The sounds of multiple human hearts pounding seems to echo off the stained concrete walls of the alley. The smell of their sweat and their fear calls to my dragon, stirring it into a frenzy.
Somewhere to my left, Sani is grappling with one or more men. And, judging from the curses coming from that area, he’s not having much trouble with them. Definitely local cops.
“Tell them to drop their weapons,” I growl in his ear.
He speaks through clenched teeth. “Not a chance.”
“You do realize the hard way is really only hard for you, right?” I tug on his arms to punctuate my point.
“I will never surrender to a lizard.” The word is spat, like a curse, like a slur. So much hate packed into two tiny syllables.
This second, I know why he was chosen for this mission. And it’s not because he’s able to look my father in the eye without flinching. He said the dragon threat must be eliminated—not controlled or contained. Eliminated. I’ve seen this kind of hate before. With religious zeal, he believes dragons are dangerous. And evil. He doesn’t just want to contain us, he wants to eradicate us. He’s the most dangerous operative of all: a true believer.
My inner dragon smiles a toothy smile at the thought that enters my head. I’ll show him something worth believing in.
“You don’t like dragons too much, do you?” I ask.
“Like? Why would I like violent creatures who only live to serve themselves?”
“Oh, I have a German slash Japanese friend I’d love to introduce you to,” I mumble.
“Huh?”
“Never mind. So.” I let my smile enter my voice. “How do you feel about flying?”
“Sani!” I call, then glance around. I only see two other men standing in the alley. He’s been busy.
“Yes?” he calls from my right. How the hell did he get over there? Gods, I love working with African dragons.
“Launch in five.”
He doesn’t have to confirm, I know he’s ready.
I swoop down, scoop up Cleft Chin’s gun, and make it intimately familiar with the back of its owner’s head. The man goes limp and I support him with one of my arms under each of his underarms.
In human form, Sani sprints to the cab and grabs both of our packs.
“Three,” I say.
“Two,” Sani echoes, sprinting toward me.
On one, I shift violently into dragon shape. The two men in the alley stumble back and raise their guns at me. What had been slender human arms are now two claw-tipped legs, looped underneath the agent’s arms.
I shoot into the air and Sani leaps onto my back, as graceful as a panther climbing a tree. Cleft Chin dangles from my front claws, unconscious and unaware. A few shots whiz by us before I go invisible. Both men lower their guns, confusion painting their faces. The only thing they have to aim at now is their boss.
Now that I’m in the air, I can see the unconscious bodies littering the alley. While I was running my mouth, Sani took care of everyone else. My hearts lurch painfully, as if they’re trying to ditch me and claim a spot next to Sani, where they really belong.
…
“Why did you bring him?” Sani asks once we’re high in the clouds.
I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought past him waking up miles above the city and hopefully crapping his pants. That was going to happen pretty soon. Then what?
I think my silence disturbs Sani, because he says, “You can’t kill him.”
“I hadn’t been considering that,” I say. “But remind me why not, again?”
“We’re the good guys,” Sani says.
“They don’t think so.” I motion to the city below us with my tail; by “they,” I mean the general public, the CIA, the world. A world we’ve saved countless times, but that hates us because we’re different from them.
“Since when have you let what someone thought about you define you?” His voice is soft and low, rumbling on my back.
Good point. Maybe since I realized what someone thought about me could also confine me.
The wind whips around my ears, producing a howling sound. I feel Cleft Chin’s muscles tense under my claws as he wakes up. It takes a few seconds before he realizes where he is.
“Ahhh!” he yells. He looks up and behind him and, seeing nothing, screams again.
He stops screaming only when he runs out of breath.
“Wakey, wakey,” I say.
“Put me down, right now!” he orders. As if he’s in any position to be ordering me around.
“Oh! Sure! If that’s what you really want.” I loosen my grip a little and pitch forward.
The screaming sounds again, but I hear Sani’s admonishing voice behind me. “Kitty.”
“I was just having fun,” I say, working a pout into my voice and playing up the bad cop persona. I straighten my flight path. “You never let me have any fun.”
Cleft Chin’s breaths are coming hard and fast now. Unfortunately, he hasn’t soiled himself. We don’t have much time before Dominic’s plane takes off, so I’m going to have to make this faster than I’d like.
“Do you know what would happen if I dropped you right now?” I ask.
“Please don’t.” The man trembles in my grasp. His fear is a sharp taste on my dragon tongue, and it stirs my blood.
I let out an exaggerated sigh. “The CIA’s never been very good at answering questions.”
“How did you know I’m CIA?” He seems offended, but doesn’t deny it.
“You stink of it,” I say. “Anyway. You would die. I could just let go and it would be as simple as that. If I wait a few more miles, nobody would probably ever find your body. Except maybe some wolves.”
“What do you want to know?” Cleft Chin says quickly. “I have information. About your family, about the CIA’s plans.”
He gave in pretty quickly, letting me know I have to be more careful with this one: he’s got nearly nothing to lose. “Oh, you seem to have misinterpreted my intent. That’s really nice to know, though. My point is—killing you now would be so easy and would solve so many of my problems.” I let that hover in the air around us and sink all the way in.
