Chapter 7

Kristine dropped her head into her hands while Jayce walked around the couch, settled next to her, and pulled her into his arms. Jayce tried to lend her his strength, hoping it would seep through his skin and into her.

“Are you all right, hon?”

Kristine shook her head. “Of course I’m not all right. Did you hear what he wants me to do?”

Jayce caressed her arm, trying to calm her. “I did. I can’t help wondering when this is going to stop. He could keep having you do more and more dangerous things.”

Her posture sagged. “I know.”

Jayce had heard things in the background when Skype was open and wondered if she had too. “I heard waves lapping and seagulls crying in the distance. And someone mentioned a ship.”

“Over the phone?” Kristine looked thoughtful and then raised her eyes to look straight at him. “Now that you mention it, I did too. How did you hear those things but I didn’t register them?”

“You’re stressed,” Jayce said. “I imagine tunnel vision happens when you’re anxious…just like it does sometimes when we’re fighting fires. If there’s a life-and-death mission to accomplish, the world around us can disappear while we’re doing what’s necessary.”

“You’re right. I don’t know why I wasn’t paying more attention to clues. I was so worried about my mother, seeing her alive and supposedly well was all I could think of at the time.”

“That’s understandable. Where do you think she might be—if you had to hazard a guess? If it’s near lapping water and a ship, that sounds like the ocean. Or it could be one of the great lakes, if you think there’s any reason she might be up that way.”

Kristine rose and paced again. “The only place I can think of that might hold a possibility is Long Island. I was born there. If a ship was being boarded, maybe the Coast Guard has a record of it.”

“Hey, that’s a start…”

“I don’t know… We’ve never had a summer home there or any relatives that I know of. I guess my mother lived there for a while, but she wouldn’t tell me anything about it.” Kristine heaved a giant sigh. “Of course.”

“You had to provide a birth certificate for some of your IDs. What does your birth certificate say?”

“The certified copy showed my name at birth as Kristine Adaria Scott and my date of birth, and place of birth was listed as Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip, New York. But where it said parents’ names, only my mother was listed. That’s when I found out her real name was Ainslee. She changed it to Amy Scott. Supposedly so it would be easier for Americans to remember and she needed a stage name. The only other items were a file date and certificate number.”

“So no home address?”

“Nope. I had high hopes until I actually saw the certified copy. An address wasn’t listed.”

“Did you ever try to find her birth certificate?”

“I looked a few years ago. Since I knew her real name, I thought I might be able to find relatives, and maybe one of them could tell me who my father was. But I don’t know her birthplace. All I know is she’s eight hundred years old—not that she’d admit to being a day over forty.”

Jayce said, “It’s still worth a try. You might find something if you use one of those ancestry websites.”

Kristine snorted. A tiny curl of smoke reminded Jayce of what they were really dealing with. Dragons. His sister-in-law Chloe had told his family she was ancient and her grandparents had survived St. Patrick’s purge by hiding in caves. Maybe Ainslee was born in a cave.

She’d also said she wasn’t able to have children with Ryan. Perhaps dragons could only breed with other dragons. Shit. He hadn’t thought about that yet. If he and Kristine wound up together, his mother would be disappointed. She wanted grandchildren. Badly.

He quickly decided he didn’t care. He loved this woman—dragon or not. “If we can find your mother and free her, they’ll have no more leverage. You can have your life back.”

“Do you think there’s any chance of that before the new mission I have for tonight?” Kristine finally sat in the armchair across from him.

“What else can you think of that might help us find her? Did you try calling the hospital? Maybe there’s a nurse still working who worked there when you were born,” Jayce said.

“I tried that. Apparently nurses don’t stay in one job for long periods of time.”

He was grasping at straws. “Maybe it’s worth a trip to Long Island, along the coast?”

She rolled her eyes. “And do what? Drive around calling her name?”

“I can fly above, and you can drive below. If I see something, I’ll signal to you.”

After a long hesitation, she finally said, “I’d better rent a convertible. That way you can fly into the backseat and get dressed if I leave some clothes on the floor.” A small smile tried to make its way across her face.

“Actually, a convertible isn’t a bad idea. You can see a lot more that way.” Jayce leaned back, stretched out his legs, and crossed them at the ankle, resting his feet on the coffee table.

Kristine pointed to his feet. “Now there’s a bad habit you didn’t tell me about when we were breaking up. You put your feet on the coffee table.”

Jayce yanked his feet off the table and put them on the floor. “Sorry. I didn’t know there was a rule against that in your home.”

