A hand grabbed mine and pried the coffee cup from my fingers. Then his arms engulfed me, pulling me close. And it felt good, safe, and gradually the shaking and the image subsided.
“What just happened?” he said, after a while.
I took a deep, shuddery breath, then said, “You remember asking me when we first met if I’d killed someone?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I have.”
“We both have, Destiny. But with good reasons, I’m sure.”
“You mean you’ve killed someone other than those men at the house?” I pulled back, and let my gaze search his. Darkness lay below the brightness. Darkness and old anger. “I thought you said that you hadn’t?”
“I never actually answered the question.” He shrugged. “I didn’t want to scare you off.”
I laughed. “After almost running me over?”
He raised a hand and placed it over his heart. “I swear, the only reason that almost happened was your beauty. It had me entranced.”
I snorted. “This from the man who called me less than appealing?”
“Well, that was true at the time, too.”
“You have such a charming way with compliments.” I picked up my coffee and took a sip. My hands were still a little shaky, but nowhere near as bad as they had been. “Tell me about the other person you killed.”
The amusement died from his eyes. “Egan and I went after the men my father contracted to kill Sila.”
“So he didn’t actually do the deed himself?”
“No. But the intent was there, which was why Egan arranged for the ring to be stolen.”
“And that was the last time you saw him?”
He nodded. “He knew he had to disappear for a while, because our father would not stop until the ring was found and the thief was caught and killed.”
“So your father didn’t know Egan was behind the ring’s theft?”
“No. He thought he was pissed off and sulking. He’d been away from the clique for over a week when it was snatched.”
“Who did Egan hire to snatch the ring?”
“A will-o’-the-wisp.”
I blinked. “He hired a malevolent spirit?”
“They aren’t spirits, and they certainly aren’t malevolent. More mischievous. They’ve gotten something of a bad rap over the years.”
“The habit of leading travelers to their doom will do that.”
He laughed. The warm sound sent delicious shivers down my spine. “Just like air dragons consuming virgins and sea dragons attacking boats have given us a bad name?”
He had a point. “So how did he go about hiring this will-o’-the-wisp?”
“I’ve actually known her for a while—we protected each other’s backs while learning the trade together, and she owed me a favor.” He shrugged. “She made sure she was briefly seen, so that no suspicion could fall on Egan or me.”
“Then if no suspicion fell on you or Egan, why is your father basically blackmailing you into finding the ring?”
“Because I need the information he holds, as I said before.” He shrugged. “Tell about the man you killed. What did he do?”
“He gave us coffee.”
He laughed, but the amusement touching his lips faded as his gaze searched mine. “Seriously?”
I nodded. “He was one of the men responsible for bringing us food and coffee. He was on the evening shift.”
“And the coffee was so bad that you had to shoot him?”
His words were light, but his gaze was not. He was studying me, judging me, as so many had judged me over the years. Only Egan had really seen beneath the surface, and yet even Egan had never really known the true me.
Sometimes I wondered if even I could make that claim. Because after years of hiding things I could do, pretending to be what I wasn’t, the line between who I was and who I wasn’t had begun to blur.
“I shot him because he was holding a gun to Egan’s head and threatening to kill him.” I hesitated, and dredged up a smile from somewhere. “Though, trust me, the coffee there seriously sucked.”
“Where did this happen?”
I rubbed my free hand across my eyes. “At the loch. Just after we’d started the fire.”
“So you shooting the man was what set off the alarm?”
I shook my head. “The fire set off the alarm. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. We ran after I shot him, but by then it was almost too late, because the fire had spread faster than we’d expected.”
“Until Egan controlled it enough to get you out.”
Again I nodded. “I didn’t know you dragons could do that when in human form.” Certainly I’d never seen Dad do it, but then, he was always too aware of the need to appear human to everyone who lived around us. Even when we were safe at home, he rarely played with the fires that were his heritage. Yet, at the same time, he’d always made sure that I knew—and could control—every skill that came with me being a sea dragon.
Of course, I was only half sea dragon, so it was entirely possible I might have inherited some skills from my father. Certainly I warmed with the sun, whereas most sea dragons remained a little cool. But I’d never been able to raise fire, and had never attained an air dragon’s shape.
Not that I’d ever really tried, because for as long as I could remember, Dad had discouraged such explorations. Better to be a sea dragon, he’d once said, than to be one of the hunted and the butchered. He’d never really explained that remark, but I’d figured it was connected to the horrible scars on his body. They’d always frightened me enough not to explore the other half of my nature.
“Full air dragons can control fire in either form, as long as there’s a slither of daylight around.” Trae’s smile was thin, filled with an amusement that was cold and hateful. “It’s me that shouldn’t be able to do it.”
“If they’re so worried about draman inheriting dragon skills, why don’t they simply stop mating with humans? I mean, if they want to run under human radar, it’s a bit stupid having humans around the cliques anyway, isn’t it?”
“Someone has to do the menial work,” he said dryly. “You don’t think the oh-so-superior ones are going to lift a finger to clean something, do you?”
