by Lucy Lyons
“I know you aren’t sure about us,” said Ryan. “I do catch your thoughts, at least some of them. But when you are thinking seriously to yourself it is like a whisper I can’t catch.”
“I’m not sure how we can be sure of anything,” she said. “We have had an eventful day. Perhaps we should get some sleep.”
A roar that shook the cabin woke her. She slipped out of bed and wrapped the bedsheets around her. Walking toward where the fearsome noise originated she heard Ryan muttering, and she imagined him pacing the room he was in. She found him in the living room pacing as she suspected. A huge wide screen television mounted on the wall flashed their individual pictures. Ryan spotted her. The anger on his face was enormous.
“Can you imagine? They think I kidnapped you. Kidnapped!”
Steph walked to him and put her hand on his arm.
“Ryan, you have to know that under any other circumstance this would not be a news story. It must have been planted by the government to draw me out.”
“You?”
“Yes, they can’t go around saying that somehow I’m associated with a dragon. All they know is that a dragon shows up around me. You are incidental because you showed up at the hospital. For all they know the dragon has us both.”
“So, you don’t think the government suspects I’m a dragon?”
“They could, but then there is also your family. They would have been heavily vetted before they got a major defense contract. Besides, I’m thinking something else too.”
“What?”
“Since it was my firm that handled your adoption, they have heavy stakes in keeping your dragon identity a secret. If it were found out they handled the adoption of a dragon child, then every other adoption they handled would be suspect.”
Ryan stared at her. “You think they are in a conspiracy to place dragon children in the families of the wealthy?”
“Think of it. It could have been going on for years. The U.S. is one country where there aren’t dragon suppression laws, and we all know how much corporate money steers the political tides.”
“Holy,” said Ryan unable to speak. He dropped to one of the couches and Steph sat next to him.
“No wonder the government is hot and heavy to find a dragon. Someone suspects and they want to root out this conspiracy. But who would concoct such a plan in the first place?”
“I think I know,” said Steph softly.
“Who?”
“You’ll think I’m crazy, but yesterday when you first brought me here I had a dream. I was in a courtyard where the tiles were broken and filled with grass, a beautiful woman stood there and she asked if I was a dragon. When I told her no she asked if I “served a dragon.” She told me then to tell you to think about the queen of the dragons and that would bring you to her.”
“The queen of the dragons? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Neither have I. But think about it, Ryan. If anyone would want to put dragons in powerful positions, it would be someone like that.”
“It’s a crazy plan. How would she know if these adopted dragons would be loyal to her?”
“I’m as much in the dark as you are, Ryan.”
He nodded. “I think we have to do two things.”
Steph’s stomach rumbled from hunger. She barely ate anything yesterday and didn’t even finish the burger Ryan made her.
“Okay, three things.”
“You think?’
“First, you need to call your firm and see what they can do to quash this kidnapping story.”
“And the second?”
“I need to get some things together for our trip.”
“Trip?”
“Yes, my family has an island in the Caribbean. I think we should go there until the furor dies down.”
“Your family owns an island?” she said incredulously. She knew Ryan’s family was wealthy, but the idea of having so much money that they owned their own island boggled her mind.
Ryan laughed as if her question was silly. “Yes, and a villa in the south of France, a castle somewhere in Scotland, and a condo in Tokyo and a bunch of other places. But I’m feeling the need for some sun.”
Steph smiled. “I could use some sand and sun.”
“But the third thing is most important of all. Getting you some food.”
CHAPTER TEN
Ryan
Steph spoke on the phone with the answering serving of her firm. But when she hung up the phone in disgust that grabbed his attention.
“They won’t take my call,” she said. “Like yesterday they gave me nonsense about Mr. Watins or his assistant, Jared, not being available.
“Well, you tried,” said Ryan. But he worried that someone in the firm was trying to make trouble for his family. “Give me the phone.”
He dialed his father’s cell number.
“Ryan,” his father said. “Don’t call me here.”
The phone went dead. Ryan was stunned. He didn’t expect his father to cut him off.
“Damn. He hung up on me.”
“What did he say?”
“Don’t call me here.”
“Then call him somewhere else?”
“You know, that is a good suggestion.” He called the main house’s rarely used landline. His father was at the other end as if expecting the call.
“What’s going on, dad?”
“I’m glad you aren’t mad at me,” said the elder Kaur.
“The thing with the hypnotism was shitty, but I understand you were trying to protect me. But we have bigger issues than that. Did you see the news?
“Yes. And I issued a press release, but no one is reporting on it.”
“Too bad you didn’t own a newspaper company.”
“Whoever is blocking this is coming from the highest levels,” his father said. “It’s going to take a while to get the story out. I’ll have to use other channels.”
Ryan had no idea what other channels his father spoke about but knowing his father he’d find a way.
“Have you spoken to-”
“Ryan, I can’t be sure this line isn’t tapped. But I’m reaching out to every resource.”
