbing a hand full of hair and yanking her into the middle of the room. “Look here, you little whore,” he whispered, spit hitting Katie’s face with every word. “You raise another hand at either one of us and I will drag Paul down here and kill him in front of you. Then I will kill you.”

  He did not give Katie a chance to answer before he threw her on the ground. What the hell was going on? They made it seem like it was a personal vendetta, but she could not figure out what she had done.

  As Katie laid there on the floor, Sam and the woman kept circling around her, like tigers playing with their prey. “Why?” Katie finally managed to squeak out.

  The red head stopped mid-stride. She turned and kicked Katie in the ribs, pushing all the air out of her lungs. Katie fought to catch her breath. “Why?” she yelled. “Let us look at all the reasons. Do you know what it is like to be the oldest unmated female dragon? Everyone looks at you with pity. Hell, most of the males have forgotten that I am even around still.” She kicked out again, this one landing on Katie’s knee. There was a pop and then pain surged threw her. She bit down on the pain, she would not give them the satisfaction of knowing that they hurt her. She had to be strong.

  Sam was the next to speak, “Or let’s try the fact that no matter what Paul did, he never got in trouble, because he was destined to be great.” Sam landed a kick to her shoulder.

  “Then let’s see,” the red head hissed. “I have worked for years to make sure there were not any other female dragons, then you come along and ruin everything. They were supposed to fight over me! Not you weak ass sluts!” Katie tensed, ready for another blow. She relaxed a little when none came.

  “Oh and let us not forget the fact that my mate was killed a few months ago,” Sam spat out. “No one could stand the thought of me having a mate, but they all accept you and Paul right off the bat!” As Sam made his way back around Katie, she saw the shimmer of a knife tucked into his boot. Hope flared deep inside her. If she could just get her hands on it.

  “You know,” the red head said. “I have a secret. For the last fifty years, every female dragon I have helped delivered, I have taken and dropped off with the humans. Including you! Then I go back to the parents and tell them that their baby died.” She smiled down at Katie. “You should have seen their reactions. It was priceless.”

  Sam stopped mid-stride and turned toward the red head. “You have done what, Julie?” It was that moment that everything clicked in Katie’s head. She was irritated that it had taken her so long to realize what was going on. Even with the head injury, she should have known.

  Julie threw her head back and laughed. Katie thought that was the worst thing she could do in this moment. The look on Sam’s face was death incarnate. “What is wrong, Sam? Do you not like the truth of what you got into?”

  “Is that what really happened to Lilith? You just threw her to the humans like trash?” For half a second, Katie was scared for Julie but quickly got over it. The woman deserved everything that Sam would dish out to her. Sam stepped over Katie, coming nose to nose with Julie.

  Julie leaned in and whispered in Sam’s ear. “Yep, your mother’s reaction was the best of all time. The way it broke her heart hearing that her daughter was dead. The way she clung to the cold, dead body of someone else’s child. It was priceless. A memory that I hold very near and dear to my heart.”

  “She killed herself!” Sam screamed. “I would kill you right now but death would be too good for you.”

  Katie could not have planned it any better. Sam took a step back, stopping right in front of Katie. Without thinking, she reached up and pulled the knife out of his boot. Rolling away from the two, she managed to stand up before they realized what was happening.

  They both turned around and faced Katie. “What do you think you are doing?” Sam hissed as he took a step toward Katie, holding out his hand. “Give me the knife and you will live.”

  “You really think I am stupid enough to fall for that line?” Katie asked as pain rocketed through her body. She forced herself to stand tall and not show how much pain she was in.

  “Actually, I was kind of hoping that you were smart enough to realize that two against one will not work out in you favor.” Sam went to take another step forward but his effort was lost. As he looked down, shock ran across his face. Katie followed his gaze to see the tip of a knife sticking out of his chest.

  Sam’s eyes went wide as reality hit. He fell to his knees, grasping at his chest with his hands. Then slowly he tipped to the side, falling to the ground. “Never turn your back on someone you just threatened,” Julie said as she laughed.

  Katie did not wait another second. She lunged at Julie, ignoring the fact that her knee protested, knocking Julie to the ground. Julie was fast and kicked out, causing Katie to fall. Gripping the knife tightly, Katie slashed out, cutting Julie across the face.

  “You will pay for that, you stupid bitch!” Julie yelled as she jumped to her feet. Katie did not move. She laid there waiting for Julie to make her next move.

  Katie did not have to wait long. Julie walked over and raised her foot, bringing it down over Katie’s chest. Katie’s hands instinctively flew up, grabbing Julie’s foot and twisting as hard as she could, only releasing when she heard a pop followed closely by a scream.

  Katie pulled herself up so that she was now standing over Julie. “I am not going to kill you. I plan on something much worse. I will make sure that you stand in front of every family that you have hurt by your actions.” Katie then raised her arm, bawling up her fist. She let it fly with all the
strength she had, landing on the side of Julie’s head. Katie smiled when Julie’s eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out.

  Katie sunk down on the floor in pain. She just wanted to curl up and sleep but she had to figure out a way to contact Paul. She did not want to try to connect with him through their minds, it hurt too much.

  So Katie did the next best thing. She drug herself over to Sam’s body and started going through his pockets. She just about cried when her hand touched a cell phone. She pulled it out and pressed the button to power it on. While she waited, she smiled, thanking the fates that these two had not been very smart. If they had, things could have been a lot worse.

  The phone vibrated in her hand, notifying her that it was on. She scrolled through all the missed calls and messages. It seemed that the Elders were desperately trying to reach him. Katie hoped that was because they knew he helped in the abduction. If they did not know then a lot of people were in for a big surprise.

  Before Katie called anyone, she flipped through all the apps trying to find the maps. Once she found it, she clicked it opened. After a few minutes of it searching, it found her location. She quickly took a screen cap of it before flipping over to the contacts. Scrolling down the line, she found Paul’s number.

  Katie was too exhausted to talk so she sent a text message instead. She attached the screen cap and typed out a quick message before hitting send, letting the phone slip to the floor. She felt so weak and beaten. She knew she had to stay alert just in case Julie woke back up so she pulled herself over to the corner and leaned against the wall while she waited for Paul to show up.

  Chapter 17

  Paul was not paying any attention to what was going on around him as he wore a hole in the floor from his pace marks. He could only think about Katie. He wanted to help her but came up short. He felt so helpless. Paul had just found his mate and might end up losing her. He just could not figure out why his brother would do this to him. Why would he want to take Katie away? She had not done anything to deserve this. Yeah, Paul was not the best brother, but he tried and was always there for Sam when he needed him. Yet Sam had not only abducted Paul’s mate, but had shot Paul as well. It all just did not make any sense.