Lord of Life (The Dragon Demigods Book 4)

by Charlene Hartnady

  “I told you I haven’t dated much and then only casually. If things became too serious, I would break it off, and vice versa as well, since you tend to pick a certain type when you have no intention of committing.”

  “That can be lonely.” I nod. I realize I’ve been talking too much again and put some food in my mouth. Talking to Lyre is easy.

  “That’s not it, though,” he says. “Up until recently, we were never going to take mates. We didn’t want to procreate. Have more interbred children who don’t belong. It didn’t seem right.”

  “But then one of your friends did. This Night guy?”

  He nods. “Two of my friends, actually. They’re married now. They both recently had kids. That was never supposed to be on the cards.”

  “And now it is.”

  He nods. “I’ve seen them together and…” He shrugs.

  “You realize how empty your own life is.”

  “Exactly.” He picks up his wine and leans back. “You sound like you feel the same.” He lifts his brows.

  “God, no!” I snort. “I’ve been too busy hunting terrible creatures to even think about…marriage or children. Heck, even sex, for that matter,” I blurt. “Let alone dating or…kids…?” I shake my head. “Nope…I haven’t given them a second thought.”

  He almost looks disappointed, which is crazy. It’s not like he was talking about me just then.

  “How long did you say you were with this group of yours? How long have you been hunting bad guys?”

  “Seven years.”

  His eyes widen. “Seven years… Are you telling me you haven’t had sex in seven years?” He looks bewildered. “Fuck me! That’s a long time…and here I was thinking I was bad.”

  “How long has it been for you?” I shouldn’t be asking. I find that I want to know, so I don’t take the question back.

  His eyes lift in thought. “It’s been around eight months.”

  I blink a couple of times. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Eight months is a long time, especially for someone who looks like him. He must get propositioned all the time. “For your information, it hasn’t been as long as seven years, but it’s been…a while. A long while.” More like three years, but I’m too embarrassed to tell him that. I eat some more of my dinner, chewing slowly. My plate is nearly empty.

  “No wonder you’re so cranky.” He laughs.

  “Hey!” I throw my napkin at him, and he catches it before it can hit his face. Fabulous reflexes. Fabulous everything. The bastard. I’m only saying that because I like him. I like him too much.

  “Eight months is a long time for a guy. No wonder you’re so easy to proposition,” I say.

  His jaw tightens.

  “I’m teasing you,” I add.

  “You had better be.”

  “I am.” I finish my coffee, put the last bite in my mouth, and stand. “Thanks,” I say around my food. I swallow. “That was delicious. I’ll watch out for the harpy for a while, and then I’ll head back to the motel. You won’t see me until tomorrow, but call if anything is suspicious.” I don’t hang around during the night. Lilith is trying to find the others. There’s no point monitoring Lyre while he’s asleep.

  “You should stay.” His eyes are locked with mine. There is no talk of a spare bedroom. My heart stutters. It almost sounds like he’s propositioning me this time. I’m sure it’s my sex-starved, overactive imagination talking.

  “Um…no…I…thanks again.” I turn and run. Not literally, but there is running involved. I can’t have sex with Lyre. I just can’t. It would complicate things. It would go against my…code. I don’t sleep with non-humans. It wouldn’t be right.

  I hunt them.

  I kill them.

  Or I leave them be.

  I never, never, ever have sex with them.

  14

  Three days later…

  Morgan

  I’m about to unlock my room when the door to the manager’s office-slash-reception opens. “Um…Miss O’Reilly,” he calls across the parking lot.

  Shit!

  No!

  Shit! Shit!

  I’m tempted to pretend I didn’t hear anything. To run into my room and lock the door. I know he’ll just come over and knock. I won’t be able to pretend I don’t hear him. I’m going to have to speak to him sooner or later. May as well be now. I pull in a breath and smile, even though I’m sure he can’t see me since the outside lighting isn’t great. It must be nearly midnight. “Yes…um…hi.”

  “Please can you come into my office?”

