On Sunday night Cara had just gone into the laundry room pulling out her own clean linens, towels, and clothes from the dryer.
“There you are,” Marco’s voice was loud and grumpy. Cara jumped from the unexpectedness of both him and his heightened energy.
“Marco,” Cara picked up the towel she’d been folding and subsequently dropped when Marco had surprised her. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you. I thought I was alone down here.”
Cara lifted the towel to her stomach, where she began to fold it again.
Marco stared at Cara for a long minute, “Take a walk with me?”
“Of course, I’ll just come back for these,” Cara settled her basket onto the nearby table and followed Marco out of the laundry room. “I’m surprised you even know where the laundry room is,” Cara’s voice was playful but Marco didn’t smile.
“I know where everything is, I designed the house myself.”
“Really?”
Marco looked at Cara, “Does that surprise you so much?”
“I just always assumed that some famous architect had done it,” Cara regretted her original surprise, Marco looked offended. “I had no idea that you’d done it yourself…you did an amazing job.”
Marco held the side door open and Cara walked through it. The house was quiet this evening. Most of the house staff went out into town on Sundays. Cara had been invited to go out when everyone else left but she’d always stayed in and eventually people had stopped asking.
Cara stopped.
“Is something wrong?” Marco looked at Cara’s face.
“I just need a second and I’ll be fine,” Cara felt like there was a tumbleweed inside of her. She let the night air and the smell of jasmine calm her body, “There is something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“What is that?” Marco looked sour. He’d obviously come searching her out for a reason.
“You go first, you are the one who had to go looking through laundry rooms for me,” Cara felt the flurry in her body pass and she began walking forward again.
Marco lifted his shoulders a bit then looked out over the water. The sun was beginning to go down and it was beautiful.
“I’ve made arrangements for you to leave,” Marco’s eyes didn’t search out Cara’s, he stared at a passing sailboat instead. Cara felt herself go weak.
“You want me to leave?”
“I have a distant cousin in Alaska, you should be safe there,” Marco finally turned his eyes to her and Cara saw a cold glassy gaze staring back at her. “It’s for the best.”
“You’re getting rid of me,” Cara could feel panic beginning to surge in her, a panic she hadn’t felt since before she’d told Marco everything.
“This arrangement doesn’t suit me, it will be better for you to go.”
Cara felt sharp tears sting her eyes but she forced herself to pull them back. She stopped walking and turned back toward the house.
“Where are you going?” Marco’s voice was impatient.
“To get my laundry,” Cara felt her own voice become as impersonal and cold as Marco’s.
How could he? He knew how ruthless Dimitri was, and he was just going to push her off on a distant cousin that he barely knew? It had taken Marco for her to feel safe, now she wouldn’t be safe anywhere.
“Didn’t you have something to tell me?” Marco’s voice felt like a hammer on her brain.
Cara stopped walking. Her body felt like it weighed ten tons. She thought about silence, she thought about a lie, but she chose the truth, “I’m pregnant with your child.”
Cara did not turn to see how her news hit him. She didn’t want to see his reaction, which was certain to be another disappointment. Her blood felt hot, her body was weak and she needed to sit down, have a cup of tea.
There was no call out to her, no cry for her to stop and stay. With every step she took toward the house, Cara’s heart broke a little more.
She didn’t sit down at the kitchen table but went right to the laundry room, she grabbed her clean clothes and took them upstairs to her bedroom then pulled out her weekender bag, filling it with the few belongings she owned. She left the boots and party dress since she didn’t imagine they would be very practical going forward.
Cara pushed a hand over her tired face, she inhaled as she looked around her little room. She’d become comfortable here. That was all over now.
She wasn’t going to go stay with his cousin in Alaska. All dragons were not alike just as all men were not alike and Cara knew she would be safer on her own. She had a child growing inside of her now, she had more than her own life to protect. She wouldn’t be able to stop anywhere for very long and she would never see Marco again.
Pulling out some estate stationary Cara wrote a note to Mrs. Caulfield. Marco had paid her in cash for her party planning and she could live on it for a quite some time if she was careful enough. Cara slipped on her hat and pulled her bag over her shoulder.
She looked around the room one last time then left.
I’ll head south, Cara thought. She could go to Cuba for a few days, then on to South America. She didn’t know any Spanish but there was no better way to learn than by experience.
The darkness was complete and Cara kept to the shadows. She needed to get as far away as possible under the cover of darkness. No more greyhounds, she would go to the large marina and try to get onboard a cargo ship, something that Dimitri wouldn’t be expecting or looking for. Once she was away from Miami then she would only have to stay one step ahead of Dimitri—one day he would stop looking, wouldn’t he?
Cara made it to the marina before sunrise but the ships and boats were already full of life.
The thought of spending out the rest of her days in Alaska, holed up in another man’s house was repulsive. She would have been passed around from man to man, because who would want the responsibility of her for more than a few weeks, months at the maximum. Until someday one of the men wouldn’t be so protective and she would have been given over to Dimitri. No, she was better off on her own, she only felt foolish for coming to Miami in the first place, for not seeing that Marco would get sick of her.
