Andria
The salvaged front door squeaked loudly as someone came in.
“That was fast,” she said, not looking up from where she was sweeping debris into a pile.
When Cowl didn’t respond immediately Andria finally glanced at the ruined entrance. It wasn’t Cowl standing there at all. That didn’t mean she didn’t recognize the person, even in the darkness shading the door—they hadn’t replaced the light fixture there yet.
“Hello, Andria.”
“Richard.” She was careful not to spit his name. Renewed confidence in herself or not, this was still a very dangerous man. Cowl might be a dragon, but he couldn’t be everywhere, protecting her from everything. She needed to be sure not to make any enemies of her own. Insulting a mob boss was probably not the best way to do that.
“I heard about the damage to your pub and decided to come down and check it out myself.”
“How kind of you.” Considering you probably ordered it.
She kept that last thought to herself.
“I know my son has been here a lot lately. It seems such a shame that things would happen this way. Why would someone do something like this? Do you have any ideas?”
“Pent-up anger at overbearing father figures perhaps?”
Richard did not immediately respond to the slight. What the hell had she been thinking? She was supposed to play nice, not get all cutesy with her insults and backhanded suggestions that Richard was involved. Andria needed to better control herself.
She just thanked her lucky stars that Cowl wasn’t there. He’d gone down to the local hardware store with a list of things to buy, and wouldn’t be back for a bit yet. When Mr. Logan had received the estimate to repair it, he’d told her he couldn’t afford it even with insurance, and would have to shut down.
Cowl, like the amazing, wonderful man that he was, had stepped in and said that he would help, and that he might be able to enlist his brothers’ aid as well. Mr. Logan had been thrilled. He liked the pub and wanted to keep it open, but business was business. Cowl had even said he’d find a way to handle the payment. She knew it was because he felt responsible for the destruction, but to Mr. Logan it had been a godsend.
“You’re a smart young woman, Andria, so I’ve been told.” Mr. Malkin stepped into the bar, his hard-soled dress shoes giving his steps an ominous click-clack to them on the hardwood floors.
“Thank you.”
“Which is why I believe you’re smart enough to realize your own worth. What your value is.”
She frowned. What was he trying to say here? “I’ve never been one to sell myself short,” she agreed. Was he trying to bribe her?
“I didn’t think so. After all, with that Master’s degree I hear you’re earning you could probably expect to make a substantial extra sum of money over the life of your career. I certainly would not want you to miss out on that.”
He was trying to bribe her. Had it really come to this? Was he so desperate to maintain his image that he would sacrifice cash just to keep her from testifying in public against his wayward son? A son she hadn’t seen in months.
More importantly, how did Andria feel about all this? The idea of money was appealing, especially with the bar being damaged and her no longer being able to afford school.
Then it hit her. That was their plan all along! Jake well knew she hated the banks and would rather drop out of school than take a loan. So he’d destroyed her sole source of income, and now here was his father offering her a way to make it all back so that she could go to school and graduate.
And then leave town, where she wouldn’t bother the family again. It was all wrapped up in a neat and tidy package. All she had to do was name her sum and accept, and everything would work out. She would get her degree and move to the coast with cash her in her pocket. Just like she’d always wanted.
It was so very tempting. She could picture herself now, heading to the beach on the weekends, exploring the cultural explosion in the downtown areas, meeting new people, making friends. People who had never met her or heard of her before. People who hadn’t seen her naked pictures on the internet. It would be so nice.
But what about Cowl? What about justice?
In return for all that, she would be letting Jack walk free, where he would be able to do the same thing to other women. More women he could hurt and expose. The actions of the rest of the Malkin clan would go unpunished as well. Jake would go free for the damage he’d caused to Mr. Logan’s bar, and Richard would continue to have an untarnished image, which she was sure he would put to use exploiting more innocent people.
Then there was Cowl. A dragon. Her dragon, if she let him in close enough. There was something special going on between them. Something powerful that she kept shying away from, too terrified of the consequences of thinking about it too much. Whatever it was though, was she willing to sacrifice that, to forego what might become of their relationship?
“Well, what do you think?” Richard was getting impatient.
“I think…” she said slowly, collecting her myriad thoughts into one cohesive answer. “I think that you’re right. I will make more money when I graduate with a Master’s degree. A degree that I’ve earned all on my own, and one that I will finish out on my own as well.”
It galled her give up the potential of so much money, but dammit, she would sooner take a loan from the banks than a bribe from this asshole. Jack was going to rot in prison for as long as possible if she had her way, and there was nothing he could do about it. Cowl had shown her the inner strength she possessed. It was about time she showed the rest of the world.
“Such a shame.” Richard’s voice had become cool, devoid of emotion. “A real waste of potential.”
“I’m not going to waste anything,” she countered. “The only thing that got wasted was the rest of your son’s life when he shared those pictures of me. I’m not the one you should be upset with here.”
“You really should rethink going to that trial.”
“I’m going. I’m not intimidated by you or your family anymore.” She was almost shouting by this point.
“Now now, Andria. Let’s not jump to any conclusions. You still have a few days to reconsider your actions. You wouldn’t want anyone to innocently suffer, now would you?”
“Jack isn’t innocent,” she laughed, hardly believing what she was hearing.
Richard made an agreeable sort of noise, and then headed for the door. “I hear you have a new boyfriend. A handsome fellow. Say hello to Cowl for me, just in case I don’t get the chance to do so myself.”
Then he was gone.
Andria stared at the door, the pieces falling into place. Richard hadn’t been talking about Jack being innocent. He’d been threatening her friends. Threatening Cowl. Her blood ran cold, and she picked up the phone to call Cowl and warn him. Dragon or no dragon, if Richard Malkin wanted him dead, he would see him dead.
She just hoped she could warn him in time.