It’s not too terribly busy at Treasured Ink. Down time means bored time. Ronnie’s not there at the moment. He’s across the street going over the notes we’ve collated so far. I did my part, contributed what I could. Now it’s up to those who have knowledge of the physical facility to put their heads together and working with Ronnie’s wizardry at hacking to see where we are in what we know, what we don’t know, what we need to know, and how to get it.

All logistical stuff that really doesn’t require me at all. Since there’s nothing to do there, and nothing to do at the shop, I pull out my phone and hit all the sites and forums I’ve uncovered to see what the chatter is.

Ever since Carlo’s official defection, the whole lot of those assholes have gone silent, which worries me. It worries Taran, too. There’s nothing to be done about it now. All we can do is let Ronnie work with the information and see what we have.

The saving grace about all this is the cooperation of the shifter community. Ever since making contact with the wolves in Stell, and receiving assurances that the vast majority of the shifters don’t see us as demons, it’s taken a huge load off us.

Dragons, or any mythical shifter, are not the enemy. We’re not looking to take over the world, or drive it into ruin or whatever these crazy ass people want to say. It blows my mind why people get like that but I guess it just comes down to what they need to believe to make themselves feel… safe, I suppose.

However small this organization really is, they’re still a danger and we need to be rid of them as soon as possible.

Since my brain is turning all this around, I pocket my phone and grab my jacket. “If anyone needs me,” I tell Nyve on my way by, “I’ll be across the street to check on their progress.”

“I’m sure that’s exactly what you’re doing,” Nyve says with a soft laugh.

I’d smack him on the back of his head but he’s with a client. I settle for a sour look which he doesn’t see and jog across to Annika’s shop.

Goldie is with a client and she waves with a cheery smile when she sees me. “They’re in Annika’s office,” she says.

“What if I came to see you?”

“I’d call you a liar.”

I don’t have time to reply as she ducks back to her work.

If she were wrong, I’d be insulted.

The fact of the matter is, she’s right and her grinning face is proof she knows it.

With a soft huff, I forget even trying to deny it. I head back and knock lightly on Annika’s door.

It cracks open and it takes Carlo a beat before he smiles. “It’s Varos,” he says over his shoulder as he opens the door for me to step in.

“Varos!” Annika waves me over where she’s hovering behind Ronnie as he works on his laptop.

Ronnie looks up and smiles at me. It’s a smile that cuts right through my defenses and warms my heart.

“We were just going over the aerial images I got from my trip out to the backlands,” Annika says. She makes room at the desk for me to watch over Ronnie’s shoulder. I notice that he recently got his hair cut.

Carlo is motioning over the top quadrant of the image. “It seems like I remember that’s where they receive their supply shipments.”

“Supplies for…?” Ronnie zooms in on that area.

Annika leans in. “There are dormitories there. I think a lot of them live there. Do you know why?” She looks at Carlo over Ronnie’s head.

Carlo shakes his head slowly. “I don’t. I just remember being on supply runs every so often as security.”

“Speaking of,” I ask as I study the image, “is there any we would need to be worried about?”

“There’s a perimeter fence nestled in the forestation surrounding the building,” Carlo gestures over the image. “And only two main gates in and out of the compound. The eastern gate, here—” and he points to the supply entrance, “and the southern approach where they received dignitaries.”

I lean over Ronnie now, pointing to a small snaking line through the forest. “That must be the road they take to the southern gate. That doesn’t look like it has much room to get in and out.”

“I didn’t notice any trip wires or rigged explosives in the forest itself.” Annika sits on the corner of her desk and crosses her arms. “So they must not be afraid of anyone approaching.”

Carlo shrugs slightly. “Their physical patrols just inside the fence were fairly intensive. I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary in their patterns but I didn’t get a really good look at it either.”

Ronnie leans back and our shoulders brush. Maybe it’s my imagination but I could swear that I felt the tingle spread down my arm into my fingertips.

“Once I can get my hands on satellite imagery, I can piece their movements together. In the meantime, I will take the images we have and run them through a few enhancement algos I have to clean them up. Seeing their spacing, coupled with Carlo’s list of guns he remembers they carry,” Ronnie taps at his datapad filled with notes, “I think we can get a pretty good guess at their security. And I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

“That sounds ominous,” I say with a chuckle.

“Ominous is a good word. Mostly, just sneaky.”

My hand rests on his shoulder. Body warmth seeps through the fabric of his shirt. “I’m glad you’re on our side. I’d hate to see the havoc you could wreck if it was directed at us.”

Ronnie’s ears turn bright red and he ducks his head shyly. “I got a knack for it.”