The sound of the water slapping the dock and of seagulls finding their breakfast made Cara feel safer. She looked down the row of ships and boats, finding one a few hundred feet away that seemed promising.
As she walked toward the ship her mind wandered to other destinations, there was always Europe, Africa, or Asia. Would Dimitri be able to follow her all over the world?
Her mind was so absorbed that she barely noticed the black SUV pull up until it was too late.
Chapter Eight
Marco hadn’t slept. How could he after Cara’s news?
He was going to be a father. Cara was pregnant. The prospect had never really occurred to him, perhaps in some abstract way but not like this. This was real.
Marco spent the night thinking. A part of him wanted to wake Cara up, tell her what he was thinking, but he could tell her just as well in the morning. So Marco stayed up, making plans, emailing people instructions, and calling his relative in Alaska.
By morning he was feeling antsy. He’d walked around the grounds, and under Cara’s window more than a few times. He’d been waiting to see her light come on but the sun came up first so he went inside to wait in the kitchen.
"Mr. Martinez, what are you doing here?" Mrs. Caulfield picked up an empty mug, filled it with fresh coffee, and handed it to him.
“Thank you,” He lifted the coffee in salute then took a long sip. Perhaps it was going to be a good morning after all. He smiled at the older woman, “I wanted to talk to Cara.”
Mrs. Caulfield’s face changed, “But she’s gone.”
“No, she was going to be leaving but I’ve changed all of that,” Marco felt a creeping sensation of misgiving begin at the base of his spine.
“Well she left me a note last night,” Mrs. Caulfield produced a piece of paper from a pocket in her sweater. “I checked her room this
morning and she was already gone.”
“Gone?” Marco took the paper and unfolded it.
The note didn’t say where Cara was going or how she was going to get there, it only said that she was going and went on to thank Mrs. Caulfield for being so kind to her.
Marco put his coffee and the note down and ran out of the house.
How could he have been so stupid? He should have put a security detail on her the minute he’d talked to her. Had he really thought she would just prance off to Alaska after all of this?
So she’d left last night, at least some of her trip must have been made on foot, which gave him an advantage. How far could she have gotten?
Cara was sitting in the back seat of the SUV. Her head pressed against the glass of the window and her heart was thumping in her ears. The look on Dimitri’s face before his men had picked her up had been cold, cruel. Someone had hit her on the head before bringing her into the car and Cara was having a hard time focusing on anything.
He is going to kill me , the thought just kept running through her head. It was the only thing she really knew for sure. It had been in the look he gave her, in his voice. He knew it and now she knew it too. He had not been bluffing, he had found her and now he would kill her. Cara sucked air in through her nose, she had to make the pounding in her head stop. If only she could bring the world into focus around her.
Her wrists were bound with tape and there were two other men in the car with her and Dimitri.
She tried to think of every possible means of escape. If she could break the tape around her wrists, if she could get the door open and roll out—but what about the baby?
“I’m pregnant,” Cara’s words were loud and scared. She waited for a sound, some sort of confirmation to come from Dimitri. “Did you hear me?”
“Shut up,” the man next to Cara said harshly. He hit her hard on her upper arm and Cara’s body thudded against the side of the car.
“If you kill me, you’ll be killing an innocent baby as well,” Cara thought about telling Dimitri that the baby was Stavros’ but she was such a bad liar that she didn’t trust herself with the task.
“What the fuck is this? Why the fuck are you still talking?” Dimitri turned around in his seat and looked to the man next to Cara. The man hit Cara harder and she cried out as a sharp pain ran up through her arm and all the way down her body.
“What?” Dimitri looked at the driver who was eyeing the situation, “She’s a fucking liar.”
“I’m not a liar,” Cara talked to the driver, “I’m pregnant.”
Cara felt a huge thrust of power land on her face and she was propelled into the side of the car. Her mouth hit the window and she tasted blood.
“I won’t tell you again,” Dimitri’s voice was deadly. “I will take you out of the car right now and put a bullet in your head on the side of the highway.”
Cara tasted the salty tang of tears mixed with blood. She had to be stronger than this, she had to be stronger than him. Could she really have lived for more than a year with Stavros’ abuse only to die by his brother’s hand?
She couldn’t even think about it, she had to survive.
Cara looked out of the window. She wasn’t familiar with Miami and had no idea where they could be headed. She thought about asking but didn’t want to risk getting hit again so soon. If she banged her head again she could easily be knocked unconscious, or Dimitri could live up to his word and shoot her on the side of the road. She wasn’t sure why he hadn’t done that in the first place.
“Call him,” Dimitri said to the man sitting next to Cara, “I want him to see what happens to people who cross me.”
The man next to Cara dialed out then handed the phone to Dimitri. Is he calling Marco , Cara wondered if that was even possible if Dimitri could really be that stupid? Didn't Dimitri understand the power Marco had?
Cara looked at Dimitri. He seemed to wear a permanent scowl even when he was partying, which was most of the time. Cara knew that Dimitri liked to hurt people and things, she knew that he thought it was funny and his right. He might just be cocky enough to think it was a good idea to push Marco’s buttons.
