“Yes.” The furrows in Jason’s forehead deepened. “Did you see the guy shift? The one who worked for you.”
“A few of times. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the sight or smell of him. Sulfur. He always left a bitter taste on my tongue whenever he came to the office. Very distinctive.” Mac steered the conversation back on track. “You’ll have to let me know what exactly you need. But I’ll help in any way I can.”
“Thanks, Mac. I’m hoping with some cunning we can get these dragon hunters off Lorcan’s back with no bloodshed.” Jason ended the call and went back to Shannon, who was staring morosely at her phone.
“How did it go?” She tore her gaze from the small phone screen and fixed it on Jason.
“I want to set up the meeting at the local sawmill. I’ve enlisted the help of Mac, the owner, and he will get some of his guys rounded up to help.” Jason looked toward the door, the other Silverback Saviors were in the parking lot.
Good, because we need to hurry. We need to find the treasure and use it as a backup plan. His bear was itching to get out and help, but this part of the plan required the human side of Jason to be present in this world.
“I don’t want to put others in danger,” Shannon said. “But I know I can’t save my family alone.”
“Okay, let’s try to figure out if this is your father or whether the hunters have him. We’ll set up a meeting at the sawmill. That way we can contain the situation.” Jason went to the cupboard and took down three more coffee mugs which he set down on the counter.
“You are expecting guests?” Shannon asked as she indicated the coffee mugs.
“Yep.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Gotta love shifter senses.”
“They sure come in useful.” She reached for her phone. “It’s a pity they don’t work long distance.”
“It is.” Jason wished he could send his senses down the phone and probe around the other side. But that went beyond his shifter senses.
“So you’re sure you want to lead the dragon hunters to Bear Creek.” Shannon picked up her phone and tapped the screen. “You want the dragon hunters here?”
“It’s the only way. We need them here on our own turf, and with a sheriff I trust standing by to make an arrest if that’s the route we choose to take.” Jason poured the coffee as his friends came up the stairs.
“So we plan to send them to jail?” Shannon asked. “That will buy us some time. But it would mean us disappearing and starting new lives somewhere else with new names and no contact to our past.”
“If it comes to it, that’s what we’ll do. But first I want to see if we can convince them dragons aren’t real and they’ve wasted their whole lives waiting for Lorcan to hand over his treasure.” A smile spread across Jason’s face. “I think we can do it. You just have to trust me.”
“I do.” She nodded as Killian came into the kitchen.
“Was that a proposal I just missed?” he asked as he accepted a cup of coffee from Jason.
“No proposal yet,” Jason looked sideways at Shannon, but his mate was too busy composing herself to hear.
“All in good time.” Killian sipped his coffee and rolled his eyes in appreciation. “That’s some good coffee.”
“I’m thinking of making a gallon of it to take up the mountain since this is going to be a long night.” Jason’s throat constricted as Gunner and Killian entered the kitchen, filling the small space. “Thanks for coming.”
“Hey, what are friends for.” Gunner nodded as he wrapped his hand around his coffee cup. “You’ve been there for us enough times.”
“So, what is the plan?” Patrick asked as he gulped down his coffee. “Or are we winging it?”
“No, there is a plan,” Jason assured them. “Or two plans, since we have a new development.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Killian said as he looked from Jason to Shannon. “What’s changed?”
“I think the dragon hunters have my dad.” Shannon wiped her hand over her eyes. “Sorry, I’m not usually this tearful.”
“Hey, don’t apologize,” Gunner said kindly. “I know what it’s like to have my mate in danger. So I have an idea of how you are feeling, and we all cope in different ways.”
“Thanks, Gunner.” Shannon looked at the four men assembled in the kitchen. “Thank you all.”
“Our pleasure. You and Lorcan are part of our family now.” Killian sat down at the table. “So, the plan?”
“We need to go and dig out the tunnel. Lorcan’s treasure is our backup plan. If all else fails, we hand it over.” Jason ground his back teeth together as his mind returned to his other last option, which was to lure the dragon hunters into the cave and collapse the tunnel, trapping them inside. In his original plan, Jason had been the bait and would have given his life for his mate.
But that plan is no longer on the table, his bear reminded him. Shannon needs us here, alive and by her side.
“Jason?” Gunner’s gaze pierced his thoughts and he jolted guiltily. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, just going over some of the finer details in my head.” He nodded and took a seat at the table. Patrick took the fourth chair while Gunner leaned back against the counter. “While we work on the tunnel, I’ve asked Mac Winter to help set up an ambush at the sawmill. Shannon is going to direct her father there. Hopefully, he’ll arrive alone, but if he doesn’t, we have a plan to convince the dragon hunters that dragons truly are born of myth.”
“Ah, and so they go away thinking they have wasted their whole lives chasing down a fantasy.” Gunner nodded as he drained his coffee cup. “I like it.”
“Add in a good dose of guilt for driving a family out of their home and I think we have a recipe for a group of men in need of redemption.” Killian looked pointedly at his friends. “Maybe this will trigger a new life for them all where they help people instead of hurt them.”
“That sounds kind of familiar,” Gunner joked.
