Agnes sat next to Kathy, who held her trembling hand tightly. She’d never seen her so shaken. Her eyes were wide, and she struggled to breathe.

“Kathy, take a deep breath.”

Tom and several officers interrogated Hoss again while others, along with the captain, surrounded Kathy.

“Tell us what happened,” the captain demanded. “What did the bastard do to you?”

Kathy raised her head. “He…he…saved my life. The killer was…in my car.” Tears slid down her ashen cheeks, and she gasped for air.

Agnes put her hand over Kathy’s. “Did you see what he looked like?”

“No,” she sobbed. “If Hoss hadn’t been there…”

She choked on the words and struggled to gain her composure.

The captain looked up at his men. “Spread out and look for anyone suspicious.”

She squeezed Agnes’s hand. “I need…to…talk…to you alone.”

“Of course.” Agnes looked up. “If you’ll excuse us, Captain…”

He gestured with his arm. “By all means.”

Agnes wrapped her arm around Kathy’s quaking body and slowly escorted her to the same interrogation room that she’d been in earlier with Hoss. Kathy lay her head on Agnes’s shoulder. It was as if this hardened woman had turned into a little girl, but then, she might have just survived being the killer’s next victim.

Agnes needed to inspect Kathy’s car before forensics got there to see if she could pick up any images.

Kathy slowly unraveled her hands from Agnes’s. “Close the door.”

Agnes complied, then sat across from her. “Can you tell me what happened?”

Kathy wiped her wet cheeks with a tissue from her purse. “First, do you think I’m sane?”

Agnes frowned. “Excuse me?”

She blew her nose. “You heard me.”

“I’ve known you all of my life. Yes, I think you’re totally sane. Why?”

She laughed, then stuffed the tissue into her purse. “Well, I’m…about to blow…your mind.” Her voice cracked.

Between them, Kathy had always been the strong one, but her demeanor put Agnes’s every nerve on edge. “So, tell me?”

“I’m breaking attorney and client confidentiality in what I’m about to tell you.”

Even though they were good friends, she’d never known Kathy to do this before. “I’m listening.”

“The killer isn’t human.”

“Okay,” she said slowly, wondering what the hell Hoss had done to Kathy. “Then what is he?”

“He’s a Mistonian possessing another alien. Look, I know it sounds crazy.”

Agnes silenced her tongue. Kathy had never made fun of her whenever she saw a ghost. It was her turn to listen.

“In this very room, my client transformed into a fifteen-foot dragon.”

“What?” Agnes narrowed her eyes. Kathy’s pupils weren’t dilated, but her skin glistened with sweat. “Did he put something in your drink?”

Kathy held up her trembling hand. “No. I’m not on anything. In fact, you can test my blood, if you want. I’m telling you the truth, Agnes.”

“You’re telling me Hoss is a dragon.”

“From Zalara. Their women were wiped out by the Kamtrinians, their deadly enemy, and he’s here to retrieve his mate.”

A gnawing suspicion bit into Agnes’s insides. “So, who is his mate?”

Kathy looked around the room as if she was deciding how to decorate the crammed brown room. She finally set her gaze on Agnes. “You.”

This time, Agnes burst out laughing. She could barely breathe, her face burned hot, and tears swelled in her eyes.

“Agnes, it’s true. Shit, I know it sounds bat-crazy.”

Agnes struggled to stop. She took a big breath. “I’m sorry. But really Kathy? Aliens? Outer space? First of all, men like Hoss don’t go after women like me. He looks like something out of a super marvel movie, and I’m a plump little detective that constantly has to watch her weight.”

Kathy sat straighter. “Fine. Ask him.” Her tough exterior attorney voice was back.

“Don’t worry. I will.”

“Oh, by the way,” Kathy said. “Hoss told me something else about the killer.”

“What? He’s got x-ray vision?”

“No, he smells like sour milk.”

Agnes turned sober. “Did you smell it?”

“I did. Right before Hoss yanked me out of the car. It was faint.” Her lower lip trembled. “I’ll never forget that smell.”

“I need you to stay here.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. I want to be surrounded by Arvada’s finest.”

Agnes quietly left the interview room where the captain paced the floor. He stopped. “Well, what did you learn?”

