“Nice night for a walk,” the man says. His hand jerks and a knife appears. “Got any spare change for the bus?”
It’s pretty obvious he doesn’t want our spare change.
Nyve steps forward and interposes his body between us. “Busses take the card now. You don’t need cash.” His voice has dropped low and taken on a menacing tone as well. I can hear the growl starting to wind through his chest. It vibrates against my arm as Nyve pushes me further behind him. He’s a wall of a man and I can’t see unless I peek around him. “So beat it.”
The man takes a step forward and Nyve meets him half way. This causes the guy to stop. He stares up at the sky and it occurs to me that my drone is still there, floating passively behind me. He appears to consider this and takes off at a run down the street.
“What did that guy want?” I ask, my hands pressing against Nyve’s back. He’s a solid sheet of muscle, which is very calming against my shaking. “Nyve?”
“There’s been a rash of muggings through the city.” Nyve slowly turns and his hands hold my arms firmly. “Austin, promise me that you will not be out alone at night. This asshole is targeting shifters.”
“Okay, Nyve.” I can see the sincerity and concern in Nyve’s face. I think that’s more frightening than the guy trying to mug us.
“Come on, I’ll walk you to your door.”
I stay close to Nyve as we walk along the street. Getting further away from the main road helps my nervousness but I’m still shaking when we get to my house. I fumble with the keys to get in and Nyve takes them from me to unlock the deadbolt and push the door open. I want to kiss him but now it seems wildly inappropriate and he still seems pretty pissed.
Nyve stays on the porch until I lock the door. I wave at him through the window and he nods once before he heads down the street.
Staying as quiet as I can, I get undressed for bed when a thought hits me. I grab my laptop and pull up the program Ronnie installed on it. A few button pushes and I have the footage downloaded from my aunt’s drone. I hadn’t put on a new loop after the sun set.
With cold realization I realize that I have actual footage of the attack.
4
Nyve
Taran’s brow furrows. “You’re sure it was a mugging.”
“I think the knife in his hand was pretty explicit,” I explain.
Something is tugging on my jeans and I look down at the same startling blue eyes that her father sports. Charity Scalding is Taran and Nosko’s daughter. When I see her, she smiles up at me with such a sunshine expression, it’s hard to hold my dark thoughts.
I pick her up and she throws her arms around my neck and lets her head fall to my shoulder.
“Oh, Nyve, you don’t have to indulge her like that—” Nosko reaches out for her.
I wave him away. “She’s fine and I don’t mind.” One day I hope to be a father. I tell myself that helping with their daughter is giving me practice.
Honestly? I just like kids in general. But I love theirs, especially. Taran is my close friend, they’re both wonderful dragonkind, friends, and parents, and Charity is a precious, sweet girl. This development threatens her as well as all of us.
Nosko relaxes and leans against the back of the chair where Taran is sitting. The other guys are gathered around while we talk about what happened with me and Austin last night.
“This is getting out of control,” Sako says as he sprays down his chair.
It’s early in the day and right now the shop is empty, thankfully. We can take this moment to talk in private. “The cops can’t seem to catch him—”
“Or won’t,” Varos adds helpfully.
“So what can we do about it?” Bronaz asks from the counter before he disappears to look for something.
Taran looks at me with a grim expression. “What can we do? We’re not a vigilante group, we’re tattoo artists.”
Nosko rests his hands on Taran’s shoulders and squeezes lightly. “Has anyone been hurt yet by this guy?”
Varos shakes his head. “Not that I’ve discovered. He just mugs and terrorizes shifters. We already know that it’s obvious he’s targeting us specifically.”
“Nyve, heads up,” Bronaz calls from the front.
A second later, the door jingles and I turn to see Austin standing there. He waves his hand. “Nyve, can I talk to you for a minute?”
Nosko takes Charity from me and I pull Austin to the chairs in the waiting area. Sako gets the hint when I look at him to find somewhere else to be. Once I’m reasonably sure the guys can’t easily eavesdrop, I ask, “How did you sleep?”
“I didn’t.” Austin lets out a slow breath. “I pulled the video from the drone. It caught everything on camera with the man.”
My blood runs like fire through my veins. “Everything? Can we see the guy?”
Austin shakes his head. “No, but there’s enough light—” He shoves a hand in his pocket and pulls out a thumb drive. “If you have a computer, you can see it.”
I am not the most literate with a computer but Taran has a laptop in his office he uses for the shop. “Come on.”
I lead Austin by the hand towards the back. “Taran, we need your computer. Austin has footage of last night.”
“Sure. Bronaz, watch the door.” Taran motions for everyone to follow him into the office.
After a brief discussion, Varos sits down at the computer and pulls up the image from the drive. We watch in silence as the mugger steps from the bushes and I pull Austin behind me. After a few minutes, the guy takes off at a run down the street and the image cuts off as I turn to walk Austin home.
“Well, shit,” Taran says under his breath. “At least he wasn’t stupid enough to take you on, Nyve.”
I can’t disagree. I’m not a fighter by nature. Neither do I tolerate threats to my life or those I care about.