“But,” Sani prompts, playing the good cop.
A hard wind blows and flutters Cleft Chin’s jacket and pants. He sways a little, hanging from my claws, then groans. That couldn’t have been timed better if I had planned it.
“But, I won’t.” I say.
“Not that I’m not grateful,” Cleft Chin sputters, “but why not?”
I don’t say: Sani won’t let me. “Because I value human life. I’ve fought my entire life to protect the American ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You’re depriving my friends and family of two of those, but I still refuse to deprive you of the first. Do you want to know why?”
“Uh, sure?” I can tell he doesn’t. All he’s thinking about right now is how the baseball field below us is the size of a pinhead and what that means.
“Because you’re the monster, not me.” I say. “I may have scales and claws and the ability to tear you limb from limb without breaking a sweat, but a monster exists in the mind. A monster is a creature of hate, not form.”
“Okay, okay. I got it. You’re not going to kill me because you’re a wonderful person.” I can almost taste the sarcasm in his words. “So can you let me down now?”
“Of course,” I say, smiling. “You don’t have to be so sarcastic, you know. If you get to know me, I’m actually pretty awesome. I’ll put you down. But first, this info.”
He spat. “Don’t they train you on interrogative techniques? Why would I tell you anything now that I know you’re going to let me go?”
“I am going to let you go. Unharmed, even. But where?” I shrug a little, making his feet kick at the open air. “I haven’t decided yet. I do know this lovely little island that makes Gilligan’s Island look like a suburb…”
I would love to spend hours listening to this guy whimper, but we’re running out
of time. Thirty hours until Jacob’s deadline, and we keep crashing into new obstacles at every turn. I turn west and scan the ground for a nice, secluded spot.
Chapter Fifteen
We catch up with Dominic’s plane over Kentucky after dropping Cleft Chin off in a deep valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Sani insisted on splinting his broken arm before we left, making us even later. It will be a few days before he sees another human soul again, but his survival training will keep him comfy until then. I sure hope he likes rabbit. I’m wiped after carrying him all that distance, but I’d rather he not be able to give a full report to his supervisors just yet. The fact that Sani’s with me is still mostly a secret.
I hope.
Five hours later, we land at LAX. I find a nearby shipping container storage lot and drop down between two containers. Sani hops to a crouch on my back and takes a look around for a few minutes.
“No cameras,” he confirms, jumping to the ground.
I let go of my invisibility and snap back to human form. Exhaustion overwhelms my entire body and I sway dangerously.
“Whoa, there,” Sani says. He swoops in close to me and wraps steadying arms around my waist. “I think you overexerted yourself.”
I lean in to his chest and let him hold even more of my weight, but I say, “I’m fine.”
Laughing softly, Sani says, “If I know anything about women, it’s that when they say they’re fine, they mean the exact opposite.”
He wraps one arm tighter around my waist, then places his other hand on the back of my head, pressing it gently to his chest. I sigh, relaxing. Then I realize he’s never held me like this. For once, it doesn’t feel careful or guarded. I’m painfully aware of every square inch of contact between our bodies. Every breath I take presses our hearts closer together. Something like an electric field crackles between us, and it recharges me.
“You just fought off a CIA ambush then raced a jet across the country,” Sani says. “You can admit you need a break. It’s not a weakness.”
“We don’t have time for a break. Dominic shouldn’t be left alone for very long.”
He pulls away to examine my face, but still supports most of my weight. My body aches with the sudden absence of his warmth and strength. His concerned green eyes take in everything. He’s decided I’m okay for now, but he continues to hold me close. His gaze settles on my lips for a few seconds, then slides up to meet mine. Oh Gods, how my hearts pound. The heat of a blush sneaks up my neck and makes itself at home on my cheeks, leaving a blazing trail in its wake. Sani can definitely hear my frenzied pulse. Hell, as loud as it is, my father can probably hear it from here.
His full brown lips form an amused smile. A light glimmers in his eyes, glowing from a depth Sani rarely lets anyone see.
Barging into my thoughts like a world-class party pooper, the memory of his hot-to-cold behavior this morning terrifies me. I smile back at him as sweetly as I can, hoping to avoid another emotional shutdown. And they say I’m hard to read.
His hand around my waist starts rubbing tiny circles on my lower back. Nothing—and I mean nothing—has ever felt as good as this gentle pressure. Tendrils of pure bliss trace across my skin with every touch of his fingers.
I want to grab him and pull him against me until our lips crash together, but I catch myself. I’ve waited three years for Sani and—for whatever reason—he responds to my affection like a frightened animal, so patience is a virtue here. A torturous, impossible virtue.
I slide my hands slowly up his perfectly formed chest, the stony strength there belying the tenderness in his eyes. My fingers trail over his shoulders, then down the side of his arms, slowly tracing the cut of his triceps.
Need and want tighten my chest, degrading my saint-like patience. Being this close without getting closer is agony bleeding across every nerve ending. I slide my hands back up, over his shoulders, around his neck.
