Chapter 12

Jayce woke up in his condo the next morning with a smile on his face. Before he opened his eyes, he remembered making love to Kristine on his boat and again in this very bed—twice. He opened one eye and glanced over at the empty space across from him. The sheets were rumpled, and her pillow still showed the imprint of her beautiful head, but she was gone.

He bolted upright. “Kristine?”

When there was no answer, he feared the worst. He jumped out of bed, donned his boxer briefs, and checked the open bathroom door on his way to the main living area. “Kristine?”

Silence.

Dammit!

He grabbed his phone off the kitchen counter and brought up her number in his contact list. How long could she have been gone? Hadn’t they just fallen asleep? Shit. It was almost 8 a.m.

“Hello?”

“Kristine? Where are you?”

“Oh, Jayce. I’m at the B and B packing.”

“I don’t understand. You were going to give me twenty-four hours.” He began pacing and tried to modulate his voice to keep his anger from showing.

“I told you I couldn’t stay and that I was going back to the B and B after our date.”

He bit back a swear. “When you fell asleep in my arms, I thought you had changed your mind.” She was silent on the other end, and his frustration mounted. “When are you planning to return to New York? Before or after my twenty-four hours are up?”

She let out an audible sigh. “Jayce, I need you to trust me.”

“Trust you?” His voice rose, but he didn’t care at the moment. “It’s hard to trust someone who lies to you.”

“I never lied to you, Jayce. I never said I was going to stick around while you spent twenty-four hours thinking. I never said I was going to stay for breakfast this morning. I can’t help the things you assume if you don’t ask.”

Jayce pulled the phone away from his ear and counted to ten. Technically, she was correct. She hadn’t lied, and he had made assumptions. But that didn’t take the sting out of it.

He swallowed hard and asked, “So what’s your plan now?”

After a brief hesitation, she said, “I’m heading to the train station as soon as I’m done here.”

“Does your mother know you’re leaving? Or what you’re planning?”

“Yes. Well, no. Not exactly. It’s a long story.”

“Summarize it for me.” He resumed his pacing and scratched his head.

“I told her at the Laundromat yesterday that I was going back to New York. This morning I paid for my room and left the key with Amber at breakfast. My mother was right there. She didn’t ask what I was planning to do beyond returning to work, and I didn’t bother telling anyone.”

“She was probably engrossed in conversation with Conlan, right?”

“Like I said, you’re very perceptive. You must also be a little psychic. That’s kind of scary,” she said, as if making a joke.

He didn’t find it very funny.

“Okay. If that’s how you’re going to play it, I have to do a couple of things first, and then I’ll meet you at the train station. You don’t have tickets yet, right?”

“Uh…no. Not yet. But there’s a kiosk at the station. You don’t have to come with me, you know. In fact, I thought you were due back at the station tonight.”

“You’re not leaving me much choice. I’ll have to call in sick.”

“You have plenty of choices. You can go about your business and let me take care of mine. Or you can follow me around and drive me crazy. Or—”

“Kristine. You’re not being fair.”

“Fine. I’m not fair. Life isn’t fair. I was going to talk to you before I left.”

“Oh? How considerate.”

“Geez. What do you want me to do? Apologize for doing what I said I was going to do all along?”

He wanted to throw the phone across the room. How did this get so out of control? If he went to New York now, he wouldn’t be there long. He was supposed to go back to work tonight at six. He hadn’t even had his coffee yet, so hoping for a brilliant idea was a bit of a stretch.

“Can you wait until I meet you at the train station? Which one are you using, by the way? Back Bay?”

“Yeah. It’s only a few blocks from here.”

“Don’t buy a ticket yet. The Boston Public Library is right down the street. Why don’t you meet me on the steps there?”

When she didn’t answer right away, he imagined her trying to think of any reason she could wiggle out of meeting him. He was careful not to give her one. He wouldn’t assume she would be there. He would make her promise to be there.

“All right,” she said.

“Promise you won’t leave before I get there.”

“How long will it take you to pack and use public transportation?”

“Who said I’m doing either of those things?” He ended the call with a click. Good, let her wonder what that meant.

Gabe lived a lot closer to the train station, and he could grab some clothes there. Flying always freed up his mind so he could think. Still, he knew better than to assume his brother would be home. He hit the voice command on his phone and said “Call Gabe” a little more forcefully than he needed to.

* * *

Kristine sat on the front steps of the Boston Public Library, staring at Trinity Church across Copley Square. Boston really was a beautiful city—smaller than New York, not that that was a terrible thing.

She sensed Jayce before she saw him jogging toward her. He was as handsome as ever, but his devil-may-care smile was missing. She rose from her spot on the steps and met him at the sidewalk.

