by Riley Storm
Claire gave him a tentative smile. “I like spending time with you, Pietro. I’m trying to change my ways. Trying to be the person I want to be, instead of the person others want me to be.”
Although he didn’t respond, he did finally tilt his head downward so that they could look upon one another. It was a start.
“What about you?” she asked quietly as a car drove by, the sound easily audible through the broken window and open front door.
For a moment, it crossed her mind as odd that nobody had come to investigate, but her attention was drawn away by Pietro as he answered.
“I’ve tried both,” he said quietly.
“Which one do you prefer?”
“Being myself. The person that I am inside. The one that I want to be. Not what anyone else expects out of me.”
“Exactly,” she said, feeling victory within her grip.
“Which is why I want us to stay in town and not go up the mountain,” he said grimly.
“I know,” she said, unsurprised by that, but not backing down either. “But there’s a reason for you being so adamant, isn’t there? A reason that makes you want to stay here in town and not go up the mountain. What’s up there?”
“It has nothing to do with what’s up there,” Pietro said heavily.
That was the first breakthrough. Claire paused for a moment, trying to get a sense of whether or not she should keep pushing him, keep trying to get him to open up farther.
“What is it then?” she asked quietly, framing the question more openly. “Is it because of the police? Are you afraid of them for some reason?”
Pietro snorted. “No. It’s not that.”
Claire waited now, putting the ball in his court, silently urging him to continue on. To push through and tell her what was bothering him so much. To let her in.
“The last time I broke the rules,” he said quietly. “It didn’t go so well.”
“For who?” she asked instinctively, wondering what he was referring to.
“Anyone.”
The cracks were appearing in his shell. He was tearing down his defenses and opening up to her, albeit very, very slowly. But he was doing it, and Claire’s heart soared as she realized he was trusting her. He was letting her in.
“What happened?” she asked, moving closer, adding her touch to the weight of everything, hoping that it might be the final log that broke the dam and let her in.
Pietro shivered under her as she rested a hand on his crossed forearm.
“We were just kids,” he said at last, his words coming haltingly at first. “We’d just had our first shift. At that age, you go through a sort of double-puberty as a dragon. You grow from a boy into a man, but you also learn how to be a dragon. How to fly. And your dragon awakes.”
“The dragon inside of you,” she said quietly.
A strange look passed behind his blue-green eyes. It was that same alien flavor that she’d seen once before. Claire was positive it was his dragon. She made a mental note to ask Lilly if she saw the same thing.
“Yes, exactly,” he said quietly. “We were up in the mountains, climbing the bluffs. We wanted to get away from the adults, as most teens do. No real surprise there.”
Claire thought back to her own teenage years. Never sneaking out. Always being home well before curfew and obeying every command her parents gave her.
“At that age, shifting and flying is a closely supervised activity, until you can do it safely. More dragons die from learning to fly than anything else. We pick it up quickly, thanks to the dragon inside us, but there’s still learning involved. Winds in the mountains can be treacherous to a young dragon not used to them,” he explained.
“I see.” Claire didn’t know what else to say. So she did the wise thing, kept quiet and let Pietro continue.
“After some time, we spied one of the adults coming after us, climbing the mountain. We weren’t ready to go back yet. I was angry because we wanted to fly, and they wouldn’t let us.”
Oh no.
“So, I encouraged the others to shift and jump with me. To fly away down the far side of a ridge before the adult could reach us.” Pietro bowed his head. “And they did.”
Claire pulled his arms out from around his chest and wormed her way into his grip, hugging him tight.
“Two out of the five of us didn’t make it back. The wind shear caught them and slammed them into the side of the mountain as they jumped.”
“Oh, Pietro,” she whimpered, hugging as tight as she could.
“Dragons are strong, but a five-hundred foot fall when unconscious will kill anyone,” he said grimly. “Two dead, all because I wanted to break the rules. Rules that were put in place for my own good.”
“You see those kids in me,” she said. “Fleeing my bail is fleeing the adults. And I’ll go to jail.”
Pietro hung his head. “I can’t let that happen again,” he said after a moment. “Not to you. My dragon says…you’re my—”
He cut himself off with a vicious shake of his head.
“What? What were you going to say?” she asked.
“I can’t take you up the mountain,” he said quietly, meeting her eyes. “I can’t.”
Claire almost pushed, but she heard the sliver of steel underlining his words. Pietro had let her in. He’d opened up and shared his past with her, but he wasn’t ready to tell her everything. Not yet. She needed to respect that, to know that he’d reached his limit for today.
That was fine. She knew more about him now, understood his reluctance to break the rules.
“Let’s go to Trent’s then,” she said quietly.
“Thank you,” he said. “I promise, you won’t regret it.”
Claire wished she felt as positively about that as he did.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Claire
“You’re going to do great,” Pietro said quietly, tugging nervously at his suit jacket.
