“You’re a coward. You couldn’t stand up to a real man. You have to go after defenseless and unsuspecting women. You are pathetic.” Lana practically spit those last words at him.
Dizag roared with laughter.
“You are so brave, aren’t you, Little Sister. There will come a time when I will add you to my collection. Then, you will see how pathetic your new master really is,” Dizag said, his face practically touching Lana’s.
“Don’t you ever bathe or brush? You are the most disgusting excuse for a man I’ve ever been around. You’re making me nauseous,” Lana said.
“You know, I love a woman with spunk. They are so much more fun to break. They take a lot longer and can endure more pain. But make no mistake,” Dizag said, lightly brushing her cheek with the back of his hand. “I will break you.”
Then, he lightly slapped her cheek.
Lana’s hand shifted to a paw and she swiped at him, creating five long scratches in his face.
Dizag laughed again. He caught her arm as she made another swipe.
“You know a lion is no match for a dragon. Vardok had the right idea. Everyone but dragons shouldn’t be shifting and women are to be used for our pleasure. Don’t worry, you’ll serve me soon enough and then I’ll destroy you like the others,” Dizag said, trying to make his voice sound smooth.
He licked her face and then disappeared just as she shifted into lion form.
She bounded back into the club, and shifted as Nick, Colleen, and Brady rushed toward her. A huge red spot had spread on her face and there were small blisters, as though she had suffered a burn.
“What happened?” all three asked at once.
“Dizag was outside. He told me that Lucy was still alive but that she ‘wasn’t as pretty as she used to be,’” Lana said breathlessly.
“What happened to your face?” Colleen asked, as the red, blistering spot continued to grow.
“He licked me. But don’t worry, I left my mark on him, too. I clawed his face. It looked pretty deep to me.”
Brady and Nick rushed out back to see if Dizag was still around. Nothing remained of him except some blood from the gashes that Lana had gifted him with.
“He’s long gone,” Brady said in disgust.
“He knew you’d be coming out,” Lana said. “He’s brave enough to attack and kill women and other, gentler shifters. He doesn’t have the cojones to go after a male flea.”
She was still angry, but she was slowly cooling off. Her face was burning like fire. She didn’t want to show it in front of anyone, though. She did not like to show weakness in any way, even if it was a wound.
“I should never have let you go outside without me,” Nick said, angry at himself.
“Let me? Now you are starting to sound like Dizag,” Lana said. “You don’t own me, and you don’t get to ‘let me’ do anything.”
Nick opened his mouth to tell her he was just trying to watch out for her, but Brady caught his eye and shook his head. Nick’s mouth snapped shut. He shook his head and sat at the bar.
Lana looked around the club and saw that all eyes were focused on her and her exchange with Nick. It was dead silent. Not the whisper of a single breath could be heard.
Colleen grabbed Lana’s hand and pulled her into the back room. “I have a first aid kit. Let’s get the dragon saliva off your face and take care of those nasty blisters.”
Lana sank down into the couch gratefully, wondering how much longer her legs were going to be able to hold her up. The adrenaline that had exploded in her between the anger and fear had dissipated, leaving Lana feeling weak and exhausted.
She felt tears well up in her eyes. She felt overwhelmed and tired. She came here to the human world to find her sister, but instead found herself mired in a horror movie.
Angrily, she brushed the tears away. The back of her hand accidentally brushed across the spreading burn on her right cheek. She yelped from the pain.
Colleen turned around with a soft cloth and anti-bacterial soap.
“This is going to hurt like the dickens,” Colleen said. “But we have to get your wound cleaned, or the burn will continue spreading across your entire face.”
Lana nodded her understanding and gritted her teeth as Colleen wiped the burn and all the skin around it. Colleen was as gentle as she could be, but it was excruciating.
A small tube of anti-bacterial cream appeared in Colleen’s hands next. Gently, she spread the cooling gel across the area. Although it didn’t kill the pain by any means, it did help take a little bit of the sting out.
