“Are you sure?” Kelos asked.
“You know you better than I know you.” She gave him a wry smile. “If you think you’ll be okay…then go. I just wish you weren’t going alone. Someone should have your back.”
“I’ll go with him.” O’Malley appeared in the doorway behind Joanna.
“You don’t have anything to do with this, O’Malley. You don’t have to put yourself in danger.” Joanna turned around to face the bar owner.
“Are you joking?” O’Malley took a couple of steps into the room. “Who wouldn’t volunteer to go on a mission with a dragon shifter?” He gave Kelos a lopsided smile. “I get to ride on your back?”
“That is the only way you’ll get onto the roof of the building,” Joanna confirmed. “And, as I said, there is no way you’ll get in through the main door out front.”
“Then let’s fly!” O’Malley met Kelos with a level gaze. “Don’t worry, before I opened O’Malley’s, I was in the special forces. This cat knows how to walk on his tiptoes.”
“O’Malley, are you sure?” Joanna asked. “You don’t have to.”
“I do.” O’Malley stepped closer to Joanna and took hold of her hand. “I was there when you found out about your dad. I watched you change from this carefree woman into the police officer you are today. And you are amazing. You truly are.”
“Thanks.” Joanna averted her eyes and sniffed loudly.
“But,” O’Malley began as he lifted her chin, “it’s come at a price. What happened to your dad is eating you up inside. And maybe, if we can make Ostabell pay once and for all, you might get some closure.”
Joanna took a shuddering breath. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” He grinned. “You would do the same for me, right?”
“Anytime.” Joanna pulled him into a hug.
“Okay, let’s go.” Kelos edged toward the door.
“Right now?” Amber asked, not ready to let Kelos out of her sight just yet.
“We need to get this done and then get Fabian out of there before the dust settles,” Kelos told her.
“No, Fabian has to stay put,” Joanna said quickly. “If he disappears now, it’ll raise too many suspicions.”
“Joanna is right,” Amber agreed reluctantly. “And if this file is as explosive as she says then Fabian is going to be the least of Ostabell’s worries.”
“You need an alibi,” O’Malley told the detective.
“I’ll swing by the safe house with some coffee for Jarod, he’s on duty for the rest of the night and he is caffeine dependent.” She nodded and they headed toward the door.
“I’m going to tell my staff I’m talking to the dragon. I’ll tell them we don’t want to be disturbed and then we’ll go out the back door. Amber, stay here. Keep the door shut, hopefully no one will disturb you. If they do, just answer and say we’re fine or passed out drunk or something…” O’Malley turned his attention to Kelos. “If we move fast, we could be back here in an hour or less. We come in the back way and then we go through to the bar and make ourselves conspicuous.”
“Okay.” Kelos nodded. “I just need somewhere to shift and take off from.”
“I know somewhere.” O’Malley went out of the room with Joanna. “Give me the address and I’ll put it into my phone and get the directions.”
“Kelos.” Amber fought back tears as she slid her arms around his shoulders and held him close. “I wish there was more I could do.”
“Stay here and stay safe. That is all I ask.” He kissed her mouth, a long, lingering kiss filled with heat and passion.
As he let her go, Amber hoped it wasn’t their last kiss.
Chapter Twenty-One – Kelos
Leaving Amber behind at the bar was hard.
That’s an understatement, his dragon said as they dashed out of the back door of the bar behind the nimble and sure-footed O’Malley.
“She’ll be fine,” the cougar shifter called out over his shoulder as he beckoned Kelos to follow him across the street.
“Are you a mind reader now?” Kelos asked as he picked up the pace. O’Malley was not hanging around. The guy had a purpose and his attention was fixed on that purpose.
“No, but if I had a mate and I’d just left her behind, I would be worried.” He cast a look over his shoulder at the dragon shifter. “And since you are one of the last of your kind, you are probably more fixated on her safety than most normal shifters.”