  At this moment, I’m thankful I’m well-armed. I’m thankful that even if I didn’t have my weapons, I’d be able to defend myself against the likes of him, otherwise, I might feel a little apprehensive. Asking a woman to meet during the middle of the night isn’t exactly kosher. Then I remind myself that I leave while it’s still dark and arrive home well into the night. When is the poor guy supposed to have a talk with me, if not now? “Sure thing,” I say, dreading this conversation.

  I go over to his office. He walks inside behind me and then closes the door behind us, which leaves me a little on edge. It is a little cold out, so maybe that’s it. He leans on his desk and folds his arms. “You’re late with your payment. Long-staying guests need to pay for the week upfront. You’re two nights overdue. I’m going to need you to pay up, or I’m going to need you to pack up.”

  “Now?”

  “Now, Miss…” he picks up the form I filled in when I checked in, “O’Reilly.”

  “Look, I understand that this is important, but is there no way this can wait till morning?”

  “It can’t! You’re two days over. I need you to pay right now. Will that be cash or card?” He rubs his chin. He has thin, wispy hair on his face. I’m not sure why he even tries with the facial hair. It’s patchy and doesn’t work at all.

  “I’m getting money tomorrow,” I lie. I’m hoping to buy myself one more night. “I’ll pay you—”

  “No! It’s money right now, or you’re out.” He scratches his paunch next. His t-shirt has a stain on it. How did my life get to this? I’ve worked hard at keeping humans safe. Busted my butt for most of my twenties, and yet here I am. About to be thrown out on the street.

  There’s been no sign of the harpy.

  Nothing!

  Thankfully none of Lyre’s friends have seen her either. That’s one positive in all this. At this rate, it could be days, weeks even before we catch her. “I’ll pack,” I say, taking a step back. “I need ten minutes.”

  His eyes narrow. “What about rent for the last two days?”

  “I told you, I’m getting paid tomorrow, either you wait, or I leave now, and you lose out.”

  “It doesn’t work like that.” His voice is whiney.

  “That’s how it is, take it, or leave it.”

  Then he snorts out a laugh. “If I had a dollar for every time someone told me they were getting paid tomorrow, I’d be a rich man. Look,” he pushes out a breath, “I’m a good guy.” I want to roll my eyes, but I don’t. I can’t wait to hear what he has to say next. “I’m willing to negotiate.” His mouth turns up at the corners in the start of a smile.

  “I’m listening.” With half an ear because I know exactly where this is going.

  “You don’t have money, and I don’t have a girlfriend right now.”

  No shit! I want to laugh. I don’t, I just keep my eyes on him.

  “I’m sure we can work something out.” He unbuckles his belt. His eyes are sparkling. I haven’t shot him down so, he obviously thinks he’s in with a chance.

  I fold my arms.

  He unclasps his pants and pulls down the zipper. “A blow job for three days…which means you get to sleep here tonight, or I fuck you, and you get a week rent-free.”

  “A whole week!” I try to sound excited.

  I must be doing a good job because he takes out his sorry excuse for a penis. “A whole week, babe. I’ll make it good for you.”

&nb
sp; “I very much doubt that,” I say with a laugh. This guy is hilarious.

  His eyes flash with anger, and he stands up. “Just get onto the desk and shut your mouth.”

  I know it’s probably wrong of me, but fuck it! I pull my Glock and put it under his chin; I press it into his flesh. I’m sick of fuckers like this taking advantage of vulnerable women. Sick to death. “I’m FBI, you sick motherfucker.”

  “What? Oh my god! Shit! I didn’t mean it. I was just kidding around.” He laughs. It sounds stilted. His hands are in the air, so his pants fall around his ankles.

  “I could shoot you right now.”

  “What? No! Come on…I swear, I didn’t mean it.”

  “Stop! Just stop. We both know you meant it. Your pants are down. You’re half-naked right now, and we both know that this isn’t the first time you’ve pulled something like this. We’ve received complaints.”

  “Lies! All lies!” he yells.

  “Quiet, or your brains are going to be on your ceiling.”

  “Oh, god! No! Please!”

