TWENTY-TWO
Ker woke with a warm body in his arms. He breathed in and smelled his incredible mate. Official mate, now. Bites and all. Then that voice in his head reminded him his “mate” didn’t have the dragon’s mark. He went over every inch of skin on her body. No sign. She wasn’t the true woman for him.
Yeah, well, hell with that. His heart chose. His dragon didn’t balk at the thought, nor did it jump for joy. So, he had his mate forever. If his marked mate did show up, then he’d use his brother’s plan and have Nana remove his dragon to make him human with Tiana. They would age together and die together.
A cell phone rang somewhere under the clothes scattered on the floor. It wasn’t his ring tone, so it must’ve been Tiana’s phone. Either way, he wasn’t ruining the mated bliss to dig to find it. Instead, Tiana burst from his arms.
“My phone. That’s my phone.” Shirts, pants, and a bra went flying. She moved so quickly, he could barely keep up with watching her. “I’m here. I’m here. I mean, hello.”
“Tiana?” a man’s voice said. Ker was not happy with another man calling his mate. He’d buy her a new phone with a different number so any of her past boyfriends couldn’t call. Jealous much? “This is Detective Randall calling about the break-in at your home.
“Oh, yes,” she replied, huffing to catch her breath.
“I hope I’m not calling too early.”
She looked around. Ker assumed she was looking for a clock. “No, this is a great time.” Ker didn’t need to smell her lie to know she told one. “Do you have some information? Did you find the body?”
“Not yet. Working on that, but the blood analysis came back. It’s not much help,” he replied. “But our lab has finished with the fingerprints.”
“And…”
His mate wasn’t very good at being patient. He’d have to mercilessly tease and slowly drag out her next orgasm.
“There were two people in your house. One set of prints are in a lot of places while the other is only on the door and kitchen counter where the blood was.”
“What does that mean,” Tiana asked.
“Well, could be a couple things. It could mean he didn’t touch anything, which isn’t likely with how much was tossed.”
“Okay, I’ll believe that,” she replied, “but what else?”
“This possibility seems as unlikely as the other…”
“What is it? It’s okay to tell me, Detective.” Tiana sat on the side of the mattress and he scooted closer to rub her back to release the tension built up in her shoulders.
“The theory is that the second person was there just to kill the one who went through you home.”
“What?” Tiana smelled like fear and now confusion. “That doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
Ker thought she was right. Why would one bad guy come into his mate’s home to kill another bad guy?
“Anyway,” the detective continued, “the first set of prints that we found all over were in the database. They belong to man named Carlos Reddik.”
Tiana sighed. “He was one of Oliver’s men. The other prints didn’t come up with anything?”
“Nothing on the second guy,” Randall confirmed.
Ker leaned closer to her other ear. “Does he know about the bodies found here?”
“Oh, Detective, wait.” Tiana turned to him. “Is it okay to have Detective Randall call the sheriff?”
“Better yet,” Ker said, “I’ll ask the sheriff to call him. It’ll give me an excuse to call him.”
“That’ll work. I have his card in my purse.” Tiana put the phone back to her ear. “Detective, we’ll have the sheriff here call you. Basically, Oliver and another of his men followed me to where I am and after some fighting, they disappeared. Their bodies were found yesterday and it was really bad. I barely recognized Oliver.”
“Seriously? I wouldn’t have thought the man was that idiotic,” Randall responded.
“It doesn’t matter now,” she said. “He’s dead and I feel safe.” She turned and smiled at him. Ker’s heart jumped. “Will you call if something comes up?”
“I will. And I’ll wait for the call from your sheriff.”
“Thank you, Detective Randall.” Tiana tossed the phone on the covers and fell back on her pillow with a big sigh.
That sound didn’t make him happy. He cuddled next to her. “What’s wrong, love?” He was ready for the typical female response of “nothing.” He’d heard his brothers complain nonstop about that word.
“I’m just in a crappy mood now. Talking about dead bodies and blood…”
He kissed her forehead. “What would make you feel better? What’s your favorite food?”
“My favorite thing in the morning is warm, glazed donuts.”
He smiled. “A woman after my heart. My favorite are bear claws.”
Her brow went up. “Not the real thing, right? You’re talking pastry?”
Ker leaned back and laughed. “Seeing that I’m a dragon and capable of eating a real bear, your question is reasonable.” Her brow didn’t move. “And, yes, I’m talking confectionaries.” He took her lips with his, tasting her like he would every morning for the rest of her life.
