Her freefall from the roof sent her stomach into her throat as she squeezed her eyes shut. A moment later, she landed onto something hard which sent her rolling down what felt like a slick slope.

Grab on!

She blindly obeyed Drago’s command and reached out for something to wrap her arms around. A hump of some kind offered a small spot to grab with her hands and at the same time she squeezed her legs.

Wind blew in her face and whipped through her hair. She had a feeling about where she’d landed, but she was too afraid to look.

Are you ok?

With his promise to catch her fulfilled and his voice still in her head, she had to admit that maybe everything else he’d told her had been true. He was a man who turned into a dragen and she was in fact, his one true mate. Soon they would need to sit down again and go over every detail of his story. There was so much she didn’t understand.

Physically, yeah. Emotionally not so much. Tears were already welling in her eyes as she answered him.

Did he hurt you?

She shook her head, unable to even think about her fear or the truth she would have to share. She snapped that internal compartment closed to deal with later.

What truth? he asked.

"Not yet, Drago. First, we have to get Connie. I couldn’t find her when I escaped."

She is already safe with Mac. That’s part of the reason I was so close when you came out on the roof. We found her tied up and gagged at the address she texted to you.

She buried her face into his back and hugged him tighter. He’d gone to great lengths to find her.

I did not do it alone. But I would do anything to keep you safe. I hope you believe that.

Quiet tears streamed down her face. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for saving me.”

You are shaking.

“I’ll be okay. Once that psycho is behind bars, I’ll be just fine.”

Her statement must have sparked something in Drago, because he turned sharply and dove back down in the direction of the building she’s jumped from.

“What are you doing?” she gasped, holding on even tighter.

Making sure your psycho gets what he deserves.

Her stomach plummeted at the thought of facing the cold, dead eyes of her captor once again.

Don’t worry. He can never touch you again. I’ll make sure of that.

A sudden blast of heat radiated from Drago’s dragen body, giving her the only clue she needed as to what might come next.

“Drago, you cannot kill him. You have to stay in control and let Mac and the other police do their job.”

Ha! he said.

She wrapped her arms around his big body as best she could so that more of her touched more of him. She spread her fingers wide and caressed his back in a side to side motion.

“Please, Maxim. Let the police take care of him. You don’t have to take on that burden. I'm safe thanks to you.”

I cannot take the chance that he gets away.

She sighed, feeling every ounce of determination in his words. “For me then. I don’t think I can take any more violence tonight. Take me away from here.”

Soon, my sweet. Very soon.

He said—or rather thought nothing else as he raced toward the building, with her clinging to his back the entire time.

As they approached, she peered around him as best she could to see what he saw. It had only been a few minutes, but the idiot still stood on the roof with the knife at his side. Had he not seen the big ass dragon swoop in and catch her?

No. He cannot see me unless I allow it. I don’t always have perfect control over this body, but have figured out most of the magic that comes with it.

Wow. He was seriously full of surprises.

Before she could ask another question, he swooped down to the rooftop with his feet down as if he planned to land somehow. Afraid to look, Jami buried her face in his hide once again.

But they didn’t land. Instead she heard a piercing scream followed by the harsh flap of Drago’s wings as they soared back into the sky.

She took a slow breath and counted to three before opening her eyes to see what he’d done. They didn’t land and Drago didn’t kill him, but he had used his talons to pick the man up by spearing him with said claws in the shoulders and was currently holding him captive as they flew across the sky.

“Drago, what are you doing?” She tried not to sound hysterical, but was pretty sure she’d failed. “And where are we going? You don’t need more violence to stain your psyche. Let him go.”

Of course, she didn’t exactly want Drago to listen. This crazy asshole had scared her to death and threatened to kill her. Even seeing him again traumatized her.

You are shaking again.

“I just want this to be over. I want to get as far away from here as we can get. We have so much to talk about and I have so much to learn. We don’t need vengeance to make this work.”

Drago made a snorting noise, but said nothing else. Jami frowned. What the hell? If she couldn’t convince him not to kill, what kind of mate would she make? If mates were like wives, then she would fail miserably.

A short while later, Drago coasted his big body downward and she marveled at the sheer beauty of him as he flew across the night sky. Every move he did with grace and he had an uncanny ability to ensure her safety as his rider.

Now she felt like that chick on television, except she wasn’t a queen and she had no desire to conquer anything more than the war on drugs and maybe one day she could finally beat her sister Savannah at chess.

Oh God, she needed to call her sisters. They were never going to understand any of this. Before she could get too far down the slippery slope of her family woes, Drago slowed down and hovered by flapping his big, powerful wings that probably stretched a good city block.

Another cry from the psycho Drago held with his claws alerted her to the fact he’d released him. Jami peered around Drago and spied her captor sprawled at Mac’s feet.

“Thanks for not killing him. I sure as hell didn’t need that paperwork. But we still have a lot to talk about,” Mac said.

She wasn’t sure if Drago had responded since she didn’t exactly know how this telepathic stuff worked, but he lifted into the sky and they flew off into the darkness without another word.

This time she simply held tight and tilted her head so she could watch their trip. She stared in complete awe as they flew above and past Serenity. As they got out of town and away from the city lights, the sky darkened and the stars popped out. Their sparkle creating a swath of beautiful light to guide their way.

At least that’s what she imagined it did. She truly had no idea how Drago’s senses worked as a dragen. There were so many things she wanted to ask.

There will be plenty of time to answer all your questions, beautiful.

Jami smiled. In a short span of time she’d grown accustomed to his voice in her head and it comforted her. And the other voice had disappeared completely. At least she hoped it wasn’t coming back.

Although if he heard every thought she had, she might have to be more careful about what she chose to think about.

You can tell me to stop and I will. I do not wish to violate your privacy. This just happens to be the only way to communicate during this time. And I’m feeling sensitive to your needs. I need to make sure you are cared for.

She leaned as far forward as she could and wrapped her arms around his scaled body. She’d never had anyone other than family take this kind of interest in her. It was both comforting and surprising.

And now she was flying. She’d either fallen into her weirdest dream ever or she now lived in a different world.

We’re almost there.

She looked down and saw nothing but darkness.

“Where are we going?”

The only place I know we can both be one hundred percent safe. Home.