“Are you saying I am not normal?” Kelos asked as they took a left and dodged down an alleyway.
“Are you saying you are normal?” O’Malley countered. He slid to a stop next to a metal flight of stairs that clung to the side of what looked like a disused warehouse. The windows were cracked, and a faint smell of ammonia drifted into the dark alleyway that was littered with trash cans and dumpster bins.
Kelos considered O’Malley’s question at the same time as he considered how safe the metal stairs were. The cougar shifter had no hesitation as he grabbed hold of the handrail and began his ascent toward the top of the building.
“No, I am not normal. But then I do not consider any shifter to be normal. We are the abnormal, something more.” He sighed, resigned to climbing the metal stairway even though parts of it were rusted out.
The cougar likes dragons, I don’t think he would have brought us here if he didn’t think it was safe, his dragon advised him.
Kelos placed his right foot on the first step and then wrapped his fingers around the handrail and pulled himself up, taking the steps two at a time. The less time he spent on the stairs, the better. O’Malley seemed to have the same idea and sprinted up the steps, the whole structure shook under the weight of the two men.
Reaching the top of the stairs led them out onto a flat roof that was a floor or more higher than the surrounding buildings. It was a good spot to launch from. Not ideal, but unless they wanted to trek back across the city to the park where the dragon had landed earlier, it would have to do.
“There’s little in the way of streetlights in this area.” O’Malley swung his arm out and turned around in a circle. “I don’t know how far you have to fly horizontally to get good height, but I hope this will be enough.”
“I can take off almost vertically,” Kelos informed the cougar shifter as he walked the perimeter of the roof and checked the buildings on either side. “This will do just fine.”
“Great.” O’Malley looked a little nervous for the first time since they met. The idea of riding on the back of a dragon was probably much more exciting when it wasn’t imminent. Especially as O’Malley didn’t have a clue as to what the dragon looked like and how he behaved.
“I’ll try not to bite your head off,” Kelos murmured as he turned around and faced the cougar shifter.
“I’d appreciate that.” O’Malley grinned. “I remember reading fairy tales about dragons and my mom used to tell me that she’d met a dragon for real and I never believed her. Not entirely.”
“You’ll believe her now.” With that, Kelos let go of the world around him and his human form melted away into nothing. For a split second the place where Kelos had stood was empty, nothing to show that he’d ever existed. Then a shadow appeared. It grew darker, bigger, before wings materialized as if out of thin air, and a head and a tail, before finally the large hulking body of the dragon became solid.
“I do believe her.” O’Malley faced the dragon with a pale face and a breathless voice.
The dragon took two steps forward and swished his tail like an angry cat. There was no time to waste if they wanted to get to the building, grab the evidence and then get back again before anyone even knew they had left.
“Okay.” O’Malley shot forward. On nimble feet he bounced onto the dragon’s bent leg and then flung himself onto his back as if it was second nature. “I’m ready.”
Kelos’s dragon bent his legs, crouching low against the flat roof of the warehouse before he propelled himself upwards into the sky.
He stuck to the square of dark
ness above the building, hoping it would give him enough cover that no one below would see him. With one downward flap of his wings after another he climbed higher, keeping his body within the confines of the unlit sky until he figured he was high enough that only the keenest of eyes would spot him.
“Incredible,” O’Malley’s voice filled with awe was swept away on the downdraft as they soared above the city.
Once satisfied no one would see him, Kelos leveled off his flight. Only he had no idea where to go.
“North.” Out of the corner of his eye, the dragon could see O’Malley with his phone in his hand.
The dragon dropped his right wing and turned his huge body to face north. With slow but steady beats of his wings, he took them north, toward their destination. When they drew closer, O’Malley called out more directions which he reinforced by placing his hand on the dragon’s shoulder.
“That one.” O’Malley pointed to a tall building with a huge neon light on the roof. There was no way Kelos would be able to hide from prying eyes. But they had come too far to turn back, and they could not risk going into the building through the front door.