He pulled away and licked his mouth. “How about you stay in bed or I can draw you a hot bath in the soaking tub, then I’ll go out and bring back a donut buffet.”
She sucked in a breath. “You’d do that for me?”
Taking on a serious expression, he brushed his fingers over her cheek. “I will do anything for you. Anything. Remember that.” He kissed her again, slowly and deeply, before coming up for air. “Do you want a bath?”
She stretched and yawned. “Nah, I want coffee first.”
He slid off the bed. “I’ll make it. You stay here,” he said.
“No,” she said, pulling the sheet around her naked body. He reached out to pull it away. She playfully slapped his hand. “I want you back here with my donuts, pronto, mister.”
He laughed as he dug around a drawer looking for something to put on. Out came a T-shirt and a pair of faded jeans. Slipping into loafers, he asked her, “You have clothes, right?”
“In my suitcase in my room. I over-packed, as usual.”
“Great.” He kissed her quickly. “I’ll be back in no time. There’s a donut shop not too far from here.”
She waved him away. “Go! I’ll have coffee ready when you get back.”
He hurried out the room, grabbed her keys from the table by the entrance, and headed through the front door.
The roads were quiet for the morning. But he was used to big city traffic and all the headaches that came with them. Out of habit, he reached for his phone to look up the traffic flow to avoid the backups. Then he realized he’d left it at the cabin somewhere. His hand whipped around and slapped his back pocket where he kept his wallet. Nothing there.
“Goddammit.” He’d have to go back and get money, delaying her donuts even more. Not much he could do about it. He pulled the car into a parking lot and turned it around to retrace the route.
He wondered if he could sneak in and out without her knowing. He wouldn’t have to explain his brain fart then. No coffee was in his system. How could she expect him to function without the liquid that brings life?
When he turned onto the driveway rock, he noted the front of the cabin didn’t look right. Driving closer, he saw what bothered him: the front door hung askew after being kicked in.
TWENTY-THREE
Ker was out of the car the instant he threw it into Park. The bit of snow outside the front porch was disturbed as if there had been struggle. There could’ve been some blood in the mix, but he wasn’t stopping to check since it was so little. Not yet.
“Tiana,” he shouted on his way to the door. Inside, he glanced around to see nothing disturbed, no sign of a fight. He ran upstairs to the master bed where he last saw her.
“Tiana!” The clothes had been picked up and laid out on the bed. She wasn’t in the bathroom. He ran into her room hoping to see her fine and dandy. But no. The sheet from his bed was gathered on the floor and her suitcase was open. Looked like she put on clothes.
Back down the stairs, he stood in the living room, staring around. His brain was in panic mode, not thinking clearly, just screaming at him to find her. Then he caught the scent in the air at the same time someone stepped out of the kitchen: fresh coffee and Sayeh.
Ker whipped around to face the bastard. He had to fight to keep his dragon under control, keep it from bursting out and chomping down on the prick. Sayeh held a cup of coffee in his hands and wore a smug smile on his face.
He didn’t hesitate to approach the man. “Where is she, Sayeh. Tell me and I’ll let you live.”
The dick tsked. “Relax, lover boy. She’s fine. For the moment.”
“Where,” he demanded.
“She’ll be arriving at my compound soon,” he said while scooting out a chair at the dining room table. “Have a seat. Let’s chat for a bit.”
Ker’s dragon was adamant to claw its way out and tear the man to shreds. It wanted its mate and much as Ker did. He clenched his jaw and reasoned with his animal that he needed to talk, which required a human mouth. The overgrown lizard backed off enough for Ker to concentrate on finding out what Sayeh wanted.
As calmly as he could, Ker sat at the other end of the table. Too close and he might snap the prick’s neck.
“What do you want, Sayeh? What will take for you to go away and let us live our lives peacefully?”
Sayeh smiled. “I want everything you took from me.”
“I never took anything from you. What the hell are you talking about?”
“The throne, the riches,” the man snarled, “they are supposed to be mine. I deserve them.”
This man was delusional.
“How in god’s name does the ‘throne,’ as you call it, belong to you. It’s by birthright. And who the hell cares? There’s no other dragons on this planet except those you already rule. Who are you going to reign over? The bugs?”
“Fuck you, you privileged little prick,” Sayeh shot back. “Now here are your choices. You come with me willingly to my compound and we release your little mate or you resist and I’ll let the men have her until they are all satisfied.”
Rage filled his body. He gripped onto the wooden table, trying to stay human. The compression made the wood creak. Maybe coffee would distract his dragon enough to chill out. He sprang from his chair and headed into the kitchen. He pulled the mostly full pot from the machine and pour it into a mug sitting next to it.