  “If you try to pull this again, I won’t be as lenient in the future. As it stands, I’m tempted to take you in for solicitation.”

  “Solicitation? What the hell? I wasn’t selling sex.”

  “Um…your dick is out. I have a recording of our entire conversation.”

  “You do? No shit! Come on…I…” He’s crying now. The asshole has tears streaming down his face, snot running out of his nose. I don’t feel sorry for him. How many times has he done this? How many of his victims cried when he made them get on his desk?

  “Save it! Why shouldn’t I turn you in? Why? Give me one good reason.”

  “You can stay! Stay as long as you want!” he yells

  I’m so tempted to take up his offer. It’s on the tip of my tongue. I can’t! “No!” I push out. “I don’t need your crappy room. I’m here undercover. I’m leaving tonight. Right now, but if I catch you pulling this shit again…I swear to god I’ll take you in. You get one free pass, but only because I don’t feel like all the paperwork. You do this again, and you’re done, do you understand me?”

  Yes.” His lip quivers. “I help people. I help them.”

  “You take advantage of people.”

  “No!” His eyes go wide. “I give them—”

  “You take advantage of women who are down on their luck. Here’s the thing, when a person helps another person, they shouldn’t expect something in return. That’s how it should work. If I had a dollar for every man who said it wasn’t rape, I’d be a millionaire.”

  “Rape?” He cries harder, his whole face is red.

  “Yes. Next time I’ll pull the trigger. I’ll put a gun in your hand and tell my superiors it was self-defense.”

  “Oh god!” he mutters, crying harder. I take my gun away from his neck. “I’m not a rapist,” he says, shaking his head. “I’m not.” He says it in a questioning way, like maybe he isn’t buying his own paltry excuses anymore. I think I might have gotten through to him.

  I take a couple of steps back to put some space between us and then turn quickly, walking to my room.

  “I didn’t mean to…” I hear him mutter. “I’m not a rapist,” he repeats. He mutters something else, but I’m too far away to hear him.

  What the hell am I going to do now? I have very little money left. I don’t want to borrow money from my family. I pull in a deep breath. I have a few days before I won’t even be able to buy myself food. I should have enough for one more tank of gas. As I walk to my room, I look over to my car. Then I go inside and pack. I’m gone within ten minutes.

  15

  Three days later…

  Lyre

  I can’t sleep.

  I’m not sure why that is. I had a long, hard day. I performed a double bypass surgery. I should be shattered. I should have been dead to the world hours ago. I can’t seem to drift off. My eyes are scratchy. I toss and turn until I hear Morgan let herself in. Now I hear the shower running. She told me something about there being a water pressure problem in the motel where she’s staying. That was several days ago. I can’t believe they haven’t sorted it out yet. What kind of a place is she staying in?

  That’s just it, I don’t mind her showering here. I wish she’d accept more from me. She halfheartedly agreed to dinner again tonight and wolfed it down before heading back out to keep watch. That’s something…I guess. She refuses to stay over even though I’ve told her she can crash here. I’ve told her that a good couple of times. She shoots me down or ignores the offer.

  I haven’t tried to push because there is a part of me that doesn’t think it’s a good idea. I’m attracted to Morgan. There’s no use denying it. From the way I’ve seen her look at me a couple of times, I think the attraction might be mutual. Logically, sleeping with her would be a bad decision. Maybe that’s why she’s keeping her distance. I won’t argue. We’re all a little on edge. The guys as well. We’re all being vigilant. I’m hoping the harpy turns up soon. Then we can all go back to living our lives.

  I hear the shower turn off. I hear Morgan moving around. I’m wide awake now. I switch my bedside light on. I’ll try reading. I’m on book three in a fantasy trilogy. I read a chapter when I hear Morgan close the door to the garage. I don’t hear anything for a while. Then the garage door opens, and she starts her engine. I hear her reverse and the garage door close.

  I read a couple more pages when I realize that I never actually heard her pull off and drive away. I frown, sitting up. I go to my window and look outside, but I don’t see her car parked there. Am I going crazy?