His sudden shyness is just so damn cute. It seems that the reaction to a simple compliment is a little out of place, making me wonder if I’m not the only one who holds a fondness for our close relationship?

Ronnie clears his throat. “Thanks, you two,” he says, shutting down his laptop. “This gives me enough to start building up the scenarios.”

Annika nods in approval. “Call me if you need anything else.”

“Me too. You know where to find me.” Carlo straightens and playfully buffets Ronnie on the shoulder before he leaves.

Annika follows Carlo out, leaving me alone in the office with Ronnie.

“Want to grab a cup of coffee or do you have to head back into work?” I try to sound casual. It’s not unusual for us to duck out for coffee to share our information. Many times through this ordeal, going to a coffee shop was the only place we could work in relative peace without being interrupted.

Ronnie always seems more relaxed in coffee shops. He says it because he likes the buzz of people around him. It helps him relax.

It makes sense, since he’s a very social guy.

“I’d like that. I have some ideas knocking around if you have the time to hear them?”

“You know I will.” I open the door and motion for him to leave before following him out of Annika’s shop.

We stroll the five blocks along the main drag to a coffee shop we drink at regularly. The barista already knows our order before we even get to the counter.

In many ways, this coffee visit is just like all our other coffee visits. Conversation is kept light as we sit down with our drinks. Ronnie’s brain works like that. While he’s working on a problem, he finds something innocuous to talk about. He doesn’t appear to be doing anything deep and thoughtful as he natters on about gossip he hears from the shop until the conversation twists on a dime and he has something insightful or comes to the solution to the problem he was chewing on.

There’s a part of me that likes the comfortable familiarity of our ritual.

The other part?

The other part wants to make this more than just a working break. I want it to be more like we’re on a date or something. Isn’t that funny? I really can’t decide just how I feel about him, yet here I am, wishing this were something more.

Something deeper. Something to act on the building attraction I have for the younger shifter.

What’s not to like about Ronnie? He has an infectious laugh, a keen mind, bright eyes, and a very easy way about him. It’s all there in this perfect package.

Ronnie is still a young man in years relative to my age. His shifter type isn’t ‘loner’ like dragons are. He’s very social. Because he’s part of a shifter clan it’s a testament to how hard he’s worked to get where he is now. He’s tough and independent.

That’s a huge appeal for me. It draws out my protective streak, wanting to shield him from the issues of the world that still isn’t ready to acknowledge shifters in any form.

So what is my problem?

Uncertainty about our futures is certainly the biggest factor that keeps me at bay. Not just about the mythical shifter business and dealing with that dangerous group.

Once this is all over, what then? I won’t really have a reason to see him, other than when relative to Austin and Nyve.

Still, I hold back. I’m not sure why.

Fear is the biggest reason. Can I put myself out there and risk it all if I discover we’re not meant to be together?

How will all that play out?

Ronnie slams his coffee cup down, the hot liquid sloshing over the side. He hisses and sucks on the place where the coffee hit his finger as he drags out his pad and powers it up.

Judging by the look on his face, he’s made a realization.

He’s easy to read as a book.

“Tell me,” I say easily, leaning back in my chair.

“I’m so stupid that I didn’t see it before.”

“You’re not stupid, so stop that talk.” I scoot over so I can watch while he quickly scrolls through his many windows looking for something only he can see.

“You know what I mean.” He opens and shuts several documents and windows before expanding one to full screen.

“There!” He jabs a finger at the image.

I lean in. “What am I looking at?” His mind works so differently than mine, it could be anything.

“Satellite dish.” He leans back with a smug grin.

As if that was enough to explain it to me. I shake my head.

“Satellite dish!” he repeats. “I can hack into their system through the dish.”

I’m still not following. “Was that a problem before?”

“No. Yes. Sort of. I was trying to work out how to get into their computer network since I couldn’t detect any of the major lines in or out of the compound. They’re pretty much self-sufficient.” Ronnie scrolls around the image that he’s enlarged. “They have their own water system, their own substations for an independent electric source. They don’t have any back doors I can squeeze in… except here. NAVSAT access.”

At my blank look, he waves his hand at the screen. “I can get into their system through that. Then everything they have is mine. Until they discover me, but I know enough tricks to keep them from blocking me out until it’s too late.”

I only understand half what he’s saying. It doesn’t matter. He knows what he’s talking about and that’s enough.

“You rock this, Ronnie. We couldn’t do any of it without you.”

“Nah,” he says with a shy grin. “Austin is pretty good.”

“He is, no denying it. But you’re better.”

The light in his eyes from my praise shines brightly. It pleases me to see it. There’s a part of me that wishes the look on his face is because of me, not what I say to him.

It’s that kind of thinking that is going to get me in trouble.