She wasn’t going to throw Kathy under the bus. At least not yet. “She remembers a distinct smell.”

“What?”

“The killer smelled like sour milk. She said it was very faint, but it was there.”

He rubbed his hand over his bald head. “That’s it. That’s all she remembers.” Frustration rippled through his tight voice.

“She’s pretty shaken up. I think she needs twenty-four-hour protection. She’s obviously the killer’s next target.”

He lowered his hand. “Fine. It’s all we’ve got to go on.”

“What about Hoss? Did he have any useful information?”

“No. He said he chased the killer, but lost him. There was some homeless woman that might have seen more. Hoss gave us a description. We’re going to search the streets. Forensics is about to turn Kathy’s car upside down.”

“If you’ll excuse me, Captain.”

He grabbed her arm. “Where are you going?”

She tilted her chin. “I want to see Kathy’s car.”

“Don’t mess anything up, Detective. I want facts not feelings. Understood?”

She gritted her teeth. “Yes.”

He slowly released her. “I’m sorry. This has me on edge, and now the bastard is getting close to one of our own.”

Kathy Strong might be a thorn in the captain’s side, but he’d always respected her and considered her a friend. She was like that. Kathy might drive you batty, but she was loyal and someone you could always account on.

“I know,” Agnes said softly. “She’s my friend. I’m really worried about her.”

Agnes quickly headed over to Kathy’s red Volkswagen bug. She’d just been in it last weekend. Unlike her car, Kathy kept her little bug immaculate, even after they went hiking.

Officers were standing around it. She put her palms in front of her and closed her eyes. She inhaled a deep breath, then drew on her abilities to see if she could get any impressions.

No images rolled over in her mind, but she detected a smell…sour milk. Shit, Kathy was telling the truth about that.

“Get anything?”

A husky voice startled her.

She jumped. Hoss studied her intently.

“I need to talk to you.” She glanced at the other officers, who were watching her curiously. “Alone.”

“By all means.”

She led him away from police quarters to the back of the parking lot. “I’m not going to beat around the bush. Kathy told me everything.”

“And you don’t believe her?”

“This isn’t Star Trek or Star Wars. Women are being murdered.”

“And more will die if you don’t let me help you.”

His grave voice sent goose bumps running up her arm.

But she was done with his cryptic warnings. Her anger got the best of her. She jammed her finger into his broad chest. “I want the truth from you, and I want it now. Did you put something in Kathy’s drink to make her hallucinate?”

“No. I guess the only way to prove it to you is to show you.”

Before she knew what was happening, he grabbed her, pinning her arms to her sides and putting his hand over her mouth, muffling her screams. God, he was strong. He was tall and muscular, but she’d no idea of his strength. He easily lifted her off the ground and hauled her to a nearby park that was empty except for the street lights that glowed on the edge of the park. He released her at a grove of pines that blocked her view from the police station.

She reached for her gun, but then froze.

In a split second, Hoss released her. His body contorted and stretched. Skin was replaced with scales. His face elongated, and his mouth revealed long pointed teeth. A tail slid around her and wings sprung out of his back.

“Oh, shit,” she whispered, as she held her gun tighter. Her rattling heart ricocheted off her ribs like a ping-pong ball.

She couldn’t stop staring at his smoldering golden eyes. He snorted, and smoke escaped from his flaring nostrils. Oh, god, was he going to fry her alive?

She gasped for air, and her knees knocked together so hard she thought she’d have bruises tomorrow. “You’re…you’re…”

He transformed back into her handsome kidnapper. He winked. “A dragon.”

She hung onto her gun to anchor her sanity. “This is too weird. Kathy wasn’t lying.”

“Has she ever lied to you before?”

Her mouth dried up, and she puffed out the answer. “No.”

His eyes twinkled. “Then why didn’t you believe her?”

She broke out in a hot sweat beneath those laughing eyes. Her heart beat wildly, and her breath wheezed as is she was having an asthma attack. “Because…you’re a…freaking…dragon.”

“Planning on shooting me?”

Her wits slowly came back to her one-by-one. She sheathed her gun. “No. Not yet at least.”

“Good. Mates aren’t supposed to go around shooting each other.”