He gave her a quick kiss and said, “My brother says you’re more trouble than a broken monkey cage at the Franklin Park Zoo.”

She chuckled. “I never asked any of you to get involved.”

“It’s too late for that. If anything happened to you…” He simply stared at the sidewalk and shook his head.

“So, now what? Did you come all the way down here to try to talk me out of this?”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “No. I think we established that you wouldn’t listen to me no matter how much logic I threw at you.”

“My bags are back at the B and B. You see? I’m not too stubborn to give you a chance to speak your mind.” She held out her hand and prepared to walk back to Beacon Street with him.

He stared at her hand a moment and then wrapped his around it and pulled something out of his pocket.

“It’s not what you think. That comes later.” He slipped a pretty ruby-and-diamond ring on her middle finger. He must have been leaving her ring finger free for “later.” Thank goodness it wasn’t an engagement ring. She wasn’t ready for that.

“The ruby symbolizes love. The little diamonds on either side, well… Let’s just say they’ll grow, if nurtured.”

She admired the beauty and sparkle—and the sentiments. “Thank you,” she said softly.

He didn’t answer and still seemed way too serious. Without letting go of her hand, he turned, and they strolled side by side to the corner. Yes, he may have thought she was a lot of trouble, but she saw it very differently. She needed to end this public threat. That was her choice, not his. Donkey Pizzle and his cronies hadn’t just terrorized her family; they thought nothing of using other innocents to get what they wanted. Amy had told her about their using drug addicts to pull off crimes with promises of a fix. Gun running and drug smuggling—selling to anyone who could pay. Now they were going to try their hand at human trafficking.

“So did you come up with any brilliant ideas?” she asked.

He sighed. “I wish…”

They waited for a break in the traffic and then hurried across wide Boylston Street. At last they were able to take it a little slower, but they became quieter as well.

Finally Kristine broke the uncomfortable silence. “So, it’s after nine in the morning, and you have to be at work at six. What do you think you can accomplish in less than nine hours?”

“Not much. That’s why I have Gabe to call in sick for me. If anything happens and I’m not back in time, he’ll make up some excuse to buy me some time. If I fly my hardest, I can be back in an hour and a half. I’ll have Gabe leave his window open for me until five thirty when he has to leave for work. Fortunately we’re about the same size, and I can borrow some clothes from him and jog to work.”

“You told Gabe?”

“You can trust my brothers. Any of them. Completely.”

“How much did you tell him?”

“Only what I had to. He knows you plan to go back to New York, that it might not be safe yet, and that I’m going to make sure you’re not being reckless. Do you have somewhere else to stay? These scumbags do know where you live. You haven’t forgotten that, right?”

“Of course not. And as for where I can stay, I’ve been thinking about that. I had to crash at Donovan’s place once. He might let me stay on his couch again.”

“What are you going to tell him as far as a reason why you need to?”

“You know, the usual. The place is being fumigated.”

“So Donovan is a male friend?”

“Yeah. We work together. Don’t tell me you’re the jealous type, because that could be a real problem—considering the fact that I work with all men.”

“No. You don’t have to worry. I’m not an asshole—well, not usually. But I’m curious how you managed to stay single with so many guys knowing what a catch you are.”

She laughed as they ran across the next street during a break in traffic. Now they were in the middle of Commonwealth Avenue, where there was a green space with benches and a paved bicycle path. She had to admit this was a pretty part of the city. “Why don’t we stop for a minute and talk where we won’t be interrupted?”

“Good idea,” he said.

They found an empty bench and sat. She took another moment to admire the ring he had given her. It sparkled in the morning light. “It’s beautiful.”

Jayce put an arm around her and gently rubbed her shoulder. “So are you.”

I could get used to this. Kristine understood he was just concerned for her, but she wasn’t a hothead. He needed to know that. “I don’t want anything to happen to me either. I’m not planning to go off half-cocked,” she said.

“Okay, so you’re going off fully cocked?” He smirked at her.

She tried to tamp down her frustration. “Look, I don’t exactly know what I’m doing yet. But I want to reassure you I won’t do anything stupid.”

“What do you consider to be stupid?”

She just stared ahead. No matter what she said, it would sound monumentally foolish. Going after who knows how many goons in their own well-defended fortress—alone—would probably be the definition of stupid. But what option did she have? Amy said they had been at this business for years and had hurt or murdered countless innocent people. They had to be stopped, and Kristine was convinced she was the only one who could or would attempt to do so.

“Tomorrow night is a new moon. That means tonight I’ll have total darkness. I can shift into my dragon form if I need to get away quickly. In fact, I might show up in dragon form from the start. There’s not much they can do to me as a dragon.”

