Hone’s nerves bounced up and down the entire time Cassie and Emma were away. His taniwha wasn’t much better with his restless growling.
“Thank god,” Jack said. “Here they are now.”
Hone was halfway out the door before he registered the action. “Where’s Cassie? She’s not with Emma.” He sprinted to the driver’s side demanding answers. “Where is Cassie?”
“She’s walking. We found a young boy on the side of the road and she insisted on walking back with him. What was I meant to do? I can’t tell her the truth—that a fire-breathing dragon wants to punish her. She’d say I was crazy.”
“Hone.” Jack grabbed him when his taniwha pushed past his restraint and shook him. “It’s not Emma’s fault. We’re doing our best.”
“I talked to Manu,” Emma said. “June has disappeared. Samuel and the boys are hunting for her.”
“Crap. I’ll go and get Cassie,” Hone said, taking off at a sprint.
Fear cramped his guts, the itch to shift strong. He kept running, scanning the air for signs of June. Surely she wouldn’t fly over in daylight and put the entire race at the risk of discovery?
Damn, where was Cassie? He still couldn’t see her.
Ah, there she was. A dark-haired child walked at her side, both chattering away and not paying attention to their surroundings. Typical humans. So unaware of the dangers.
He slowed and gave his taniwha a mental shove. It’s all right. She’s safe. If June comes, we’re here to protect her.
“Hi,” he called before he reached them.
“Hone.” A brilliant smile flashed across her face and his heart drum-rolled.
God, she was so beautiful. He couldn’t lose her, not to June. He couldn’t live without her. Nothing had prepared him for Cassie, yet his father had been right. The moment the right woman walked into his life, he’d leave his tomcatting ways behind.
Hone studied the kid. Cute in his Spiderman suit.
“Is he a stranger?” the kid asked Cassie.
She laughed in the musical way of hers that never failed to stir him. “No, this is my friend, Hone. Hone, this is Dillion. He lives next door, and he’s coming to visit until his father picks him up.”
“What cookies do you have?” the kid asked.
“We have shortbread and chocolate chip. I couldn’t decide which ones to buy, so I got one packet of each.”
As Hone fell into step with them, the pair continued to chatter. It was so easy to imagine her with his child, and that told him, more than anything, that he couldn’t let her leave. It meant he’d have to tell her about his dual nature as a taniwha, but he thought she’d accept all of him. At least, he hoped she would. He couldn’t marry her without letting her in on the truth, yet he risked everything if she rejected him and left to pursue her career.
“That’s an awfully big frown. Are you doing heavy-duty thinking over there?”
“Work stuff,” Hone lied, and the falsehood cut him. No, he didn’t enjoy lying to her.
They turned into the driveway and found Emma had set up outside with an umbrella to keep off the sun. That would also help screen them from June if she went crazy and decided to fly during the day.
Unless she had one of Manu’s devices…
He cursed under his breath. “I should call Manu to see what’s happening with Auntie June. Evidently she hasn’t been well.”
Hone strode indoors, plucked his phone from his pocket and face-timed his cousin. “Manu, has your mother got one of your devices?” he demanded without preamble.
“No, I keep them locked up when I’m not working with them. She tried to get at them and failed. Emma said you guys are at the house in Clevedon.”
“Yeah. It’s probably safer in Papakura, given the larger population, but none of us can think of a reason good enough to persuade Cassie it’s less dangerous in town. We’ve tried, believe me, but she said she is surrounded by private investigators and couldn’t be more protected. And she said it’s easier to spot strangers out here. It’s taken her a few days to settle after that clown episode.”
“God, what a mess. I have no idea what to do, Hone. If any other dragon ran amok like this, we’d put them down for the greater good, but this is my mother. The matriarch of the tribe. She’s out of control, but I don’t know if I can do the right thing.”
“I’m sorry.” Hone’s throat tightened, hearing his cousin’s grief. He got it. He truly did, but June was trying to kill Cassie when none of this was her fault. She hadn’t dumped Manu. They hadn’t had a relationship. Cassie had said it and Manu had confirmed they were nothing more than friends. Cassie slept curled in his arms, not his cousin’s. “I’ll help.”
“No, you need to say with Cassie. My brothers will help me.” He swiped his hand over his face, exhaustion like a feather cloak draped over his shoulders. “Don’t look like that. None of this is your fault. You and Cassie are good together, and I’m happy you’ve found someone.”
“There’s a car coming. I think it’s the neighbor, but I want to check.”
“I’ll inform you when we find Ma.”
“Okay.” Hone hung up, his heart heavy. None of them would win. June’s actions had already ripped the tribe apart, and he had no idea how they’d recover.
