When all she heard was silence, she took out her phone, opened the folder and began taking pictures, knowing that they’d be hard to see, but afraid to use the flash. A sound in the passageway made her stop for a second, but when she heard nothing more, she went back to taking pictures.
She’d just shoved the folder back into the back of the drawer when a male voice just behind her hissed, “What are you doing in here?”
The scream that came out of her mouth was muffled by his hand. She started to struggle but then realized that it was Adam holding her. “Shhh, the guards are going to hear you,” he whispered in her ear.
But it was too late, “Did you hear that? I think someone’s inside,” one of the guards said, wiggling the handle on the door.
“We’d better check it out,” the other guard said, and Vivian heard the sound of keys rattling.
Turning to Adam, she said, “They’re coming in; we have to get out of here.”
He pushed her toward the panel, and she climbed through, her heart pounding in her chest, adrenaline pumping through her body. Adam stepped through after her just as they heard the lock turning and saw the door opening.
Reaching for the panel, he said, “Go!”
Vivian turned to run but realized that her phone was still sitting on the desk. “Oh, God, I left my phone on the desk,” she said, pulling on Adam’s arm. “I have to go get it.”
Adam looked at her then back through the opening. “I’ll go get it; you get back to the room,” he hissed at her, then stepped back into the study.
Vivian couldn’t move, the door was opening slowly, the guards discussing whether they should call in the noise they heard. Adam made it over to the desk in three steps, grabbed her phone, but just then the guards opened the door all the way, and a shaft of light illuminated him.
She wanted to scream, wanted to yell at Adam to run, but he disappeared in a flash of green, that left her standing in the passageway, her mouth hanging open. Suddenly, he was standing right beside her. “I thought I told you to go back to the room,” he said, slipping the panel back into place.
When she just stared at him, he gave her a little shove and said, “Move!”
It seemed to take forever to get back to the room and through the panel. The adrenaline rush she’d felt was beginning to fade, leaving in its place a deep exhaustion, so when they got back inside and Adam practically threw the phone at her, she wasn’t ready, and it fell to the floor.
“I guess you want this back,” he said, putting his hands on his hips clearly ready to scold her.
Her head was still spinning from what she’d just seen, so it wasn’t that hard to ignore him when he said, “That was one of the stupidest things you’ve ever done. Do you have any idea what might have happened to you if you’d been caught? It’s a good thing I was there.”
Vivian looked up at him, pushing aside her confusion at what she’d just seen as anger took over. “What? Are you serious? You’re the one who made me scream; if you’d just left me alone, I would have been in and out with no problems,” she said.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” he asked, his tone of voice grating on her nerves.
But she ignored his question, playing the scene over and over in her mind, then looked up at him. “What happened back there?”
***Adam***
Adam knew exactly what she was talking about, but wasn’t about to answer. “That’s what I want to know,” he said.
Vivian picked up her phone and walked over to one of the chairs by the fireplace and sat down. He followed her but didn’t sit; instead, he went over to the fireplace and leaned against the mantle, trying his best to keep control of the situation.
He was angry that she’d lied to him, but the lies he’d told were much bigger, much more dangerous, and he wasn’t ready to tell her the truth. But she’d seen him disappear and reappear, and that was going to be impossible to explain in any way that would be rational to her.
Treading carefully, he said, “I assume you’ve had that map all along.”
Vivian nodded, then looked up at him. “My contact gave it to me. I’m sorry I hid it from you but I didn’t think you’d let me go,” she said, her voice a whisper.
“You were right about that; look how close we just came to getting caught,” he said.
Her eyes got big, and he knew that he’d made her mad again, but then the anger seemed to drain away. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. His protective instincts kicked in, but he stayed where he was.
“How did you do that?” she finally asked.
He was silent for a long time, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation, but then she said, “Don’t bother trying to lie to me. I saw you disappear, and then you were suddenly in the passageway with me. I didn’t imagine it or look away for a second; I know what I saw.”
Adam was tempted to say something to make her angry again, that would be much easier than telling her the truth, but he knew he couldn’t do it. So, he stepped over to the fireplace, lit a match, and started the fire, conscious of Vivian’s eyes on him the entire time.
“It’s a complicated story, one I’m not supposed to tell you,” he said, sitting down in the chair opposite her.
“Why?” she asked, her eyes locked on his.
“For your safety,” he said, wincing when she hugged her knees tighter.
“Not from me,” he said, relieved when she relaxed.
“Adam, what’s going on? Nothing has been the same since Daniel turned twenty-five, and now, you’re acting weird,” she said.
Adam sighed, wondering where to start, then decided to start with the part that affected her most. “It was no accident that Daniel and Scott were switched. Our parents did it on purpose to protect Daniel from a death threat.”
Vivian gasped. “I knew it. I knew there was more going on. But who would threaten a baby? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It does when you know the whole story, and this is the part that might be hard for you to believe, but I promise what I’m about to tell you is the truth,” Adam said, then took a deep breath. “Before I go any further, it’s your turn to promise that you won’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you. I’m not supposed to be doing this, but I don’t think I have any choice.”