He wanted to tell the cougar shifter to hold tight as he formulated his plan in his head. But since his dragon couldn’t speak, he simply hoped O’Malley had a secure seat or that he could shift in midair and land on two feet if necessary.
The dragon flew over the building, his speed slow as he hovered forty feet above the neon sign. Then he dropped, his wings tucked behind him as he fell forward into a dramatic dive. O’Malley leaned forward, his hands grasping the horn on Kelos’s dragon’s back as he tried to stop himself from going right over the dragon’s head. Keeping a small part of his awareness on the cougar, the dragon continued his rapid freefall, aiming for the center of the building’s roof. He particularly wanted to avoid smashing into the neon sign. Nothing drew attention to a dragon like a crash landing amid sparking electricity.
Keeping his nerve, he aimed true, adjusting his trajectory by shifting his center of gravity by small increments while also taking into account the cougar shifter on his back.
When he was ten feet above the roof, he flung his wings out and slowed his descent, landing with a thump. Immediately he tucked in his wings, the tips of which brushed the edge of the neon sign but not with enough force to break it.
“That was wild!” O’Malley dropped down to the ground, his face flushed pink and his hair on end as he rushed around to the front of the dragon. “I thought I was going to die for sure.”
“You don’t look too upset about your near-death experience,” Kelos said as he shifted back to his human form and scanned the roof.
“The thing you have to remember about near death is they are just that—near.” He ran his hands through his hair. “That was a thrill.”
“Okay, well, let’s see if we can complete the next phase of the operation without a brush with sudden death.” Kelos ran toward the west side of the building. “We need to get through this door.”
O’Malley hunkered down and took a look at the lock. “I could kick it in. But since we don’t want anyone to know we’re here, I’ll pick it instead.” He thrust his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small black case which he quickly unzipped. Inside was what looked like metal toothpicks.
“You are full of surprises.” Kelos watched the cougar shifter as he inserted one of the picks into the lock.
“Aren’t you glad you brought me along?” O’Malley asked.
“I certainly am.” While O’Malley worked, Kelos pushed his senses out to their limit. There were a handful of people in the building. Some stationary, a couple who were possibly security guards patrolling the corridors while three people were in the downstairs lobby. Joanna was right, there was no way they would have gotten in through the front door.
“We should hurry.” Kelos was impatient to move.
“Give me a second,” O’Malley ground out.
Kelos stood in silence, keeping an unseeing eye on the people in the building. By their movements, he assumed they had no knowledge of a dragon landing on the roof of the building. However, it was unlikely the two men would get in and out of the building without being seen.
“Here, you might want one of these.” O’Malley handed Kelos a black ski mask as he stood up.
“You unlocked it?” Kelos asked as the cougar shifter pulled on his own ski mask and then turned the handle of the door.
“I’m not just a pretty face.” O’Malley winked and then entered the building, going down the steps on light feet, his eyes scanning the area for any cameras that might be watching.
I think it’s safe to assume this is not O’Malley’s first breaking and entering, his dragon said drily.
Kelos followed the cougar shifter, nearly running into the back of him when he stopped suddenly. “What is it?” Kelos glanced up and saw the camera. “What do we do?”
“There’s no way to go around it.” O’Malley glanced up at the camera which was positioned in a corner of the corridor. The angle of the lens meant it could monitor the corridor from both directions. Which gave them a slight advantage. If they pressed their backs against the wall, they could get close enough to tamper with it.
“I’ll deal with it.” Kelos stuck his hand in his pocket and drew out a gold coin. With a careful aim he threw it at the camera. It bounced off the edge of the casing and clattered to the floor.
“Let me try.” O’Malley held out his hand for a coin but Kelos shook his head.
“I’ve got this.” Taking another coin, he squinted, took aim and threw the coin. Hard. The impact of the coin made the camera turn toward the wall. “There.”
