The Dragon's Secret Queen

by Jasmine Wylder

  Could Sandy have been taken as well? When was this going to stop?

  “Here,” Kevin dropped down to the floor with a brush and dustpan. Kevin was the other bartender. He was older than Greg, with salt and pepper hair and a gruff attitude toward everyone, but Zuri knew he was a sweat heart despite his demeanor. It had probably been Kevin’s idea to go check on Sandy, not Greg’s. Zuri trusted Kevin.

  “Sandy hasn’t come in?” Zuri asked Kevin from the floor.

  “Nope,” Kevin didn’t seem too alarmed.

  “I’m worried. A girl was taken from my building the other night.” Zuri looked at Kevin, his eyes rose to meet hers. “She was taken by the Ukrainians.”

  “The wolf shifters?” Kevin’s brow furrowed. “They’ve started coming in here.”

  “And Greg just lets them?” Zuri questioned.

  Kevin nodded a little. “He says it’s good for business.”

  “There’s something really wrong going on.” Zuri whispered. Greg had moved out of the way but was coming back over.

  “I’ll ask around, see what I can find out,” Kevin said thoughtfully.

  Zuri stood and tossed the large shards of glass into a bin with a loud clank.

  As the night began Zuri noticed a few new faces and the faces seemed to be watching her. They were definitely Magus, she decided.

  “Hey big Joe.” She set a beer in front of the man before he asked.

  “How are you?” He looked Zuri over.

  Zuri tried not to notice the eyes on her. “I’m okay. Why do you ask it like that?”

  “I heard Chaz is keeping an eye on you—that’s all.” He drank some of his beer and gave Zuri a suggestive look.

  “It’s nothing like that,” Zuri said seriously. She did not want to be a part of some rumor mill.

  One of the men who had been watching her all night came up and sat by Joe. He was good looking in a young wild sort of way.

  “What can I get for you?” Zuri asked.

  “What do you have to read?” The younger man asked her. She blushed.

  “We don’t have books, this is a bar…in case you didn’t know that.” She felt her voice grow tight. So this guy and probably the others who had been watching her so closely all night had been asked to stand guard over her? They’d been talking to Chaz?

  “This is Cade,” Big Joe gestured toward the wild looking man.

  Zuri wiped her wet hands on a bar towel. “Nice to meet you Cade. I’m Zuri.”

  “I know,” Cade said with a twinkle in his eye.

  She nodded, of course he did.

  “He’ll have a beer,” Big Joe said when Cade didn’t ask for anything. Cade nodded a little.

  The door opened and Zuri looked up. Chaz walked in, up to the bar and sat down next to Big Joe. It was strange to see him walk into her bar that way. Like he belonged there. She thought of his plans for that night, the lead he was following and her hopes rose.

  “Nothing,” he said in answer to the question she hadn’t asked. He had no good or bad news about Ava. Nothing to report. Zuri felt her heart sink.

  “He’ll have a beer too,” Big Joe said, gesturing to Chaz.

  Zuri took out a glass and filled it, then set it in front of Chaz. Chaz looked at Zuri with a nod of thank you. His eyes were burning and she felt like they were about to burn right through her.

  “What happened?” she asked leaning closer. “You said you had a lead.”

  “I can’t talk about it.” Chaz looked into his beer.

  Zuri stared at Chaz. “You need to tell me what happened.”

  Chaz moved the top of his shirt to reveal a large purple bruise.

  “Zuri is a pretty name,” Cade said too loudly.

  Zuri turned to look at Cade for a second before returning her focus to Chaz. “What is going on?”

  “I told you, I can’t talk about it, definitely not here, not now,” his voice was firm.

  She held his gaze for a long moment until she knew he wouldn’t budge. Zuri shifted her attention back to Cade and smiled a bit. There was something about Chaz refusing to talk to her that made her feel just a bit more reckless. A bit less cagey than normal.

  “Thank you, Cade. It was my grandmother’s name. I like it myself.”

  There was a signal from one of the tables and Zuri started piling together another round of drinks for them.