His grip around my waist tightens and fingers dig into my skin, pulling me closer to him. Our stomachs press together until the front of my body, from my knees to my chest, is joined with his. I’ve never felt more complete, like there’s always been a piece of me missing, and Sani’s touch has returned it to me.
He bends his head toward me, his eyes never flickering away from mine. There is nothing in the world except his arms around my waist and the space between our lips. His breath brushes across my lips, and the shock of it forces my eyes shut.
“Sani,” I sigh. I don’t remember telling my lips to make a sound, but there it is.
He freezes. His motion toward me a few seconds ago was so subtle and slow, but the absence of it is a sledgehammer to my heart. Arms fall from my waist, and a few steps place a chasm between us. All of my strength turns traitor and retreats with him. Or maybe it was never mine to begin with. I slump against a container.
“I’m sorry.” He stares at my feet.
“You’re sorry?” I want to scream, but it comes out more as a squeak.
Sani doesn’t look at me. “Yes. I shouldn’t have done that.”
I’m done trying to figure him out. I need answers. “No? Why not?”
He swallows hard, his Adam’s apple moving with painful slowness. “I just got caught up in the moment; it won’t happen again.”
“You didn’t answer my question.” My body is shivering with the effort of maintaining control. My throat painfully threatens to collapse on itself. “Caught up in what, exactly?”
“We should get going.” He’s calm with practiced restraint. “Dominic will be waiting for us.”
Humans think it’s painful when their heart breaks—try having two of them. It’s a perfect description: heart break. Everything inside me feels like it’s shattering into a million pieces, like the pain’s too much to be contained by a single piece.
He looks around and starts walking in what I can only assume is the airport’s direction.
“No!” I finally work up the strength to yell at his back. “Tell me why!”
“I don’t want to lead you on.”
He doesn’t even turn around to deliver his lie. I know it’s a lie. Leading someone on implies you don’t care for them. He couldn’t look at me and touch me like he just did and not care for me. Weak from hunger and exhaustion and probably something else I don’t want to admit, I slide down the container and sit on the dusty ground, dropping my hands to my knees.
“Why are you doing this to me?” My traitorous voice cracks with unshed tears.
He stops walking but doesn’t turn around. He just stands there, his back to me, his shoulders rising jerkily with his breath. For some reason, I know this is the moment. The moment when I can get through to him, crack this shell he’s been hiding under. I just have to find the right thing to say. Too bad I’ve never been that great with words. So I decide to go with the truth. The truest truth I know, the one I’ve never even admitted to myself.
“I love you.”
His breath stops. I hear him swallow his emotion. He shakes his head a little. “I know,” he whispers, then keeps walking.
All right, that does it. Yeah, I love him. But right now he’s pissing me off. There is something he’s not telling me, and partners do not keep secrets from each other. I pull myself to stand up straight. My body doesn’t deal with sadness very well, but anger—I thrive on that. I kindle it until it’s a raging fire. My heartbeat and breath build up speed, eager for action.
I launch myself at Sani’s back, zero to ninety in one stride. He doesn’t expect it, so he has just enough time to turn around before I crash into him with a tackle the NFL would pay me millions of dollars for.
Even now, as we roll across asphalt and broken rocks, he positions his body to protect me from the worst of our uncontrolled tumble, wrapping his arms around me and turning so he absorbs impacts meant for me. Finally, we roll to a stop, and I make sure I land on top of him, pinning him to the rough ground. He may be bigger and quicker than me, but I’m stronger by twice, and I have the element of sur
prise. I mean, how many girls full-on tackle a guy after he completely rejects her?
“Kitty!” he shouts in surprise. “What are you doing?”
“You first. I know you care about me. I know it.” His lips part to protest but I stop him. “Don’t try to deny it, Sani. I know you better than anyone in the world. You may fool them with your lies, but you can’t fool me.”
He shifts his shoulders in a half-shrug, but doesn’t try to deny it again. His eyes dodge mine.
“So what are you doing?” I ask. “You’ve avoided this conversation for years. You have to know what you do to me. Why are you doing everything you can to tear me apart?”
He continues to avoid my gaze, only fueling my fury. My pulse screams in my ears.
“Look at me!” I say.
He searches my eyes for so long, I don’t think he’s going to answer. I’ve almost even forgotten what I asked and this me-straddling-him thing is beginning to get awkward. There’s a war going on in his mind, and I see one side is starting to win. I hope it’s my side, whatever that happens to be.
Finally, he licks his lips—let’s skip right over what that does to the butterflies in my stomach—and speaks. “I’m trying to keep us from being torn apart.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You make absolutely no sense.”
“Let me up and I’ll explain.”
I must look skeptical because he adds, “I won’t walk away from you again.”
“Promise?”
“With all my hearts,” he says. The look he gives me then melts my soul into a little puddle. “I’m past the point of no return, anyway.”
I crawl off him and leap to my feet. Sani stands stiffly, pain obvious in his movements.
“I’m sorry I tackled you,” I say.
“I’ve had worse.” He smirks and brushes dirt off his pants and shirt. “Plus, I deserved it.”
I giggle. There’s an ease to our conversation, like a weight’s been lifted even though nothing has technically changed yet. “You did.”
Dragons Are People, Too Page 14