Varos is clicking around and he starts the video again. Austin lunges from behind me and points at the screen. “There. Stop there.”
It’s a really good image of the mugger, even though his face is in shadow due to the hood of his sweatshirt. Austin steps through us as we are crowded around the laptop. “Can we blow that up?”
His finger gestures to the mugger’s chest. There’s a logo on the hoodie.
Varos chuckles and mentions something about this not being a crime show but still works his magic to get us an image that is enlarged to show the logo. Blurry, but better.
Austin leans in further. “I’ve seen that somewhere before.”
That has everyone’s attention. Varos gets up and lets Austin sit down to the laptop. Everyone watches as he does some internet searches before he pulls up a company website. “This is the building my father works in. He works for Stelline Savings and this is the building for their corporate headquarters. I know I’ve seen that logo in the building. You know, on the registry board that shows which floors offices are on?”
“So there’s a chance this asshole works for that company,” Taran mutters.
“It’s a secure building. Security is located at reception and you can’t get past without a guest pass.” Austin stands up so Varos can sit again. “You know, I could get in and poke around.”
“How would you do that?” I don’t want Austin doing anything illegal. There’s no telling how dangerous this can get if he stumbles on some nasty business.
“Call my dad and ask to have lunch with him.” Austin shrugs. “We haven’t talked in a few weeks.”
“I’m not seeing anything on a regular internet search about this company,” Varos says. “I might be able to dig something up tonight when I get home.”
Nosko bounces Charity on his hip, swaying back and forth. “I don’t like the idea of him going in by himself. Hi, I’m Nosko, by the way. Taran’s husband.” He holds his hand out to Austin, who takes it graciously. I feel like an idiot that I didn’t introduce them.
With a chagrined smile, “This is Austin,” I say. “Taran runs the shop and you’ve already met
Varos and Bronaz when you came in for your ink. And that’s Sako. We all work here.”
Austin squeezes my hand with a smile. “I figured. Nice to meet you, Nosko. And I’ll be fine. Once I get past security, I can wander around the building by myself considering who my dad is. He’s pretty high up in the hierarchy of the bank.”
“I’m with Nosko.” I settle my hand against Austin’s lower back. “This mugger knows what you look like. If you run across him while there, it could get bad. We don’t know anything about them or what they want.”
“Or what they’ll do,” Taran adds.
“I can go in as well,” Nosko says with a nod to his husband. “One of the gallery’s regular customers has an office there. I can get in under the pretense of offering another piece of art to him exclusively for purchase. That way, Austin isn’t in the building alone.”
I am not liking this turn of events. “Yeah, Austin, can I have a word in private just a moment?”
I lead Austin into the shop and guide him to sit in my chair as I take my stool. “Are you sure about this?”
Austin cocks his head to the side. “What’s there to be sure about? It’s just lunch and if I happen to take the long way around to get a look at the office area on my way to his floor… I can just say I’m lost trying to get to the men’s room or something.”
“Not about that—” I pause, because that’s not exactly true. This whole mugging thing has me spooked beyond rationality. I’ve seen how it’s terrorizing the mythical shifter community and now it’s touching someone I consider to be mine. “Not just about that but… I know you and your father have a strained relationship. Are you in a good place to deal with him right now?
Austin pauses as he thinks that over. That’s a very mature response. If he were truly a cocky young dragon, he wouldn’t be so thoughtful. “I am. Things are awkward between us but that’s been going on since the death of my mother. He does try, in his own way. I have to try for his sake and mine. He is still my father, even if he’s withdrawn from any emotional relationship with me.”
I’m still not convinced this is a good idea. He sees the conflict in my expression and cups my face.
“I promise, Nyve, I’m okay. Especially since this is something I can do. I’m itching to take the initiative and take control of the direction of my life.”
“The direction of your life could land you in hot water—”
“Which is why you should come with me. You’ll be there if I do.”
Oh, that was an unfair play and judging by the look on his face, he knows it, too.
“Look,” Austin continues after kissing me lightly on the lips, “I need to do something and I want to. It’ll be exciting to be all super spy and it’s not that dangerous. We’re just looking around to see what’s up with that company, that’s all.”
The desire to know the story behind that logo is strong with me. I have a personal stake in it now. I’m still reluctant but I can’t stop him, no matter how much I want to protect him. “Alright. But you’ll just go in and look around, have lunch with your dad, and get out. You won’t engage anyone over this.”
Austin makes a cross over his heart. His smile is bright and eager and so attractive.
We go back into the office to pound out the details about our trip.
It’s decided that I will be going with Austin, as if Taran could actually stop me. Varos and Sako will go with Nosko.
“How will you get them in?” Taran asks his husband. He’s now sitting in the chair and bouncing Charity on his thighs. A brief flash of longing hits me. That’s what I want. I want family. I want children. I want stability.
And I want it with Austin.
Nosko kisses the top of Taran’s head. “I’ll figure it out.”
The rest of the conversation turns to figuring out where we’ll meet up and when we’ll head to the office.
Once that’s done, we break up, Varos and Sako going to fill Bronaz in with what we’re doing.
