by Riley Storm
A trio of lounge chairs were spread out to the left in seated positions. To her right was a gas fire pit. The open walkway led between them both, to the railing that marked the edge of the balcony.
“Ahhh,” she sighed, walking to the edge and peering out into the valley below, her refilled mug in one hand.
This was what she’d been craving. Sweet, sweet silence.
“That was a stress-relieving sigh if I’ve ever heard one,” a voice all but cackled from behind her.
Grace yelped and turned, nearly spilling coffee all over the place.
“I—I’m sorry,” she said, “I thought I was alone out here. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“Oh, you aren’t, don’t worry about that,” the speaker said, an elderly looking woman relaxing on one of the lounge chairs.
Grace must have walked right past her on the way out, so intensely focused on her own troubles that she’d completely missed the woman’s presence.
“I can go,” Grace offered, pointing at the door. “If this is your private balcony I’m sorry, I, I didn’t know.”
“There are no private balconies here,” the woman said, waving a hand at Grace. “Have a seat, take a lean on the railing. You do you. Nobody else is gonna bother you while you have a think. It certainly seems to be weighing heavily on you.”
The woman lay back on her chair, lowering a pair of oversized round sunglasses into place.
“Is it that obvious?” Grace asked.
“I may have seen it a time or two over the years,” the woman said. “Back when I used to interact with the youngsters more. These days I usually prefer my solitude up here. It’s more peaceful that way.”
“You’ve been here a long time?” Grace asked, leaning back on the rail.
“Since the beginning,” the woman confirmed. “Came here with the first group in the forties to fight the damn Faeries. Decided to stay after that. One of the last of the originals. Maybe the last now, since Brassh passed away year before last.”
There was far too much in that sentence for Grace to unpack. She took the bits about being in Five Peaks since the forties, and being one of the last.
“You’re a dragon shifter,” she said abruptly as other pieces of the sentence fell into place.
“Well duh. You’re in Clan Aterna’s compound. What else did you think I was?” the woman cackled.
“Well, the other women,” Grace said, gesturing back into the house. “They’re human. Like me. I…”
“Didn’t know that there were any female dragons? Yeah, probably not. They’re pretty rare around here. But then again, you look like you’re new yourself. Lotta confusion when I mentioned them damned Faeries.”
Was that smoke that came from the woman’s nose? Grace shook her head. She must have been imagining it.
“Definitely confused,” the woman added. “Come, have a seat. I suppose I can lend you some of my expertise and know-how. What’s your name?”
“Um. Grace.”
“UmGrace? Interesting. Human’s get weirder and weirder with their naming conventions every year.”
“No, my name is Grace,” she said, repeating herself clearly.
The woman looked up, and despite the sunglasses, Grace could see the smirk and twinkle that had to be in her eyes. The old lady was playing her.
“I’m Addy, Grace. Elder Lady of Aterna. Who is it you’re with?”
“Well, I’m not really with anyone, but—”
“Step one,” Addy said bluntly. “Whether you choose it or not, you’re here with someone. Human’s don’t just enter the compound. Certainly not ones that look like they’re weighing a massive decision. You all wear that same look at first. So just stop lying to yourself, and then tell me who you’re with.”
“I can see why people find other balconies,” Grace said with a snort.
“Not everyone can handle the blunt truth,” Addy pointed out.
“Apparently.” Grace shook her head, wondering if she should smile or leave. “His name is Braz.”
“Yup, know him. One of the good ones,” Addy said, lifting her hands and resting them behind the back of her head as she stretched out on the chair. “You coulda picked worse.”
“I didn’t pick him,” she said. “It just sort of happened.”
“Same thing. Close enough. Sometimes you get picked, sometimes you do the picking. Why, with my Donnie, he wore that same look you was wearing just then. I saw him in town after the fighting was over, and I knew then. He was mine.”
“You went for a human?” Grace asked. “I always thought that you’d prefer another dragon if you could.”
“There wasn’t a dragon alive that was better than Donnie,” Addy said softly. She reached up and pulled the sunglasses down so Grace could see her eyes. “Best man I ever did know. A dragon would be lucky to have a human for a partner. Keeps them grounded.”
“Donnie sounds lovely,” Grace said quietly.
“Yeah, he was. I miss that stubborn sonofabitch.” Addy sighed. “Okay, enough about me and my seduction of the stud of the town.”
“Your seduction of him?” Grace asked, coughing into her coffee mug.
“No more details,” Addy said with a wink. “Apparently I’m not supposed to talk about it so bluntly. Something about taking him out back the bar and blowing his, uh, mind, that offends the little ones.”
Grace laughed. “Oh my. Well, maybe one day you can tell me. When this isn’t just coffee,” she said, lifting her mug.
“You’ll have to stick around for that one, child,” Addy said. “Which, since I’ve seen it happen dozens of times over the years, is exactly what you’re wrestling with. You’ve met someone new, they’ve blown your socks—and probably underwear—off, and you think it’s real, but you can’t understand how it’s all moving so fast. How am I doing so far?” she asked.