  “Your grandmother must have been beautiful, unless you inherited that from someone else.” Cade had a lopsided smile.

  Zuri felt herself smirk. It was funny, she would normally shut this sort of thing down fast but tonight she let it ride. She looked at Chaz quickly before flicking her gaze back to the drinks in front of her.

  “My grandmother was beautiful,” Zuri said flippantly.

  “I’ve always liked curvy women,” Cade continued.

  “Hey,” Chaz broke his silence. His torso was large and taut. He looked ready to send Cade outside.

  “Its ok,” Zuri said quickly, “I like my curves too. Nothing wrong with that.” She gave Chaz a slightly reprimanding look and shot a quick smile and wink to Cade.

  What had made her do that? She’d never winked at any man in the bar before, certainly never flirted out right or smirked.

  Zuri loaded up the drinks and walked them around the bar top. She felt her hips moving a little more than usual. She settled the drinks onto the table then began back around.

  “Lovely,” Cade’s hand whipped out and smacked Zuri’s ass. Zuri was about to turn and shut him down but Chaz was there before she had a chance. Chaz’s hand clasped Cade’s and he turned it quickly, bringing Cade’s face flat on the bar with his arm twisted uncomfortably behind him.

  “Sorry,” Cade cried out. Zuri saw Greg move in the corner of her eye. She was about to interrupt Chaz to tell him that she could take care of herself. But before she could move between them, Chaz let go of Cade’s arm, turned, and with her mouth still open ready to say a million things, Chaz pulled her to him and kissed her.

  The heat of Chaz’s mouth on hers knocked any words away. She was so surprised by the movement and gesture that she didn’t pull away but gave in to the kiss. Her body melted towards his.

  She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. The heat of Chaz’s body clung to her and for a long moment she didn’t want to let go. She wanted to stay in the heat, to stay in the safety and strength of Chaz’s body.

  Big Joe whistled and laughed as Chaz pulled back and Zuri tried to regroup. She looked around her, displaced, unsure of her surroundings and her own presence.

  Zuri turned, stopped, and then started again.

  She turned again once back at the bar, looking around her for something to do.

  “I should go,” Chaz said the words quickly without looking up at Zuri again. She watched his own broken movements and could see the same break she felt with reality. “Joe you’ll…” He looked at the big man who nodded with a smile. “Thank you.”

  Then Chaz left.

  Zuri watched the closed door for a long moment then looked around at the faces staring at her. Greg, Kevin, all the men in the bar, both Cade and Big Joe.

  “Ok, nothing to see here,” she said, trying to gain back some of her usual coldness.

  Greg laughed and shook his head and the rest of the men turned back to their drinks and conversations.

  Zuri took a shaky breath, pressing her palms down on her thighs.

  “You must have some magical powers,” Big Joe said with a laugh.

  Zuri lifted her head with surprise. “What do you mean?”

  Big Joe shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. “I’ve never seen our stone-cold brother quite like this before. You must be casting a spell on him or something.”

  A heat flooded her face and she still felt the tingle of Chaz’s kiss on her lips. She moved her hand to touch them, then thought better of it.

  Zuri’s end of the bar had never looked so clean and well organized as it did that night.

  Her mind was rol
ling a hundred miles a minute as she worked and she barely noticed if someone actually said something to her.

  As the night wore on her thoughts turned back to Ava. What was really being done to find her? Chaz hadn’t looked optimistic when he’d come in earlier. What if they never found her? What if they were focusing on the issue of the Ukrainians as a whole and Ava got lost in the mix?

  As she grabbed her bag at the end of the night she worked her way back to Kevin.

  “You leaving?” he asked, looking up.

  “Just about.” Zuri pushed her weight from one foot to the other. “Did you happen to find out anything?”

  Kevin looked around him. Greg was counting cash in the corner and no one could disturb him once he was engrossed in that task.

  “I heard that the Ukrainians were seen in Devil’s Head a few days ago. There are reports of other missing girls too…but that’s it.” Kevin looked at Zuri keenly. “You won’t do anything stupid? No going off on your own?”

