The Hailey Holloway Complete Series

by K. C. Stewart

  "You will stay here." Less conviction this time as he stared distracted at the ring on her finger.

  "I want to come with."

  He wrenched opened the door. His body took up the space where the door had been. Admittedly, his chest was going to be harder to get past than the door. Hailey scooted back an inch as he leaned forward. The hard look on his face was not helping with her personal comfort. It wasn't the dark angles of his face, nor was it the tendrils of smoke that gave her a pause. It was the fire that was dancing in his eyes. Red amber swirled with a light gold like flames licking a log. He was burning from the inside out.

  I did this, she thought, I turned him into this inferno.

  The chink of metal didn't register at first. The cold ring around her wrist did. Hailey looked from his eyes to the metal dragon that now clasped her arm like a bracelet.

  "No!" she gasped. This was not the idea she had when she purchased the handcuffs for him.

  "Yes," he smiled and hooked the other cuff to the hand hold on the roof right above her.

  "Dak!"

  "Stay."

  Fuck that. "You are not the boss of me."

  A dark humorless smile stretched across his face. "Yes Hailey, you've made that quite clear. However, if you die, I die. So stay in the fucking car." He hit the roof with a fist and she jumped. Dak was already walking away when she responded.

  "Fine," she told the empty car. "I'll stay for you."

  *****

  She was wearing his fucking ring on her goddamn finger! "Christ," he said running a hand through his hair.

  Silas stood a respectful distance away but was grinning having heard the whole conversation. He pounded over to the Green dragon.

  "Did you know?" Dacea accused.

  "No, but I had an idea she was up to something."

  "What am I supposed to do with that?" He waved his palm toward the car where Hailey sat and watched them. She looked like a pissed off puppy with her big doe eyes looking out through the window.

  "Shall I congratulate you now on your impending nuptials or wait till after we are done here?" Silas's amusement was plain from the tone of his voice down to the grin he wore. It was not helping Dacea's mood.

  "Laugh away, Silas. One day a woman is going to drive you to insanity and I'm going to be there to point and laugh."

  He clapped Dacea on the back as they began to walk toward the house. "Forget it for now. We have a Council member to catch and question."

  "You're right." Dacea knew he was right. Hailey's abrupt change of heart left his mind paralyzed. The only thing he could do now was find Wendell. It was a welcome distraction.

  The door was locked. No surprise there. The driveway and most of the street was empty. They had hoped to catch him at home and unaware. Wendell had some things to answer for and they were not above harming one to save many.

  Dacea pulled out his pick and tension wrench he brought along for times like these. Along with his collection of handcuffs and weaponry acquired over the ages, Dacea had a knack for picking locks. Each one was like a very tiny puzzle with a timer. Before Silas could kick the damn thing in, Dacea knelt and began to work on the lock.

  "How long is this going to take?" Silas asked a moment later.

  "Give me a minute." With the wrench holding the tension tight, Dacea inserted the pick and methodically set each of the pins before turning the wrench and swinging the door open. It took him all of three minutes and only a dozen curses to pick the lock. He was out of practice and fortunate that Wendell had shitty locks.

  "I'd tell you that was impressive, but it really wasn't," Silas exclaimed as he walked into the house passing by Dacea.

  "Shut up, Green."

  The house was quiet. They did a quick run through of the first floor. Both of them came up short. However, Dacea had found Wendell's office. Since there were no noises coming from upstairs they decided to start with the office. Silently they made their way to the room and closed the door leaving an inch of space between it and the frame.

  Silas had begun to riffle through the desk while Dacea took the bookshelves. They weren't looking for anything in particular but some information on what he planned on doing next wouldn't hurt. So far they were on the defense, which needed to change. Too many hits against them were making his dragons restless.

  Wendell wasn't a particularly intelligent dragon. It was one of the reasons Silas had appointed him as Council leader. He would follow whoever yelled the loudest, and at that moment that was Katherine. Dacea saw her handiwork in most, if not all, of the attacks. She knew how to hurt him, first by Hailey and then by his sept.

