by Milly Taiden
“I’ve never watched a movie with a talker.” He shook his head. “A very weird experience.”
She laughed harder and leaned into his side. “I have a hard time keeping my thoughts to myself.”
“How many times did I tell you I didn’t know what was happening because like you, this was my first time seeing this movie?”
“Three?” She chortled. “But did you enjoy it?”
He raised his brows. “I have a feeling you’ve seen this movie before.”
She shrugged. “Mayyyybe.”
“It had humor.”
She nodded. “But it was mostly action.”
“No,” he grinned, “it was humor with some action.”
She frowned, still smiling. “I think it was about the same action and humor.”
“Did you not see all the silly things Detective Carter said to Inspector Lee? Everything out of his mouth was a joke.”
She laughed. “Okay, it’s true, but Rush Hour 3 is one of my favorite movies.”
He gasped. “I knew it! You have seen it before. You asked weird what did I think would happen questions at some interesting spots.”
She shrugged, raising her brows innocently. “Hey, you were not expecting Geneviève to be wearing a wig.”
He got off the sofa and shook his head at her. “You asking me if I thought that was her real hair when she first showed up confused me.”
“She has pretty hair! Even if it’s a wig.” She laughed. “Your face when Detective Carter came out in drag was priceless.”
“I was waiting for it, but it still shocked me.” He laughed. “He should have shaved.”
She snorted a giggle and got up to follow him to the kitchen. The chicken and vegetables pockets she’d put in the oven earlier were done. She’d already made a quick salad so now all they needed was to sit and eat.
He helped her set the table. Every few moments, he’d go by and kiss her hair or hug her side, and it made her feel that much more cherished.
When they finally sat to eat, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Thank you. This looks delicious.”
She grinned. “You’re a dangerous gentleman, Mr. Drachen,” she said jokingly.
His smile slipped and he became serious.
“What? What did I say?” she asked.
“Nothing. I just…you reminded me of someone else the way you said that just now.”
“Oh. Okay.”
He shook his head and smiled anew. “So, getting to know each other?”
She nodded. “Since the last time we played I asked, you get to start this time.”
He winked. “Very well. How many tattoos do you have?”
She thought for a moment. “I have one on my right arm, behind my right shoulder, behind my left shoulder, the small of my back, my hip and I have been considering getting a new one. What do I have? Five with a possible sixth on the way.”
“Five? Nice. I’ll have to make sure I get a good look at them,” he said in a deliberately sexual tone.
Her cheeks heated. “Okay, my turn. You’re really old, so that means you had to have seen some amazing times in history.”
He nodded. “That’s not really a question, though.”
“I know. That wasn’t my question. The question is what is the weirdest job you ever held?”
He rubbed his beard in thought. “That’s a good question. I’ve been several things through the years, but at one point, we were all guardians of the crown.”
“Your family is royalty themselves, though,” she said.
“Yes, but the country was willing to pay a lot and I was never one to turn down a job just because of drama. I was younger and bored.”
“So who did you protect?”
“Catherine the Great of Russia.”
She gaped at him. “Are you for real?”
“Yeah. Thanks to our being in her highness’s employ, she had a long life and we got paid remarkably well.”
She nodded. “That is so amazing. Do you have a place where you hoard all your treasures?”
He laughed and took a drink of lemonade. “Yes. I don’t know if I’d call it hoarding though.”
She raised a brow. “Is it a huge place with a lot of stuff?”
“Well, yes.”
“Then it’s hoarding. Dragons hoard. It’s a known fact,” she said cheekily. “So where’s your lair?”
“You want to know?”
“I wouldn’t ask otherwise. I’m really curious to know more about you.”
“This is like your third question to my one.”
“Answer me!”
He barked a laugh at her order. “It’s in the Swiss Alps.”
She gasped, her eyes wide. “Get out!” she sputtered. “I’ve been there.”
He shrugged. “I have property that goes into a cave and it is a good place for me to keep my treasures.”
“Wow.” She cleared her throat. “Okay, your turn.”
“Why haven’t you ever gotten married?”
She ate and took a moment to think about this. “Until I met you,” she said in complete honesty, “I had never wanted to be with anyone all the time. My relationships were more me wanting to help save a person that didn’t want saving. They were going nowhere and I knew it. I just refused to be with anyone who couldn’t be worth my time. The men in my life were stuck on stupid and I should have let them go, but I was stubborn. I thought I could save the world and I couldn’t.”
He nodded. “I understand. Okay, your turn.”
She sat up, excitement buzzing through her veins. “What is something very few people know about you?”
He leaned in and looked her in the eyes. “I get seasick.”
“No! But-but you traveled in ships for a bunch of years. How did you survive it?”
He chuckled. “I flew whenever possible. Back in those days, it was not as hard to fly and stay incognito as it is now.”
14
Clacher didn’t know what a fall carnival consisted of, but he knew Lexi was going to be busy. He decided to help set up the blow up slides and an inflatable bounce castle behind the shelter. The kids and their mothers were all busy inside getting ready for the day of fun. Lexi was in the kitchen with the other women helping organize the food and drinks.
