****
“Sorry, I’m late,” Wade said as Ethan let him in the front door. “Traffic was awful, and my old beater doesn’t go as fast as that zippy little thing you drive. She’s not there yet, is she?”
Ethan had balanced his laptop on his arm so that he didn’t have to miss a second of what was happening with Resa. “No. She’ll be there in a few minutes, though. I only wish I’d had the time to put together a better communications system, so that I could talk to her as well. Really, it wouldn’t have taken much time, but for some reason, we were in such a hurry.”
“It’s just as well. You said she’s a reporter, so she probably knows how to handle herself in these sorts of situations. She doesn’t need you in her ear, bossing her around.” Wade followed him to the basement without question, never pausing to ask about his décor or why they were doing this here instead of at Ethan’s office building. In fact, he’d asked very few questions once Ethan had told him of the plan. “Besides, if she didn’t go there soon, there was a chance they would have moved. The hunters don’t like to stay in one place very long.”
Ethan unlocked the door to the lab and led the way in, setting the laptop down and gesturing across the room. “I’ve got a big pot of coffee going over there. I won’t sleep until I see that she’s out of there.”
“None for me, thanks.” The old man pulled up a stool and squinted at the screen, which displayed Resa’s view through the windshield of her car. The sun was setting, and she drove slowly through the darkening streets of a dilapidated neighborhood. “I’m nervous enough without the caffeine. It’s only because of who she is that I’ve even agreed to work with you on this. I’m still wondering just how pissed Mr. Cross is going to be when he finds out. He’ll probably kick me out of The Club, or maybe even let one of you shifters kill me. I’m sure I’m not a welcome guest to begin with.”
“He would never have approved of this little mission, but that’s exactly why we didn’t ask him. And he won’t be mad when we’re able to go to him with all sorts of information on the hunters that will keep dragons safe. He’ll see that it was worth it.” Ethan hoped he would be able to prove himself right. If anything happened to Resa…Well, he didn’t want to think about it.
“Sure, it’s worth it when you’re only putting a human life on the line,” Wade said with a snort of laughter, reading Ethan’s thoughts. “We’re pretty expendable in your eyes, aren’t we?”
“It’s not like that.” Ethan felt his jaw tighten. He could see how it looked. He was sending some naïve, willing reporter into the danger zone while he sat safely at home behind a computer. But the hunters would find out he was a dragon in no time if he had gone himself. His sheer rage would make it impossible for him not to shift once he saw their weapons and smelled the blood of his fellow shifters on them. “It’s much more complicated.”
Wade nodded, blinking his gray-fringed eyes. “If you say so.”
Resa’s voice came over the speaker, sounding odd, but clear. “Okay, I hope you can hear me. I’m here. Wish me luck.”
Ethan watched with his tongue between his teeth as Resa got out of the car and walked up to the door of a shabby house. The lawn hadn’t been mowed in a few months, and there were several boards missing from the porch. But she knocked with confidence.
The door swung open to reveal a dark-haired man with a cigarette hanging out one side of his mouth and the beginnings of a beard clinging to his chin. He eyed her openly and took out the cigarette. “Yeah?”
“My name is Resa Robinson. I run a fantasy blog, and I’ve been looking for evidence of dragons. I had an email a while back from someone named Charles Richter who said this was the place to go.” She sounded friendly and competent, like she was going door-to-door for votes for councilwoman instead of looking for dragon hunters.
“I sure hope this works,” Ethan muttered.
“It will. Charles is dead now, but he hasn’t been for very long. And he had gone off to a different group before he was killed, so there’s no way for them to find a hole in this plot.” Wade scratched the back of his head, where several wisps of his gray hair still clung to his scalp. “At least, I hope not.”
The man in the doorway nodded, his lips curling up into a leer. “Yeah, I’ve heard of you. I follow your blog, actually. You’re a lot prettier in person than I thought you’d be. Come in.” He opened the door wider and stepped backwards, allowing her inside. The living room held a battered couch, an old tube television, and a threadbare rug; it looked as though they had been abandoned along with the house before the hunters had taken up residence there.