“I don’t know whether to cover it or not. You’re supposed to leave burns to the open air so they can heal faster. However, you have a lot of open wounds on this spot, and I wouldn’t want germs to get into it,” Colleen said.
“Let’s cover it for now to protect the burn from whatever is in the air here and outside,” Nick said, as he and Brady joined them. “Then, when we’ll remove the bandage at the house, I’ll put more cream on it, and she can leave it open to heal.”
Colleen nodded. Grabbing some gauze, she quickly and gently covered a large part of Lana’s face. She could feel her right eye start to swell up, and she was beginning to feel sick.
“Do you think that any of the poison could have got into my blood?” Lana asked.
Colleen looked worried. “I don’t know. It’s possible that it could have been absorbed into your bloodstream through the skin. Are you starting to feel sick?”
Lana nodded. “My stomach and my head hurt,” she said.
“It could just be from the intense stress and emotions you went through in a very short amount of time,” Colleen said, patting Lana’s back gently.
“Thank you,” Lana said, hugging Colleen. “You should have been a nurse.”
“Nah,” Colleen said. “I can’t stand the sight of blood.”
“That would be a problem,” Lana answered her, with a bit of a chuckle.
Then, she turned toward Nick. “Can we go home, please? I’m not feeling so great.”
Nick nodded.
As Lana stood up, she said, “You know, Dizag is going to kill again very soon. He enjoys the power he thinks that it gives him.”
Then, swaying slightly, she grabbed Nick’s arm.
They all said their goodbyes, and headed out to the car.
On the way home, Lana said, “I’m sorry for what I said. It was uncalled for. It’s no excuse, but I was just scared and angry and I lashed out at you.”
Nick grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “Don’t worry about it. I know you didn’t mean it. This has to be quite a shock to you. Hell, it’s a shock to me, and I’ve been around murder cases before. This is beyond the scope of anything imaginable.”
He held on to her hand all the way home. Lana didn’t want to let go. His hand was warm and comforting. He made her feel safe. She was very disappointed when they finally arrived back, because she didn’t want to give up his hand. She felt cold and empty when he pulled it away.
Nick came around to open her car door and helped her out. By this time, her right eye had swollen almost completely shut. The only bright light in the situation was that normally, shifters healed a lot faster than mundane humans did. She hoped that this was the case even if the injury was inflicted by a dragon shifter.
They walked slowly up to the front door, since Lana was having a hard time seeing. However, she couldn’t miss the message Dizag left for them. There was a series of huge scratches all the way down the door.
10
Nick
Nick saw the scratches, and his heart stopped. His first thought was that Dizag was hanging around, trying to snatch Lana away. However, if he was going to do that now, he would have taken her outside of the club when she was alone.
Nick carefully opened the door.
“Stay behind me. Without your eye swollen shut, you would have a hard time fighting him,” Nick said, to cut off her protests that she could protect herself.
He heard her soft sigh of acqui
escence and felt her step behind him.
Gently closing the door, he searched the house, although he was almost certain that Dizag wasn’t there. Still, he had to be sure.
After checking under every bed and in every closet, he was positive that Dizag wasn’t anywhere in the house.
Breathing a sigh of relief, he said, “That was just that monster playing games with us.”
“More like with me,” Lana said. “He wanted to let me know that he knew where I was staying and that I wasn’t safe anywhere.”
“I would protect you with my life,” Nick said, angry at Dizag for invading his house and terrifying Lana.
“He would kill you as soon as look at you. As you said, he is sneaky, and dragons are able to ambush people and take them unaware. Besides, you aren’t always able to be with me. Sometimes, you have to go into the office. If he wants to kill me or capture me, he’ll do it. He was letting me know with the lick,” Lana said, dejectedly.
Nick pulled out a chair. “Have a seat. I’m going to get my first aid kit and take care of that burn,” he said.