She shoved the revolver back into its sheath. “We’re not mates.”

“Whether you like it or not, we are. But don’t worry, mating doesn’t mean love.”

She jerked to attention. What did she expect? He was a Aragorn, and she was a plump dwarf. “Oh, really.”

“My father taught me that, and it’s a lesson I’ll never forget.”

His bitterness softened her stiff spine. He reminded her of the tough-as-nails juvenile delinquents, who scorned love, because they didn’t think they deserved it. “You don’t believe in love?”

“No. I can be attractive to you without loving you.”

Her tenderness went up in smoke, and she glared. “Sorry, not interested.”

“When we’ve accidentally touched, haven’t you felt a tingling spark?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She refused to admit anything––especially to a man, who just wanted to use her body.

Heat rushed to her cheeks. Warmth rushed through her body at the thought of his hands and mouth on her skin. She was glad for the darkness, because she didn’t want him to see how the thought affected her.

“I’ll prove it to you.” He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her toward his massive chest. He raked his hands into her hair and forcibly tilted her head up, and flashed her a challenging grin. He lowered his mouth brutally crushing her lips beneath his.

She tilted her head to break away. “Wait. No.”

But his mouth cut off her protest.

Her senses exploded with anger. Her hands were trapped against his granite chest, and although she was no slouch of a woman, she hadn’t the strength to break free. She opened her mouth to call for help, but he was one step ahead of her and filled her mouth with his tongue, thrusting with deep hard strokes that were as overwhelming as they were exciting. His grip was firm as his fingers curled into her hair. His mouth was brutal and possessive, crushing each cry or protest.

She slowly realized the same electrical charge that had that had touched her was pulsing through her as his tongue pushed open her tight mouth. She thought about biting his tongue, but his kiss was overpowering, as if he was branding her. Every instinct to push away from him slowly died as his tongue explored the recesses of her mouth.

No man had ever kissed her this way––as if he had a right to be there. She clung to him and molded herself to his hard chest. His heart beat as wild as hers. Images slammed into her mind of a distinct planet of spaceships and dragons––lots of dragons––of a castle of a spaceport, but it wasn’t just the images… Desperation, fear, and terror flowed through her. An explosion of gas hit the planet, then women and girls of all ages screamed in agony.

She arched her back and pressed her hands on his chest. “Stop, please. It’s too much.”

He slowly released her. “I’m sorry.”

“I saw images in my mind. I saw… I saw…” Tears filled her eyes. Sadness overwhelmed her, and she clutched his arm. “I saw your women and girls, even babies die. It was awful. I can still hear their screams. Who would do such a thing?”

His eyes turned hard. “The Kamtrinians. They used a dioxide torpedo that targeted only the females. We were powerless to stop it.” Regret edged into his voice.

“I’m sorry, Hoss.” She squeezed his hand. “I truly am.”

“It’s not just us that the Kamtrinians want. They want Earth and are determined to seize it. They invade planets and kill all life forms, then suck dry the resources. They enjoy the suffering of men. They’re damn parasites.”

“I must be losing my mind, but how do we catch the killer?”

He pulled out a silver box the size of a cell phone. “Usually with an entrapment box.”

“That’s big enough to catch our killer?”

He grimaced at her disbelief. “Mistonian are usually gaseous creatures, and the entrapment box will pull them inside, preventing them from escaping.” He shoved it back on his belt. “But unfortunately, this didn’t work. This Mistonian is powerful enough to resist it. It may be due to because he’s possessing a Zalarian. If we can force him to release Daidhl’s corpse, I might be able to capture him. The only way I’ve been able to track him is his faint scent of––”

“Sour milk.” She wrinkled her nose.

He smiled. “Right.” He put his hand on her chin. “I sense something within you… A hidden power.”

“How do you know?”

“When I kissed you, I could see what you saw. You have the gift of sight. My queen possesses this same gift.”

She smirked. “Gift? I’ve never consider it a gift. I’ve always had to down-play what I saw.”

She thought of the captain’s and Tom’s doubting faces, her father’s and brother’s rejections, the smirks behind her back at the police station, the teasing as a child, and how she was always alone. A freak.

He frowned. “Why? I would think in security work that this would help you protect your kind.”