Claire’s forehead furrowed. “I’ve already pleaded guilty,” she said. “I did that when they first arrested me. This is just a sentencing. Things move pretty fast here in Five Peaks. Not a ton going on in this place, so no huge wait time here.”
“Well, I think you’re going to do fantastic just the same,” he said, once more pulling at his clothing.
“Why do I feel like you’re more nervous than I am right now?” she asked. “Is something wrong with your clothing?”
“Not used to wearing a suit,” he muttered.
“Well, you look good,” she said, looking him up and down. “Maybe you should wear it more often.”
“Don’t you put that evil on me,” he joked.
Claire laughed and then allowed herself to be gathered up in one of his signature hugs. She’d had plenty of them over the past three days. There hadn’t been much to do while at Trent’s house, at least not at night, and she’d spent much of it wrapped up in his arms, whenever he wasn’t out hunting down the vampires.
It was something she was dearly going to miss once she was in prison. In fact, she was going to miss everything about him.
I told you not to go and fall for him before you get locked up. Now you’re just going to be pining away for him while you’re gone. Because that’s definitely going to help the years pass.
And years was no doubt what Claire was looking at facing once the judge pronounced her sentence. At least she wouldn’t have to wait much longer. Another couple of minutes and then hopefully the wait would be short and sweet after that.
By now, Claire had come to terms with it as best she could and, more than anything, she just wanted to get it out of the way. To get started on her sentence so that it could be over that much sooner.
“Shall we go inside?” Pietro asked, gesturing at the large double doors that led to the courtroom.
“I suppose,” she said.
Pietro had insisted on accompanying her to the sentencing, despite her telling him it wasn’t necessary. It was eleven a.m., she’d said. There were no vampires
anywhere in sight. She would be safe.
“I’m not going there to keep you safe,” he’d said. “I’m going there to be with you. To stand at your side because I care for you.”
She still remembered those words now, a day later. It was the first time either one of them had truly admitted to having feelings for the other.
Not now, she chided herself, staring up at the spot at the head of the room where the judge would soon take her place and dole out Claire’s fate. That knowledge was more than enough to sour her mood.
She paused at the gate, giving Pietro another hug before moving to take her chair next to the court-ordered public defender. The harried, overworked man didn’t even look up, just mumbled a generic greeting, buried deep in his phone.
Shaking her head, she sat down, facing forward, tuning out her incompetent help.
“Tell him he’s fired.”
Claire jerked in surprise at the familiar voice from behind her. “Dad? What are you doing here?”
“Tell him he’s fired,” her father repeated tightly, looking at the public defender.
Claire frowned. She’d not expected her father to show, let alone come to help defend her. Yet that’s almost exactly what it looked like was happening.
“You heard the man,” she said with a shrug, gesturing for the defender to get out of the chair.
He just grunted.
“I said you’re fired!” Claire shouted, slapping a hand on the table to get his attention.
The man looked up at her and then behind her where her father stood. “Sure, whatever,” he said, and then left the room with what seemed like relief in his stride.
“What are you doing here, Dad?” she asked as her father came and sat down next to her.
Chuck Owens focused a stern, heavy gaze on her. “You are my daughter, Claire. I might be disappointed in you. I might be more disappointed in myself. But it doesn’t change that fact. So, I’m here to ensure you get the fairest possible sentence. You will then serve that sentence properly and with all duties expected of you.”
“That was my plan all along,” she said tautly, trying not to let her emotions get the better of her. “That’s why I pleaded guilty from the start.”
It had taken him some time to get over things, to recalibrate his view of her, but in the end, her father had shown up. He was here to support her, to see her through the toughest time in her life. Claire wasn’t sure how much good it would do at this point, but the gesture was what mattered.
“I know,” her father said as the judge appeared and they rose. “So just go along with this okay?”
Claire frowned, wanting to ask what he meant by that, but there was no time left. The judge was up and speaking, and she had to keep her mouth shut. She didn’t want to be accused of being in contempt of court.
Her mind was going so fast, trying to figure out what was happening, that she missed the judge speaking to her.
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” she said, shaking her head. “I missed it.”
Judge Blair frowned at her, the dark ebony skin on her forehead wrinkling in disapproval. “Were you not listening?”
“Sorry, Judge Blair,” Claire said quietly. “I’m just, I’ve just got a lot on my mind today, that’s all. I won’t let it happen again.”
“Please see that it doesn’t,” Judge Blair said with firm reprimand, though there was no anger in her voice. “Now, I see here that you have both new representation, but also that you have filed a motion to enter into a plea deal. Is this correct?”
Her father stirred slightly, but only barely, as Claire started to question the judge, to admit she did not know what Judge Blair was referring to.
“Ah,” Claire said, looking at her father. “That is correct. On both counts.”
The judge looked down at the papers in front of her, giving Claire a chance to lean over and whisper to her father. “What are you doing? I did the crime.”