  I stand there for a few minutes. I’m torn between going back to bed – because I really feel like an idiot – or…heading downstairs to check if she’s still there. That’s insane. Why would Morgan still be inside my house?

  I walk towards my bed and stop just short of climbing back in. I realize that I won’t get to sleep unless I check to see. I need to put my mind at ease. I go down the hall to the door that leads to the garage. I feel stupid as I slowly open the door.

  My jaw drops when I see her car parked next to mine. It’s on the far side of the garage. Morgan pretended to leave. I almost want to rub my eyes and look again. What the fuck! Does that mean that Morgan is sleeping inside the vehicle? I look back over my shoulder down the dark hall. Maybe she’s in my spare bedroom. I doubt it. I would have heard her pass my bedroom if that was the case.

  I use my senses, closing my eyes. I pick up a heartbeat inside her car.

  Inside.

  What the…?

  Why?

  There’s only one way to find out. I walk to her car. Fuck me! Morgan is curled up on the back seat. She has a blanket and is using a thick jacket as a pillow. I don’t know why exactly, but the sight of her there angers me. She’s in a tough spot, but she hasn’t been honest with me. She needed help, but she couldn’t reach out. This, after everything we’ve been through. I was beginning to think I could trust her. I walk back to the door. I flick on the light switch since the motion sensor isn’t working. Or maybe someone disabled it? She sits up, eyes wide, chest heaving.

  “We need to talk,” I say as I walk back to her vehicle.

  “What the hell, Lyre! I could have shot you,” she yells, lifting her gun. I realize that she had it under her makeshift pillow.

  “What are you doing in here?” I try to tone my voice down.

  She opens the door and climbs out, standing in front of me. “I’m watching for the harpy. What do you think?”

  “I think you’re full of shit! What’s going on?”

  “Nothing is going on.” I can see she’s lying. It’s written all over her face. It’s clear by the look in her big blue eyes.

  “Why are you sleeping in your car?”

  “I told you—”

  “No!” I shake my head. “I want the truth.”

  “I’m looking out for—”

  “Do you take me for a fool?” I take a step towards her. “Why
are you in my garage, sleeping in your car?” I point at her vehicle.

  “If you mind so much, I’ll leave,” she yells.

  “Morgan,” I growl. She’s not listening; instead, she’s yanking open the door to her car, intent on leaving.

  “Hey,” I say more softly, the anger draining out of me. I notice she’s wearing an oversized t-shirt. Her feet are bare. She has this vulnerable, innocent air about her.

  “I’m not angry that you’re here.” I keep my voice soft.

  She starts to get into her car, but I clasp her arm, sure to keep my touch soft. “Wait just a second. If you’re in trouble, you should have said something. I’m upset you didn’t speak to me. I thought we were getting along. I thought we were trusting one another. You should have said something. That’s why I’m pissed. Not that you’re here.”

  I see her shoulders slump. Then she turns. “I’m embarrassed, okay? I’ve never had much.” She shrugs. “Never needed much. I’ve lived from day to day, from month to month. I suddenly found myself without an income…with almost no savings. Blowing a gasket cleaned me out. That asshole at the motel tried to…make a deal with me.” Her eyes darken.

  Every muscle in me tightens. “What?” I practically shout, my voice deep. “What happened?”

  “Relax, I took care of it. He won’t try it again. Not with me or anyone else.”

  I smile. “I’m sure you did.” Then I turn serious. “You should have said something. I’ve invited you to stay over. I—”

  “I don’t want a handout.”

  “Do you have any idea how much I was paying that PI?” I tell her. “You’re doing a much better job than he ever did. Why not accept something in return?”

  “I don’t want your money.” She shakes her head. “It wouldn’t feel right. I’m not doing this for money.”

  “I know that, but you can’t be effective if you’re not taking care of your basic needs. A bed, food…the basics. You can stay here. Use the spare room. Eat meals here. It wouldn’t be a handout. You help me, I help you.”

  I can see her mulling it over, and it floors me all over again how damned stubborn she is.