“I believe you. I was thinking of taking a trip. I’m sorry to disappoint you again, because I know how you feel about fraternizing with employees, but Steph and I have become quite close.”
“In a day?”
“Apparently, I’m made that way. You can spin it any way you want but one way or another Steph is here to stay.”
“Oh” said his father softly. “Then do what you think is right. I haven’t shut off any credit cards. Feel free to use the family resources.”
“Thanks, dad. I’ll keep in touch.”
Steph slid her hands up his arms to clasp them behind his head. Her body was tantalizing and he wanted her right then. But he had the sense, especially after the phone call with his father that they weren’t safe at the cabin anymore.
“Follow me,” he said, and he took her hand and led her to his mother’s bedroom. He opened a large walk-in closet filled with clothes. His mother was a practical woman who didn’t like the fuss of packing.
“You are about her size, so pack some things and get dressed. We’re living in fifteen minutes.
“I can’t,” said Steph looking through the clothes. “Most of these still have the tags on them.”
“Don’t worry. It’s her habit to buy several of each new thing she puts in her yearly wardrobe and ship duplicates off to various residences she visits often.”
Steph shook her head as if unable to wrap her head around this idea.
“And what does she do with her old wardrobe?”
“Donates it to charity.”
Ryan swatted her bottom, and she jumped.
“Chop, chop,” he said. He left Steph to make his own preparations. In the den off the living room he opened the safe beneath his father’s desk. It always made sense to him that his father kept pockets of cash. As a child he was fascinated with
them. He called them hoards.
His dragon nature wouldn’t be denied.
With a few quick swipes, he pulled out around sixty-thousand cash. That should do for a while. After all there were other hoards in the other properties. And now he had a way to get to them as long as that first time he traveled here wasn’t a fluke.
From his room he grabbed a backpack and put the bundles of cash there. Then he packed a couple pairs of jeans and tees just to be prepared.
“Ryan?”
He walked out of his room and handed her the backpack.
“Put your things in there,” he said. “I hope you packed light. You’re going to wear this while we fly.”
She took the bag and ducked into his mother’s room and returned with the bag considerably more filled. Steph also had donned a heavy sweater and gloves.
He grinned at her.
“What? I’m not freezing my ass off in wherever we passed yesterday.”
“Then let’s get moving.”
Ryan grabbed her at the waist and gave her a kiss on the cheek as they walked to the front door. But a noise in the kitchen caught Ryan’s attention.
“What’s that?” whispered Steph.
“Maybe the caretaker:” whispered Ryan, “though I told her to stay away for a few days.” But Ryan didn’t believe his own explanation. The caretaker would have let him know she was in the house.
“Wait here,” said Ryan. He left Steph at the front door and walked stealthily to the kitchen. There was a door that separated it from the living room, but the wall on the left of it was hall wall to accommodate a counter. He took a quick peek in the kitchen and saw all he needed to see. A soldier outfitted in a protective armor and toting a rifle stood next to the frightened caretaker.
“Tell your boss that you are here and ask him to come to the kitchen,” said the soldier.
The woman shook her head. “You can scare me all you want, but Mr. Ryan is a good man. He wouldn’t hurt any woman. So take your rifle and stick it where the sun doesn’t shine.”
The soldier shoved the caretaker toward the mud room. Ryan had to assume there were plenty more where that came from. Dad was going to be pissed.
But more to the point Ryan worried whether the government believed he was a dragon. That would hurt his father in many ways and Ryan couldn’t bear the thought. And if the place was surrounded then he needed to finesse this hand. He needed to bluff.
He pushed the kitchen door open affecting a casual attitude. “Is that you Mrs. Robbins? Did you bring the gro-”
Ryan stopped in mock shock.
“Who are you and what are you doing in my house?”
“Get on the floor and put your hands behind your head.”
“Not until you tell me what is going on.”
“Down on the floor or I’ll put you there,” growled the soldier.
“Ryan, darling,” said Steph brightly bursting through the kitchen door then stopped with surprise written on her face. “What is going on here?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart,” Ryan said.
“Who are you?” demanded Steph in her coldest voice.
“Ma’am, are you Stephanie Brooks?
“I am.”
“We have information that you were kidnapped.”
“Kidnapped?” Steph laughed high and clear as if it was the most amusing thing she ever heard. Ryan thought she went overboard and made a little signal across his throat. Steph stopped laughing, and she stared at the soldier. “I most definitely am not kidnapped or held against my will. Mr. Kaur and I have been enjoying each other’s company. But that doesn’t explain what you are doing here. Why are you in this house?”
“The housekeeper gave us permission.”
The caretaker shook her head vigorously.
“Well, you don’t have the owner’s permission. Do you have a warrant?
“No.”
“Then vacate these premises, you and all your men. Or believe me a lawsuit will be filled for violating our Fourth Amendment rights.”