“But we don’t know if that will work because we have no idea if they have ever seen a dragon shifter for real.” Jason held up his hands. “The plan is sketchy. Which is why I’ll have Brad as backup to arrest the dragon hunters for blackmail and extortion if we fail.”
“I think we might need two gallons of coffee,” Killian joked as he finished his first cup and went for a refill.
“Do you have the equipment we need?” Jason asked. He finished his coffee and retrieved his backpack which he’d left just inside the kitchen door. As they talked, he restocked it with food and water and anything else he figured might help them through the long night.
“Yes, although some of it is heavy and will take several trips to carry it to the cave.” Gunner grinned. “Unless we can enlist the help of a dragon.”
Jason glanced over his shoulder at the mountain in the distance. “It’s still too light for the dragons to fly without risk of being seen. But I’m sure they’ll help later.”
“How is Lorcan?” Killian asked Shannon, whose concern for the boy was heightened by his own experience with his mate’s teenage son. Jason was grateful he had Killian as a great role model to show him how to handle the situation.
“I don’t know,” Shannon answered honestly. “He went home with Fiona and Harlan. I texted him but he hasn’t answered yet.”
“He’s in good hands,” Gunner told her. “Fiona won’t let anything happen to him.”
“When he’s potentially so close to his first shift, there are no better teachers than those two,” Jason added reassuringly.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you all.” Shannon smiled sadly. “Thank you.”
“I think I can speak for all of us when I say we should be thanking you,” Killian replied. “You took in a child, a dragon shifter, and gave him a home and raised him to be a smart, levelheaded young man. This situation could be a whole lot worse if you hadn’t adopted him.”
Shannon’s smile brightened as a tear rolled down her cheek. Wiping it away with the back of her han
d, she stood up. “Okay, let’s go find some treasure.”
“Yes.” Jason closed his backpack and hoisted it onto his shoulder. “Let’s do this.”
As they left the kitchen and exited the building, Jason hoped that the next time he came home, their lives would be free of threats and fears.
Maybe then we could propose, his bear suggested.
Maybe we could, Jason agreed.
Chapter Twenty – Shannon
Meet me in Bear Creek. I’ll give you the exact location when you are close xx
Shannon read and then reread her text several times, her finger hovering over the send button. If her father had been captured, she was about to give away their location. But if he hadn’t, then he might lead the dragon hunters to Lorcan if they were still following him. So many ifs.
“Send it.” Jason glanced sideways at her as they drove back up the mountain.
Shannon let out a long breath, tapped the phone screen and sent the message out into the ether. She had to believe fate had led her to Bear Creek, and more particularly Jason, for a reason. Surely keeping one of the last dragon shifters alive and out of danger was what fate wanted. As for the treasure, they might have to sacrifice the gold and jewels to pay off the dragon hunters, although Shannon doubted that was enough. She suspected they would take the treasure and still want Lorcan. After all, hunters usually captured or killed their quarry.
I’ll arrive tomorrow x
“He’s replied. He’ll get here tomorrow.” Shannon shoved her phone in her pocket.
“Tell him you can’t wait to see him,” Jason said. “Or at least reply with something.”
Shannon took the phone out once more. “I can’t wait to see you. So much to tell you.” She glanced at Jason who nodded, and she added two x’s before hitting send.
“Now, we focus on finding Lorcan’s treasure.” Jason put his foot down on the gas pedal and the truck climbed the steep road toward the place where they would park and then hike up the mountain. Again.
“I hope he’s doing okay.” She resisted the temptation to look at her phone again. There was no new message from Lorcan, and she was beginning to worry about him. However, Jason and his friends were convinced no harm would come of him while he was with Fiona and Harlan and she trusted their judgment.
At least where Lorcan and shifting were concerned. Jason’s plan on dealing with the dragon hunters was another matter. There was so much they didn’t know. So many variables. All she could do was trust the man who had formed the Silverback Saviors and helped so many people in Bear Creek. Jason was organized and could think on his feet. He would make the right decisions, Shannon was certain.
“Don’t worry. Lorcan will be fine.” Jason looked up at the sky. “One day soon he’ll fly over the mountains with you on his back.”
Shannon followed his gaze, looking at the high mountain peaks as the sky darkened. There were a couple of hours of daylight left, and then darkness would cover the cliffs and valleys, concealing the bear shifters as they worked through the night to excavate the tunnel.
By morning they hoped to have reached the treasure. If not, they would continue working until they were needed at the sawmill. Despite their long night shift digging in the mountain, all four Silverback Saviors intended to be present for the ambush.
Of her father.
She leaned her elbow on the truck door and rested her chin on her hand as she watched the world go by. What if Jason’s plan put her father in more danger?
There it was again. If. Such a small word with such big consequences.
She turned away from the stunning view and focused on the taillights of the vehicle in front. Killian, Patrick, and Gunner rode in the truck filled with equipment, each of them committed to seeing this through to the bitter end. “Are their mates okay with this?”
“Yes.” Jason raised his eyebrows as he answered. “Wouldn’t you be, if one of them needed my help?”
“It’s different.”