Ethan ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t like this asshole.”
“I don’t think you’re supposed to.”
“Really? You follow my blog?” Resa enthused. “I’m so thrilled to hear it! I don’t get to meet my followers very often. I’m afraid I don’t know exactly what Mr. Richter thought I would find here, but he said I could find the concrete evidence of dragons I was looking for.”
Another man entered the room. This one had shaggy blonde hair and a goatee, and was visibly alarmed at the presence of the newcomer. “Who’s this?”
Ethan’s heart stopped. He knew that face. He had seen it plenty of times, right in his own building. That man had built most of the video games that had launched Cobalt Computers into the spotlight.
“Resa Robinson,” the dark-haired man introduced her to Kyle.
“Doesn’t seem right, Tommy. See if she’s wearing a wire.”
“Seriously, Kyle? This isn’t some crime show. Who the hell would be spying on us?” Tommy took a long puff of his cigarette and blew the smoke toward the ceiling.
“You know exactly who.” The blonde man gestured for his comrade to do as he said.
Tommy sighed. “Fine. I guess I can’t argue with feeling up the first hot girl to ever show up on our doorstep.” He drew closer to Resa and patted her down.
Ethan felt a flame of jealous anger flare inside him, but he said nothing.
Kyle rolled his eyes. “You know, considering all the other things I’ve seen you do, I can’t believe you’re being so gentle about this. This is no time for chivalry, Tommy.” He stepped forward and reached out his hand. The shrill sound of torn fabric screeched through the speaker. The blonde man pointed straight at Resa’s chest. “What the fuck is that?”
“It’s a beauty mark,” she protested, backing away. “Not the prettiest thing, I know.”
But Kyle advanced on her. His hand shot out again, and the camera tipped down to get just a glimpse of him ripping the monitor from her skin. “I remember you. You’re the reporter that came to Cobalt Computers to interview Mr. Beaufort. What the hell are you doing here? Who are you really working for?”
Ethan’s heart pounded so hard he could barely hear her response. He didn’t need to flip to the other tab open on his computer to know that Resa’s last recorded heartbeat was just as intense.
“I’m not working for anyone; I was just following a lead. It’s what I do.”
The engineer was in her face, his hand at her throat as he pinned her to the wall. “I suggest you start talking, lady.”
“I don’t have anything to talk about.”
Tommy came up behind him. “I’ll take her to the basement and let her think about it for a little while.”
“Don’t bother. I know better than to trust you around a woman. All she’d have to do is wink at you the right way and she’d have you.” Kyle grabbed Resa roughly by the wrists and dragged her through the house.
Ethan was on his feet, his hands on either side of the computer as he willed the scene before him not to be taking place. It was bad enough that Resa had been found out by the hunters so quickly, but it was worse to know that Kyle was in charge of this cell of them. “This wasn’t at all how this was supposed to happen,” he whispered. “I’ve got to get over there.”
Wade’s mouth was a grimace of concern. “What are you going to do? Look.” He pointed at the screen. Kyle had pulled aside a blanket that covered a doorway, revealing a kitchen full of rough men who nodded appreciatively at their new prize. Several more could be seen as he took Resa down the stairs. “There are tons of them, and I know from my old hunting days that they have some sophisticated weapons. You’ll never be able to take them.”
“What do you suggest I do?” Ethan roared, slamming his fist on the counter. “Just leave her there?”
“Perhaps it’s time to go to Mr. Cross,” Wade said quietly.
“Damn it!” Ethan barreled up the stairs, turning to head down the hall for the main stairwell. He flew up to the second floor and kept going on the rickety ladder that went up through the attic. A small hatch admitted him to the roof. His feet carried him across the shingles and off the side, his wings spreading out to catch the night air.