I raised my eyebrows at the sarcasm. “Egan wasn’t like that.” “Most of the younger generation aren’t. It’s the older ones.”
“So can all draman change shape and create fire?”
He shook his head. “No. My sister, for instance, can’t shift shape, but she can control fire—and she can control it at night, which is something even full bloods can’t do.”
“So her being a draman has its advantages, in some ways.”
“Yeah. Although she was mighty pissed off when she discovered she couldn’t shift shape like I could.”
“I can imagine.” I glanced at the time, then said, “We really need to get moving if we’re to make that appointment this morning.”
He glanced at the clock himself, then said, “You want to pack everything up once you’ve eaten? I’ll go shower.”
I watched him walk into the bathroom, admiring not only the burned gold and silver swirl of his dragon stain, but the strength of his shoulders, the V of his back to his hips, then I sighed and pushed the lusty thoughts away.
Not only did I have a dad to see, but I had kids and a mom depending on me to get them out of hell. Lusty thoughts were not going to achieve either aim.
I packed up most of the breakfast stuff, then munched on some cereal, using the tiny cartons of milk in the room’s bar fridge. Outside, the sunshine was giving way to clouds, as the storm I’d sensed coming last night began to roll in.
I was halfway through my breakfast when a car pulled up at reception and a man got out. His clothes had seen better days and his left arm was wrapped in bandages. The driver sported a huge shiner, and even from this distance, looked a little worse for wear. There was a third man in the rear seat, but I couldn’t really see him.
&n
bsp; I didn’t need to.
These weren’t strangers.
They were our remaining hunters.
Chapter Nine
I swallowed hastily and the cereal went down the wrong way. Caught between coughing and choking, I shoved the bowl away and ran into the bathroom.
Trae was toweling himself dry, and raised his eye-brow, amusement deep in his eyes. “Want some water for that cough?”
I shook my head and somehow managed to gasp, “Hunters.”
His amusement fled and he swore. “Where?”
“Outside.”
He touched my shoulders, forcing me to one side, and left the bathroom. I followed. He grabbed his clothes off the chair as he passed it, and began dressing as he stopped near the window.
“Red car?”
“Yeah.” I peered past him. “One of them was the man I knocked out last night, and the other—the one that’s inside reception—was wearing bandages.”
“He’s probably one of the three that got singed by the car fire.”
“Maybe you should have done more than singed them.”
“I didn’t exactly know what we were dealing with then.” His glance was grim. “If they’ve found us here, then they definitely have another means of tracking you.”
“Obviously. But where would it be? You searched every inch.”
“Yeah, but nanotechnology is minute. It really could be anywhere, even internal rather than just under the skin.”
“How the hell are we supposed to get at something that’s not only tiny, but could also be internal?”
“Simple answer is, we don’t.”
The reception door opened and the man with bandages came out. He spoke briefly to the guys in the car, then the man in the backseat got out of the car and headed toward the first room.
“Get into the bathroom,” Trae said. “Don’t come out until I tell you to.”
“But won’t they recognize you from the car explosion?”
“The man approaching wasn’t there, and I have no intentions of being seen by the others. Go, Destiny.”
I spun, grabbed my coffee cup, the bowl, and the extra plate of toast he’d made—all of them giveaways that more than one person shared this room—then ran into the bathroom.
About three seconds later there was a rough knock on the door.
“Sorry to disturb you,” a strange voice said, “but we’ve had reports of an escaped felon in the area. You haven’t seen anyone resembling this woman, have you?”
“I don’t believe I’d want to see her. She’s a meanlooking one,” Trae said, with just the slightest touch of amusement in his voice. “What’s she done?”
“She’s wanted in connection to several burglaries.” The stranger hesitated. “You alone here, sir?”
“Yes. You a cop?”
“No, sir. I’m a bail bondsman.” He hesitated. “The couple in room two reported you had company. They said you came in with someone last night. Someone resembling this woman.”
“If you call both of them having black hair similar, then yeah, I guess she was.”
“Is she here now?”
“No. At the rates she charged, I couldn’t afford her for anything more than an hour or so.” Trae’s voice was dry. “And if you’re not a cop, then I have no reason to answer any more questions. Good day, sir.”
The stranger grunted. It didn’t sound like a happy grunt. “Thank you for your help, sir.”
The door closed. A few seconds later, Trae appeared in the bathroom doorway. “He didn’t believe me.”
“Maybe he didn’t believe you’re the type to use hookers.” I took a sip of coffee, then raised an eyebrow and asked, “Are you?”
“On occasion. When the need arises and the help of a good woman isn’t near.” He shrugged, his gaze on the small bathroom window at the back of the shower. “You think you could get through that?”
“I think a better question would be, why would I want to get through that?”
“Because they’ll be watching me leave, which means you can’t be with me. It’s either stay here, or climb out through that window and meet me down the road somewhere.”
I grabbed a bit of toast and munched on it while I contemplated the window. “It’ll be tight, but I can manage.”
