Chapter Nine

Daire soared through the clouds. Grace’s words echoed in his mind, and he huffed. Smoke shot out of his nostrils. He gripped the phone tighter in his talon, careful not to drop or squash the device. Even though he couldn’t answer it in this form, he wished she’d call to give him an update.

It had been three minutes since she called. Surely, she stayed inside and out of danger. He hoped. His wings flapped faster, moving him through the air at lightning speed.

He circled over the complex and snorted, blowing a puff of fire from his mouth. The lycanthrope were there. One was dragging a kicking and screaming Grace through the parking lot.

He swooped down, pulling his wings into his body. The air smacked him in the face as he free fell. It was against the rules to expose himself like this, but he couldn’t let them take Grace. They couldn’t bite her until the full moon, but these people were psychotic. There were other things they might do.

Daire sucked in a breath. He blew it toward two lycanthrope that were by a gray van. The inferno hit them, swallowing them into a ball of flames. He landed in the parking lot, flapping his wings hard enough to knock Grace and the man holding her down.

Once free, she kicked out her foot and wiggled away from his grasp. Daire roared, sending another puff of fire toward the man who’d dared to touch Grace. The lycanthrope shrieked as flames engulfed his body.

Daire stomped toward the van. He swung his tail back and forth as he approached. A man behind the wheel turned on the ignition, trying to flee.

Daire leaped, digging his sharp talon into the hood, holding the vehicle in place. He snorted, fixing his eyes on the driver. The driver darted out. Daire jumped toward them, catching the driver with his talon and driving him into the ground.

The driver hollered. Daire shoved his sharpened talon into the man’s back. Then, he sprayed more fire from his mouth, incinerating the man beneath him. The man’s body turned to ash then flaked away with the wind.

Daire surveyed the area and made sure the lycanthrope were gone before closing his eyes and returning to his human form. He rushed into his apartment, tossed on a pair of jeans and then hurried back out.

Grace was at the van, peering inside.

“Let me see,” he said putting a hand on her shoulder to pull her back. He peered in. Kevin sat huddled in the corner crying. Aric lay bound on the floor, unconscious.

“Is Aric going to be all right?” Grace asked.

“Yeah. It’s probably just a tranquilizer. They affect us in our human form for a short bit. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” He turned to Grace, cupping her cheeks while assessing her.

His eyes roamed over her. There was a small red splotch on her temple. Her clothes were twisted and torn from her struggling, but other than that, there were no obvious signs of injury.

She reached up and put her hands over his. “I’m okay.”

“What happened?” Ethney asked, coming up behind Grace.

“It looks like they tried to abduct Kevin and Aric. They’re gone for now, but I guarantee you they’ll be back,” Daire said. He stroked his finger over Grace’s smooth cheek before pulling away. “We need to leave.” He closed his eyes and then opened them, meeting Grace’s gaze. “It’s not safe for you here either.”

She gulped but nodded. “I think I know a place where we can go that will be safe. I have to get Caden and pack up my things.”

“Go. Hurry.” Daire urged with a nod.

Grace hurried off, taking the steps two at a time to her apartment.

Daire scrubbed a hand over his face. “I shouldn’t have gotten her involved. She’s in danger now. Her son, too.”

“You can’t blame yourself,” Ethney said.

“Can’t I? If I hadn’t taken her to the bar—”

“Don’t,” Ethney cut him off. “I encouraged you to take her out, remember? We should be entitled to a little fun and happiness.”

“We need to get out of here.” Daire climbed into the van and loosened the bindings on Aric before plucking seven tranquilizer darts out of his back and neck. The water dragon had put up one hell of a fight. “You take the van and follow Grace and me in her car. We’ll figure out where to dump it later.”

“Got it. It sounds like they left the engine running for us and everything. Good thing you didn’t blow everyone up.” Ethney winked at him as she slid closer to Kevin. “Hey, kid. It’s okay. We’re going to get you someplace safe, okay?”

Kevin nodded but didn’t look up.

The kid had been through a lot in less than a month. It would be a miracle if he didn’t lose the last bit of sanity he had on the full moon.

“What about cleanup?” Ethney asked.

Daire hopped out of the van and looked around. No one was out taking pictures, and he didn’t hear sirens. That had to be a good sign. He trotted through the parking lot. There was nothing left of his victims but ash. It was already starting to blow away with the wind.

“Come on, buddy,” Grace’s voice soothed.

Daire glanced up. Grace led her son out of their apartment. She had a few bags shoved on her arm and the free arm wrapped around Caden.

He hustled up the steps. “Let me help you.”

“What’s going on?” Caden asked as he looked from Daire to his mom for answers.

“I thought it’d be best if we got away for a bit,” Grace said. She smoothed a hand on top of her son’s head while handing Daire some of her bags.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

Grace picked her son up and carried him down the stairs to her car. “I told you my parents used to own a bed and breakfast. I thought we could go there.”

“Can it be traced back to you?” Daire asked.

“No. They sold it a few years ago. The people who bought it couldn’t keep up with the payments on the place and it went into foreclosure. It’s been sitting vacant for a little over a year, but we should be able to start the wood burner and use the generators to be comfortable,” she said. “It’s far away from the cabins, too.”

“Ethney’s going to follow us in the van,” Daire said, nodding at the other woman as he and Grace walked past her.

“Can she drive?”

“Yeah. I never felt the need to learn, but Ethney and Aric are a little more restricted on how they can move, being water shifters.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Grace opened the back door and got Caden situated before getting in the driver’s seat.

Daire looked up at the blue sky and wondered if Astraea was watching them now. Would she be angry he’d involved Grace in all this? It didn’t matter. The only thing he cared about now was stopping the lycanthrope and keeping Grace and her son safe.