“Are you sure? Didn’t they live with a dragon for a few years?”

“Yeah. It sounds like they were all afraid of him. According to my mother, these guys are pretty dumb. I’d have to say from what little I know of them personally, I can certainly attest to that. Who actually writes out a contract for a contract killing? And then mails it to a legal office?”

Jayce’s eyes rounded. “They did that? Is that what you had to retrieve for them the first time?”

“Yeah. You see? Dumbdy-dumb-dumb.”

“You could also sing that to suspenseful background music in a horror movie.” To demonstrate, he did so…in an intense, low-pitched voice.

“If you’re trying to scare me, I’m terrified,” she said with deadpan sarcasm.

“So, they’re hit men?”

“That and a lot more. My mother said they own a fancy boat and use it to meet drug smugglers offshore. They sell guns to anyone who wants to buy them. And here’s the kicker… They find homeless drug addicts down on their luck and use them to rob banks, jewelry stores, or whatever for the promise of an unlimited supply of their drug of choice and a mansion to party in. But if they don’t perform, they kill them and assume no one will notice they’re missing.”

“Aren’t the police aware of what’s going on?”

“If they are, they haven’t done anything about it. My mother said she remembered their posting bail for one of their drug addicts and then making it look like he committed suicide. As far as the cops were concerned, society had one less problem.”

“Jesus,” Jayce muttered. “I understand your wanting to take them down, and I admire your courage, but wouldn’t your mother have put a stop to them if there was any way to do that?”

“You forget, she had me to think of. And we’re very different people.” She sighed. “Please, let me go alone. There’s really nothing you can do to help anyway.”

“Oh? I don’t know about that… I can watch, perched in a nearby tree. And if you need someone to dive-bomb Donkey Pizzle and peck his eyes out, I’m your man—or phoenix—at that moment.”

She smiled. “You’re so sweet.”

He laughed. The thought of pecking someone’s eyes out as a sweet gesture must have struck him as funny. She had to join in the laughter.

An elderly couple strolled by hand in hand and gave them twin smiles.

* * *

It was a long train ride, but it gave Kristine time to think up a plan Jayce would agree to. As much as she resented his interference, she also realized he’d probably already saved her life.

By the time they had arrived at Penn Station, he had talked her out of going back to her apartment for any reason. Until the thugs on Long Island were taken care of, they’d look for her in the Hell’s Kitchen area. The element of surprise would only be Kristine and Jayce’s if they stayed away.

She was right about the new moon and the darkness that would ensue. Jayce called Gabe and let him know he wouldn’t be back that night. They needed that darkness to cover their paranormal identities. He could disguise his tail feathers with dirt, but there was no way to hide an almost-six-foot dragon.

Because it was early afternoon, they had some time to kill. They decided to visit Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. This was where more than twelve million immigrants landed with hopes of a better future. Some of the displays there gave them pause. Boatloads of human beings, some barely alive, were funneled through an uncaring system.

The United States required all immigrants to possess the ability to read and write—at least in their own language. Many of the people who arrived were illiterate, and therefore deported… Or they went to Canada. How many dragons learn to read and write in caves in the Scottish Highlands? Not many, she imagined. It’s a good thing they came over before the Pilgrims.

Having spent the afternoon exploring and appreciating her home city, she wanted to fight for it more than ever. Since it was now May, and it would be quite late before it got completely dark, she and Jayce finally made it to a Broadway play together.

It was hard to believe that just ten days ago, Jayce had walked into her firehouse to reconnect with her. It felt as if they had known each other for months or even years.

At dinner after the play, Jayce reached across the table and took her hand. “Are you sure you want to go through with this, love?”

She nodded. Then she took a large bite of her lo mein and chewed slowly.

“Hey, I use that trick when I don’t want to discuss something.”

“What trick?” she mumbled around the food in her mouth.

He just laughed and shook his head. “Never mind.”

She knew what he meant. She was stalling for time—he was right about that. Nothing he could say would talk her out of doing this. Their plan was drastic and dangerous, but they couldn’t think of anything better. And it just might work.

Walking up to the front door and asking to be let in wasn’t an option. There had to be cameras for security all around the perimeter. The only place from which they could approach undetected was the sky.

The plan was for Jayce to check out the situation via flybys first. If all seemed quiet, he’d fly down the chimney, and if they’d left the flue open, he could double-check from the inside. He often flew down chimneys, dragging his tail feathers through the creosote on the way down and then doing a quick turnabout and coating the other side on his way back up. This was how he and his brothers hid their colorful tails with waterproof camouflage. Unlike normal birds, they didn’t worry about the filth weighing them down. They were strong.

