Chapter 5
Brad was a little relieved when the police officer came to fetch him and Nate the next morning. Though Ultrima had opened up to them a little, he still couldn’t convince himself to trust the lightning dragon.
He and Nate had taken turns sleeping on a stretcher on the opposite side of the room. Brad had tried to sleep, knowing he’d need his energy, and he must have dozed a little, but far from refreshing him, the fitful sleep had only made him more groggy.
He rubbed his eyes and stared at the female officer with the ponytail. Her again. “Come on, get a move on, your lawyer is here to see you.” She didn’t sound pleased.
Brad stumbled to his feet, staring at his brother. Lawyer? They hadn’t called a lawyer. Where had one come from?
Nate shrugged. He had no idea either.
Ultrima watched them, his silver eyes whirling. The Trima leader’s expression was impossible to read. Brad wondered if it had occurred to him to call a lawyer. Did he even know that a lawyer would be useful?
Would a lawyer represent a dragon if they were asked?
There was no time to really consider that possibility, the officer led them back into the main office and Brad was painfully aware of everyone stopping work to stare at them. Brad tried to ignore the stares, instead scanning the crowded room to pick out the lawyer.
It wasn’t too hard. He was the only one who wasn’t dressed in blue. Instead he wore an immaculate grey suit and tie. He was also the only one smiling at them. He stood up. “I’m Barry Hutchinson. Your… uh… family… called me.”
Brad read the words the man left out. Not his family back in America. They had no idea he was in any kind of trouble. So it had to be his clan.
Lyrian.
The heavy weight that had been on his chest since he’d left the clan yesterday lightened just a little. If she’d sent a lawyer then she wasn’t so pissed off at him she didn’t care. If he were in true, physical danger, he might have thought she was doing this to protect herself, but she didn’t know about Ultrima. This wasn’t to protect her, it was all about him.
Right now, Brad wasn’t even wondering if this man would be able to help him get out of here. All he could think was that if he had come from the clan, then maybe he could take a message back to them. Warn them to move, before the police realised he’d set them up and returned to the lair.
For the first time since Brad had left, he felt a flicker of hope. Maybe there was a way to protect his clan after all.
The lawyer turned to Detective Inspector Williams. “Is there a room where I can speak to my clients in private?” His voice was quiet and polite, but there was an undercurrent of command to his words. This man was used to getting his way. He was in control of this situation, even if Brad wasn’t.
Brad tried not to let his shoulders slump in relief. This wasn’t over yet, and it would be dangerous to think it was.
The inspector glared at the lawyer for a moment, then sighed. “Take them to the conference room.” He waved a hand and turned away to talk quietly with someone else.
Senior Constable Lyons showed them to same room where the inspector had questioned them last night and closed the door behind them.
Barry sat down at the table and smiled at Brad and Nate, waving them to the seats opposite him. “I’m Lisa Evans’ boss. She asked me to represent you. It seems you’re in a spot of bother, so why don’t you tell me all about it, and we’ll see what we can do?”
Nate moved to sit opposite the lawyer. After a moment’s hesitation, Brad followed.
His hunch had been right. The man had been sent by his clan. He knew Lisa, who had mentioned that she worked for a lawyer. But that didn’t mean Brad was ready to trust him. Not with Lyrian and Anarian’s life.
“Why should I trust you?” he asked, frowning.
Barry shrugged. “Because you’ve got nothing to lose?”
“On the contrary, I have a lot to lose,” Brad said firmly. He didn’t elaborate. Telling this man could be as bad as telling the police. He didn’t know yet.
Barry leaned back in his chair. “Lisa didn’t tell me much, but I gather you’re as heavily embroiled with these dragons as she is?” He raised an eyebrow, clearing indicating a question.
Brad hesitated. He wanted to trust the man. Desperately wanted someone who could help him find a way out of this mess. But trusting him with the knowledge of his mate and child was risky. Trusting him to warn his mate was even more dangerous.
He glanced over at Nate, and his brother shrugged. “I’d trust him, bro. We really don’t have a lot of choice. But it’s your call. I’ll support you either way.”
His brother’s confidence didn’t help. Nate took chances. They always seemed to pay off for him too. But it was a bigger leap for Brad. And not just because he had more at stake.
If he made the wrong decision, he would blame himself forever. Right now, everything seemed larger than life. Every risk seemed greater than ever. Those black rocks protruding from the ocean were darker and sharper than ever, and Brad could barely even see any water between them.
It seemed impossible to take the leap. He could see no chance of landing safely.
The trouble was, danger lurked behind him too, ready to push him over the cliff. Darkness would have prevented the police thoroughly searching the area he’d indicated last night, but it was light outside now. He wouldn’t have long before they realised he’d lied to them.
Once they realised that, it wouldn’t take them long to figure out he’d been protecting the area around the wave rock, and they’d return. He needed to get a warning to Rian clan now, and this man was his best chance. If Lisa had sent him, then that meant his clan had sent them. And he could trust his clan.
His mind made up, Brad leaned forwards and put his elbows on the table. “Yeah,” he admitted, letting his breath out in a sigh. “Possibly more so.” A thought occurred to him, and he looked up, glancing around the room for video cameras like the one in the cell, but there were none.
That made him feel a little better about admitting, “I have a daughter who’s half dragon. Half dragon princess actually.”