“Not bad,” Grace said. “But he’s not new. In fact, he’s kind of a blast from the past.”
“Oh, so you and Brazzier were a thing before?”
Grace snickered. “I am so saving that, thank you for that. But no, not a thing. We could have been, I guess, maybe, but I was already in the midst of seeing someone when we met.”
“Ah,” Addy said, then stayed quiet while Grace explained.
“We were out for my birthday. At a bar. He grabbed me up on the dance floor and twirled me around for a song. It was fun, but I told him I wasn’t free. But we kept talking. Became friends.” She grew quiet.
“Go on,” the ‘Elder Lady of Aterna’ encouraged.
“I got engaged to that same man,” Grace said, thinking back. “It was at the engagement party that Braz told me what he knew. That my fiancé was cheating.”
“So you got mad at both of them and shut em out?” Addy guessed.
“No. I got pissed at Braz, told him to leave me alone. I accused him of wanting me for himself, of trying to split me and my fiancé up. I cut him out of my life, and I stayed with my fiancé.”
Addy was silent this time, watching, listening.
“I should have cut that scheming bastard out. I wasted seven years of my life on that asshole, four of them married to him! Biggest mistake of my life.”
The older woman nodded slowly. “And now you’re afraid that by shacking up with Braz, by letting yourself be open and free with him, you’re making another one.”
Grace nodded. “But,” she continued in a whisper. “I can’t seem to shake this foreboding that, if I turn him down a second time, I’ll be making an even worse one.”
“Does it feel right?” Addy wanted to know. “When you’re with him.”
“Scarily,” Grace admitted, finally taking a seat on the chair next to Addy. “It terrifies me how comfortable I can be around him. I came back to Five Peaks for my ex’s funeral. Not to find a new lover, you know? It’s not what I wanted.”
Addy smiled, reaching out to pat Grace on the wrist gently. “This often comes when you need it most, Gracie dear, not when you’re most read
y for it.”
Grace took a deep breath, considering the wise woman’s words. “Yeah, I am most definitely not ready for this. Not one bit.”
Addy says it’s not about what I want. It’s about what I need.
So, do I need him?
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Braz
“Whatcha doing?”
Braz turned to his left. “Hi Pace.”
“That’s a mighty long stare you got going on there,” the other shifter remarked with fake nonchalance.
“Is it now?”
“Something on your mind?” Pace asked, coming up to stand next to him.
Braz knew that Pace was just trying to get his goat. He shouldn’t let him under his skin, but he was so worked up, it was hard to stop even such a trivial attempt from having an effect.
“Mmmm,” he said, declining to go into further detail.
Pace came over and took up a stand next to Braz, leaning against the front of the truck, arms crossed, staring at the house. “Waiting for someone, or waiting to go inside?”
Braz rolled his eyes. “Yes.”
“Oh. It’s that bad is it? Why won’t you go inside?’
How the heck did Pace manage to pick up on that? Braz hadn’t given him anything to work with there. Was it so obvious that something was wrong, that even Pace could notice?
“Just march on in there and tell her how you feel,” Pace said. “It’ll be good for you, trust me. It feels so nice to get that off your chest.”
“Pace,” Braz said in a polite tone.
“Yes?”
“Shut up.”
The other shifter frowned. “Oh. So you’re in trouble then. What did you do that’s got her so pissed at you?”
Braz shifted, turning at the hips just enough to glare at his kin. “You just don’t quit, do you?”
“She’s really pissed isn’t she?” Pace continued, ignoring the question and implied remark associated with it. “Damn dude. Can I help?”
Braz was about to say no, that he could handle it, but cut himself off. “Actually, in all seriousness, yes, I’ll want your help. You and a couple of others. Not right now, mind you,” he said, working his jaw, deep in thought. “But eventually. Things might get messy.”
Pace perked up at that, dropping the casual needling. “This is serious.”
Braz filled his friend and family member in quickly. Pace had been working with Carla on the Brolle/Jack Stile case, so he was already familiar with the back details.
“Crap,” he said when Braz was finished. “That’s not good.”
“No.”
“She’s going to kill you.”
“Yes.”
“How long have you been out here avoiding telling her?”
“An hour. At least.”
“She’s gonna flip.”
“I know.”
“Can I be there?”
“Piss off,” Braz said, pushing off from the car.
He could no longer put it off. Time was ticking away, and he would need to spend most of it calming Grace down.
The closer he got to the door, the more his heart started to flutter. For a moment he almost backed out, determined to find another option, but he couldn’t. There wasn’t one. This was how it had to happen.
It took him a solid ten minutes to track Grace down to the balcony in the upper corner of the clan house. That was Addy’s territory, and he hoped the elder woman of Aterna hadn’t bitten Grace’s head off when she intruded.
So when he pulled the door open and heard the two of them laughing together, it slowed his steps for a moment. Addy could be a hoot to get along with sometimes, but she could also be a right... well, she’d earned the right to be a bit cantankerous when she felt like it.
Braz was just glad that Grace was experiencing the good side.