“Is it?” Jason had a point. She might not have known him long, but she had accepted the idea of being his mate. She’d accepted the idea of them being together for the rest of their lives.
“Perhaps not so different,” she answered. “And yes, I would let you go and help someone in need. We all need help sometimes.”
“We do, it’s what the others and I do. It’s what we’ve always done. No matter the consequences.” His expression darkened as his past haunted him once more.
“The consequences could be terrible.” Shannon bit her bottom lip as she fought with tears.
“Once this is over, whatever the outcome, you have to promise me you won’t hold yourself responsible,” Jason told her.
“You want me to promise to move on and forgive myself even if people end up getting hurt?” she asked.
“Yes, or else it’ll drive you insane.” Jason reached out for her hand as he steered the truck expertly up the narrow road.
“Or it will drive me to find redemption. Like you and your friends.” She cocked her head to one side. “If I promise you I will accept whatever happens and move on, will you do the same?”
“Yes.” He looked at her for a long moment. “It’s time I moved on. If this has shown me anything, it’s that people make decisions to help others no matter the consequences and that is their choice. I have risked my life for others and would do so again.”
“Just as others once risked their lives for you.” She lifted his hand and pressed it to her lips. “When this ends, we find a way through it together.”
“Together,” he agreed.
Shannon leaned back in her seat as her phone beeped. Shoving her hand in her pocket, she pulled it out and tapped the screen with some trepidation. I did it! The text was from Lorcan and she could only imagine it meant one thing. Her son had completed his first shift.
“Okay?” Jason asked in concern.
“He shifted. Lorcan shifted, and since I assume dragons can’t send a text, he must have shifted back.” The relief was immense. One less thing to worry about.
“That’s great news!” Jason’s relief and enthusiasm matched her own. “Did he say what color his dragon was?”
“No, I’ll ask.” She sent the message and waited for his reply. “He said he wants to show me rather than tell me.”
“Is he flying up the mountain when it gets dark?” Jason asked, his eyes shining with expectation.
“Are you a dragon junkie?” she asked with a laugh.
Jason’s cheeks flushed pink. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yes.” Shannon arched an eyebrow.
“Meeting Fiona when I first came to Bear Creek gave me hope somehow. I figured if something as magnificent as a dragon could survive in this world then there was hope for me and everyone else,” he gushed.
“I can understand that.” She sent a message to Lorcan telling him she could not wait to see him. “I think this is going to turn out all right.”
“Yay!” Jason said happily. “That’s what we need, a positive mental attitude.”
“Now you sound like a life coach.” She opened the door as Jason parked his truck behind the others.
“I am a man of many talents.” He waggled his eyebrows as he got out of the truck and grabbed hold of his pack.
“It’s a good thing we have a lifetime for you to share those talents with me.” She closed the door and slipped her arms into the straps of her pack.
“Here, let me help.” Jason was by her side superhumanly fast and pulled the pack up effortlessly.
“Thanks.” She groaned as the pack settled on her shoulders. “I will be glad when I don’t have to put this thing on my back again.”
“Well, if we can get through that tunnel tonight, this might be the last time we hike up here,” Jason said. “At least the last time we have to hike up this part of the mountain. I aim to show you other parts of the range so you can fall in love with these peaks.”
“I’m looking forward to that.” A sense of foreboding
settled on her. If they didn’t outsmart the dragon hunters, then they might have to leave Bear Creek far behind. Jason might never get a chance to show her the mountains he loved so much.
“We’ve divided the equipment up. We can take half now and then we’ll come back down for the rest,” Gunner explained.
“Okay.” Shannon stepped forward and grabbed hold of the straps of a small pack, but she could barely lift it off the ground.
“I split them down between the four of us,” Gunner said, indicating the four bear shifters.
“I can carry something,” she insisted.
“Shannon, this is the third time you’ve walked up the mountain today. Honestly, if I thought there was any way I could have persuaded you to stay at the club and rest, I’d have taken it.” Jason placed his hands on her upper arms and leaned forward as he spoke. “Let us carry the gear. We’re stronger and fresher than you.”
Tears pricked her eyes as she nodded. “I don’t want to slow you down.”
“You won’t.” He nodded to the others. “They might go on ahead, but that’s okay because when we get to the cave, you and I are going to start work and get things set up while they come back down and collect the last of the gear we need.”
Shannon looked into Jason’s eyes and saw nothing but love and concern for her. “Thank you.” She kissed his cheek, his skin warm against her lips.
“Let’s get going.” Gunner struck off up the path in the lead. Patrick and Killian followed, with Jason and Shannon last.
“It’s a good thing they aren’t waiting for me,” Shannon said as the others soon began stretching out a good lead.
“It’s not a race,” Jason assured her.
“Would it be better if I did stay back at the bar?” she asked. “And I’d like an honest answer, please.”
He chuckled. “I don’t think I’d be able to concentrate if you were. As long as you are by my side then I know you are safe.”
“I’m pretty useless all around today,” she said evenly. “And don’t worry, I’m not having a pity party. I work in recruitment, I know only too well that each and every one of us has our strengths and our weaknesses.”
Jason - Silverback Redemption Page 15