She bristled, refusing to divulge the past twenty-eight years of misery. “The disdain doesn’t matter. I’ve learned to cope with it.” She paused, not sure whether she’d get the truth or not, but she had to ask. “Is Kathy someone’s designated mate?”

“If she wasn’t, he wouldn’t be after her.”

His voice was grave, making her gut tighten. She and Kathy had been through so much together. She refused to her lose her to some psychotic alien.

She pulled out her radio. “Captain?”

“Malloy, where the hell are you?”

She winced. “We need to put Kathy in protective custody. She’s a target.”

“That’s obvious. She wants to go home. We can have a patrol outside.”

Hoss’s eyes burned brighter. “Tell him if she doesn’t have a police escort, he’ll find her.”

Every instinct inside her screamed he was right. “Captain, letting her go home is a mistake. We need to put her in a safe house.”

“She’s your friend. You know how Kathy is. She feels that super high rise she lives in with the guard is impermeable. I can’t force her. We can have an officer in the lobby and a patrol outside, but that’s all she’ll agree to. She’s pretty insistent about it.”

Hoss shook his dark head.

She shut off her radio. “Crap. Why does she have to be so damn stubborn?”

“No way to change her mind?”

“You’ve met her.”

He ran his hand down her arm. “We need to try.”

Ignoring the chills running up her flesh, Agnes tried to concentrate on what he was saying rather than how bruised her lips were after he’d kissed her, or how the dusting of his beard had chaffed her skin. “Once Kathy has an idea in her head, it would take heaven and earth to change her mind.”

He headed toward the police station. “Let’s go see her.”

She reluctantly followed him, straightening her messed up hair and tucked her rumpled shirt in her pants.

Tom was talking to several officers.

Hoss flashed ahead of her as if he were a speeding running back, leaving her in the end zone.

“Wait!” Agnes put out her palm and ran as fast as she could. “They’ll shoot if you’re not with me.”

Hoss stopped at the edge of the parking lot. “Then, hurry!”

His scolding voice reminded her of the Neanderthals at the police obstacle course that thought women police officers were better off behind the desk than in the field––especially chubby ones.

He stood aside. “After you.” His tone hinted at disapproval.

She may be heavy, but she ran every day and could press over a hundred and fifty pounds. But by his scowling face, he was just as overbearing as the other barbarian officers. She stormed in front of him, refusing to comment.

Tom glared. “Malloy, where have you been?”

But he wasn’t looking at her. He was looking over her head. A long shadow spread in front of her, and the scent of a smoldering camp fire made her insides melt. Hoss was behind her.

Putting on her detective mask, she met Tom’s and the captain’s gaze. “Where is Kathy? I need to talk to her.”

He flicked his hand. “She’s being escorted by a black and white, and there will be an officer standing guard in front of her apartment. Don’t look at me like that. Her apartment’s less than five minutes away. We can get there in a heartbeat.”

She glanced at Hoss. Unless the officers had developed the ability to penetrate invisibility, then Kathy was a sitting duck.

The captain glared. “Don’t you have some paperwork to do, Detective?”

She shook her head. “No, I need to talk to Kathy now.”

Tom glanced at the captain. “All right–”

Agnes clasped his arm. “No, stay here. I’ll be right back.”

He looked at Hoss and comprehension spread across his face. “She’ll never let either one of you in.”

Agnes shrugged. “Yes, she will. I’m one of her best friends. I have a feeling that––”

He seized her arm. “A feeling? The captain won’t be pleased.”

Hoss released a low growl.

Tom’s eyes widened, and he slowly released her.

“Nothing else is working, Tom. Feelings may be the only thing we have to go on.”

She turned, and Hoss firmly but gently put his hand on her lower back. She led him toward her Escort. Taking a police car was out of the question since she wasn’t necessarily following the captain’s order.

Suddenly, an image pierced her mind of Kathy’s apartment building. A man stood outside in the shadows. She couldn’t see his face, but evil permeated from him, cutting off her breath.

She stopped, placing her hand on her chest. Hoss knocked her over, but before she hit the ground, he seized her arm, easily putting her back on her feet.

“Agnes, what’s wrong?”

His voice was distant, as if she was floating away from him.