However, this time Jayce didn’t need the disguise. Well, he might if anyone saw him and lived to tell about it. But they planned to let no one live. As drastic as that sounded, it was the only way to be sure Kristine stayed out of jail, countless innocents remained safe, and the mobsters ceased their illegal activities. Smuggling drugs and guns was bad enough, but human trafficking was the last straw.

If Jayce could guarantee everyone was upstairs first and then pinpoint the bedrooms of those in the house after all the lights went out, Kristine could target those areas with a stream of fire. Jayce would gather sticks from the nearby woods and lay them under each exit. If cameras were picking up his activity, it would only look like some dumb bird decided he was tired of getting wet and wanted his nest under a portico. Then Kristine would need to work fast to light the tinder, blocking the exits, and then set the rest of the place on fire.

In a way, it was karma. Kristine learned on the news that the home on Park Avenue—the one they’d tasked her to set on fire before her mother escaped—belonged to an elderly art dealer. The place had been burglarized, and the resident had been drugged. They’d wanted her to burn him alive while he was incapacitated.

Thank goodness Amy’s escape removed the only leverage they had. Getting out of the city was another smart idea on their part. Okay…Jayce was mostly responsible for that. She had to admit her stubbornness might have cost her or her mother their lives.

Jayce had said more than once that he didn’t know what he’d do if anything happened to her. Well, she felt the same way. If anything happened to Jayce… Her heart broke just thinking about it.

* * *

Jayce drove the length of Long Island and found the place in South Hampton easily. He and Kristine sat on a piece of driftwood and watched quietly from the beach until half an hour after the last light went out inside the ostentatious mansion. If anyone saw them, they would have appeared to be a romantic couple sharing the peace and quiet of the night.

If only that were the case.

He leaned toward her and whispered, “Last chance to back out.”

She shook her head vehemently.

He let out a deep sigh. Apparently she was hell-bent on going through with their plan, and he would rather support her than let her try it alone.

They strode to the edge of the woods, stripped down, and left their clothing behind a rock. Then Jayce shifted and flew high above the building.

No smoke emanated from the chimney. That was good news. He landed on the chimney and peered down inside. It looked like the flue was open, so getting inside wouldn’t be a problem. He decided to wait on that. For now it was enough to coat his feathers with creosote.

Once he was appropriately camouflaged, he began his flyby of the lower windows. Seeing no activity, he took the time to land on the windowsills where he could scan the inside of each room. When he was satisfied no one remained downstairs, he rose and circled the second-floor windows. Three individuals occupied those rooms, and only the master bedroom had any light in it at all…a night-light.

Donkey Pizzle sleeps with a night-light?

He didn’t really know if the individual was or was not the guy who seemed to be running things. He had never actually seen Donkey Pizzle. But wouldn’t that be ironic?

All the occupants seemed to be asleep. Just to be on the safe side, he pecked each window once. No one stirred. At last he circled the third floor. The rooms were smaller and empty. Some were used for storage.

It was time to share his findings with Kristine.

He swooped down to the edge of the woods near the beach where he had left her and shifted. She eyed him up and down. Large splotches of soot appeared randomly over his human body.

“What? You don’t like my new paint job?”

She covered her smile with her hand and looked like she was trying not to giggle.

“I don’t have to explain. You already know the drill. It looks like there are three occupants and everyone is asleep on the second floor. It’s almost time to put phase two into play. First I want to fly down the chimney and look around inside to be sure we aren’t missing anyone. I’ll come back when I’m ready for you.”

She nodded.

“They’re all asleep. You don’t have to worry about talking.”

“Okay,” she whispered. “Then I don’t have to worry about kissing either.”

He smiled. “No, you don’t.”

She stepped into his space, draped her arms around his neck, and then pulled her arms away quickly. “Sorry, I shouldn’t erase your disguise.” Locking her fingers behind her back, she leaned forward, kissing him like the figurine of Dutch children that her mother had among her tchotchkes. Now, why would she think of something so mundane when they were about to commit a heinous act?

Kristine had already gathered dry sticks for kindling and left them in a pile for him. She had picked up some logs to prop under knobs and hold doors closed if the fire took a few seconds to catch.

“See you in a minute,” Jayce said and shifted. Picking up a beak-full of sticks, he flew them to the windowsills and laid them there. It looked as if the porch was made of timber and not some composite that wouldn’t burn easily. He was grateful for 1920s construction.