  Silas shoved a wrinkled piece of paper in his face. "What's this?" he asked.

  "Just read it."

  "By unanimous vote of all Council members, we hereby denounce Wendell Niles Owston as Council leader and member effective immediately." The words began to blend together as he read faster. His excitement was not lost in his tone or smile as he went. "All matters that had been decided on in the past 60 days will hereby be voted on once more and all involved will be connected after final vote. What's more, Wendell Niles Owston is required to surrender himself to the Council upon acceptance of this letter. Refusal to surrender will result in arrest and imprisonment."

  "I found it in the trash. Apparently, he didn't take their threats seriously." Silas's smug smile matched that of his own. "I have a good feeling that there are letters waiting for us at our respective houses."

  "I think you're right. Do you think he ran?"

  He shook his head. "No, he's too stupid to do that. Besides, this place would be a mess if he did and nothing is missing. My guess is he stepped out to stock up on supplies and plans to wait it out."

  "What do you say we make ourselves comfortable and wait for his return?" Silas nodded in agreement and took a seat on the black couch with his phone in hand. Dacea continued to browse the shelves. There was nothing on them that could tell them anything more but he felt that one could tell a lot about a person by what they read. So far Dacea found that Wendell was a fraud. None of his books had ever been open, much less read. The bindings were fresh and the pages crisp. All of the titles were meant to be impressive and varied from medical to law.

  "Did you hear that?" Silas asked while getting to his feet. He looked unfocused while tilting his head up to listen.

  "I didn't hear anything." But Dacea stood just as still and listened too. He hadn't heard anything but was thinking so loudly that it wouldn't surprise him if there had been a noise.

  There was a yell and a loud thud as something, or more likely someone, hit the floor above them. Dacea wanted to be wrong but his first instincts ran right to Hailey. He whipped his head towards the windows and stormed over frantically looking for her in the tinted windows of the car. The SUV parked across the street was empty. The glint of the handcuffs caught the light. She had left the safety of the vehicle and came to look for them.

  "Stupid fucking girl," he cursed. "Just once I want you to do what I ask." His worry for her outweighed his anger and the words were left dry.

  "Dacea?" Silas asked already at the door waiting for him.

  "It's Hailey. She's not in the car."

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  "Fuck this," she told the car twenty minutes after the men went inside. She had felt all around the cuffs for the safety release but had no luck at finding it. The driver—who was not Dane and was purposefully ignoring her presence—refused to help her. Hailey awkwardly reached around to her back pocket with her free hand. She wiggled until her cell phone could be pulled free.

  Luckily she had the jewelry designer's email conversations saved. In it somewhere was his number. She found it and smiled.

  "Hey Jeremy, its Hailey Holloway."

  "I've been thinking of you, Sweets. How did the cuffs go over with your man?"

  She knew he wasn't flirting, he was just very proud of his work. "Excellent. He loved them."

  "That's what I like to hear."
r />   "So, I have a question for you."

  "Shoot."

  "Where is that safety release we talked about?"

  The line was silent a moment. She feared he had forgotten or maybe didn't put it in like they had decided. "You are stuck, aren't you?"

  Fuck. "No." Silence. "Maybe."

  Jeremy laughed. "Left eye on each of the dragons. Hold for three seconds and they should pop open." He hadn't stopped laughing.

  "Thanks," Hailey deadpanned and hung up.

  She popped open the cuff holding her wrist and rubbed the skin. It was time to go find the men and smack the shit out of Dak. As she got out of the car the driver, who suddenly found her interesting, jumped into action.

  "You can't leave."

  "Like hell I can't," she told him already out of the car.

  "But Dacea said-"

  "That was more of a suggestion."

  "Ma'am I think you're wrong. Please get back in the car." He started towards her as if to physically put her in the car. Hailey was having none of that and ran. She crossed the street closest to the garage and went straight for the side door. It was thankfully unlocked and Hailey sent a prayer of thanks to whatever god was looking down on her that day.