Vivian stared at him for a few long seconds, then said, “I promise,” her voice shaking so much he wanted to go to her but stayed put knowing it would be easier for her.
Adam took another deep breath, stalling for time, then decided the direct approach was the only way to go. “As strange as this is going to sound, we’re dragon shifters, Vivian. The entire Carlson family has the ability to shift from our human form into a dragon. My dragon has the ability to become invisible, and that’s what I did tonight,” he said, then waited for that to sink in.
She was silent for so long, he was beginning to think he was going to have to repeat himself, but then she said, “That can’t be right.”
“But it is,” he said. Then he got up and put more wood on the fire. When he sat down, he said, “And I’m afraid there’s more.”
She already looked very freaked out, but now that he’d started, he needed tell her everything. So, for the next half an hour, he talked, outlining it all for her: dragon shifters and their powers, The Opal Society, his family’s role in the organization, and Lucas’s threat to eliminate the family, starting with Daniel.
When he was finished, she was shaking and staring into the fire, and he wondered if he’d gone too far, pushed her beyond her limits. He grabbed a blanket off the bed and covered her up, tempted to pull her into his arms, but she shrank back from him.
“I want to leave here and go someplace where I can be alone,” she finally said, getting up from the chair. “I need to talk to Daniel.”
Adam was relieved that she was speaking, that she hadn’t run from the room screaming, but felt the tension in her under the dead calm she was outwardly showing. “That’s a good
idea,” he said.
She looked over at him and said, “You lied to me, Adam; you knew all along what was going on. I poured my heart out to you on the beach that day, and you never said a word. I thought I could trust you.”
“But you can,” he said, meaning it but seeing that his words had no effect when she turned and went into the bathroom and slammed the door.
Chapter Ten
***Vivian***
Vivian turned on the shower, stripped off her dirty pajamas, and stepped under the hot water; then she let the tears flow. They started slowly, but soon she was sobbing under the stream of water, her lungs fighting for air as the truth washed over her.
Everyone she loved and trusted had been lying to her; for her entire life, the people she depended on the most had been hiding the truth from her. Adam’s lies hurt the most even though they shouldn’t have, but she felt deceived and used.
As the sobbing calmed, she went over everything Adam had told her and tried to decide if she believed him. More than anything she wanted to pretend he hadn’t told her or that it wasn’t all true, but the problem was that it explained everything, answered all the questions she’d had.
Suddenly, she was faced with a new reality that made very little sense to her, and it was overwhelming. All she wanted to do was bury her head under the covers and pretend none of it was true, but she knew that wasn’t possible.
She’d never felt so alone in her entire life, she thought, turning off the water; everyone she used to depend on had let her down. But then she realized that there was one person who hadn’t: Daniel.
Stepping out of the shower, she took a deep breath. It was time to find Daniel; he was the only one who could understand what she felt, the only one who could help her make sense of what was real.
When she walked out of the bathroom, Adam was standing by the window, watching the sun come up. He turned and looked at her, the anguish in his face almost forcing her to forgive him. “I’m sorry, Vivian; it wasn’t my choice. The council decided that it was better if you and your sisters didn’t know. I realize now I should have told you that day at the beach, but...” he trailed off.
Vivian sighed, still not sure why she felt so hurt by Adam’s failure to tell her the truth sooner. She opened her mouth to tell him that but there was a loud knock at the door, and she closed it, fear suddenly coursing through her. She’d completely forgotten about her promise to meet Lucas the night before, and he probably wasn’t happy.
Adam motioned for her to stay where she was, crossed the room, and opened the door. “Mr. Davenport would like to see you both in his office in a half an hour,” she heard a voice say. “We’ll be waiting here to escort you.”
Adam didn’t say a word, just shut the door and locked it. Then he grabbed her by the arm, pulled her into the bathroom, and turned on the shower. “What’s that all about?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at her. “What did you tell him last night when you were dancing with him?”
“We talked about me going to his rooms, but I didn’t promise him or anything,” she said, backing away from him.
“Well, either he feels differently about that, or he’s figured out that we’re not who we say we are,” Adam said, running his hand through his hair.
Vivian felt a wave of desire rush through her when he did that and wanted to curse; even as angry as she was at him, she still wanted him. It was unfair and more than she should be forced to bear, she thought, pushing the desire away.
“We have to get out of here; no way are we going to that meeting,” Adam said. “Grab what you can and let’s go.”
Vivian knew what he was thinking and grabbed her backpack and started shoving clothes into it, her hands shaking, adrenaline pumping through her body. She followed Adam into the passageway, then pulled out the map and found a way to an outside door.
But they’d only gone a few steps when they heard knocking on the bedroom door, then the sound of wood splintering. “They’re gone,” she heard a man shout, then silence.
“We have to try and get to the car,” Adam said, taking her hand and starting to run.
When they got to the outside door, Adam pushed it open, then poked his head out. “I don’t see anyone; run for the trees, and then we can follow them to the parking area around back,” he said.