“We have probable cause.”
“You have probable nothing. I just told you that I’m here of my own free will and I’ve established that you have no permission or warrant to be on this property. When Mr. Watins, you know him, don’t you? Of Peters, Watins and Roe hears about this he most likely will file the papers himself. He just loves to sue the government.”
Ryan never heard anything of the sort about Mr. Watins but he had to admit that Steph was playing the role of outraged lawyer very well.
The soldier backed off and spoke in a radio microphone on his chest.
“Fall back,” he called at last. He glared at Ryan before he left from the back door.
The caretaker rushed forward. “I’m sorry Mr. Ryan. They came at me when I got to the back door.”
“It’s okay, Emelda,” said Ryan. “And I’m glad you didn’t believe I kidnapped Steph.”
“No, Mr. Ryan. You’ve done a lot of silly things but you’ve never needed to kidnap a woman.”
“That’s the most honest assessment I’ve ever heard of my behavior. And you are right. I’ve never had to kidnap a woman.” Steph glared at him which he supposed he deserved. “Which car has the most gas downstairs?”
“That would be the Escalade, Mr. Ryan. I use it for trips to town for supplies. I filled it last trip.”
“Okay. I want you to call my father and tell him what happened. Ms. Brooks and I are taking the Escalade.”
“Yes, Mr. Ryan.”
“Come on Steph. We’re making a break for it.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Steph
Steph followed Ryan down a staircase that ran to the basement. He flipped on a light and she saw they entered a garage. There are three different cars, one an upscale sedan, a Porsche and an Escalade. They climbed into the Escalade and Ryan keyed open the garage door.
“Why do you keep so many cars at places where you don’t live?” she asked.
“It’s a convenience, but not every residence has cars. It’s just we tend to come here more often than the other places, so there is one for me, my mom and my dad.”
“Momma bear, Papa bear and Baby bear, eh?”
Ryan touched her red locks.
“You don’t look like Goldilocks to me.”
“Goldilocks was a thief. I am a lawyer not a thief.”
“Not one for porridge theft, huh?”
“What is porridge anyway? Is it even a thing?
“Sure it is. It’s oatmeal. Or sometimes other grains cooked to mush.”
“For a man that doesn’t cook, you know an awful lot about this porridge business.”
“Enough about porridge. I want to know about your life of crime.”
“I told you. I have no life of crime.”
“Says you. I might have to have you investigated. After all a dragon has lots of gold to protect.”
“Do you?”
“What?”
“Have gold to protect?”
“Me personally. No. Well, that’s not true. I’ve been exceptionally good at saving my allowance.”
“Allowance eh? What. Save your quarters every week?”
Ryan laughed. “When I was small, I got a thousand dollars a week.”
“What?”
“Well, I was at private school most of the time, so I needed walking around money.”
“And what do you get now?”
“Officially, I’m on the board of directors of Kaur Industries so I draw a salary from that. What is this? Are you some sort of gold digger looking to see what you can get out of me?”
“Sure. That’s me,” Steph snorted. “The gold-digging lawyer thief. Just what makes you qualified to sit on the board at Kaur Industries?”
“Besides being the son of the owner?”
“Yes.”
“Nothing much. Just a PhD in business management.”
“What? You? A doctor?”
“Ssh. You’ll spoil my ne’er-do-well reputat
ion. Besides, it’s not that impressive. Anyone can get one of those.”
“Well, not anyone. What did you write your dissertation on?”
“Wealth Management in International Markets.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“You can look it up. It’s listed in my school’s dissertation data bank.”
Steph stared at the road ahead. Once again Ryan, without even trying, managed to blow her away. This was a man who literally had everything, smarts, money and looks. Why would he want a little law associate who just made the bar?
“What are you doing with me?” she said awestruck.
“Why wouldn’t I be with you?’
“It’s too much. It just is. Things like this don’t happen to people. I expected that maybe I meet a nice lawyer or doctor.
“And now you are claimed by a dragon. There go your plans for a normal life.”
“But what about that too? What if you find a nice lady dragon? Wouldn’t you want her?”
“Steph, you are right. There are a lot of unknowns now. And I admit, I’ve been playing things by ear, but what’s here,” he said as he touched his heart, “that’s steady and strong. I’ve never felt for anyone what I feel for you.”
“And just what is that? A sense of possession?”
“Yes. And the need to protect you. Oh, and by the way. I’m not happy that you intervened in the kitchen. You aren’t to do that again.”
“Or what?”
“I might have to punish you.
“Yeah, right.”
“I’m serious. You are not to put yourself in harm’s way”
Steph crossed her arms and stared out the window. She wasn’t used to this, to being treated like she couldn’t protect herself. She didn’t spend four years in the Marines to be treated like a piece of fluff that didn’t know when to get out of the way.
“Listen, mister. I was a Marine. I can take care of myself, better than you can.”