“I have your pregnant girlfriend,” Dimitri used a taunting voice and Cara cringed just to hear it. She could hear Marco saying something on the other end but she couldn’t hear what.
Dimitri started laughing loudly and Cara recoiled at the sound of it. There was traffic ahead and a sign.
“We’re near Ives Dairy Road,” Cara yelled the words toward the phone. The driver swerved and Dimitri dropped the phone. “On 95 going north,” Cara yelled again.
Then Cara screamed. The man next to her had grabbed her by the hair and pulled her across the seat, his elbow smacked into her face and Cara screamed in pain.
The car propelled into the side of the road and Cara felt herself being pulled out by her hair. She tried to get her feet under her but Dimitri had moved in and he was pulling her too violently.
“Get up,” Dimitri pulled her body and hair but Cara couldn’t get up, “fine.” Dimitri let go of Cara and pulled out his gun.
She heard someone scream from one of the cars near them, then a large dark shadow crossed over her.
Cara looked up, one of her eyes was beginning to swell closed, but she could still see the perfect outline of a dragon.
“Marco,” Cara opened her mouth and his name floated out.
Dimitri lifted his gun straight over his head and fired off three shots into the sky. Cara lifted her gaze to the man in front of her and gathered her strength. With everything she had, she punched her bound hands into Dimitri's stomach.
Dimitri doubled over with a wheeze and Cara kicked the gun out of his hand. The gun went skittering under another car.
Hearing shouts from behind her, Cara turned to see Dimitri's henchmen running for her. The one who had been sitting next to Cara raised a gun as he ran forward. She closed her eyes. She felt the shadow drift over her body again without having to see it, when she opened her eyes she saw Marco landing on the roof of a nearby minivan.
There were shouts and screams coming from every direction. People fled, all dispersing in different directions.
The man with the gun stopped his movement. He looked at Dimitri then at Cara, then turned and ran back the way he’d come from.
Marco inhaled and exhaled a scorching stream of fire straight up in the air above him.
“You fool,” Dimitri yelled. He ran forward and jumped up toward the minivan where Marco was perched. Dimitri morphed as he jumped, his body becoming a mixture of red and yellow scales.
Marco was a brilliant every changing mixture of violet, gray, and orange. His body was huge and muscular and his eyes shone just the same as they always had.
Dimitri knocked into Marco who tumbled with him. They went over another car and into the oncoming line of traffic. Dimitri lifted off the highway and shot into the air, Marco followed close behind.
Cara looked around her. She should be looking for a safe place to hide. But what place could be safe from a dragon if Marco didn’t come out of this battle the winner?
“Come on Marco,” Cara felt the words rip through her throat. She felt a tumble in her stomach and Cara moved her hand to her belly. Their unborn child already knew its father, “That’s your daddy,” Cara whispered to her stomach.
There was a shriek from someone behind her and Cara turned to find the driver reaching up to grab ahold of Cara. He pulled Cara in close to his body, a gun pushing in next to her face.
“No, no,” Cara cried as she was pulled from the side of the road and toward a car.
“Marco,” she screamed his name as loud as she could.
The man pushed Cara into the car and began following behind her. Cara slammed her hands into the horn and left them there.
“Get the fuck…” the man struck her hands away from the steering wheel.
But it had been enough, Marco had heard. Cara watched as his large, proud body swooped down towar
d the road and the car. A claw snagged the driver and flicked him up over two other cars to land in the street.
Cara got out of the car.
“Behind you,” she yelled. Dimitri had come back for Marco and was about to hit Marco full force in the back. Dimitri opened his mouth. A stream of fire left his body and Marco moved out of its reach just in time.
Instead of following Marco’s movement, Dimitri turned to Cara. He jerked his body forward and Cara dove back into the car just as Marco slammed Dimitri to the side of the road.
A fury of emotion passed in Marco’s eyes. Cara sucked in a breath as she watched the man that meant more to her than her own life. He crashed into Dimitri, lifting the other dragon up and over his head as he somersaulted forward.
Dimitri pushed five sharp claws into the thick skin of Marco. Marco leaned his head back and with a loud cry he hit Dimitri with his tail. The red and yellow dragon went sliding along the pavement, collecting three smashed cars along the way. Dimitri stood, shaking his head, he looked to the sky then jumped off the ground and took to the air.
Marco howled an angry call off pursuit. Marco took to the sky behind Demitri.
Cara watched the two tumble through the air. Two streams of fire met in the middle and Marco broke off to move positions around his opponent. Dimitri dropped several hundred feet and Marco pursued.
Marco took hold of Dimitri and flung the other dragon, with rage, toward the ground below. Dimitri shot down toward the earth, his body crashing fast. Marco followed so fast behind him that he looked like nothing more than a blur.
“No, you’re too fast,” Cara called the words out as if Marco could hear them. She watched as both dragons plummeted from the sky, the streaks of violet and orange causing her heart to stop.
“I love you, please slow down, please…” she said the words softly as she watched Marco’s falling body.
Dimitri began to pull up against gravity, fighting against his rapid descent. But Marco didn’t slow down, he actually picked up speed.
“What are you doing?” Cara raised her hand and traced Marco’s fall.
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