He grabbed her hand and together they ran across the wide lawn, but before they could make it to the safety of the trees, a guard came around the corner of the house and saw them.
“Stop right there, or I’ll shoot,” he yelled at them.
Adam just ran harder, pulling Vivian along with him, not even looking behind them. The guard yelled at them once more, then took his stance and began firing his gun at them. They ducked and ran, but Vivian felt a stabbing pain in her arm, and then an intense burning sensation.
The bullets whizzed by their heads, and she was sure they were never going to make it, but suddenly they were in the dense growth beside the house. Adam dropped to the ground, then pulled her down next to him.
“We have to get to the parking lot,” he said, getting into a crouch and beginning to run.
Vivian followed him, her arm burning but too afraid to stop and look at it. By the time they reached the parking lot, she couldn’t ignore it any longer; her sleeve was soaked with blood, and she was beginning to feel a little light-headed.
Adam crouched down and looked at the parking lot, then cursed. “He’s got guards posted here too; we’re trapped,” he said, then turned around to look at her.
She tried to focus on him, tried to think of a way to get away, but her vision began to fog. Adam grabbed her just as she started to sink to the ground and held her in his arms.
“Oh, my God, you’re hurt. You’ve been shot; let me see your arm,” he barked at her.
Vivian tried to lift her arm, but it was too heavy. “I can’t,” she said, then the world went black.
***Adam***
For the first time in his life, Adam knew what panic really was as he watched Vivian drop to the ground, her eyes fluttering closed. He was tempted to shake her, but instead, took a big breath and gently lifted her arm, bracing himself for the sight of a bullet hole.
What he found instead was a deep wound in her arm where a bullet had grazed her. It was deep enough that the wound bled freely, but not deep enough to cause any damage. Able to think again, he stripped off his tee-shirt and ripped it into long strips, wrapped them around her arm, and tied them tightly.
Then he looked around for a way to get away, wondering how long he had before they came looking for them. A shout from the front door had him up on his feet, Vivian slung over his shoulder and moving toward the shore. He ran through the trees, not even noticing when the branches slapped his face, leaving long bleeding wounds.
When he came to the shore and saw the dock floating in the water, boats tied up along both sides, he knew what he had to do. He could still hear shouting behind him, but started for the dock, hoping not to hear the sound of gunfire behind him as well. Heading for the biggest boat, he prayed that the keys would be in the ignition, then grinned when he saw them.
Stripping off her backpack, he laid Vivian down on one of the cushioned seats, started the engine, then untied the boat from the dock and slammed it into reverse. The engine stalled, and he cursed, seeing the first of Lucas’s men headed for the dock, and he started it again.
This time, he gently shifted it into reverse and slowly backed out of the slip, only shifting into drive when he was clear of the dock. Heart pounding, he pushed the throttle, and the boat surged forward through the ocean headed straight for open water.
Suddenly, the sound of gunfire exploded behind him, and the water around him began to jump as bullets hit. Giving the engine as much gas as he dared, he ducked his head and headed for open water.
The boat was hard to get moving at first, but it wasn’t long before it was skimming across the water, jumping the waves as it gained speed. When they hit the breakers, the boat jumped in the water, ne
arly knocking him down, and Vivian tumbled off her seat, but he held on, and soon they were out in the ocean.
Adam aimed the boat for the Bahamas, then looked behind him, relieved to see the water empty. He gripped the wheel tightly, aware that his hands were shaking, and took several deep breaths to calm himself, the need to rush to Vivian’s side almost overwhelming.
When she started to stir, he couldn’t resist any longer; lowering the throttle, he rushed to her side and gathered her in his arms. Her eyes fluttered open, a look of fear in them until she saw his face, and then they fluttered closed again.
He picked her up and laid her down on one of the benches closest to wheel; then he checked her over quickly. Her breathing was slow but normal, her color was good, and the bleeding seemed to have slowed, the bandage soaked but drying.
The day had turned warm, but Vivian felt cold to the touch, so he found a blanket and covered her up, then kissed her on the forehead and went back to the wheel. It wasn’t going to be fun taking that bandage off her arm, and it would have to be done soon, but right now he had to get them out of there as fast as he could.
When he’d set the boat on a course that would keep them far away from the shipping lines, he took Vivian down to one of the cabins and laid her down on the bed. She stirred and opened her eyes when he set her down, but they fluttered closed again, and he began to get worried.
He began searching the cabin for supplies, mentally going over all the first-aid he knew, wondering if he should turn the boat around and find help. But just as he’d decided that it was the only thing he could do, she began to stir on the bed and opened her eyes all the way.
Rushing over to her, he said, “Vivian, you’ve been out for so long I was beginning to worry.”
“Are we on a boat?” she asked, lifting her head to look out the port window.
Adam nodded. “It was the only way I could think of to get away. I hope you don’t get seasick,” he said, trying to smile at her.
Dragon’s Forbidden Mate (Dragons Secret Society Book 2) Page 6
