by Mikayla Lane
Devon laughed hollowly. “Even if we were, big boy, we wouldn’t know it until it was too late. My allegiances… are uncompromising as are your own to your brothers and sister-in-law,” Devon said with a cheeky grin, giving him just a taste of what she had found out about him today.
Drago laughed heartily and crossed his arms over his massive chest as he ignored Dree’s warning screams in his head and flipped the switch off so he wouldn’t have to hear her.
“You are correct,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “My allegiances are very uncompromising as well. But there may be some middle ground if we try to find it. I mean seriously, if you had killed as many as you are accused of, someone would have certainly murdered you by now. Maybe this is one of those cases of mistaken identity,” Drago said, still hoping that she would give him something, anything to use as an excuse not to think the worst of her.
Devon sighed and failed to force a smile as she shook her head. “My death count may not be what everyone thinks it is, but make no mistake that I am damn proud of every one of them and my only regret is that I may not have enough time to kill as many as I would like to.”
Devon crossed her arms over her chest and stared defiantly at Drago, as if daring him to say anything. To accuse her of something. He could feel her anger and stubbornness coming through her energy in heavy waves and knew that now was not the time to push this particular issue.
He looked into her stormy blue/gray eyes. “I have also made many kills that I am proud of, maybe for the same reasons, maybe not. But, I do not believe that you are as cold as you pretend when your fire burns so hotly,” Drago said huskily, not believing that she was a threat to him at all. At least not right now.
Devon laughed almost bitterly. “You don’t give up easily do you?” She narrowed her eyes and gave him a hard stare. “Why? Why are you so intent on this? What are you looking for and why are you here?”
Drago wasn’t the least bit surprised that she had come right out and asked. He was more surprised that she hadn’t done it sooner. She was strong, inside and out, but there was a subtle, sweet innocence that she couldn’t hide. It bled through her energy like an open wound. He hoped to use it to his advantage.
Drago gave her a serious look, which he didn’t realize made him look more deadly. “I am here to save lives. To prevent tragic and useless loss of innocent life. I am also looking for new friends. Why are you here? Do you have any idea who your boss really is?”
Drago countered, hoping that his intelligent mate would give something away. Either in her energy or movements. Unsure of his own judgment where Devon was concerned, he opened his mind to Dree so she could give him another perspective. He was grateful that Dree remained silent in his mind this time.
Devon began to fidget for a moment, the dangerous giant managing to shake her a bit with his very blunt words. But, she quickly recovered and snorted as she leaned back against the refrigerator. Drago didn’t miss that she held her crossed arms a little tighter across her chest.
“I know exactly what I am doing and who I am dealing with. Tell me, what is it about my boss that you think I don’t know?” Devon asked, curious about why the mention of her boss set off a tic in Drago’s jaw.
Drago sighed, his hopes that she would work with him even a little were quickly being destroyed and he felt like shaking some sense into his beautiful, but stubborn mate. It was Dree’s next words that startled him.
“She’s afraid! Of her boss! Look at the way she’s holding her arms, the way she’s placed her back closer to the refrigerator as if to seek a more defensive position. What the hell?” Drago could hear the surprise in Dree’s voice and immediately took note of the small details in Devon’s demeanor that he had missed.
Drago planted his feet slightly apart, grounding himself before closing his eyes and pulling in a heavy breath. He immediately tasted her scent in the air around him and the distinct tang of fear permeated his senses. Dree was right, Devon was afraid. Something was off. Wrong. He had to figure out what it was. Especially if it meant saving his mate and possibly his future.
He opened his eyes and looked at his tough mate, who was putting on a very brave façade. “I know that he is not as he appears and that he is much more dangerous than anyone knows,” Drago emphasized the word to make sure she knew that he included her in that. He knew he’d made a bad mistake at the same time that he heard Dree whisper “Damn!” in his mind.
Devon looked like someone had electrified her. She bristled with anger as she jerked away from the refrigerator and stalked towards him, with her finger raised and pointed at him. More amused than afraid, Drago stood his ground as her sharp nail stabbed him in the chest, her blue eyes blazing.
“You arrogant and condescending ass! Do I look like a helpless fool to you? Do you think me a stupid child who needs the big, bad alien to come and save me? You are the idiot who walked into this having no idea what kind of shit you stepped in and you dare to chastise me?” Devon said, seething with anger at the big jerk.
Ignoring all the warning bells going off in her head, Devon stopped stabbing him in the chest with her finger and shook her head at him. “You have no idea who my boss is or you wouldn’t be standing here trying to get information out of me. You’re here to pump me for intel the same way I allowed you here so I could do the same. To pretend otherwise would be monumentally stupid. You may be clueless, but you don’t strike me as stupid.”
Drago allowed her to vent, watching her every movement as he sifted through her energy, learning what words and actions were true and which were her bravado. He was more than surprised at what he discovered and he had no doubt that the very perceptive Dree had noticed it as well.
Devon, oblivious to what she was inadvertently revealing, continued her tirade. “You are the one who is going to screw up years of work. Years of planning and plotting… Not to mention, you’re going to get yourself and your family killed! God! You drive me crazy!” Devon said as she turned and stomped around the kitchen, throwing her hands up in frustration.