Outside, a late-model car pulled up and a tall, slim man dressed in business clothes stepped from the driver’s side.
“Dad!” The kid ran to him, and Hone’s shoulders relaxed on seeing the joy and relief on the man’s face. He loved his kid. “Cassie likes playing dress-up too. She wears a pink wig. I told her I make a good cowboy.”
“Yes, you do, son. Thank you for picking up Dillion and ringing me. My ex…” His expression tightened as he spoke to Cassie. “She would have used this to change our custody schedule.”
“It was no problem.”
“Can I come and visit again?” Dillion asked.
“As long as you ask your father first,” Cassie said. “Get your father to call me to make sure I’m home first, okay?”
“Okay.” Dillion took a huge bite of his cookie. Cute kid.
“Hi,” Hone stepped forward, his hand outstretched. “I’m Hone Taniwha, Cassie’s boyfriend.”
“He might as well piss on her,” Emma whispered to Jack.
His buddy barked out a laugh, and Hone glared at them both, thankful that neither of the human adults heard.
“Matthew Jamieson,” the man said.
For a businessman, he had callused hands. Maybe he worked on his farm during the weekends instead of hiring people. Christmas trees, Cassie had said.
“Thanks again. Nice to meet you all.”
Cassie, Jack and Emma started to unload the vehicle, and Hone jogged over to help them, while keeping an eye on Matthew and his son. The man was a good father, and it was obvious the kid adored him. When they drove away, Hone heard the kid’s excited chatter about running away, and the father telling him he could only run away if he was with him. Strange thing to say, but it made sense.
“Hell, did you girls buy out the shops?” Jack asked as they dumped parcels and bags on the new kitchen counter.
“No, we left stuff for other customers,” Cassie said without missing a beat. “We didn’t want to be greedy. The beds and other furniture will arrive tomorrow afternoon, so tomorrow night you can sleep in a proper bed instead of on the camp bed in Hone’s spare room. We should have a barbecue to celebrate. I’ll buy one in the morning.”
“No, ours survived the fire,” Jack said. “Everything in the garden shed was okay, so I’ll bring out the mower, my garden tools and the barbecue tomorrow morning.”
“We should visit your swimming hole. The weather forecast is for another humid day,” Emma suggested.
“Can you guys sort out the packages?” Cassie asked. “I need to start rehearsing for the next vineyard show and work out which songs to sing. I have to make a few phone calls to the States later and want to reread the contract Kevin sent me.”
Crap. “Can I help with anything?” Hone asked.
“Yeah, how are you at contracts? I need a fresh set of eyes to tell me I’m not imagining things. Kevin has clauses in there I don’t like.”
“I can do that,” Hone said, thankful his father had insisted on him taking business classes and finishing a degree before he joined the firm fulltime.
“We can all read it through, if that would help,” Emma said.
“Have at it,” Cassie said, pointing at a pink folder. “There are two copies in there. I’ve taken notes and made a list of what I want, but not many of the matters are addressed in the contract.”
Hone growled. “He trying to rip you off?”
“He would see it as business, but it’s not good business for me. Anyhow, thanks. I’ll be in the other room with my guitar. Holler if you need me.”
Hone’s phone beeped, and he scanned the text. “Samuel has found June. She’s at home under lockdown.”
“Good. We can relax a bit,” Emma said.
Jack peered into a bag of towels. “I don’t envy Manu. He has a tough decision to make.”
Hone sighed. “Hope it doesn’t cause a ruckus with the Waka family. They’ve made no secret of the fact they think they should be in charge.”
“Will the Waka brothers make trouble?” Emma asked.
“Yes,” Hone said.
“Yup,” Jack agreed. “Manu will have to fight to keep leadership, and he’ll have to deal with June first.”
“Won’t Samuel—”
“No,” Hone interrupted Emma, “If June becomes too unstable, Manu will do the right thing. He won’t put his father through the anguish of taking his mate’s life.”
“Hell, what a mess. I can’t believe June wigged out over Cassie and Manu.” Emma leaned against Jack and sighed when he wrapped his arms around her waist. “She has always tried to find her sons mates and talked about more grandchildren, but it seems silly for her to go over the top about it. She’s…” she shrugged. “She’s never shown any signs of instability that I could see. She seemed like a fair leader.”
“Manu is broken,” Hone said. “I offered my help, but he said his brothers would assist if necessary.”
“It’s murder,” Emma blurted.
“Is it murder if you’re saving a hundred lives? The general population aren’t ready to learn of our existence yet, and if June catches up with Cassie, she’ll kill her without blinking,” Jack explained. “She is that furious. This situation isn’t black and white.”