When he pulled off the gauze pad that Colleen had put on her face, he winced. It was already soaked with blood and yellow pus from the blisters.
He grabbed a clean sponge and squeezed warm water over the wound, trying to clean it out without touching it. Then, he made a mixture of thyme, coconut oil, and aloe vera, spreading the concoction over the entire area.
“That will help with the pain and help decrease the inflammation and chance of infection.”
“Thank you,” she said, softly. “I’m exhausted, so I’m heading to bed.”
“Okay,” Nick said. “Call if you need anything.”
She nodded, hugged him, and headed down the hallway. He didn’t follow, as he didn’t trust himself. He wanted to crawl into the bed next to her and hold her tight to him, keeping her safe from everyone and everything that might hurt her.
Grabbing a beer from the fridge, he stood out on his back patio, staring out into space.
He was very frustrated. He and all the other detectives and shifters wanted to find Dizag before he could hurt or kill anyone else. Dizag needed to face the consequences for his actions.
He has to have a weakness. He has to have left some kind of clue that can help us find him.
Dragons are sneaky and they can be very elusive. They can hide in trees, on top of buildings, and in underground caves. They could be damn near impossible to find.
Nick sat stewing, sipping on his beer, for the better part of an hour. Then, he was starting to get tired. He stood up and stretched.
Then, out of frustration, he called out, “Where in the hell are you, Dizag?”
He was startled to hear a deep chuckle echo in the darkness.
“Don’t worry. I’m close by,” a deep voice said. Then, a rush of wind exploded against Nick, and he heard the sound of a dragon taking flight.
He hit the shower and then laid down, hoping that he would be able to get some sleep. It was already two in the morning, and he was exhausted. Yet, images of Lana, her burn, and the sound of Dizag’s voice bounced around like a rubber ball inside of his head.
Finally, the darkness surrounded him and he fell into a deep sleep.
He woke up to the smell of burning coffee. He looked at his clock. It was nine. He had slept for seven hours.
Nick jumped up, got dressed, and rushed into the kitchen. Lana looked woebegone, as she had made a bit of a mess with the coffee. The smell of the burning liquid permeated through the air.
“I was trying to make coffee,” Lana said, apologetically.
Nick smiled widely at her. “I can see that. Sit down, I’ll take care of it.”
Soon, the coffee was percolating merrily and the little mess had been cleaned up. Nick turned his attention toward Lana’s face.
His healing concoction and the fact that Lana was a lion shifter had helped her heal quickly. Her eye had returned to normal, and the blisters were gone. The edges of the injury had already started to heal.
During coffee and breakfast, Nick told her about running into Dizag last night.
She shook her head. “You are always telling me to be careful because he could be anywhere. Yet, there you were, out in the open, late at night, by yourself, making yourself a perfect target. You need to follow your own advice.”
Nick grinned with chagrin. “You are right. I do need to practice what I preach. The only thing I can say for myself is that Dizag doesn’t seem to hunt men, and I am a man,” he said.
“You are a man, but you can still be hurt,” Lana said.
“You are right,” he said, again.
Lana was very restless after breakfast. She prowled around the house, up and down the hallway and into the kitchen, living room, and dining room. She would stare out the window for a few minutes, and then start her trek all over again.
Nick was working in his home office. He could access the online files and other information he needed with his laptop. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving Lana alone, even for a brief second.
He could hear her walking. Her footsteps were light, but he had good ears. He could hear her sighing heavily.
“Are you not interested in Criminal Minds and your Penelope Garcia?” Nick asked her, with a grin.
She looked at him and shook her head. “No. I can’t sit down. I need to get out of here. I feel like I am trapped in a cage,” she said.
“Why didn’t you tell me? We could go for a walk,” Nick said.
“I didn’t want to interrupt you. You’re trying to find Dizag and my sister, and I can’t do anything to help. The least I could do is to let you work in peace,” Lana said.
“I need a break, too. Let’s go for a little walk,” Nick said.