Mistaking his silence for lack of attention to what she was saying she stomped back over to him and stared at his eyes until she knew she had his attention. “You are the one in danger. You need to take your family and go until this is over. After this is done you can come back and play tourist, play ninja warrior or play with yourself for all I care, but get the fuck out of here now,” Devon said with an icy blue stare, hoping he would listen to her and fearing… knowing that he wouldn’t.
Devon had no idea why she cared so much for this giant of a man, or why she felt the need to warn him away. But, she knew she would not forgive herself if something happened to the gentle, but dangerous fool.
Drago felt her fear and concern radiating through her energy and he didn’t care what anyone else thought she had done, he knew in his heart and his mind that there was no way that this caring and scared woman was the ice-cold bitch they assumed her to be. Something was very wrong here. They were missing some major piece of this puzzle and it scared the hell out of him because he was becoming more concerned for Devon’s safety by the second.
Drago gently grabbed her upper arms and looked deeply into her eyes as he sent her waves of warmth and strength. “Let me help you. Please. Tell me who he is. Give me his name and let me protect you,” Drago said softly as he gently stroked her upper arms.
He had hoped that the warm energy and the gentle touches would have worked on her human mind and encouraged her to open to him. He was more than a little surprised when she jerked out of his arms and looked at him accusingly.
“Seriously? That’s all you got? You’re planning on going up against my boss with only some skeezy energy tricks up your sleeve? Please!” Devon snorted and shook her head as she walked away from him and paced near the sink.
Drago, a little surprised that she recognized the energy he had sent, was getting ready to speak when Devon cut him off. “I’m going to save your life Tezarian. By not telling you his name.
And since it appears that you know nothing that I can use, I think its best that we not meet again. Now, I would like you to leave, before one of us does something we will both regret.”
Drago felt like he’d been gut punched. He stared into her nervous, but stubborn eyes and knew that now was not the time to try and change her mind. Against the wishes of his beast, he nodded his head at her and pushed away from the counter.
He stunned her by grabbing her phone off of the table and he entered in his number before handing it to her as she stormed over to him to take it. He held her hand in his own as he forced her eyes to meet his.
“I will not be leaving until I know what is going on and what part you play in it. My number is on your speed dial. If you need me, I will come,” Drago said as he used his other hand to gently brush a stray curl behind her ear.
He saw her eyes go soft and he added, “Please be careful. You truly have no idea how dangerous he is.” With one last longing look, Drago placed a gentle kiss on her lips. When Devon opened her eyes, he was gone.
Devon screamed in her mouth in frustration and stomped around the kitchen before checking the living room and entryway to make sure he had left. She slammed the locks into place on the door and set the alarm. After looking out the window and seeing no trace of the giant man on either side of the street, she sat heavily on the couch and put her head in her hands.
What the hell, was she supposed to do now, she thought? Her boss was going to be seriously pissed if he found out that she had the Tezarian’s in the palm of her hand and let them go. Shivering from a sudden chill, Devon pulled the cardigan closer around her and ran up the stairs, her mind on salvaging her plans and keeping an arrogant alien alive too.
Chapter Seven
Drago wasn’t surprised when he walked in the door and everyone was talking at once. He calmly took off his jacket and hung it in the hall closet, before taking a seat next to Dree on the couch. He looked over at her and nodded towards the others who were all huddled together and talking so quickly in person and through the Shengari’ that it was hard to follow.
“Want to give me the short version of what they know and what they have figured out?” He asked her quietly, unwilling to be the center of their well-meaning attention until he could think about things on his own first.
Dree looked at him with sad and concerned eyes and waved a delicate hand in the air in front of the two of them. “I have blocked us with a privacy illusion. I think they are too busy to notice our disappearance for a few minutes at least,” Dree said with a small smile as she held his hand in her own.
She looked back up at him. “I have not told them anything yet. I pretended as if I were looking through your eyes the whole time. Trick and Mir were unraveling the outer illusions while you were inside and found a male energy signature woven into it. They argue over whether or not it is the Dark Prime. It is not,” Dree said simply as she turned to watch the others talking heatedly.
Drago shook his head at the little imp beside him, grateful that she had given him a few more minutes of privacy. His head was spinning so fast and in so many different directions that he wasn’t sure where to begin to figure out the puzzle of Devon Sinclair.
Dree sighed. “If it makes you feel any better at all, I don’t think she’s capable of the things written in our reports. I have no doubt she’s killed, but I don’t think it’s what we think it is. There is something very strange about your mate, Drago, and I will help you try to figure it out before something bad happens to her.”
Drago had no idea how desperately he needed to hear those words until the little imp said them. He squeezed her hand and grunted to hide the overwhelming pressure in his chest that burst at her words. He had really needed someone else to verify that what he believed about Devon was true.
He squeezed Dree’s hand and smiled sadly. “They will never believe it. They will assume my judgment is clouded.”
Dree turned in the seat and put her knees to her chest, looking him in the eyes. “They did not feel what I felt or see what I saw. We will need more than that to convince them that she may be in real danger and not the villain they think her to be.”