“Okay, let’s go before they notice and reposition it.” O’Malley ducked his head down and ran along the corridor. “This way.” He turned right and headed along the next corridor toward the main stairwell.
“Which floor is the office on?” Kelos asked as he retrieved his coins from the floor. No self-respecting dragon would leave any single piece of his treasure behind.
“Next one down.” O’Malley pointed down as they ran along the corridor. “We have to get to the corner office situated on the west side of the building. The file is hidden in the ceiling.”
Kelos nodded and followed O’Malley, his focus switching between the immediate area and the other people in the building. So far, they had not raised anyone’s suspicions, it seemed as though the door onto the roof wasn’t alarmed, and no one was coming up the stairs to fix the camera. Kelos hoped their luck would hold.
Without speaking, they quietly opened the door leading to the stairwell and ran down. Even the light-footed cougar shifter’s steps seemed to echo loudly down the stairwell and Kelos was thankful they only had one flight of stairs to navigate before they entered the corridor to the next floor.
“Cameras?” Kelos asked, scanning the ceiling for any sign of a watching eye.
“None that I can see.” They ran swiftly along the corridor, turning left at the end. “That’s the one.”
Kelos sprinted forward, the two shifters racing along the corridor toward the corner office. The ski mask made his face hot and itchy, but he kept it in place as they reached the office and tried the door.
“Unlocked.” Kelos carefully opened the door using his sleeve so that he didn’t leave any fingerprints. Not that anyone would ever trace the prints back to him. Kelos had managed to stay out of trouble all his long life. He had no intention of that changing now.
“Okay. Joanna said it was in a ceiling vent.” O’Malley stepped inside the dark office and Kelos followed, hating the sense of being trapped in the room. Although, if anyone approached, he could jump out of the window and shift mid-air.
And not be seen? His dragon had a point.
The two men tilted their heads and scanned the room for a ceiling vent, Kelos keeping his senses alert for anyone approaching while he looked for the vent.
“Here,” O’Malley hissed and pointed to the ceiling.
> “I was expecting it to be bigger.” Kelos joined him staring at the small air vent set into the ceiling tiles.
“Size isn’t everything.” O’Malley grinned and pointed to the ceiling. “Give me a boost.”
Kelos leaned down and cupped his hands together, bracing to take the weight of the cougar shifter. O’Malley placed his foot lightly between Kelos’s hands and sprang upwards, his hands catching hold of the vent.
With a grunt, Kelos kept O’Malley in the air, his head tilted back to watch as the cougar shifter ran his fingers around the edge of the metal vent. With a flick of his wrists, O’Malley levered the vent down and tucked it under his arm as he slid his hands inside the hole in the ceiling and felt around.
“Got it.” With a satisfied smile, O’Malley swapped the metal vent for the file, tucking the evidence under his arm while replacing the cover on the ceiling. “No one will even know we were here.”
“I’m not so sure.” Kelos switched his attention to the other people in the building as O’Malley jumped down to land nimbly on the floor. “Someone is coming this way.”
O’Malley’s expression grew serious and his eyes went slightly out of focus as he pushed his senses outward. “You’re right. We need to move.”
The two men rushed from the office and ran along the corridor toward the stairwell. They didn’t have a moment to lose as they swung open the door leading into the stairwell. O’Malley paused for a second, his head tilted to one side as he listened for any sound.
“Whoever is coming is using the elevator,” Kelos whispered in his ear. “We should wait.”
“What if they get off on this floor?” O’Malley asked. “We should go now.” He took a step forward but Kelos grabbed hold of him and pulled him back.
“We don’t have time to get to the next floor and out onto the roof. We should wait.” Kelos was not going to argue, he’d made up his mind.
You never used to be so cautious, his dragon told him.
We never had a mate before, Kelos replied. Finding Amber had tempered his actions and made him more aware of exactly what he had to lose if he messed this up.
Kelos: Spring (Shifter Seasons Book 4) Page 17