Volunteers hauled rented picnic tables and chairs. Places were set up for games and food. Once everything was about ready, he headed inside to help Lexi. Blake was there, gathering the kids and giving them the run down.
“All right, guys. We are going to have a lot of games outside,” Blake said. “That means you will all get the chance to play something, but I need you to promise me something.”
“Yes, sir,” said one of the older boys.
“I need you big guys to look out for the little ones. We want everyone to have a great time. That means buddy system. Everyone has someone to watch their back.”
The kids nodded. Someone raised a hand and questions were answered. A little girl, no more than five, walked over to Clacher, she had two pigtails holding her baby-fine blond hair and wore jean overalls with boots. What caught his attention was how her big grey eyes filled with fear. “You’re really big,” she whispered.
He squatted to her height and nodded. “I am.”
She held her little cloth doll in a death grip. “I’m Annie.”
“Hi, Annie,” Clacher said, giving the girl his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“My mom works for you,” she said.
“Ah, Jennifer. Where is she?” he asked, looking around the sea of people.
“Training. She said you are big and strong.”
Clacher grinned at the words the little girl used and the way she said them with so much hope. “I have been called that a time or two. Is everything okay?”
“I want you to be my buddy,” she said and offered him her hand. “I’m scared my daddy will come and take me away. I don’t want to leave my mommy.”
Clacher’s heart squeezed in his chest. “
What do you mean? Why would he do that?”
“The last time we talked, he said he was coming to get me,” she said, tears filling her eyes.
“He won’t come here today. There’s police officers and a lot of people who will keep you safe.”
She looked around unconvinced. “Will you be my buddy?”
“Clacher,” Lexi called out as she approached him. “I see you’ve met Annie. Isn’t she adorable?”
“Yes, very.”
“Everything is almost ready to get going. I just lost someone who was supposed to work the basketball hoops game. She had to rush over to grab something from her house. Will you watch the basketball stand for a few?” Lexi asked with a hopeful smile.
“Sure.” He glanced down at Annie. “I guess I can’t be your buddy if I have to man a booth or you won’t get a chance to play, but here,” he took his personal cell phone out of his pocket but let his business phone stay. “If you press 1 on this phone, it will call my other phone and I will come to wherever you are and save you.”
The little girl looked at him with wide eyes. “Really?”
“Yes.” He pressed the side button and showed her how to work the phone. “It’s unlocked so all you have to do is press this center button and dial 1. It’s saved as a speed dial. That means I can be wherever you are in no time.” After getting her to test call him a few times, he watched one of the older kids come and take Annie.
He turned to face Lexi and caught her grinning at him. “What are you smiling at?”
“You’re a softie. You actually gave her your cell phone. Are you nuts?”
He shrugged. “It helped ease her fears. Besides, if she needs me, I’ll save her from whoever is bothering her.”
“You’re too awesome,” she said and grabbed him by his leather jacket collar and gave him a kiss. “Now, go man your station. I’m not paying you to slack off.”
He chuckled and hugged her before walking away with a grin. “You’re not paying me at all.”
She laughed and waved him away. “That’s the spirit.”
He shook his head and headed for the hoops stand. A volunteer came over and told him what to do. Everyone got three balls. It didn’t matter if they got a hoop or not, they’d be given a ticket to redeem for a prize. That was easy enough. He’d been one of the sponsors for the prizes and hoped they’d been able to get some fun things for the kids. He glanced at the prize booth and saw giant stuffed animals and all kinds of toys. He had a feeling the kids would enjoy the festival.
He watched Lexi as she held one of the toddlers in her arms. The child was beautiful with dark hair and sweet happy smile. She had a big bright pink headband and a pink sweater dress. Lexi took her to one of the booths set up for the younger kids.
He loved the smile on Lexi’s face. It brought him genuine happiness to see her so relaxed. The first of his customers showed up and he was soon too busy trying to encourage the kids to play. A long while later, the lines thinned and a woman showed up to take his place.
His cell phone rang. It was his newest store. He answered and immediately the sound of screaming filled his ear.
“Clacher!” Layton, his temporary store manager yelled. There’s a huge black dragon outside our building. He’s scaring the crap out of everyone. So far he’s destroyed a bunch of cars. The majority of the businesses in this area are closed due to it being a holiday.”
“Did you call the police?” Clacher’s friends in the police department made sure to keep all dragon attacks quiet to stop paranoia amongst the town residents.
“Yes. They’re busy with some kind of big parade so we’re assed out. What do we do? We have a full store.”
Clacher glanced around. He could leave for a little bit and ensure Blake watched Lexi while he dealt with the dragon at his business. It went against everything he knew, but he couldn’t leave those people at his store to fend for themselves.
“I’m coming. I’ll handle it.”
“Thank god! Hurry!”
He hung up the phone and rushed over to Blake and Lexi as they chatted by one of the games. “I have to go,” he said into her ear.
