Chapter 3

 

Lucas didn’t talk to her as he followed her. He knew that she was upset about something, but he was sure that it had nothing to do with him. Or so he hoped. Lucas reached out to Carson, who had been working on things for him for a couple of days and had told him about this woman. Right now, he was drawing a blank on what she’d told him.

You’re kidding me? She’s your mate? I’m so happy for you both. I think you guys will work well together. By the way, I had lunch with her today. She’s sort of touchy about shit, but I liked her. And I respect her as well. Where are you right now? He told her that he didn’t know, but he thought they were headed to her house. I would imagine so. She doesn’t live far from work. There is a lot about her that you don’t know. Well, that’s a given. But her family are some nasty people. She’s washed her hands of them, but they don’t know how to take no for an answer. They want money. And she has it, too.

I don’t know what I’d do if a mate came to this family who didn’t have family problems. Do you suppose the fates are telling us something? About how good we’ve had it so far? He snorted, and that had Micky looking at him. She has a fire in her eyes that has my dragon frightened of her just a little. Like he’s really glad that she’s not a dragon right now so she can’t hurt us.

I’d say that’s about right. There are a couple of things that I’m working on for her. Her fiancé died three days before they were to be wed. While it was ruled as suicide, something about it has me looking deeper. Since his death, she’s become somewhat of a recluse. Lucas asked her how long it had been. Seven years. They had filled out all the paperwork for her to receive his insurance before he was killed. Even going so far as to putting in a rider that said that if either of them were to die before they were wed, the insurance pay off would be the same.

Do you think that her family had anything to do with his death? How did he die? I’m sure you know. She told him that she was looking into it, but the death certificate said hanging. So, they’re thinking that he killed himself, correct? What makes you think otherwise?

They were in front of a building that had seen better days. However, the yard was cleaned up and had flowers bobbing in the slight breeze. The shutters on the windows had been recently painted, and he could smell that there were herbs around too. He could smell lavender and basil as he walked up the stairs.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Lucas wasn’t sure how to answer her, so he just told her that he wanted to talk to her. “I’m talked out today. I met your sister-in-law, I’m assuming. She had all kinds of things to tell me too. And other than this mate thing, why is it you think following me is going to get you—?”

The shout in his head from Winnie for them to take cover nearly had him crying out in terror. But grabbing Micky and taking them both to the porch was all he could think about. Then a spray of bullets ran over the wall they’d just been standing in front of, which had him holding Micky closer. Winnie, dragon protector, had just saved Micky’s life.

Micky didn’t move but held onto his shoulders as he lifted his head from hers. She wasn’t injured as far as he could see, but she was far from all right. She was terrified of what had just happened, he was sure. Lucas laid his forehead on hers and tried to calm his pounding heart.

“I’m okay.” He told her that he wasn’t. “I’m sorry, but you’re too heavy. I need to move.”

“I’m sorry, but I was shot recently. I just need another moment before I feel like I can sit up.” When she nodded, Lucas closed his eyes as he continued. “I have another sister-in-law—her name is Winnie—who is the protector of our kind. She’s married to my brother, Hudson. She has the ability to see into the future a little, and that’s how I knew to take you down. I’m terribly sorry if I hurt you.”

“You’re the guy from the bank. The one that was shot in the chest, aren’t you?” He said that was him. “I’m assuming that a great deal of you being hurt was for the press. What are you, anyway?”

“Dragon. And yes, a lot of it was for the newspaper and such.” Lucas rolled to his back and lay there. When Micky leaned over him he told her that he needed a few more minutes. “I don’t know what just happened, but I’m sure that Winnie knows. If you don’t mind, I’ll speak to her now. All right?”

Micky nodded and asked him if he wanted to come into her apartment. Lucas had no idea why he thought this, but he was sure that she didn’t invite people in very often. If ever. When he was seated in the large open area where the kitchen, living room, and dining room all shared the same space, he decided that he liked it. Lucas reached out to Winnie when Micky sat beside him and asked her what she knew.

Her family did this, believe it or not. Why the fuck do people think that the only solution is to kill someone? There is some big fuckery going on, I’m sorry to say. He repeated what Winnie said to him word for word. Hey Lucas, if she’s your mate, tell her to make a connection with me on her end and I can speak to you both. It’s a trick I just found out about.