Gratefully, Lana grabbed her shoes and they headed out. He reached for her hand automatically. He didn’t even know that he had done that until he felt her soft hand slip into his.
He lifted her hand up to his lips and kissed it. Then, they started walking, with no particular destination in mind.
They ended up at the park. It was a nice day, not too hot or cold, so it was full of children laughing and calling to each other. Nick and Lana sat down on a bench and watched them play.
“Have you ever thought of having children?” Nick asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Like every woman in the world, I have dreamt of finding my prince charming and having kids—little girls and little boys. Two of each, I think.”
He smiled at her. “That’s quite a passel of kiddos,” he said.
“You know what they say. Go big or go home,” she said, laughing.
He laughed with her, loving the light in her eyes and face as she giggled.
“What about you?” She asked him. “Do you ever think about a family?”
“Every once in a while,” Nick answered. “I never found the right woman that I would want to spend the rest of my life with, let alone have children with. There have been some who wanted to be my mate, but that special connection that you feel deep in your soul just wasn’t there.”
Lana nodded.
On the way back, they headed into a Mexican restaurant. They were reputed to have the best tamales on their side of the country. Lana was hooked immediately.
“Where have these been my entire life?” she asked. “These are the most delicious things that I have ever eaten.”
The waitress overheard her and smiled at her. “Thank you, Miss. Would you like an order to take home with you?”
Lana looked at Nick and he nodded.
“Yes, please,” Lana said.
The waitress looked at Lana’s face, suspiciously. The nasty blistered burn looked more like a huge bruise, as though she had taken a left hook from a prize fighter. Then, the waitress looked at Nick and tightened her lips. She left to put in the order.
“She thinks that I hit you,” Nick told Lana.
“Nah, she is just trying to figure out what happened. People are always fascinated by
boo-boos,” Lana said.
Nick raised his eyebrows. “Boo-boos?”
Lana smiled at him. “Yes, that is what I said. Boo-boos.”
“Are all wounds, like broken legs, concussions, and a broken nose considered to be boo-boos,” Nick asked her.
“Actually, they are. There are boo-boos, and there are BOO-BOOS,” she retorted.
Their silly banter was interrupted by the waitress returning with Lana’s order and the bill.
As Nick was distracted by fishing his credit card out of his wallet to pay the bill, the waitress put a piece of paper in Lana’s hand.
The note read, “You don’t have to be a victim. There is a women’s shelter in town that can help you. Their number is 212-555-HELP.”
Lana looked up in astonishment. “You were right. She does think that you hurt me. Should I try to explain what happened?”
Nick shook his head. “She would never believe you. But at least she does have a good heart and is trying to help someone she thinks is in need.”
When the receipt came back, Lana smiled at her waitress. Nick left her a good-sized tip.
There didn’t seem to be anything else amiss when they arrived back at Nick’s place. Just to be cautious, though, he checked out every room, every closet, and any other place that he thought a human or a dragon could hide. Deeming the place safe, he and Lana sat on the couch.
“Tell me about Lucy,” Nick said.
“We had always been close friends as well as sisters. There is only a ten-month difference in our ages. We had our fights, like all siblings do, but for the most part, we were inseparable,” Lana said.
“So, what happened that she came to the human world and you didn’t?” Nick asked.
“While I was the quiet, obedient daughter, Lucy was always rebellious. Once she got an idea in her head, there was nothing in the world that could talk her out of it. She craved adventure and wanted to see what life was like in the human world. Mother and Father begged her to stay, because it was so dangerous, but Lucy was stubborn. So, she came here.”
“Didn’t you want to visit the human world?” Nick asked.
Lana shook her head. “No, I was happy where I was. I felt like I had a duty to take care of the people in our pride, especially the older ones and the very young, who, for whatever reason, had no one else to care for them. I enjoyed taking care of them.”
Detective Lion Shifter (A Paranormal Night Club Book 3) Page 6