“There isn’t. I was just heckling you.”

Jayce was actually happy she was teasing him again. He sprang to his feet and said, “Let’s go. You rent a car, and I’ll meet you there. If I go now, I might spot the Coast Guard before they leave the area, which would narrow our search.”

“So we’ll concentrate on the area of Long Island facing open sea?”

“Yes. I can swoop low and look in windows after we meet up. Rent a convertible. I should be able to spot you if you take the route that runs right along the Atlantic side.”

“How do you know there is one?”

Jayce laughed. “There’s always a road right along the coast in populated areas.” He handed her the phone he had caught after she threw it.

Kristine nodded. “That makes sense. I’ll grab your sweats. They’ll be faster to get in and out of. Let’s see where I can rent a convertible. I’m sure I can get a Long Island map from the rental agency.”

He didn’t wait for her to dial to set out on his journey. It might be fruitless. The chances of them happening upon her mother were almost nil. But Jayce knew they couldn’t just sit around and wait. They both needed to feel like they were doing something that could possibly help.

Jayce jogged up to the roof while Kristine locked the door and ran down the stairs to the sidewalk. He rolled his tail feathers in the dirt, happy he didn’t have bright-red and yellow markings on his wings, which would require muddying them too. Flying would’ve been more difficult…not impossible, since he was stronger than an ordinary bird, but tiring nonetheless.

He took off and sailed on the wind.

Even though they weren’t supposed to, shifting and taking to the air and then floating on the wind currents was something he and his brothers enjoyed doing from time to time. That was why he owned a fishing boat. When they got far enough out to sea, where no one would see them, they took turns shifting and dive-bombing the water to catch fish in their beaks. It was a lot of fun on a hot summer day.

In bird form they aged more quickly, even faster in flight, so they had to be careful how often they did this. If their father found out, they’d be in trouble. But even knowing the risks, the joy and freedom of flying were worth it.

Jayce wondered how much he was aging on this trip. The flight last night took a few hours, from New York to Boston then back to New York, and there was some flight-time while creating the black sheet camouflage flight with his brothers. Then shifting this morning and watching over Kristine as she went to the park and back—well, that wasn’t much.

Now he might spend all day in this form flying around Long Island looking for a redheaded actress. Fortunately Kristine had several pictures of her mother. There was a clear headshot of her lovely face. A few full-body pictures, some of her onstage. And even one in a bathing suit, looking curvaceous and supposedly alluring. Kristine’s body was more to his liking. Athletic.

Jayce tried to avoid buildings as much as possible. They messed up the winds and made it more challenging to fly where he wanted to. So he soared over rooftops and water towers, enjoying a nice bird’s-eye view of the city.

This meditation gave him time to reflect on his relationship with Kristine. He had never felt this way about a woman before. He was willing to do whatever was necessary to keep her safe—hang the consequences to himself. Most other women he’d dated appealed to him physically, but this connection was not just physical.

They were both firefighters, concerned about the safety of the citizens of their beloved cities—which were three hours apart as the Acela train flies, dammit. But the point was they had similar values, and that meant a lot. She was concerned about her mother, just as he was loyal to his family. Another double-edged sword.

The fact that he had already showed her his alternate form and she had shown him hers seemed to mean they were almost meant to be. While he was home for the emergency family meeting, he’d told his parents. They were shocked he’d already revealed himself to Kristine. But when he’d said that she had a secret too and hinted it was like Chloe’s special gift, they both relaxed immediately. They adored Chloe, even though she’d taken Ryan to Ireland to live. His brother was deliriously happy, and that, in the end, was what everybody wanted.

When Kristine described the background she had seen on the Skype call, it sounded as if her mother could have been in a very expensive home. Chances were the place was not in a crowded neighborhood, but a place with some privacy. If he could hear the waves lapping but no other sounds in the background but seagulls and one other guy, he imagined the place would be off by itself.

He swooped low over every estate within earshot of the beach and, trying not to attract attention, flew by large windows facing the ocean. When he saw women inside but couldn’t get a good look at their hair color, he found a low branch to sit on until he was able to rule them out. If there was a possibility it might be Kristine’s mother, he would fly in front of Kristine’s windshield to grab her attention…when he found her car. Yeesh. He’d better move his tail.

At last he spotted her. While Kristine was halted at a stop sign, he flew down and rested on top of her windshield for a moment. That was his signal for “find a private spot and pull over to the side of the road.” They probably should’ve talked about it sooner, but fortunately, she understood. When she pulled into a dirt road lined with trees, it looked like they were alone. He hopped into the backseat, then shifted and dressed.