The only sign of surprise the lawyer gave was a slight widening of his eyes. “I thought you only just arrived here from America a few days ago?”
Brad nodded. “I didn’t know about my daughter until I arrived. But I visited here about a year ago, when I met… Lyrian.”
The memory of that day brightened in his heart, until it was almost glowing in happiness. Lyrian’s hips swinging as she walked, her hair floating around her, that infectious smile. The image tugged at his heart. Would he ever see her again?
Barry Hutchinson scribbled something on the yellow legal pad in front of him. This was just another case for him. Another client. He was keeping his distance, not getting emotionally involved.
Brad got it. He’d had to do the same when a patient came in. If he’d been personally involved, he couldn’t have done his job properly. But for the first time, he understood how difficult that detachment had been for the patient’s families.
“So give me the run down,” Barry said briskly. “You arrived and met your daughter, then what?”
Brad gave him the whole story, from the dragon attacking him at his uncle’s, right up until the police had arrived at the lair. Nate filled in any bits he left out. He skimmed over the mating ceremony, the lawyer didn’t need to know the details, but he did need to know it had occurred. Needed to understand that Brad was allied with the dragons now.
Barry nodded a lot and scribbled more notes.
When Brad and Nate’s story was done, he looked up, his hands stilled, and stared at them. He wasn’t really seeing them though, he was looking through them, putting the whole story together in his head.
“Right,” he said with a nod, scribbling something on the pad in front of him. “So where are we now? I gather the police haven’t actually arrested you?”
Brad shook his head. “Not yet. They’re still hoping to get me to tell them where the dragon’s lair is. I get the feeling if I cooperate, my indiscretions will be overlooked. That’s not my biggest problem though.”
Barry’s hand paused mid-sentence. He looked up at Brad with one eyebrow raised. “Yes?”
Just the one word. No indication of what he thought. Would he help them, or would that be outside of the scope of his role as a lawyer? Was even asking him a problem?
But Brad was out of other options. He needed help, and Barry was the only one here.
“I can’t let them find the clan,” Brad said quietly. “I… lied about where they were. They’re searching there now, but once they realise they’re not there, they’re going to realise that they are out at wave rock and return. I need to get a message to the dragons that they have to move.”
He stared at Barry, his eyes intent. Would the man get the implication? Would he offer to help, or would Brad have to ask? If he did, his chances weren’t high, he knew that, but he’d do it anyway. He’d do anything to keep Lyrian safe.
Barry wrote something down on his notepad and nodded. “Right. I’ll be reporting back to Lisa on how your situation is going, so I’ll be telling her the whole story.”
That meant he’d be telling Lisa about the police coming, and that they should move, right? Brad stared at the lawyer, wishing he’d be more transparent. But perhaps he was covering himself, legally. Lawyers did that a lot probably.
“What I’m concerned about right now though, is how to get you out of here,” Barry said firmly.
Brad wished he could say that didn’t matter and hustle the man out of the door to get a warning to the clan, but he had to admit to a little bit of concern about his own problems. Especially once the police realised he’d lied and returned from their search. They weren’t going to be happy with him at all.
“Is that going to be possible?” Brad asked. “I mean, I did punch Lisa’s brother, and run from police. And then lie about where the dragons are.”
As he gave the list of his indiscretions, his heart sank. It was hopeless. For him anyway.
“Nate hasn’t done anything though,” he said firmly. “He’s the one you should work on.”
“I’m under orders to help you both,” the lawyer said firmly. He glanced through his notes. “Lisa’s brother grabbed you first, and clearly threatened your mate. That one won’t stick.”
Brad tried to ignore the surge of relief he felt at the man’s words. There were other problems, but that was the one that he felt worst about for some reason. “How about evading police? And lying to them?”
Barry frowned. “That may be a little more difficult,” he admitted. “The police take that quite seriously. But these are extreme circumstances. This is the first time we’ve had a run in with dragons.” He tapped his lip, looking thoughtful.
It was all Brad could do not to demand to know what he could do about that. He longed to be back with the dragons. Back with Lyrian.
“I think this is going to take more than legal arguments or twisting the law,” Barry said thoughtfully. “This is really far bigger than just the two of you.” He paused for a moment, then added, “Lisa also suggested that I might like to offer my services to the other dragon they apparently have around here somewhere. See if we can get this whole ‘figuring out where dragons fit into society’ thing started.”
Brad suppressed a shiver at the thought of the Trima leader. Represent Ultrima? Brad stared at him. The very idea felt a little disloyal. This dragon had been Rian clan’s enemy for hundreds of years.
And yet, they’d been making moves for a truce since the Trima leader had been arrested. Maybe this would help.
He certainly didn’t mind Ultrima being the guinea pig in figuring out how humans were going to react to dragons. Far better him than Lyrian. “What do you have in mind?” he asked curiously.
Barry leaned back in the chair and pressed his fingers together as he regarded them. “I’ll have to have a chat with him, but I’m thinking it’s time to start going political. The police here,” he waved his hand towards the door, “they’re just looking at the immediate risks, how to prevent dragons from attacking people. We’re never going to get anything but conflict from them. If we’re going to get an answer to this, we need to go higher. Much higher.”
Brad began to feel a little uneasy. “Just how high are you thinking?”
Barry gave a smile. “I’m thinking all the way to the top. Once I know the situation here, I’ll be contacting the prime minister.”