  Zuri shook her head and raised a hand, “I would never.”

  Chapter Seven

  That night Big Joe drove Zuri back to her apartment to get a few things. Zuri shoved a few shirts and pants into her bag then walked back out into the night.

  “Chaz said he’s going to pick me up here,” Zuri said casually. She tried not to look at Big Joe, afraid that her eyes would give away her guilt.

  “He told me to take you back to his place,” Big Joe frowned.

  “Nope, I’m just going to meet him down the block. I’ll be fine. You go on home. I’ll see you at the bar later.” Zuri began to walk, knowing that Big Joe would follow her if given the chance.

  “I think I’d better come with you,” Big Joe said huffing after her.

  “I insist. It’s safe—my apartment was the only dangerous thing. Thank you though.” She picked up her pace and hoped that Big Joe would take her at her word.

  He walked a few more paces with her then must have decided not to. Zuri walked quickly to the end of the block and turned. There was no sign of life outside besides the clacking of her own shoes on the side walk.

  She went three more blocks and made a right then an immediate left. Sandy’s building loomed in front of her. She let herself in the front of the building and crept up the stairs, trying not to make any noise.

  She’d only been to Sandy’s apartment a few times. She stood outside the door listening. It was possible, after all, that she’d just decided not to come to work anymore.

  Zuri knocked quietly on the door, trying to keep herself unnoticed by the neighbors. There was no noise inside but it was so late that Sandy could be fast asleep in bed.

  As she continued to listen, Zuri looked under the mat. Nothing. She reached her hand up to the top of the doorframe. Bingo.

  Taking the small key down she looked at it then placed it in the lock, it turned. Zuri peered her head through the door looking into the darkness and listening again for sounds she might have missed from the other side of the door.

  Zuri walked in and switched on a light, closing the door quietly behind her. She looked around the apartment. Everything looked in order. Sandy wasn’t in bed and there was no sign of a struggle. If the Ukrainians had taken her then it had been on the street and not in this apartment. Zuri went to the kitchen and grabbed the car keys off of the fridge.

  She held the small group of keys in her hand. The thought crossed her mind that if Sandy hadn’t been taken, then she would come home to find her car gone. Zuri grabbed a small note pad and pen and jotted out a quick note. She was borrowing the car and she would be back soon, she wrote. Zuri looked at her handy work then left.

  Sandy’s car was a very old Buick. Zuri put the keys in the ignition and crossed her fingers as she turned the engine over.

  The engine roared to life and Zuri let out a long breath.

  Her nerves felt gooey and she wondered if she’d gotten herself into something she wasn’t actually ready for. What would happen if she did find the Ukrainians? What would happen if she couldn’t help Ava? Then Chaz wouldn’t even know where she’d gone or how he could help her.

  Zuri bit her lip.

  It didn’t matter, she had to go. Her own safety didn’t matter when Ava was out there in need of her help. Zuri cringed to think what might have already happened to her, it had been days. Days since Ava had been taken, and days worth of time for things to have happened to her.

  Zuri backed out of Sandy’s parking spot and pressed her foot on the accelerator.

  Devil’s Head was only a twenty-five minute drive from Cliffs. Zuri’s hands began to sweat ten minutes into her drive. What would she do once she got there? Devil’s Head was basically an old dilapidated warehouse district where ships used to come into port to deliver goods and pick up goods.

  Zuri couldn’t remember the last time she’d heard of anything happening there. When Kevin had told her she’d realized that it was the perfect spot. Off the map, no longer used, quiet, and very out of the way.

  As she got closer she slowed down and tried to formulate some sort of plan. She would turn off her headlights, find a quiet, out of the way place to park, and then sneak over to the warehouses.

  Soon she turned off her headlights and turned off the road. She parked Sandy’s car near a burned out shed where she thought it would remain safely unseen. She got out of the car, began walking. Immediately she wondered if she hadn’t parked too far away. What if she needed to make a quick getaway with Ava?