Sayeh came through the entry way and leaned against the wall. “What will it be, Romeo? Her or you?”
“Stupid question, bastard.”
The first swallow of coffee burned down his throat, some of the pain feeling justified for his getting in this situation. He should’ve been more careful, more on guard. That was the thing, when danger wasn’t around, you tended to get lazy, less ready. Worrying about her ex-boyfriend stalking her and his subsequent death made him think all was safe.
He gulped down another mouthful of black liquid. “You let her go and I’ll come quietly.”
“Wonderful,” Sayeh said. “We’ll shift and be on our way.”
“Hold on there, dickhead,” Ker said. “You let her go first, then I’ll come. I’m not falling for any tricks of yours. Hand her over now.”
Sayeh lifted his mug to sip. “Very well, dragon. We’ll do this the hard way. Or rather, the easy way.”
What the fuck was the dick talking about? At that second, Ker’s sight slid into double vision. He shook his head to clear it. Mistake. The room swirled around him. His dragon roared helplessly in his head. What was happening?
Sayeh poured his coffee down the drain. “Not good to drink or eat anything when the enemy has been in your house.” The last thing Ker heard him say was “Looks like you are going to fall for my tricks after all.”
* * *
Ker awoke to pain sizzling through his body. He let out a scream.
“Glad to see you’re finally with us, dragon. How much of the damn poisoned coffee did you drink? It’s afternoon already.” The blurry image of a man appeared before Ker. The room was too dark for his eyes to focus, or there was too much poison in his system still.
“I got better things to do than sit here and poke you with a stun gun,” the man said and laughed. “Like fucking that sweet little pussy they just brought in. She’s going to be good.”
Ker knew he was talking about Tiana. Whether it was the truth or not didn’t matter. His dragon was going to kill every person there. Wherever ‘there’ was. Slowly, his vision improved.
The area smelled dank and musty with humidity in the air. Were they in an underground bunker of some type. Concrete was at his back and under his feet. He pulled on the restraints holding his hands above his head and him to the wall.
The links around his wrist bit into his skin and the chains gave little slack to move.
“No use in trying to escape those, boy,” the man said. “The witch put a spell on them to make ‘em unbreakable. Even by dragons like you. And you can’t shift either while in them.”
Ker relaxed, leaning against the cold at his back. He wanted to ask if Tiana was released, but even in his delirious state of mind, he knew the answer to that. But the question was, was she close by and where was he.
The stun gun pushed against his side. The pain was intense, but not unbearable. Nevertheless, a scream issued from his throat.
“Ah,” a voice rang from outside the room, “sounds like our guest is finally awake.” Sayeh walked in with a piece of bloody steak in his hand. He tore a chunk from the slab and put it in his mouth. He licked his fingers, noisily. “When was the last time you ate?” he asked.
Ker’s insides growled. He hadn’t eaten since their dinner early evening the night before. “Asshole,” he mumbled. The two men laughed. Ker’s dragon was suddenly on a diet and he’d have to live with it. He would live and find his mate and kill this motherfucker in front of him.
This damn war between them needed to end. Preferably with the death of all the black dragons. Their hatred toward others would never change. They’d been like this ever since Sayeh began his campaign years ago. What had Sayeh said at the cabin? Something about birthright and ruling. The man was delusional.
“What do you want from me, Sayeh? What’s worth holding me to a wall with enchanted chains? You know my brothers will come for me.”
The prick’s smile grew wide on his face. “I plan on that. And I’m ready for them.”
Ker didn’t like the sound of that. “What are planning, Sayeh? Whatever it is, you won’t win.”
The man erupted into laughter and waved a hand at the other guy. The stun gun pressed against his side. This time it was held against him for several seconds. Now the pain was crippling. He had no control over his body. His legs gave, hanging him from his wrists. He smelled his own blood, but had no idea where it came. Could be any part of his body, since at the moment, he couldn’t feel anything but agony.
Sayeh bit off another piece of meat and chewed. “I don’t suppose you’d like to tell me the location of your or your brothers’ treasure piles, eh?”
Ker couldn’t lift his head, but his mouth and tongue worked. “Go fuck yourself, bastard.”
“That’s what I thought. But I had to try.” He waved his hand again for the torture to start then he walked out, closing the thick metal door behind him. Ker held on as long as he could while the electricity flowed through his body. His dragon tried to take over, but the witch’s spell was strong, preventing him from shifting.
Finally, relief came when his vision tunneled and mind blacked out.