“And you will be punished for it,” her father said, eyes still forward. “But real justice would see everyone who committed the crime punished. If you’re truly wanting to do the right thing, you’ll see to it that that’s what happens.”
“How?” she asked.
Her father just tilted his head in Judge Blair’s direction, indicating that Claire should wait and see.
“I see her that you are offering to identify the other suspects in the robbery, as well as testify against them in a court of law. Is that correct? Are you comfortable with that scenario, Miss Owens?”
Claire stiffened. Testify? Against Pete, in an open court? He would know exactly who it was. He would be able to retaliate against her.
She hesitated.
Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She glanced back to see Pietro watching her. He slowly made a fist with one hand, then placed his other overtop of it.
I’ll protect you, he mouthed, giving her a nod, urging her to accept the offer.
Claire steeled herself and faced Judge Blair again. “That is correct, your honor,” she said quietly.
I will accept my fate. I put myself in this position. Have to remember that.
“Very well. Please provide the court with the names of the other people in the video. Please start with the obvious mastermind, the one directing you and the others.”
Claire could have sworn that she heard a bit of savage glee in Judge Blair’s command.
Whether or not it was there, it was present in her own voice as she spoke clearly. Not only did she give Judge Blair his name, she also gave him Pete’s address. His house, his hangout, the partial license plate of his car, she gave the judge all his known associates, not just the ones in the video. She also gave Judge Blair all of their possible locations. She pulled out her phone and gave the court Pete’s phone number and the make of phone, in case they could track it.
Ruin my life will you, prick? She thought to herself viciously. Fuck you. You’re done.
“Thank you, Miss Owens,” the judge said once she was done, the court recorder having faithfully written everything down for future use. “I am certain that information will prove to be useful.”
Claire was still in a bit of a state of shock at the way everything was shaking out, so she settled for simply nodding.
“Now,” Judge Blair continued. “In exchange for the sworn written identification of the other participants in the video, as well as agreeing to testify on the stand should they go to trial, I hereby sentence you to no fewer than one-thousand hours of community service. Your parole officer will ensure that all hours are properly recorded and documented. In addition, you will not leave town until your community service is completed, or you will go to jail. Understood?”
Claire nodded.
“Very well. Then this court is dismissed.”
The gavel banged, and everyone rose. Claire followed suit more slowly, watching in a dazed shock.
She wasn’t going to jail.
“Dad,” she said, turning, but her father was already heading out.
He turned to look at her. She could see the hurt and pain in his eyes.
“You’re still my daughter,” he said firmly and then pushed his way out of the gate.
Claire licked her lips, watching him go. She noticed Pietro also watching.
There was a lot of work to be done to fix the relationship with her parents, but she no longer felt like it was impossible. For the first time in months, things were looking up for her.
As if to reinforce that point, Pietro came up to embrace her.
“Where would you like to go, free woman?” he said lightly.
“Not entirely free. That much community service is going to take a long time to finish,” she pointed out.
“Better than jail time though, no?” he countered.
She couldn’t argue that, but everything seemed to choose that moment to sink in. Her energy fled, and Claire was suddenly inordinately tired. All the stress she’d been holding about the trial and her prison term
just evaporated, and she realized how exhausted she was.
“Can we go home?” she asked quietly. “Well, to the place where we’re staying. Since we don’t have a home.”
Pietro was quiet, giving her a wordless affirmation as they headed for the exit, his arm around her shoulder.
It felt nice to have him so close, protective and comforting. She couldn’t deny any of that.
Of course, now I don’t have jail as an excuse as to why I should keep pushing him away. What do I do about that?
Claire didn’t have an answer, but she suspected she would need one. And soon.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Claire
“Gayle?” she asked, surprised to see a familiar face as she entered the giant white tent in the middle of a former farmer’s field east of Five Peaks.
The shorter, plumper, crimson-haired woman turned to see who had called her name. “Claire?”
“What are you doing here?” Claire asked as Gayle came over and the two redheads embraced briefly, Claire’s brighter fiery red hair at a marked contrast to Gayle’s darker red tone.
“I started volunteering here on my time off,” Gayle said with a shrug.
Although the two weren’t the closest, Claire had helped out at Lilly’s store several times. Gayle was one of the actual employees there, and they had chatted on several occasions. Now, it appeared they were going to be seeing even more of each other.
Claire nodded. “I’m surprised Lilly gave you the time off,” she joked.
“Only twice a week,” Gayle agreed. “The store is busy though, which is wonderful. She’s having a hard time keeping things in stock.”
“Yeah,” Claire agreed, looking around.
“Why are you here?” Gayle asked.
“Community service,” Claire said. “Court ordered.”
Gayle nodded. “I see. Well, I guess you work for me then.”
“What exactly do we do here?” Claire asked, looking around the inside of the tent. It was stacked high with various cardboard boxes off to her right, some large, some small. A twin pair of tables ran down the center of the rectangular tent. At the far end were bins full of what appeared to be clear empty bags.