  She walked along the grass so as not to alert anyone of her presence by the sound of her feet. The night enveloped her whole. The closer she got the more foolish she thought herself. She should at least call Chaz now for back up, shouldn’t she? She didn’t carry a gun, she had no shifting abilities, and she would be utterly defenseless against a gang of wolf shifters.

  When the outline of dark warehouses came into view, Zuri took her mace and bear spray out of her pocket. She clicked them to the open setting, putting the bear spray in her back pocket, and keeping the mace in her hand.

  The sound of softly lapping water could be heard now and the smell of salt water drifted over her, brushing past her face and nostrils. If the wolf shifters had the same sense of smell that the bear shifters did, then the salt-water breeze might help hide her scent.

  Zuri walked as slowly and quietly as possible. She thought about taking off her shoes but walking barefoot in an old warehouse district with random shards of glass, old bolts, nails, and rusty pieces of metal lying around seemed like an equally bad idea.

  Walking quietly up to the first building she listened for signs of life. She searched the night vainly for a sign of light or a sign of life.

  She walked around the building and peeked in through a rough cut in the metal siding. Her heart began to sink. There was no sign that anyone had been here for any reason in the last twenty years.

  The next three buildings were all the same. Zuri felt jumpy and scared despite there being no signs of life. Every time she made it to another building she felt a rise of hope that quickly vanished as soon as she explored further.

  A light ran near her and Zuri almost screamed. She turned and saw the source of light. A ship out on the coast was passing by. Nothing unusual.

  Zuri calmed herself and forced herself on, continuing the search.

  After the next two buildings something stopped Zuri in her tracks. She’d heard something, maybe seen something. She refocused her energy on another warehouse toward the end of the pier.

  Slowly she moved forward, hoping to see or hear what she thought might have been…what? A spark of a flashlight, the glow of lit cigarette? She wasn’t sure but her instincts and senses were on full alert.

  Walking along the gravel she saw a stack of pallets against the metal warehouse wall. At the top of the pallets was a glass window still in one piece.

  Zuri contemplated walking past it to a wider opening but if her instincts were right and there were people inside. then she would do better to know
now, have some sort of plan for what she might face.

  With a good deal of effort she climbed onto the pallets. The window was still too high for her to see into. She lifted up high on her toes, hoping to get her fingers hooked on the window ledge, not that she could pull herself up. Her fingers clasped the ledge and Zuri pulled. Her feet left the safety of the pallets, and as she reached with her arms her foot skimmed the top of the pallets. The stack shifted under her foot and toppled over.

  The pallets clattered noisily to the ground.

  Zuri screamed as she felt the full weight of her body being held by the tips of her fingers. She felt like she was twenty feet above the ground. Her fingers slid along the lip of the building and Zuri fell toward the dark ground.

  Her free fall into the mess of pallets was abruptly halted when she felt her body clutched in two strong arms.

  “Chaz,” she nearly screamed his name. “What are you doing here?”

  The full weight of her body rested on him. His one hand clutched under her right thigh and the other around her torso.

  “What am I doing here?” His voice was hard and angry.

  He walked with Zuri past the mess of pallets and lowered her feet to the ground.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” he asked.

  Zuri felt herself go flush with defensiveness and the embarrassment of being caught out in such an inglorious way.

  “I came here because someone told me…I heard that…I have to find Ava.” She could barely speak, her mind was zipping too quickly from argument to argument for any good explanation to come out.

  “I thought we had an understanding? I can’t worry about finding her and worry about you putting yourself in harms way.” He turned away from her and began walking quickly into the night. Zuri followed behind, trying her best to keep up. Trying to ignore the natural sensations Chaz’s tight clutch on her body had aroused.

  “How did you know I was here?” she asked.

  Chaz didn’t respond but in another fifty paces she saw Big Joe’s outline. Guilt swept over her. Now she’d probably incriminated Big Joe too. She shot an apologetic look to Big Joe but didn’t say anything.