Lucas told Micky what she needed to do and how to do it and felt her enter the link like she’d been doing it forever. Winnie told Micky what she was, the protector of all dragons, which included her now that she had been found by one of the Mannings.

I’m not sure how I feel about that, but I’d like to know what makes you think that anyone in my family had anything to do with what happened here. Not that I don’t think you’re right, but what do you know, please? Winnie laughed, and he could feel how much she was liking Micky. I can see my mother doing this, but as far as I know, no one but a very small group of people knew where I lived.

It was her and another woman that I can’t seem to get a hold on. This other person has too much going on for me to sort out right now. But they’re out for your ass too. I’m working on that one. Micky thanked her. Don’t thank me yet, Micky. You’ve yet to meet me and know what sort of person I am. I might just scare the shit out of you.

And you don’t think being shot at just now was right up there with the freaky shit you might have? Winnie told her that she was sorry. Don’t be. I’m not a fragile cookie like my family thinks I am. Nor am I a pushover. And they’re about to find out just how much of a real bitch I can be.

Both he and Winnie laughed. And when Winnie invited her to dinner, saying that the family was getting together, Micky asked her why she’d need to meet them all. It was scary, really, that she was taking this all so calmly. He reached into her mind and found that it was all an illusion. She was as stressed out about this as he was. When Micky said that she’d come but not to expect too much, Lucas said he’d take her there.

When they closed the connection, Micky got up and started walking around the room. Leaning back on the couch, he was comforted by the fabric and the way the cushions seemed to wrap him up in them. Micky was the best distraction for him. The couch was only making it better.

“I was almost married once. Richard was a good man, but he hung himself right before the wedding. My family said that he did it because he figured out what a loser I was and how he could have done much better. This was just hours after I found his body. Needless to say, I had a time there when I believed them. Then I grew some balls and stiffened up my spine about them.” Lucas asked her what she thought of his death. “That it was staged for it to look like he killed himself. Richard would never have done anything like that. He and I were both happy to be getting married, and I had already moved in with him before all that. Plus, there was the note he left behind.”

“I’m guessing that you don’t believe he wrote it on his own.” She said nothing and went to the bookshelf and pulled an old copy of something down. When she handed him a small sheet of paper, he read it twice before he realized what he was reading. “This isn’t a suicide note, but more like a grocery list of things that has been written out. They’re even numbered.”

“Yes, I’m particularly fond of number six, where he tells me that one more of his reasons for killing himself was how I treated my family. And that I should do better helping them out.” He read that one and the one after it twice more. “Richard didn’t like my sisters. He’d never met my mom, so that was something that was wrong about it as well. Mariam the Second, what I call my eldest sister, said that she’d seen the note in our bedroom before the police arrived. That’s how she told me she knew that his dying wish was for us to be a happy family. And for me to share my good fortune with them. She’d been out of the state when he supposedly killed himself, but I could never get her to admit to lying about it.”

“I take it that one or both of your sisters wrote the note.” Micky said that it was written by Richard, but she thought that someone was making him. “I see. So, this man is set to marry you, and suddenly figures out that you’re not right for him and hangs himself. My question would be, why couldn’t he have just broken it off or left the area? Any or all of those would have been better than killing himself. Why didn’t the police see that?”

“They saw what they wanted to and closed the case. I have thought for a while that Mariam the Second had something to do with that as well. But I can’t prove anything.” He told her that he’d have Carson or Winnie look into that. “It’s doubtful after all this time that there would be anyone that even remembered him. I believe that they all three had something to do with it, and I will until the day I die. This is one of the main reasons that I don’t have a thing to do with them.”

“There are some things that you must be made aware of. One of them is that since I’ve touched you when I pulled you to safety, you became an immortal. Just as I am.” That had her sitting down hard on the floor. “I’m sorry to have broken it to you this way, but I think it’ll help you in the long run in dealing with them.”

“Are they as well?” Lucas told her that they would be just as easy to kill as anyone else. “What else do I need to know about you? If we were to come together, that is.”