  There was a car in the garage. A blue Ford Focus. It surprised her. For some reason she thought that Council members made more than that. Then again, he was trying to blend in. Maybe Wendell had downgraded to not stand out.

  Hailey walked around the car to the door that led inside. It was locked but the key wasn't very well hidden. It only took her two minutes to find it on top of the door jam. "What an idiot," she said as she unlocked the door. It opened into the kitchen and she put the key on the counter.

  "Now where would the boys be?" she wondered aloud. There was a soft noise upstairs. It sounded like a footstep on a squeaky floorboard. Hailey found her way to the front of the house; from there she found the stairs. The guys had to have found Wendell by now. The house wasn't so large that it would take more than a few minutes to search the entire place. She ascended the steps not bothering to hide her footsteps so they would hear her coming and not think her one of Wendell's lackeys. It wasn't hard to figure out where to go from there. Only one of the four doors was closed. Hailey rapped her knuckle on the door and opened it.

  To her surprise it was not Wendell, Silas, and Dak that she found, but Wendell and Katherine in a very compromising, naked position. "Holy shit," she exclaimed staring wide eyed at the couple.

  "What the fuck?" Katherine cursed. Wendell was relentlessly thrusting his hips while on top of her and hadn't noticed Hailey's intrusion. Katherine pushed him off looking half glad to be free of the sweaty man and half annoyed at Hailey's entrance.

  "Shit." She started to back out of the room but Katherine was quicker and leaped toward, her grabbing her arm pulling her back inside.

  "No. You're staying here."

  The harpy's nails dug into Hailey's arms leaving little half-moon crevasses. She was going to scream. Dak was somewhere in the house and would hear her—if he hadn't already—and would come. She barely got out a yelp before Katherine's warm damp hand covered her mouth.

  There were two thoughts fighting for action in her head. The first was a simple roaring, "FIGHT!" It told her to fight back and not allow this bitch to touch her again. The second thought yelled, "Why is her hand hot and wet? Is that Wendell's ass sweat?"

  Hailey focused on the first thought and bit down on Katherine's fingers. Her hand pulled away and was clutched to her naked chest. Wendell having gotten out of his sex haze finally got on board with what was going on and was slowly sneaking his way toward the door. Katherine sent him a glare that stopped him in his tracks.

  "No one is leaving this room." She pointed to both of them.

  "I'll scream. It will only be seconds before Silas and Dak are here."

  "No!" Wendell snapped. Fear glazed his eyes, much more than the threat of the Green and Red dragon kings should have had.

  "So you've been paying him in sex to do your bidding?" Hailey asked while glancing out of the side of her eye for something to wield. There was nothing within reach but a chair that looked to be from the dining room set she had passed on the way through the kitchen.

  "So? It got me what I wanted."

  "You wanted a middle aged, overweight, bald Council member mindlessly humping you?"

  Katherine sneered. "I really don't like you."

  "Likewise." Hailey smiled and lifted her foot. Katherine's eyes bugged as she brought her foot down hard on the wooden floor.

  "You're going to wish you hadn't done that." Katherine lunged for Hailey tossing them both to the ground. She landed on her shoulder and rolled onto her back with the harpy on top of her. From the corner of her eye she saw Wendell throw open the door and run for it. The slap came hard and fast, snapping her neck to the side with a crack of her spine.

  For weeks Hailey dreamed about punching Katherine and now she had her chance. She rolled with her, interlocking her legs in a tangle and when she could, Hailey pulled back her arm and let her fist fly in a right hook connecting with Katherine's cheek. It was immensely satisfying and hurt like a bitch.

  Katherine screeched and began to flail her limbs around. She caught Hailey with her feet, fists and nails. It had officially entered into girl fight territory. Hailey grabbed a fist full of hair and pulled as hard as she could then shoved her head onto the floor with a thud.

  Katherine was dazed for a second which was just enough time for Hailey to slither out of their knotted limbs. She had begun to stand when a roar sounded from the first floor. Hailey knew that yell. Dak was coming.

