Chapter Ten
Kase
He eyed the map spread out on the table, making sure he committed the imaginary barriers to memory.
“Wouldn’t want to bother Mommy and Daddy,” he mocked, thinking of Jerrik and Coltaine.
No, he would do as he was told, and stay inside Jerrik’s territory. Fortunately for him, the territory was rather large, and much of it was vast mountain wilderness, unoccupied by humans. A dragon could easily disappear into the deeper mountains and live wild without fear of being spotted.
That seemed like the best course of action for him now. He eyed the ATV in the middle of his outbuilding. It wasn’t a barn, since he didn’t raise livestock, but it was far bigger than a shed. The side-by-side machine wasn’t a speedster, but instead meant for hauling supplies long distance. It was loaded down now with extra cans of gas, camping supplies, non-perishable food and water, along with a few other fun toys. Everything he would need for a few weeks in the bush.
Kase could easily live off the land if he decided to stay longer, or stretch what he was bringing to last. Hunting wasn’t something he enjoyed, even if he’d learned to be good at it nearly seventy years earlier in another life. Fishing was fine, but he’d get sick and tired of fish rather quickly. He was prepared for any eventuality. Anything was better than endangering mass amounts of human lives.
Especially when one of them was Michelle’s. She wouldn’t leave town immediately, he knew that, which meant he had to put some distance between them. The pull of his dragon to its mate was something he had a hard time denying and why Kase had spent so much time away from his home in recent years. One too many occasions of almost running into her “randomly” had left him scared.
The assignment overseas to Fort Banner to help fight the Outsiders had seemed like the perfect opportunity for him. Unfortunately, he’d screwed that one up, and wasn’t likely to be welcomed back anytime soon. Anger rippled through him at the memory of that night. It was that memory that spurred him now, encouraging him to get as far away from Michelle as possible, before it happened again.
Even just thinking about her conjured up an image of her in his head. Medium height for a woman, smaller shoulders, thick waist, and curves that went on for miles. Black hair long, thick, and untamable, much like its owner. Eyes of the darkest brown that sparkled wildly with a sense of humor that was as loud as it was sharp at times.
The perfect woman for him, if he could only get himself under control and learn to harness his dragon and its peculiarities of the mind.
He was daydreaming about her. Angrily, he shook his head, then smacked his palm to it, trying to get rid of the picture of her. Now was not the time for that. Kase needed to put her out of his head, to forget about her. That would be the easiest course of action.
The sound of a car engine and tires rumbling over gravel caught his attention, his head lifting in the direction of the driveway.
“What the hell do you want now, Jerrik?” he snarled, rolling the map up and stuffing it into a drawer. He didn’t want the Magistrate knowing where in the mountains he intended on going. This was a private trip.
The big doors were open in anticipation of him taking the ATV out, and now they gave him an excellent view of the driveway. A white compact came to a halt behind his truck. Whoever it was, it certainly wasn’t Jerrik. No dragon shifter could fit in such a ridiculous toy vehicle.
“No,” he gasped as the occupant got out. The first thing he saw was a mane of midnight falling from their head. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
He looked skyward, muttering a few choices words directed at Fate, explaining how tired he was of its intervening in his life, and how it could go fornicate with itself. Not that he expected that to help, but it made him feel better.
“Kase!” she shouted as soon as she saw him.
“How do you know where I live?” he growled, loud enough to be heard.
“I told Molly I had to give you something you’d left at the lab.”
He frowned. “I didn’t leave anything.”
“No, but I wanted to give you this anyway,” she called, lifting a hand with her middle finger raised.
Despite everything, Kase found himself laughing.
“What’s so funny?” she snapped, coming closer.
“You drove all the way out here to give me the finger for not funding your lab?”
The dynamic between them was all sorts of screwy, and it was messing with his head. He should be terrified to see her, but he was happy. She should be miserable and pissed, without realizing it should be directed at him, but she was smiling. Everything they should be feeling seemed to evaporate around each another.
This is not good. Get rid of her, Kase. Make her leave. He didn’t want to be an asshole to her, though. Hadn’t he already done that by shutting down her lab? How much more could be asked of him? Couldn’t he just give her a few minutes of time, to perhaps help her come to terms with the sudden changes in her life? Would that be so bad?
His inner voice didn’t respond. That wasn’t a good sign. Okay, fine.
“I didn’t want you to think you could get off that easy,” she said crossly, arms folding over her chest.
“You need to go,” he said, coming perilously close to pleading.
“And you need to fund the lab, Kase. Please. Not just for me, but for everyone else who works there. So many people are out of work now. We need you.”
“No, you don’t. Please, you can’t be around me,” he said, taking a step back.
Michelle rolled her eyes. “Apparently. And why not? What’s your excuse this time?” She took a step closer.
He mimed it, but his legs were longer, so his steps backward actually put more space between them.
“It’s not safe,” he said, deciding to go for the truth.
She snorted. “OooooO, are you some kind of baaddddd guy?” she mocked.
“Yes.” He stared at her straight on, hoping she would understand the depths of gravity in his voice, and just leave, before he did what his dragon was screeching at him to do.
Instead, Michelle peered past him at the heavily laden ATV. “Oh, I get it now. You’re heading out into the wilderness. Have to bury a body, do you? What’s the term… Put it six feet under, is that it? Have I seen too much?” she asked, waggling her hands back and forth at shoulder height as if she should be spooked.
“Yes, that’s exactly it,” he told her. “You got it in one; you’re so perceptive. Those bags actually hold multiple bodies. You see, I chop them up into tiny pieces, take them out into the woods, and scatter it around for my army of pet bears that I’m raising to take over the world with.”
By this point, Michelle was trying to cover her snickers. “You’re so full of shit, Kase. There are things you might be, but a bad person is not one of them.” She started to walk around him, but he moved to block her path.
“That doesn’t mean I’m not a danger to you.”
For whatever reason, that caused her to pause. Her eyelids lowered as she frowned. “You know, I almost believed that line.”
“You should,” he said, helpless, as she pushed around him and went inside, looking the ATV over.
“Planning on being gone awhile?” she asked casually, looking back at him over her shoulder.
Visions of bending her over the seat of the ATV flashed through his mind. Kase grimaced and looked away, but they didn’t leave. Dammit, he needed to get a grip. If he lost control now, the only person around was Michelle.
“Possibly,” he said to answer her question. “I like to be prepared.”
“Cool. Let’s go then.”
He whipped back around to stare at her. “You must be joking if you think I’d take you along with me. You have no gear or clothing. You do realize I’m planning on going out for days or weeks, right?”
To his relief, she seemed to ponder that seriously. “Well, now you’re going out for hours. You can show me around. Give me a tour of the area. It’s the least you can do. Hopefully it won’t cost you too much.” That last was a shot at his lack of funding.
The gas was nothing to him, but what if that’s not what it ended up costing him?
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” He was losing the will to resist. The idea of being with Michelle was growing in appeal, boosted by the constant urgings of his dragon, eager to spend more time with her.
“Maybe not, but I don’t have much else to lose at this point. So giddy-up, cowboy,” she drawled, hauling herself into the passenger seat.
Kase looked skyward for the second time since she’d arrived, asking for guidance, trying to figure out what he should be doing, how he was going to make it all work.
He didn’t get an answer. The only thing he got was an impatient wave from Michelle to hurry it up. Of course, he could still turn and leave. Get in his truck and drive away, or simply just run off into the woods. There were ways to avoid spending time with her if he really wanted to.
Kase enjoyed being near Michelle, though. Her company, her banter, just looking at her—it all appealed to him, and every time he did it, he craved more.
And that was exactly the problem.