“Good.” He stepped up to the window, slid it all the way open, and peered out. “There’s a line of pines just past the back fence. Once there, head to the right. There’s a side street just up the road—I’ll meet you there.”
“What about the tracker still in me?”
“If those men look to be leaving before me, I’ll take them out.”
“Be careful. They know what you’re capable of now, and they’ll be watchful for an attack.”
“Sweetheart, I’m always careful.”
“And arrogant.”
He merely grinned. I took a swig of my coffee, then said, “And if those men follow you?”
“I’ll drive past the trees and take them on a scenic tour. You grab a cab and head into Florence.”
“Where will I meet you?”
“I’ll call you.”
“I don’t have a phone.”
“I’ll give you mine. Once I’m clear, I’ll find somewhere for us to meet.”
“Just don’t take any risks. If they have a dragon tracker with them, they can bring you down, just like they brought Egan down.”
He smiled and touched a hand lightly to my cheek. Warmth slithered across my skin and reached deep into my soul.
“This thief knows how to sneak. It’s the fish who needs to be careful.”
“They suspect you, Trae. That was evident in his tone. If it goes beyond suspicion, they’ll react, and react nastily. You don’t know what they’re capable—”
“Nor do they know me.” He leaned forward and dropped a quick, warm kiss on my lips. “You need to get out that window.”
“Now? Why?”
“Because the minute I look ready to leave, you can bet one of those men will be watching for other avenues of escape.”
“Oh.” I put down the toast, then picked up the coffee and gulped it down quickly. “Let’s do it.”
I followed him over. He cupped his hands, then boosted me up. I grabbed the window frame and began to shove myself through the gap feetfirst. I went flat on my back rather than sideways because the window was wider than it was high. It was a tight fit all the same, with my shoulders and breasts scraping. But I got through and dropped to the ground, retaining my balance by grabbing the outside wall.
“You okay?” Trae’s face appeared in the window.
“Yep.” I dusted off my hands and gave him a smile. “Give me the bag of my clothes, and I’ll get out of here.”
He passed the bag through the window, then handed me a cell phone. “If I can’t meet you up the road, I’ll call as soon as I can.”
I nodded and, as I turned away, I heard the window shut. I climbed through the wire fence, and walked into the shadowed coolness of the thick stand of pine trees. I’d barely taken a dozen steps when the hair along the back of my neck began to stand on end. I stopped behind the gnarled trunk of one of the pines and looked around.
A man stood at the far end of the motel. A dark-skinned man with a large nose and big hands. Not the man I’d attacked last night, but someone else. Someone whose features scratched at my nerves like a bad case of hives.
Because I knew him. He was one of the dragon-born, and a tracker working for the scientists. He was also the man responsible for capturing me in the first place. Cold sweat broke out across my forehead and my hands began to shake. I would have liked to think it was fury, but I knew that was far from the case.
I couldn’t be caught by this man a second time.
I wouldn’t.
I backed away slowly, carefully, until the shadowed greenness of the pines was deep and thick around me. Then I moved forward, taking care with each step, trying to be as silent as possible.
When I looked over my sho
ulder again, he was following. Not that I could see him. I could sense him. Sense the forbidding gloom of his presence. The thick, peppery smell of him.
A shiver ran down my spine, and panic surged. My fingers clenched around the plastic bag containing my clothes, and it was tempting, so tempting, to reach inside and grab the cell phone, to call Trae and tell him to get me the hell out of here. Only he didn’t have a phone, so that was a pretty useless urge.
Besides, while I had no doubt he would help me, I wouldn’t have called him even if I could have. I’d already killed his brother. I couldn’t risk his life as well.
No, this particular battle was mine, and no matter how much it scared me, I was not helpless.
I might not have flame in my weaponry, but the sea was mine to call. And if I was close enough, it was a power I could use.
I just had to get close enough.
I drew in a deep breath, and released it slowly. Then I forced my feet on, walking through the thick shadows, heading for the road Trae mentioned. The trees eventually began to thin out, and bright sunshine started dancing through the pine needles all around me, sprinkling the air with slivers of gold and green. The ground began to slope downward, and a road became visible. I couldn’t see Trae’s car, which was a blessing. I didn’t need to drag him deeper into this.
I stepped onto the pavement and paused briefly, tasting the air, searching for the scent of the sea. Its touch was light on the cooling breeze, hinting at distance.
I crossed the road and turned right, walking up the hill. After a while, my neck tingled, and the tang of pepper scented the breeze. The dark man had come out of the pines.
I clenched my hands and resisted the urge to run. He would follow, biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment. Until we were alone, I was safe.
I swung left, onto another street, following the scent of the sea. Traffic was heavier in this street, and the pavement more crowded. People walked by, some smiling and nodding in greeting, some not. I was one of the latter—fear of the man who followed made me incapable of anything but forward movement.
I crossed another street and walked down another sidewalk, edging closer to the sea and some sense of safety. Occasionally I caught a glimpse of my dark-skinned hunter via the storefront windows as I passed, but mostly it was just a sense, a certainty, that he was near.