“You’ll have magic. I’m not sure what it might be, but you’ll take it from me. Also, Cooper, my eldest brother, will share since he’s the king of dragons. He’ll give you a bit of himself as well. Again, I don’t know what that’ll entail for you, but you’ll have it.” She nodded, and he continued. “I’m a very old and extremely wealthy man. Which also, as soon as we touched, became your wealth as well. And on a sour note, I’m sorry, but we can’t have children of our own. Not ever. I’m not like other shifters in that they were born a human and can change into their other self. I was born a dragon and have been given the gift of shifting to a man. We, my brothers and I, are the last of our kind.”

“You say brothers. How many do you have? So far I’m heard about three of you guys.” He told her. “Six dragons, and no one noticed this before?”

“Some know. The townspeople know a little, but they don’t say anything. We’ve provided them with a good life, a safe one too. I guess you could say that we’re keeping things on the up and up.” Micky asked him if he burned the ones that disagreed with him. “No, I give them two chances, then I crisp them up.”

They were both laughing when he heard back from Cooper this time. First, he congratulated him on finding his mate, and then brought him up to date on what he’d done to ensure their safety.

Your house is now fully secure. I took the liberty of doing that when I heard from Winnie. She said that you’d been shot at. Will there be a time when you’re not making people want to shoot you on sight? He was joking, and Lucas laughed, but his heart wasn’t in it. I’m sorry. I was just worried about the two of you and her family.

It’s fine, Cooper. You have to know that I was scared to death when I heard the bullets coming at us. I only just got her down under me when they sprayed over the walls. Speaking of which, can you send a crew over here to clean this up? I’ll pay for it. Cooper said that he had a crew on their way there now. Thank you. We’re coming to Hudson’s for dinner tonight. Winnie said that you all would be there. Have you heard?

Yes, we’re supposed to meet Micky en masse. I hope we don’t run her off right away. You know as well as I that we can be quite boisterous when we’re all together like this.

Lucas told him that it would be fine. She’s stressed out but hiding it well. I’ve told her only what she’s asked me about. What she would gain from our relationship, and that she’s an immortal. Her first question to that was, would her family be as well. When I told her no, Micky relaxed a bit.

Cooper said that he knew that Winnie and the others were looking into things, and that they’d have more information when he got to the house. Thanking his brother, he told Micky what he’d been told. He explained to her that he couldn’t and would never lie to her and wouldn’t hold things back from her either.

“I appreciate that. But if I ever ask you if a certain bit of clothing makes my ass look big, you’re never to answer that question truthfully.” He told her that he thought she had a fine ass anyway. “Flattery will not get you laid. Just giving you a heads up on that.”

“You can’t stay here. I’m sure you know that.” She nodded and looked around the small place. “You can stay with Cooper or one of the other married brothers but staying here will get you hurt. And I would very much like to avoid that.”

“Why one of your married brothers?” He told her. “Ah, I see. The jealous type, are you? I’m not sure why you’d feel that way about me, but I don’t fuck around. Not even with you, even if you are my mate.”

“A man can only try, my dear.” She smiled at him, and he felt as if the sun was shining only on them. Clearing his throat, he spoke again. “You can pack up some things to take tonight. I’ll have someone come in and take care of the rest in the morning. What of this is yours?”

“Nothing. It was furnished when I got here. I’ve liked that, I guess. Every couple of years they upgrade the furniture, and every four change the carpets. It’s been a dream living here. Where do you live?” He told her that he’d had a house for a while now and he liked it. “You think that I will if I move in with you?”

“If you don’t, then we’ll sell it and move to something better. The only request I have is that it’s close to my brothers. I need them like I need air. They’re all I have besides you.” She told him that it wouldn’t come to that, she was sure. “All I hope for is for you to be happy. That’s my goal in life right now. And keeping you safe.”

Nodding, she went to the only other room in the place other than the bathroom. When she came out, she had a suitcase and a duffle. He took them both and asked her what else she needed here.

“Nothing. I mean, there is food in the cabinets. If you could have someone donate it to someplace, that’ll be fine. And I’ll live with you, but only live there for the time being. I still don’t know that this is going to work out for either of us.” He told her that he’d work on that. “You don’t have to. Just be yourself. I think that’s all I want for now.”

He decided that he would be himself, and show her the sides of himself that he rarely let anyone else see. Lucas doubted that his brothers saw him as he did himself. No one did. But he’d let Micky see him, and hope that she’d not run in the other direction.