I walk Austin to the door, our fingers intertwined and hands swinging. “Thanks for coming with this information. I just hope we can find something out to be useful.”
“Me, too.” Austin squeezes my hand. “I was pretty freaked when I got home last night. But after I calmed down, I just got mad. I don’t like being victimized like that. It means I’m not in control of my life and I like that even less.”
I understand. When I was a younger man, I fought regularly for my independence. Austin is feeling the squeeze and I can see his chafing. “I have someone coming in at three and it’s a big back piece, otherwise I’d ask you to hang out later again.”
“It’s okay. I should be home tonight to keep my aunt from taking a close look at the footage she got from the drone and figuring out something is wrong.” Austin swings our hands before he drops them. “So I’ll just see you tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow.”
Austin pushes on the door then stops. With a fast lunge, he takes a sweet and chaste kiss before he disappears.
I don’t know if I’m all on board with Austin taking this risk but at least he’s allowing me to be close by.
That’s a positive step.
5
Austin
Downtown Stelline City is the jewel of the Stelline territory and with good reason. Much of the driving technological advancement in the country today comes from this area and the money is there by the bushel. Not many can afford to live in the immediate outer areas, where the community uplift has spruced up the neighborhoods and shot the rents to sky high prices.
But the mass transit within the city limits is top-notch.
The Sun Field Building houses many corporate headquarters, including the main offices of Stelline Savings, where my father works. He’s some high and mighty guy now. He takes great pride in working up from the mail room.
He’s even offered to get me in if that was what I wanted.
My aunt says it’s a good opportunity but I’m not convinced that working in the same building as my father is a good idea.
This time, it’s giving me a good reason to get into the building. A promise of lunch with my father and maybe a conversation about my prospects for a job.
We decide to meet a few blocks away from the building and we’ll walk up in our respective groups. I’m trying to hide my excitement. Nyve keeps giving me these looks that I kind of understand. I don’t know how to make him understand that I’m totally okay doing this. I want to help.
It’s kind of imperative I help. This mugger guy, from what I’m understanding from Nyve’s friends, and with Ronnie’s and my research to back this up, is terrorizing a lot of good people. If there’s something I can do to help, I need to try. Even if it’s something I can take to the police to follow up.
Nosko takes Varos and Sako and they go first into the building. With the three of them there and Sako taking the tactic of being as disruptive as possible, Nyve and I follow. Because it’s my father I’m there to see, and he’s already called down to reception since he was expecting me for lunch, I play innocent, that Nyve is my boyfriend and I want my father to meet him.
We get past security easily, our hands joined together as we stroll to the bank of elevators.
Stopping at the building directory, Nosko and the others catch up and we all start to search for the company we discovered yesterday.
“There,” Nosko says, pointing up. “Genadyne, fourteenth floor. The man I’m supposed to see is on the seventeenth.”
“We’ll head there. Nyve, you with?” Sako asks as he calls the elevator car.
Nyve hesitates and looks at me. His eyes search mine and I shake my head. “I’ll be fine on my own, Nyve. It’s just my father. I’ll see what information I can get from him since he works in this building.”
“I don’t like leaving you on your own. I can’t protect you—”
I hush him before he goes further with a press of my finger to his lips. “I’ll be fine on my own,” I repeat slowly. “We have a strained r
elationship but it’s not bad.”
The car arrives at the lobby level with a ding and we all step on. No one else tries to crowd in the car, although I suspect it has to do with the three larger men who, despite being really sweet, look rough with their collection of tattoos.
Nyve stands protectively in front of me until the doors shut and I almost laugh out loud. It’s a neat feeling to be surrounded by this wall of dragon muscle. I look over at Nosko, who’s also smiling. He’s an omega, like me, so he must have seen the same protective stance the three men took.
Nosko winks at me and leans around Varos. “Someone hit the floors.”
“Everyone remember the meeting time and place?” Nyve asks.
“One pm at the small fountain park a block north,” Sako repeats in boredom. “Seriously, Nyve, stop being such a mom about this. We can handle anything.”
“Not worried about you, asshole,” Nyve mutters under his breath.
Varos laughs lightly. “I think my feelings are hurt.”
Nosko punches Sako and Varos at the back of their shoulders. “Behave, you guys. This can be dangerous for some of us if we push this too fast.”
At the fourteenth floor, the three guys step off. Nyve glances back one more time, concern clear in his expression. I meet and hold his gaze as the elevator doors shut, then blow out a breath.
Nosko steps up to stand next to me facing the doors. “I don’t know Nyve very well, but it’s clear that he cares a lot for you.”
“It’s a little overwhelming. I’ve barely had time to date and then I meet a guy old enough to be my father who makes me feel things I’ve never felt before and he tells me it’s because we’re fated mates?” I have to shake my head at how crazy it sounds to say out loud.
“I know the feeling. I wasn’t expecting it either, when I first went to the shop to get my tattoo.” Nosko lifts his sleeve to show me his dragon on his forearm.
“That’s beautiful.” It’s clear it has some significance to him by the way his fingers brush over it before he pushes his sleeve back down.
Alpha Dragon_Nyve Page 3