“Did you find anything?” she asked anxiously.

“Not much. I saw the Coast Guard speeding away from what looked like a small cargo ship when I first got here. If that’s the scene the guy was talking about, we’re close.”

“Good. Let’s check out the homes with ocean views. I’ll study the places from the street side, and you examine the beach side. If there’s nothing right here, we can widen the search.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Jayce kissed her, shifted back into phoenix form, and rolled his tail feathers in some roadside dirt. Then he took to the sky again.

They spent hours combing the Hamptons and Montauk, which had the kind of oceanfront homes where Jayce thought Kristine’s mother might be held. Eventually he had to change back. He had probably aged months in those few hours.

* * *

“Maybe it’s time to get the authorities involved,” Jayce said as they ate dinner at a sidewalk café in South Hampton.

Kristine gasped. “You can’t mean that. I know what I’ve been asked to do is heinous—despicable. But give me a chance. I’ve been wrestling with how I can make it look like I’ve met their demands…but don’t worry, I won’t kill an innocent person. I couldn’t live with that. Honestly, it sounds like the guy could already be dead. If not, I’ll get him out first. I’ll make sure the fire department gets a heads up just as soon as I’m sure I’ve done what Donkey Pizzle wants me to do.”

Jayce shook his head but said nothing.

His hesitation bothered her. “You wouldn’t say anything to anyone, would you?”

“I’d like justice, but I’m not a cop. I’m here for you, Kristine. My only thought is to make sure you don’t get caught. When do you have to do this? What time tonight?”

“They didn’t say.”

“Why don’t you go home after this, and I’ll keep looking for your mother.”

“Which, by the way, is still a long shot. We don’t even know if we’re near the right beaches.”

Jayce seemed to be picking at his food. He’d had a margarita, and she wondered if the alcohol might affect him if he didn’t eat.

“Are you gonna be okay to fly?” she asked, nodding at his empty cocktail glass.

He chuckled. “I don’t think the FAA is going to ground me. Seriously, Kristine, I’ll keep looking for your mom. Once it gets dark, I’ll be able to see in lit windows, and chances are I won’t be seen. We can leave my sweats behind a rock in the woods where I can go and change privately and then find a phone. I promise to call you if I see her.”

“What phone?”

“I can grab a prepaid phone or use a pay phone—there are still pay phones in most public places. I’m sure if it’s an emergency someone will take pity on me. Just answer even if you don’t recognize the number.”

Kristine leaned on her elbow and rested her chin in her hand. “That’s fine. But what do you plan to do if you find her?”

Jayce scratched his head. “I think that’s when we should get the authorities involved. Kidnapping is a crime. Anyone in that house with any knowledge of your mother being held against her will should be arrested—at least as an accessory. I can ask for a SWAT team. They’ll make sure your mother is safe before they storm the place.”

Kristine closed her eyes. She tried to picture the scene Jayce had described. So far, she didn’t see anything wrong with that plan. “Okay. I think that sounds reasonable. Promise me you won’t do anything about it yourself. Just call the police and give them the address. Make sure they don’t come in with sirens blazing.” She leaned forward and whispered, “You know how they are sometimes.”

Jayce laughed. “Yeah, they can be real cowboys. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they know exactly what’s going on.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I do feel better having a plan we can agree on.”

If you find her. Kristine didn’t feel much better at all. They finished their dinner, and she paid with her credit card.

“I wish I had a couple of cards on me. I’ll pay you back,” Jayce insisted.

“Tell you what, if you find my mother, dinner’s on me.” She managed a small smile, hoping to make him feel better. “It’s not like you can carry your wallet in your beak.”

They walked hand in hand back to Kristine’s car, and she wished they could enjoy the lovely evening. She would’ve loved to watch the sunset with him, holding hands on the beach. But logic dictated she should get back home. She had called in sick. If her shift came around and someone called to check in on her, it would be suspicious if she didn’t answer. The captain had been known to do that before when he was concerned and had the time.

When they arrived at the car, she turned toward him, and they held both hands for a moment. “I’d better get back,” she said.

Jayce leaned in and pulled her close to kiss her. He only let go of her hands to wrap his arms around her and hold her in his warm embrace. Any time his lips touched hers the passion sprang up, and Kristine never wanted that feeling to end.

When they tore away from each other, Kristine took a few deep breaths, bit her lip, then said, “Man, what you do to me… You’d better let me go, or I’ll never get home.”