Drago sucked in a breath. “You felt it too? Like there was something very off about her? And her fear! It wasn’t an illusion,” Drago said excitedly, hoping that Dree could tell him something else he may have missed.
Dree shook her head. “No, it wasn’t an illusion. There were no traces of any illusions in the kitchen or dining room. Not one. It seems they are targeted outside of the house, with the original most likely tucked away in a corner or cubby somewhere inside. It will be easier to find, but you’ll need to have free access to her house,” Dree smiled sheepishly, wishing that she had better news for him than that.
Drago ran his hands through his hair and blew out a frustrated breath. “Yeah, I’m not sure how I’m going to manage that. She didn’t give me the impression that she would be pleased to see me again. So I doubt that she will allow me to go through her closets.”
Dree laughed at him and laid a gentle hand on his upper arm. “Don’t be a fool. If she truly wanted you gone, she would not have warned you away, she would have killed you.”
Drago looked at the waif-like blonde like she’d lost her damn mind. In fact, he was sure of it. “How the hell does rejection and lack of death translate into a welcome to return?” Drago asked, completely dumbfounded by her logic.
Dree rolled her eyes at him dramatically. “Because if she was anything that they claim her to be, you would have been dead before you could have opened the wine. She knew who you were and not only made no attempt to kill you, but she warned you. Us deadly bitches don’t play like that. We kill first then shrug it off later,” Dree said as she puffed out her chest and tried to look tough.
It had the desired effect when Drago chuckled. “Deadly bitch? I can agree with the deadly part, but there isn’t a mean part of your being,” Drago said and meant it.
Dree had always been an endless prankster but she had never been malicious or harmed anyone intentionally with her illusions. Her response surprised him. “A lot has changed in a hundred years, my friend. Let’s hope you don’t have to meet the new me.”
Drago was startled speechless for a moment. Not so much by her words but by the anger and fierceness he could feel emanating strongly from her energy. He was getting ready to ask when Dree spoke again.
“We have been seen.”
Drago looked up and saw that the room had gone silent and he and Dree had become the focus of everyone’s attention. He had to stop himself from shifting uncomfortably from the scrutiny, refusing to give them something to focus on.
Drago wasn’t the least surprised when Dread was the first to speak. “What happened? Did you learn anything? Are you ok?”
Dree stood and faced Dread with a cocky little grin on her face. “We didn’t find the original illusion yet, but we did make some headway in the search and I’m sure we’ll learn more over the next few days. Since I was bored all night watching Drago and Devon pretend to get to know one another, how about you tell us what has you all twisted in a Torellian knot?”
Dree hoped that bringing up something like the intricately woven knots done by Tezarian spiritual initiates would distract the others for a while. The knots were intended as part of a patience ritual that all Tezarian children try and only a few ever accomplish.
Made from the web of the Sprack beetle, they would attempt to create a one-hundred knot piece without breaking the fragile, thin strands of the web.
Drago raised his eyebrow at the dramatic comparison, even though he knew that Dree was simply trying to deflect the attention from being grilled about their evening with Devon. Although he was grateful, he knew that Dread would not let it go that easily.
Dread snorted at Dree. “Our news is nothing that extreme,” Dread said as he paced the room.
Drago waited patiently for someone to fill them in on what they found out. He’d never told his brothers
, but he’d actually made it to seventy-two knots when they had tried to do them as children. It hadn’t been that he feared they would mock him, as young children, he would have expected it.
It was that he knew at some point in their lives, the patience would be needed. As he rubbed his temple, he realized this was one of those times. Tired, frustrated and conflicted over Devon he finally asked, “What has everyone so upset?”
Lara sighed and threw her hands up in the air. “Either they triggered an alarm in the outer illusions,” she said pointing to a sheepish looking Mir and Trick. “Or Satalis is here and he’s using illusions to block my energy radius.”
Drago just looked at her blankly, not quite sure what she meant. “What?”
Lara sighed. “At some point while you were in the house, Trick and Mir were deconstructing the outer illusions when the energy became muted. Like someone was muffling the energy, so we can’t use it. When I tried to follow the path, I was blocked. He’s using the illusions that he has created around the city to dampen our power.”
Drago took immediate stock of his own energy, making sure that nothing felt wrong or different to him. When he noticed no changes he looked at Dread with confusion.
Dread just shook his head. “It affects the Prime power more than our own. They use a higher energy level than we do, so it’s Lara’s power that is muted more than ours. But that isn’t the worst problem right now.”
Viper looked at Drago and Dree before pulling his pacing mate into his lap. “We’re currently surrounded by hybrids. We’ve detected the Valendran hybrids as well as Relian. Are you certain that Devon isn’t a hybrid?” Viper asked, studying his brother’s reaction to the question closely.
Before Drago could answer, Dree spoke up. “I think she might be. I also think that she may not be as she appears. When you looked up her information, did you look really deep? Are we sure she isn’t one of Grai’s people? Didn’t he help save and hide the Valendran hybrids for years?” Dree countered, causing everyone to be caught off guard by the question.