~*~

Me-Me looked at the newspaper, trying hard to find out if the men that she’d hired had indeed killed Micky. Going over it once again, she convinced herself that the paper had come out before they had caught up with her. Micky needed to pay attention to her, or there was going to be trouble. When her name was called to go to see her sister, she stood up and fixed her clothing. It still stung her that the man at the liquor store had asked her if she had a senior discount card.

“I most certainly do not. I’m not nearly old enough for that.” And she wasn’t. She was just shy of her thirty-fifth birthday. “Where is your manager? I’d like to explain to him how rude you were to me.”

When the manager dragged his ass to the cash register, there were several people in line behind her. They were telling her to get over herself, to let it go. But she couldn’t. There wasn’t any way that she was going to allow anyone to treat her this way.

After telling him that the boy had called her an old woman, the manager just looked at the kid. He told him that he’d only asked her if she had a senior discount card, but he hadn’t said a thing about her being old.

“And how is that not calling me old? I just turned twenty-five, you insolent person. You should be nicer and more observant to those around you.” Me-Me had been taking ten years from her age since she was actually twenty-five. Someone from the back of the line told her to practice what she preached. Then the manager asked for her driver’s license. “I will not allow you to have that. It has my address on it, and anything else that someone like you could use.”

“Someone like me? And what, exactly, do you mean by that?” She told him a pervert. “I’m no more a pervert than you are twenty-five. I’m thinking that that boat sailed a long time ago. Now, either show me your license to make this purchase or get out of my store. You’re holding up the line and making a nuisance of yourself.”

“A nuisance? Me? No, it’s you that is causing a ruckus. I demand that you give me a discount on my purchase and have that boy tell me he’s sorry.” The kid laughed and told her, with a gleam of wickedness in his eyes, that he was sorry that he’d thought she was much older than she looked. “That is not a proper way to say it. I demand that you do this right and tell me that you’re genuinely sorry for saying such a thing to me.”

In the end she was asked to leave the store. And when she didn’t, the police showed up and escorted her, none too gently, out to her car. When she left the lot, she peeled rubber and nearly hit one of the stupid cops with her wheel. Too bad she had missed. It was something she would never forget. She’d just take her business elsewhere from now on.

When her sister was seated across from her, she barely recognized her. Someone had blackened her eye, and her hair looked as if a rat had taken up residence there and was moving in his cousins and all the other rats he knew. They weren’t allowed to touch, but she did tell her that she was sorry and asked her if she needed a brush.

“No, I don’t need a brush, Me-Me. I need to get out of here. Two of the reprobates cornered me last night and beat the shit out of me for no reason at all. They said that I was making trouble for the rest of them by being rich. Well, that’s not what they said, exactly, but you understand what I’m going through. And the guards here are saying that I will have to go before a judge to get my sentencing taken care of. I might have to pay a huge fine for what they consider trespassing.” Me-Me told her that she was so sorry, but she’d only just found Micky. “And what did she have to say about helping her sister out? I bet she told you off, didn’t she?”

“I’ll have you know that she’ll never get to do that. But I’ve not actually spoken to her since the phone call when you were first arrested. And every time I think of that call, I get all the madder at her. Who does she think she is, treating me that way?” Bethany pointed out that she was the one in jail. “Yes, yes, I know that. But I’m the one dealing with her. And she’s being as elusive as ever. I swear to you, Bethany, she isn’t going to get away with treating the two of us like we’re nothing. What does it matter to her if she has to fork over a few hundred dollars? She did get all of Great Grandda’s money and stocks. She’s probably squandered it all away by now, anyway. Maybe that’s why she won’t help.”

“She has always been tight with her money, Me-Me. I’m sure that you’re wrong about that. And she had a way to turn her money into more, while you and I were struggling on budgets as well as alimony checks. Micky has no idea what we go through every day with the restrictions that are put on us. Why, the month before he filed for divorce from me, my credit cards were voided and I couldn’t have my jewels unless I asked for them to wear. Who cares if they were his mother’s? I love wearing them. And as his wife, he should have wanted me to have them anyway. Who is he going to give them to but me? I know that he’ll never marry again.”

Me-Me glanced around the area. At least they weren’t behind glass walls when they spoke. Most of these criminals should be, just to be sure that they’d not hurt people like her. She looked back at her sister when she said her name.