“I know what you mean. If you don’t hear from me by eleven o’clock, wait for me. I want to be there to protect you while you carry out your orders.”

Kristine opened the car door and slid inside. “What are you going to do? You can’t hold a king-size sheet open and shield me from view all by yourself.”

“I can act as lookout. If I see anything, I’ll give you a couple of squawks so you can find a hiding spot.”

She closed the car door and rubbed her temples, trying to ease the headache that was starting. “Okay.”

Jayce cupped her chin and leaned down. “I know it’s not ideal. What would be perfect is finding your mother. I’m going to concentrate on doing that.”

Kristine nodded. She was just about to drive away when Jayce said, “By the way, there’s one more thing I think you should know.”

Kristine groaned. What now?

Jayce tapped her nose. “I think I’m falling in love with you.” Then he stepped away from the car, smiling.

Kristine didn’t know what to say to that. She felt like she might be falling in love too, but this just wasn’t the time. Instead, she rolled her eyes, took off, and checked her rearview mirror as she left him in a cloud of dust…but she could still see the cocky smile on his face.

As much as she felt it was inappropriate—maybe downright absurd at a time like this—she smiled to herself. How did the ludicrous man know that’s exactly what she needed to hear? This was just like him. Her heart was a little bit lighter as she drove home.

* * *

Jayce was more determined than ever to find Kristine’s mother and return her safely home. As darkness fell, he was able to get closer to the homes, worry less about the color of his feathers, and worry more about finding this needle of a woman in the haystack of gorgeous oceanfront homes.

He flew by several palatial estates, some of which were very private with large grounds separating one from the next. There were a few more modest mansions sheltered by woods, hedges, or walls. Even those were multimillion-dollar homes.

He tried to remember that staying in bird form was aging him much more quickly than he would age as a human. His brother had reincarnated and reached his prime in a little over two months. What will I look like in a week if I keep this up? Then he shook that thought out of his brain, realizing that helping in this way was better than worrying about a few gray hairs.

At about 10 p.m. he was getting more and more worried he’d fail when suddenly he spotted someone sneaking out of a side door, leaving it open just a tad, probably so no one would hear it shut. He tried to get a better look and saw a woman wearing a black bathrobe. Rushing off on bare feet toward the beach, she seemed determined to get away. A dark scarf slipped off her red hair.

My God, that’s her.

Jayce wasn’t sure how to reveal himself without scaring her to pieces. If he shifted into a full-size naked man, she might freak. According to Kristine, Amy was high-strung, and he didn’t want her screams to alert whomever she was running away from, so he followed her from above. She smartly ran along the edge of the water on the hard sand where the waves would wash away her footprints.

At one point far down the beach, she headed toward some woods. This might be my chance to show her she’s not alone and still have some cover.

When she reached a spot where the woods were fairly thick, he found a low bush and landed behind it, and as she came toward him, he shimmered into his human form. She gasped but didn’t scream.

“It’s all right, Amy. I’m here to help.”

“Who the heck are you?”

“I’m a friend of Kristine’s. Are you all right?”

“Yes. I need to talk to her. Is she here?”

“No. She was. We’ve been looking for you all day. I need to let her know you’ve been found. She’s about to do something she really doesn’t want to because the jerk holding you hostage was threatening you, but your daughter was fucked either way. Sorry about my language.”

She looked down at herself. “I’m not exactly dressed properly for a rescue, but I didn’t know what else to do. Please tell me you have a fast car hidden somewhere.”

Jayce groaned. “I wish I did. Kristine took the car back to the city. I have some sweats stashed, and I can carry them in my beak and meet you somewhere. Then we can find a way to call Kristine.”

“Beak? Were you the bird that was following me?”

“That would be me. I’m Jayce Fierro, by the way.”

“I think it’s nice to meet you, Jayce. Since I don’t really know you, I’m a little nervous about trusting you, but I don’t have much choice right now.”

“I promise you can trust me, and I’ll tell you more about how I know Kristine after we’re both dressed so we don’t get arrested.”

She gave him a weak smile.

“You seem to be well hidden. Wait here for me.” Jayce shifted and took off. He went straight to the place he had left his sweats about two miles away. He didn’t want to shift and take forever to get back to her, so he scooped up his clothes in his beak and carried them to the woods where he’d left her.

Jayce was no ordinary bird, and he was able to fly carrying a lot more weight than anyone would think possible. He could yank a full-grown man off the ground if necessary. Hopefully, if anyone spied a bird carrying men’s clothing, they’d figure a skinny dipper was in for a surprise when he went to get dressed. Fortunately, the darkness would hide him from most onlookers.