She turned to face him, worry creased on her forehead. “Everything okay?”
He shook his head. “There’s a problem at one of my shops I need to handle.” He turned to Blake. “I need to know you’ll protect her while I’m gone.”
“Clacher!” Lexi exclaimed.
Blake met his gaze. He was quiet for a moment before he seemed to understand what Clacher was saying. “I’ll stay by her side at all times.”
“Really, guys,” she started.
Clacher cut her off. “They will continue trying to kill you. Every chance they get. They’re always watching. The moment I leave you alone, that’s their chance to get at you. I’d take you with me, but that would be taking you straight to them.”
“You can go,” Blake assured him, placing a hand on his arm. “I’ll protect her.”
He saw the sincerity in Blake’s eyes. That’s all he needed. He got to the front of the building and his car. He made sure nobody was around and he removed his clothing and quickly shifted, taking off into the sky, toward his shop.
The flight was faster than driving. He saw the black from a distance. He was destroying cars and scaring people, but he had yet to burn his building down. That was surprising.
He rammed into the other dragon, shoving off and getting him away from the civilians and toward the trees. The black dragon had his mental defenses up, or Clacher would have been able to see into his head. He blew out a ball of fire, targeting the black and watching as it followed the dragon until it hit its mark.
The black shot up in the air. Clacher followed, his dragon thirsty for revenge. The scaring of innocents wasn’t something Clacher tolerated. Lightning came down around them. Clacher bypassed the bolts and continued his chase of the dragon.
They were headed toward the shelter. He couldn’t allow the other animal to get there and hurt anyone. He changed colors, going from green to blue and shooting fire at the dragon repeatedly. They caught him time after time and sent him spiraling from the sky. The black was dying but made a final attack attempt. He did a curve, straight into Clacher.
Clacher hadn’t expected such a swift change. The black used his tail to stab at Clacher’s side. This close, Clacher pounded him with fire. The other animal was done. He’d gotten two good stabs in, but Clacher was ready to keep fighting when the other dragon hit the ground, his wings shredded and his body badly burned from the attack.
Once back by his car, he changed clothes again. He pulled out his buzzing cell phone and noticed he had ten missed calls. All from Annie with his other phone.
15
Lexi hoped everything was okay with Clacher. Her throat closed, and fear gnawed at her guts. She tried to focus on making the day fun for the children and their parents along with the shelter volunteers.
“Hey, how’s everything going over here?” Blake asked. He’d sent someone to rotate with the guy manning the front entrance. Because the place was so big, they had different ways to get in, so they’d tried to spread the officers available amongst the multiple entrances. He held Annie’s hand and kept her by his side.
“Looks good.” She didn’t share she had a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach telling her something bad was coming.
One of the kids getting off a ride got sick in front of everyone. Lexi winced. “Let me see if he’s okay. I’ll see you in a moment.”
She rushed over to the teenager but two other volunteers were already there, guiding the child indoors. She loved carnival week at the shelter. The kids had a great time and some of their major sponsors made sure to come out and spend time with the people they were helping.
She frowned when she saw two men walking in from the left side by the trees. She glanced around, looking for security but didn’t see any. They were just there. Where did they go?
Her gaze roamed the crowds. Blake was near the front entra
nce, Annie at his back as he argued with Jennifer’s ex-husband.
Lexi ran for the front. She pulled Annie back and watched Blake stand his ground.
“You are going to be arrested if you come any closer,” Blake said.
“I don’t give a fuck!” Austin Santos, Jennifer’s ex-husband, yelled. He was clearly under the influence of either alcohol or drugs. If she remembered correctly, Jennifer had said he was a drinker. He looked around and met Lexi’s gaze. “You! You fucking whore. You’re the one who took my family from me!” He fumbled forward but was deterred by Blake the moment he pulled out his Taser and pointed it at him.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Blake said. “This would hurt a heck of a lot.”
“She did it!” Austin cried. “She fucking took them from me. I loved them.”
Lexi ground her teeth, unable to listen to him hurt his children any longer. “You did this to yourself. You hurt them. You don’t hurt the people you love.”
“Liar! I never hurt anybody.”
“What about the bruises, Dad?” one of the older boys yelled. “We all had them. Even Annie.”
“Boy!” Austin roared. “When I get my hands on you.”
“That’s the thing!” Lexi yelled. “You will never again get your filthy hands on these kids. I’ll kill you myself before you do.”
“That’s a threat,” Austin told Blake. “She can’t do that. I want to press charges.”
The other officers gathered around, keeping Austin from going anywhere near the children.
“I’ve had it with you. Get out of here before I press charges. This is private property and I won’t hesitate to lock you up.”
Austin gave her an evil glare. “You think you’ve won, don’t you?” he sneered. “You don’t know what’s coming. You don’t know.”
“Get him out of here!” Blake yelled. “Take him to the station for public intoxication and disorderly conduct.”
“No!” Austin argued and fought. It took three men to get him into the patrol car.
