Chapter Fourteen – Jay

“Looks as if I called at the wrong time,” Wyatt said as he entered the kitchen behind Harlan. A knock at the door had made them all jump, it was a relief when Jay sensed Wyatt’s presence and Harlan had gone to let him in.

“We’re having something of a war council,” Fiona said to Wyatt.

“Oh, dragons going to war. That can’t be good.” Wyatt stood in the doorway, surveying their faces. “Can’t be good at all.”

“This is Wyatt, everyone.” Sapphi hugged him. “You are a hero, from what Kim told me.”

“I didn’t do anything special,” Wyatt insisted, accepting a mug of coffee from Harlan. He took a sip, and closed his eyes in ecstasy. “Real coffee. I should visit more often.”

“You should. We don’t see you down here very much,” Ruby said. “Do you want a slice of apple cake, too? Sapphi baked it this morning.”

“I wouldn’t say no, as long as I’m not imposing.” Wyatt sat down at the table, and Ruby slid into the seat next to him. “So what’s got the wind up your tails?”

They exchanged looks, and Fiona nodded at Jay. He took a seat on the other side of Wyatt. “Someone is trying to make a virus that will stop us from shifting.”

Most people might have choked on their mouthful of apple cake, or sprayed their coffee across the room. Wyatt took it all in stride. The man had either seen combat, or was a member of the police force in another life. A life that might have chased him to seek solitude on a mountain.

“There’s always someone trying to mess stuff up for other people,” Wyatt replied as he washed his cake down with hot coffee.

“More?” Ruby asked.

“I won’t say no, I think better on a full stomach.” He leaned on the table and looked at Jay. “Whatever you are planning, I’m in.”

“Just like that?” Ruby asked.

“Sure.” Wyatt ate his second slice of cake. “Maybe it’s time I came down off my mountain for a while, to remember why I went up there in the first place.”

Wyatt had a point. In the darkest days of his time undercover, the days when he wanted to run from it all, he used to think of Kim, picture her beautiful face as she smiled at him, and remind himself why he was there.

“We’ll take any help we can get.” In the next room, where Kim had gone to spend time with the kids, a phone rang. Jay left the kitchen, going to join her.

“It’s for you.” Kim handed him her phone and mouthed, “Guy.”

They’d given Guy Kim’s number, since Jay dumped his phone while in the sewers. He didn’t need anyone triangulating his location when he was on the run. Guy was using a throw-away phone, and although it was still risky, their conversation should be private. “Hello.”

“Jay,” Guy said in a hushed whisper. “I have to be quick. Quentin Harrod has come to town. He has a mansion that usually stands empty, but since Davelchi fell, it’s been a hive of activity.”

“How do you know?” Jay asked.

“Like I said, he’s been under surveillance for some time. I hacked into the logs a couple of months back. Everything has been almost boring in its sameness. Then wham, he steps up his security at the mansion and comes to town. Coming so close to the Davelchi takedown, I think we can assume he’s escalated his plan.”

“So what do we do?” Jay asked.

“I have the name of the company that cleans his mansion. We get a van, uniforms and ID, and go in.” Guy’s plan was about as simple as it got, but there was no time for anything more robust.

“Okay.” Jay nodded. “Where do we meet?”

“Tomorrow. Maple Drive. I’ll send you the coordinates. We meet at ten. You’ll have to sweet talk your way in since the cleaners aren’t due.”

“We’ll get in somehow.” Jay kept the conversation short and ended the call, handing the phone back to Kim.

“So we trust him?” she asked, putting the phone in her back pocket.

“We don’t have a choice. We just need to be on our guard.”

“And who is we?” Kim asked, as they went back to the kitchen to talk to the others.

“Me and Wyatt, that seems to be the logical choice,” Jay told her, suspecting he was in for a fight over this.

“I don’t think it is logical,” Kim replied, raising her voice. Everyone in the kitchen could hear, including Wyatt who busily forked more apple cake into his mouth, which he washed down with a bottle of Bear Creek Honey Beer. Jay had seen similar empty bottles up at his cabin, and right now, he could do with one himself.

“What isn’t logical?” Tiberius asked. He was a large man, tall and broad-chested, with an Oriental look to his facial features. Jay would love to share a beer with him and listen to his tales of training to be a dragon slayer. Perhaps when this was over there would be time to get to know him, and the other people in the room. Kim was right, they were family.

“Jay wants to go undercover into the dragon’s lair,” Kim explained as they joined the others in the kitchen. “But I don’t think he should.”

“Why?” Jay asked. “I’m the most experienced.”

“And the most obvious person. If Quentin Harrod saw you at Davelchi’s place, then he will know it’s a set-up.”