She gasped for air, wanting to scream for Hoss, but the vision strangled her voice.

She floated into an apartment that she’d been in a hundred times. The living room had rich hard wood floors, exquisite wooden antiques, marble Greek statues, and expensive paintings, including one of a naked Venus standing in a shell with attendants on either side of her. Kathy never spared an expense on her home. She always said it was her escape.

In the kitchen, Kathy had every possible convenience that Agnes wished she had––a purple Kitchen Aide mixer, a double side stainless steel refrigerator with a matching stove and dishwasher. Agnes didn’t even have a mixer, and none of her appliances matched.

On the black marble counter, an open bottle of red was slowly pouring into the sink. Kathy only bought expensive vintage wines and would never waste a single drop.

Panic swelled inside her. She called for Kathy, but her stiff lips refused to move.

Get a hold of herself.

If she didn’t concentrate, the vision would vanish.

She took a deep breath and walked past the kitchen into the hallway. She froze.

A wine glass was toppled over, spilling red wine onto the light hardwood floor. Kathy was sprawled out on the hallway. Her throat was savagely slashed, blood drenched the front of her chest. She clutched something in her fist. Tears slid down Agnes’s cheeks, her chest could barely contain the sorrow bursting inside her. She forced herself to kneel and put her hand on Kathy’s stiff cold one. Before she could unwind Kathy’s brittle fingers, a dark shadow fell across her.

“You’re too late, Detective.” The same man, who had been watching the apartment, held a blade soaked with blood up to the hilt. She still couldn’t get a good glimpse of his face. He licked the blood off, smearing it on his chin.

She recoiled.

He laughed, sending anger gushing through her.

Then just as suddenly, the image vanished. Wind whisked around her as she was slammed back into her body, and she trembled violently.

“Agnes! Answer me.”

She slowly realized that Hoss was gripping her shoulders, and fear shone in his eyes.

“Hoss, I saw Kathy.” She found her voice, but she could only whisper. “He’s there. I saw him.”

“You had a vision?”

She nodded, her teeth chattering. “I’ve never experienced anything like that before. It was as if I were actually there. I am so cold.”

He wrapped his arms around her, his body warming her. “She’s…she’s dead.” Unwanted tears fell down her cheeks. “I should have been with her.”

Hoss stroked her hair. “No, he would have killed you, too.”

He held her until she stopped shaking.

“I’m a homicide detective.” Agnes lifted her head. “I can take care of myself. But Kathy’s only a lawyer. My job was to protect her. She was my friend.” She slowly untangled herself from his protective arms.

“Are you feeling better?”

She straightened her shirt. “No, but we need to get to Kathy’s immediately.”

He tilted his head toward the police department. “Do you want to call it in?”

She laughed bitterly. “On a feeling? No. They wouldn’t believe me. Only Kathy did. She never laughed at me.” She wiped her tears on her sleeve, smearing mascara on her jacket.

He gently clasped her arm, pity filling his gold eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Agnes jerked away. “I’ll get over it,” she lied. How could anyone get used to losing a good friend? She pulled out her keys. “We need to go.”

Her voice was back to being the no nonsense detective. Her tears dried up.

He stuck out his thumb. “Get on my back.”

“What? No, my car’s faster.”

“Not dragon fast.” He glanced over his shoulder, then dipped into a thicket of trees away from the street light and security cameras. In an instant, he transformed from a handsome man back into a fierce black dragon with a glowing green stripe down his back. She stepped away, her heart threatening to jump out of her throat. He tilted his neck as if motioning for her to climb onto his back. This was stranger than a fairy tale, but Kathy deserved justice. It was time for Agnes to be strong. Kathy needed a champion.

She forced herself to climb onto his back. She clutched his neck hard. He leaned on his haunches, then jumped into the sky. She bit back a scream and pressed her knees against his thick hide. He flapped out his wings, and they soared into the cool midnight sky. Her hair flew around her, and she sucked down air faster and faster. The midnight sky, bright stars, and dark clouds buzzed around her as if she were on a spinning tilt-a-whirl. She clutched Hoss’s neck tightly, determined not to let go.

“I am sorry, Kathy. We’re coming. We’ll make him pay for what he did to you.”