“Hopefully she’s not telling you too many horror stories about me,” he said, poking fun at himself as a way of interjecting himself into the conversation.
The two of them looked over from the lounge chairs as he walked onto the balcony. Then they glanced at one another. A moment later they burst into laughter.
“That can’t be good,” he muttered, mostly to himself, but loud enough that the other two could have another little chuckle at his expense. It made Braz’s heart feel fuller to see Grace at least getting along with everyone while she was there. He’d been half afraid that she’d lock herself in her room after he’d given her some space.
“What’s up Brazzier?” Addy cackled as he came closer.
The way Grace laughed immediately told him it wasn’t the first time that name had come up.
“Wonderful,” he muttered, shaking his head in defeat. “Just wonderful. Thank you for sharing that with her.”
Addy smiled, looking up at him as she did. When their eyes met, the old woman noted the set to Braz’s jaw, and she sobered quickly. Whatever Addy might be, she was still sharp as a knife. “I’ll give you two a moment,” she said. “But don’t take too long, the sun’s just coming around the umbrella and this old gal needs her heat.”
Braz nodded in thanks and then sat down at the edge of the lounge chair. Grace fixed her attention on him. She too seemed to understand that something was up.
“Okay, spill. What is it?” she asked the instant the door closed.
“Wilson sent one of his men to get in touch with me,” Braz said tightly.
The smile and any remaining humor disappeared from her face the instant he said that. “Braz, I told you. I don’t want anything more to do with this. I’m done. Out.”
Braz hung his head. “I know you did Grace. I know. But…unfortunately, I don’t think it’s that simple.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, her voice dropping to a whisper as the seriousness of his tone registered.
He told her. About the thumb drive Jack had left behind. How it had been hidden in a picture of the two of them. That it was locked, and required a password to open.
“That’s ridiculous,” she said, throwing a hand in the air. “He probably just hid it there because nobody would look for it in an old picture of his ex-wife.”
Braz stayed silent, letting her work through her anger. They both knew that it was unlikely. There was no other clue with it as to what the password would be. Wilson was adamant that Jack had told him the proof would come to light if something ever happened to him. That meant someone else knew the password.
The only person that could be, was Grace.
“I don’t even know the blasted password!” she shouted a moment later. “I haven’t talked to him in four years. How the heck would I know?”
Again Braz was silent. Grace was progressing through the logic. That was something he liked about her. She could use reasoning and deduction. Right now her brain was accepting that he was probably right, that she did know the password. She was upset that it wasn’t coming to her quickly and easily so she could tell him and be done with.
Which meant it was almost time for him to drop his next bombshell on her.
“I need you to come with me,” he said quietly. “To a meeting with Wilson to unlock it. We need the information that’s on that drive.”
Grace stared at him in shock, her mouth slowly falling open.
Pace was right. This is going to be bad.
“Are you insane?” she yelped. “That man has tried to have his goons take me several times now. I am not going to voluntarily go meet with him!”
“It will be safe,” Braz promised. “There will be help around, trust me on that one. If he tries something, he’ll regret it very, very swiftly”
Grace was just glaring at him.
“We need your help, Grace.”
Her eyes narrowed at his tone. “You’ve already agreed to the meeting, haven’t you?”
Braz nodded, figuring that silence was better than words.
“I can’t believe you!” she shouted, strawberry-blonde hair flying everywhere as she turned and marched a handful of
steps away, then came back, fists clenched, face red in the cheeks. “You just agreed to meet with him, and to bring me, and you didn’t even ask me?”
“We need to do this, Grace. You know that as well as I do. It’s the only way they will stop coming after you. This other party has threatened to kill Wilson to get that thumb-drive back. The only way Wilson survives now, is if he gets the information on it and exposes whoever it is behind all this. That means he’s going to keep coming after you. So unless you want to live your entire life within these walls, we need to unlock that drive.”
“And then what?” she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest, glaring down at him.
Braz wanted to get up from the lounge chair, but he figured it was pointless. Give Grace the high ground, let her feel as comfortable as possible. Whatever it took to get her to agree.
“Then we find out what’s on it. We expose the enemy, and whatever his terrible secret is, and hopefully we take the bastard down.”
“Right. So it’s just that simple then? We go to this rendezvous, I somehow unlock this drive, and then I come back here while you do your thing? Just like that?”
Braz shrugged. “Ideally, yes.”
Grace paused, mouth open, ready to launch into another tirade. “Ideally? What is that supposed to mean?”
He sighed. There was no avoiding this part either.
“It means it could be a trap.”
“Ya think?” Grace said. “Even I can see that! Yet you agreed to it anyway?”
Braz nodded. “I did,” he said tiredly. “Because I don’t see another way out of this. I don’t see a way that we stop all this. Whoever our enemy is, he knows you’re involved by this point, he must. That means it won’t just be Wilson or us dragons that he comes after. I’m sorry, I truly am, I never meant to get you involved in something like this Grace, but here we are. It’s happened.”
She bit her lip and looked away, shaking her head back and forth, over and over again, as if that would suddenly change things. Both of them knew better though.