“Good point.” Wyatt waved his fork in Jay’s direction. “He might recognize you.”

“Also, you are a shifter.”

“Another good point,” Wyatt agreed.

“What does that have to do with it?” Jay asked.

“It’s obvious,” Tiberius joined in.

“It is?” Helen asked, turning on her husband. “Please don’t let the next words out of your mouth be that you should go.”

“I should. Along with Kim.” Tiberius refused to be subdued by his wife’s blazing eyes.

“No,” Jay told him firmly. “Not Kim.”

“Why not?” Kim asked. “Tiberius is right, we are the obvious choices.”

“Why?” Sapphi asked. “Kim has a child to think about. If you want a woman to go, why not me? Alex has been training me in hand-to-hand combat.”

Fiona stepped forward. “Despite my reservations, Tiberius is right. If this virus is real, they won’t be affected by it.”

“Kim is not going,” Jay insisted.

“Why? Why do you get to risk your life, but not me?” Kim demanded an answer, one he didn’t want to give voice to in front of all these people.

However, if he wanted to stop this idea now, before it was allowed to breathe life, he had to bare his soul. “If you had seen what I’ve seen, Kim, you wouldn’t be asking to go.”

Silence descended on the room. Did he sound as broken as he felt? Ruptured inside by the truths he’d uncovered? Was it wrong to want to protect Kim from the nightmares in his head?

“I know why you don’t want me to go,” Kim told Jay gently. “But I have as much right to protect those I love as you do.”

“You have no experience,” Jay reminded her. “Neither of you do.”

“That’s where I come in,” Wyatt said, placing his fork down on the empty plate. “I’ll go with you.”

“What about the virus?” Kim asked Wyatt. “If we’re caught, you might be the guinea pig they test it on.”

“I know what I’m walking into.” Wyatt stood up. “Thanks for the cake and coffee.” He picked up his beer bottle. “This is coming with me. I have a few things to take care of. So tell me what time you want me here and I’ll be here.”

“We have to meet Guy at ten. It’s an hour’s drive. Meet us here at eight. Just to be sure.” Jay was far from convinced this was a good idea, even if it was the most plausible.

“Hey,” Kim said to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “I know this isn’t what you want.”

“You have nothing to prove. Someone else could go.” Jay stroked her hair, tangling a long tendril in his fingers. He wanted to hold on to her and never let go. Kim going into the dragon’s lair was his worst of many nightmares. “We have a son.”

“That’s why I need to do this. For him, and for you.” There was no point arguing with Kim. When he was a child, he’d seen the same expression on his mom’s face. Jay had watched as his dad backed down, knowing he was beaten before he raised an argument against her.

“I don’t like it.” He wasn’t going to lie to her. But he wouldn’t argue either. He understood her motives only too well.

“I’ll be careful.” Kim kissed his mouth briefly, no more than a whisper on his lips, then she broke away from him. “I have a baby boy to cuddle.”

Kim left the kitchen, and Jay stood staring after her, not knowing what to say or do. On the other side of the kitchen, Helen and Tiberius were having a similar conversation. Only Helen wasn’t ready to admit defeat.

“Come get some fresh air with an old man,” Harlan beckoned Jay toward the back door which led out to a large area of grass. “She’ll be okay.”

“I know Kim can look after herself, but I don’t like it,” Jay admitted as he watched the breeze ruffle the leaves on the tall trees surrounding the house.

“Wyatt and Tiberius will be there with her. They both know how to look after themselves.” Harlan walked away from the house, and turned to the south. “That house I was telling you about is over there. Within spitting distance really. It’s yours for as long as you want it.” He held up his hand to silence Jay’s protest. “Look, it’s not charity, it’s me doing a good deed. I know Alex offered you a job, I don’t want to be outdone by my son-in-law-to-be.”

“I didn’t say I’d take the job.”

“And you didn’t say you wouldn’t… You don’t have to take the weight of the world on your own shoulders. Sometimes you have to let people do the right thing. It makes us feel better.”

“I’ve been pigheaded…” Jay shielded his eyes and looked into the distance. “Looks like a good solid house.”

“It is.” Harlan fished a set of keys out of his pocket. “Why not take her for a test drive for the night? Bring Archie back over here in the morning before you leave.” Harlan offered the keys to Jay. “Or you could be pigheaded.”

“I could.” He held out his hand and Harlan dropped the keys into his palm. “I’m used to being self-sufficient, not trusting anyone. It’s gonna take me a while to get over that.”

“Well, this is a good way to start. You have a beautiful mate and child, Jay. We welcomed them into our home and our hearts. And our hearts are big enough for at least one more.” Harlan patted him on the back. “Take what you need from the house. I’ll pack you up some groceries. I think it’s about time you played happy family. At least for one night.”