  Katherine apparently recognized the sound too. "No! This is between us, not him." She had gotten to her feet as well and pushed Hailey into the wall behind her. The wall met her head with a hard crack. The door was thrown open causing Katherine to look. It was only for a moment but Hailey took advantage and sent a punch to her stomach and then kneed her groin. It worked on guys and apparently on girls too. Katherine bent at the waist and stepped back. Her eyes blazed with hatred and pain. Slowly, like molasses, a smile spread across her face and she stood up. Katherine turned her head slightly, never loosing eye contact, and spit out a glob of blood. "Say goodbye to your Mate, Hailey."

  *****

  "From now on we leave Hailey at home." Silas growled as they left Wendell's office. He was already through the living room when the Council leader came running down the stairs buck ass naked. It wasn't what he had been expecting to see and the shock gave him pause.

  Dacea not concerned with what Wendell was or wasn't wearing, pushed past Silas and grabbed Wendell around the back of the neck. "Where. Is. Hailey?" The words were slow and punctuated in his ear. Silas could see Dacea's skin already crawling with his change. His hands had begun to transform, talons now puncturing into Wendell's neck.

  "U-up s-s-stairs."

  Dacea pushed the naked man towards Silas who thankfully caught him by the shoulders.

  "Hello Wendell," he grinned. "I hear you've been fired."

  *****

  Dacea bounded up the stairs two at a time. He could hear the sounds of a struggle. It wasn't until he ran into the room that he realized who Hailey was fighting. At his entrance, Katherine looked over and smiled at him. Hailey surprised both of them and gave a swift jab to the gut. When she spared a glance at him, it was with relief. Taking a note from Hailey, Katherine used her momentary distraction to pick up a chair and swing. "Nooo!" he yelled a moment too late. Hailey's eyes had gone wide in that split second before impact. The chair hit her in the chest and splintered into pieces as she fell to the ground.

  Hands gripped his arms and held him as he tried to go to her. Silas pulled him back and spoke in his ear. "This is her fight. Give her a chance before you run in and save her."

  He wanted to but she was wheezing for breath. Between the chair and the ground the wind had been knocked from her. "Hailey, get up," he told her. She clutched her chest trying to fin
d air. "Céile!"

  Hailey's eyes opened on his. She smiled. "Took you long enough," her voice rasped. Bloodied, gasping for breath and she still had time to taunt him. Her hand stretched out, palm facing him telling him to stop. Silas's fingers loosened and then dropped from his shoulders. Dacea had stopped fighting.

  Hailey nodded in approval and rolled to her side. The air seemed to flow better when she sat up. Katherine laughed and kicked her in the side knocking her to the ground once more. Hailey moaned and twisted on the floor. Another kick, followed by another, each one landed its mark on his heart. He could feel her pain through the bond. Both the renewed bond and the pain were staggering.

  Katherine was howling with laughter. Her leg swung back and as she let it fly toward Hailey, she grabbed her foot and pulled. Katherine fell. Dacea began forward but Silas had already grabbed hold of his arms and stopped him. "She's proved herself. Let me help her." In a second he could snap Katherine's neck. A quick twist and it would be over. But the hands holding him tightened. They shook with their own need to help but held tight none the less.

  She straddled Hailey. Katherine's fall landed her right on top of her. "And here I thought our little fight would be over once your knight showed up. He really must not love you anymore."

  Hailey spat in her face. "Fuck you." Her hand stretched out patting the floor around her. Dacea saw what she was reaching for and mentally guided her to the chair leg. Her fingers brushed against the wood then wrapped confidently around the foot long piece. "He loves me more than you will ever know. He just knows there are some fights I need to do on my own."

  In a swift sweeping motion, she swung the splintered leg up and straight into Katherine's chest. Hailey had done it with so much force that Dacea could see the end of the makeshift stake sticking out of her back. Katherine mouth bubbled open with blood. Hailey didn't let go of the chair leg even as Katherine began to sway. She fell forward onto Hailey, the wood sliding further through her as she went.