As Jayce worked, Kristine blockaded the side door Amy had escaped from and propped the logs against the other exits. The front stoop was concrete, but the doors appeared to be solid wood. There were two of them, opening in the middle for a grand entrance. He pictured these asshats throwing open the doors to a well-lit foyer. He was fairly sure they would catch and burn too. The doors…not the asshats. Although that was kind of the point.

Now it was Kristine’s turn. Jayce flew back to the woods, but she didn’t wait for him. She was probably tired of his asking, “Have you changed your mind yet?”

She hovered in her beautiful dragon form—an iridescent blue-green reminiscent of her eyes. Then, beating her wings vigorously, she flew at the back door at full speed. Not that he knew what full speed for a dragon would be. He imagined they couldn’t fly quite as fast as a phoenix. Or maybe they could. He’d ask her, if they made it out of this alive.

She turned at the last minute, roared fire all along the back of the house, and then whipped around the side of the building and did the same thing. The wood caught easily, along with the plantings all along the foundation. Fire sprang up and spread.

He could only see the amber-colored light from the front of the house, but he imagined that must be burning vigorously too. She was nothing if not thorough…and angry. Soon she rounded the far corner, still blasting fire. Holy hell, Jayce. Try not to make her mad—ever.

She targeted the second-floor windows next. The sills caught first, which would certainly discourage anyone from trying to escape that way. But escape they might.

Jayce felt like he should be doing more. He figured he could fly down the chimney and perhaps trip anyone running for the stairs—or blind them with a well-placed peck to the eyes. A broken leg should slow them. He knew the chimney would be the last thing to burn, so he had a handy escape route.

He flapped his wings and rose above the house, diving down the chimney to the blare of smoke alarms. Yeah, they should be up and looking for an escape route any minute now.

He landed on the oversized crystal chandelier in the two-story foyer. From there he had a great vantage point of the grand curved staircase. Hopefully, he could describe the mayhem to Kristine after all was said and done. She might appreciate a blow-by-blow account of her enemies’ demise.

Seeing the power his lover possessed, he had to wonder why Amy didn’t use the same tactics to get away. Did she know them as friends when she’d lived there before? Did they not know she was a dragon? Kristine’s mother had impressed upon her the paranormal law to never reveal herself to humans—just as his parents had dictated to him and his brothers.

But Kristine certainly wasn’t worried about that now. He imagined the neighbors would be waking up and calling the fire department as soon as they noticed the formidable smoke and sparks rising over the woods.

Ah, here came the criminals at last. One was in his robe. The other two were shrugging into their clothing as they ran.

“Grab the tranq gun,” the one in the lead yelled.

“But, boss…”

That must be Donkey Pizzle…saving himself first without regard to the others.

The leader didn’t wait to hear the guy’s objection. He just shouted louder over his shoulder, “The tranq gun! Get it! Now!”

Jayce couldn’t let them get away. They knew about Kristine. They’d go after her, and apparently, they knew how to subdue a dragon.

He saw his opening. Jayce flew at the distracted leader as he reached the top of the stairs and was turning his head back to center. Aiming for Donkey Pizzle’s left eye, his beak hit soft tissue, and the guy hollered. The tyrant began swearing and grabbing at the air.

Jayce managed to get away and flew at the second guy.

“Son of a bitch! What the hell is that thing?” he yelled and crouched in time to avoid the same fate. The third guy made an about-face and ran.

Jayce flew faster and latched onto the third guy’s back with his talons, sinking his sharp beak into his neck. If he hit the right nerve, he could paralyze him or make him forget about getting that tranquilizer gun.

The guy sank to the floor, moaning.

Donkey Pizzle was making his way down the stairs, holding onto the railing with both hands. Jayce flew between the legs of the one who was now at the top of the stairs, hoping to take them both out with one trip.

The guy grabbed at him but missed. He also missed the step and stumbled. Snatching the rail, he managed to catch himself and avoid falling. Now Jayce’s only option to stop their leader was to go after Donkey Pizzle directly.

Because the element of surprise was gone, he was taking a risk. Jayce thought about Kristine and what Amy had told her—about how these guys had no conscience. Contract killings, using the homeless and drug addicts to pull off heists, plus drug smuggling and gun running. Smoke filled the stairway, so he could probably sneak through Donkey Pizzle’s legs from behind.

He tried it, but as soon as he brushed the leader’s leg with his wing, a hand shot out and grabbed his tail feathers. It hurt, but he didn’t care. He needed to stop this monster.

Unfortunately, the one who was stopped was Jayce.

“Get to the basement,” the guy behind him yelled.

“Not until I fuck up this bird!”

Jayce struggled to get away. He turned and pecked the guy’s hand, but Donkey Pizzle hung on tight. Then Jayce felt his body swing hard to the right—and the room went black.