When he landed, Kristine’s mother, Amy, was trudging on foot through the woods toward civilization. He wondered if she’d decided not to trust him after all. He wouldn’t blame her. She was a New Yorker… Probably even more suspicious and careful than a Bostonian.

Jayce found another rock further down the path, shifted quickly, and slipped on the pants. By the time he donned the top, he’d caught up with her.

“Okay, where do we go from here?” Jayce asked.

Amy hesitated and finally said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve been out here, but I was heading toward the town center. I figured I could find some kind of pay phone, if they still exist.”

Jayce smiled. “From what I saw of the towns around here, not much has changed in the past few decades.”

“I know where there used to be a pay phone. Let’s go there.”

“How long will it take us? I told Kristine I’d call by eleven.”

Amy glanced around. “It seems to be fairly deserted and dark tonight. It’s not high season yet, so most of the summer people aren’t even here. How do you feel about flying next to someone who also has a secret identity like yours? Well, not exactly like it—”

“I know about Kristine’s secret. Is yours the same?”

She answered simply by sloughing off her black bathrobe, shifting into dragon form, picking up her robe, and holding out her talons to indicate that she would carry his clothing too.

Jayce grinned and pulled his sweatshirt over his head, then shifted and flew out of the sweatpants. She picked up his clothes and took off into the sky, flying higher than he usually did unless he was avoiding tall buildings.

At last, she found a rooftop on a dark street. The small town seemed very quiet. An outdoor ladder led from the rooftop down to the wraparound porch. They shifted and dressed quickly.

“I wish we could just fly back to Manhattan,” Amy said, “but I’m apt to attract attention, being a dragon and all.”

As Jayce chuckled, they sprinted toward the sidewalk. Only about fifty yards away Jayce spotted the phone booth. When they arrived at the old booth, Jayce nervously asked, “I don’t suppose you have a quarter on you, do you?”

Amy pulled a heavy sock out of the pocket of her robe and smiled. “I may have borrowed a little money from my captors before I left.”

Jayce laughed when she pulled a wad of twenties and a roll of quarters out of the sock. “Hallelujah. You really thought of everything.”

“I planned this for a couple of days. I simply had to cooperate until they let down their guard. I knew they would. They’re stupid and lazy. Still, it’s strange that they never changed the combination to the safe.”

“You know them? You’ve been there before?”

Amy stepped into the phone booth and inserted the quarters she needed, and as she dialed, she said, “I used to live there. Kristine doesn’t know it, but I’ll tell her everything when I get back.”

Jayce knew how much that would mean to Kristine. She had been through so much, and she’d said that a hidden piece of her background caused the rift between her and her mother. Certainly it seemed like knowledge she deserved to have now.

Kristine answered on the first ring. “Hi, honey, it’s me,” Amy said.

“Mom! Where are you?”

Amy turned and smiled at Jayce. “I’m with a nice young man who says he’s a friend of yours. Do you know someone named Jayce?”

Kristine burst into tears but managed to eke out the word “yes.” Then she sniffed and said, “Please tell him thank you and to guard you with his life.”

“Don’t worry, honey. We’re going to be careful. It might take a little while. We’re still an hour away as the dragon flies.”

Jayce said, “I wish we could take public transportation, but your mom is wearing a bathrobe, and I’d rather put some distance between us and her abductors, so I’m not too keen on waiting around for an Uber or taxi.”

Kristine said, “I still have the car. I can bring some clothes to my mom and drive us all home.”

“That sounds great,” Amy said. “Bring me my blue sweater, the cashmere one. Oh, and my Isaac Mizrahi skinny jeans.”

Kristine laughed. “Always the fashionista.”

Amy’s face blushed a bit. “Hey, a girl has to look her best even when she’s running from her captors.”

“Are you safe from discovery?” Kristine asked. “I want you to stay hidden, but I need to know where you are so I can find you.”

“We’re in Southampton. I’m not sure of the name of the street.”

Jayce said, “Hang on, I’ll run down to the corner and see what the sign says.” He did that and saw they were on the corner of Main and Harrison. Then he ran back, took the phone, and relayed the information.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Stay out of sight.”

“We will, hon,” Jayce said.

Amy raised her brows and looked him straight in the eye. He could imagine the wheels turning as she figured out his relationship with her daughter.

“I’ll tell you all about it while we wait,” Jayce said.