“David told me if I would promise not to come on the property anymore, and to abide by the rules that are in the divorce decree, that he’d give me ten thousand dollars to set myself up someplace other than here. Did you know that he’s selling my house? Like I’m not going to be coming back there.” Me-Me asked her if she was going to do it. “No. He has a great deal of money, and ten grand isn’t enough for me to live like I should be living. To be honest with you, I thought he was going to give me ten grand a month. But it was just the one time, he told me. I hate being in here when he was making plans to hurt me. I don’t deserve this, Me-Me. I was a good wife to him. Not like I was to the other four. I tried hard not to spend so much and not to sleep around. That should give me some goodness from his part, don’t you think?”

“I warned you about having men come over to your own house. Didn’t I?” Bethany nodded and then smiled at her. “What are you thinking right now? I have a feeling that it’s going to be good.”

“I was thinking that you should call Mom and have her deal with him. She’ll get me more money than ten grand, and perhaps some of the other things from the house that I could sell off. She knows people like that, I know she does.” Me-Me asked her if she meant robbery. “Yes, I do. She’s done it before. And there are a lot of things in that house that are worth more than your husband is.”

She didn’t like being reminded that Bethany had married better than she had. But she was still collecting money every month from four of her ex-husbands, and that made her by far better off than her sister. Of course, Me-Me was seeing things that had her thinking that she’d not be married too much longer. It was time for her to be looking for another ex-husband. This one had made her sign a pre-nup before they’d been married, but like a fool she’d thought that she could convince Neil that he didn’t need to have it any longer. The man was forever pissing her off.

“I’ll call Mom when I leave here. They take your cell phone when you arrive at this dreadful place, did you know that?” She shivered when she thought of the germs and bugs her sister probably had by now. “When you get out of here, Bethany, you’re going to have to live in a hotel for a while. You more than likely have all kinds of things crawling all over your person. Have you seen many little creatures since you’ve arrived?”

“Yes. Yesterday my food was moving. I swear to you, Me-Me, I’m going to sue this place when they let me go. I hate it here.” She asked her if her food was really moving. “No, but I thought it was. It was just settling, they told me. The gravy or whatever it was, it was settling over the biscuit that was under it. And don’t get me started on the food here. They’re making me eat white bread and drink sugary drinks. They’re ruining my figure, I tell you. I’ll be a fat slob like the rest of them before I’m set free.”

Me-Me put her hand on her own waist line. She was getting heavier as well. No matter how much she exercised or dieted, she could not lose the extra around her waist. When she’d gone to her doctor about getting the fat sucked out of her again, he told her that it was a product of getting older. She would continue to put on weight for her golden years. Me-Me didn’t take that any better than the boy asking her if she had a senior discount card.

Leaving the jail, Me-Me knew that as soon as she got home she was going to burn her clothing. It was more than likely filled with all sorts of creatures that she didn’t want to think about. Just the thought of them made her skin itch. Going to the parking lot, she saw a large truck go by her and thought that the car on it looked a great deal like hers. And when she got to the space where she was sure that she’d parked her car, she found a note attached to a clipboard on the ground.

Picking it up and reading it, she found that she had been had, and by none other than her own husband. He had taken her car from her, in the form of payment for overspending again. She was going to make him pay for this. Walking to the front gate, she thought of all the things she was going to say to him when she got home. Telling the man at the gate her woes, she was surprised when he asked her if she was Mariam Mantle Patterson.

“Why yes, I am. Why did you want to know?” She was thinking that he’d recognized her from someplace that she’d been. But when he shoved a blue stack of papers at her, she had no choice but to take them. “What is this about? I don’t want this.”

“You’ve been served.”

Since she had no idea what that meant, she tore open the paperwork that had a seal on it that looked familiar. The man was laughing as he told her that he had recorded that she’d taken the paperwork. But she wasn’t listening to him. The fucking bastard of a husband, Neil, had filed for a divorce without asking her about it.

“Oh, I hate men.” She stomped her feet, and no one even looked in her direction. That pissed her off more. Someone should wonder why a beautiful woman like her was having such a hard time of it. “How the hell do I get home now?”

That question, along with about a million more, came to her as she stood there. She could call a cab, she supposed, but she didn’t have any cash. And her credit cards had been destroyed, right in front of her, by her dear soon-to-be-dead husband. The fucker was going to pay for this.