Chapter Fourteen
Catherine slumped back in the seat of the patrol car and stared up at the ceiling. She had just been arrested and was possibly going to prison for the rest of her life for a crime she didn’t commit. Yet, all she could think of was the look on Matthew’s face when she stood there, being accused of murder. He couldn’t even look at her. Did he believe them?
Of course he did. He caught her about to run away again. Only guilty people ran away. In a way, maybe she was guilty. If she had stayed and gone to the police, she would have helped put away those bastards who killed Rissa. But she was so damn scared. The Chesnovak Brotherhood was too notorious. There would have been a trial, and her face would have been all over the news. And then the truth of who she really was would come out.
"What the fuck is going on?" Meacham cursed, and the car screeched to a halt. Catherine let out a cry and braced herself against the glass between the front and back seat.
“Who the hell is that?” Meacham’s deputy said.
Silence. Then chaos.
There was an explosion, and a split second later, the world turned upside down. Her body was whipped around like a rag doll, and her brain scrambled in her skull. When she opened her eyes, her vision was blurry, but based on the position of her body, she knew she was lying down on the roof of the car. Slowly, she struggled to get upright.
"Chief!" she cried, as she banged on the bullet proof glass.
Meacham let out a moan and reached for his seatbelt. "Stay … in here …" he said as he struggled with the buckle.
The door of the car was suddenly thrown open. No, it was torn away, the sound of metal ripping apart unmistakable. She screamed when a hand reached inside, grabbed her, pulled her out, then dropped her to the ground.
“There you are,” a voice said. “We finally have you.”
She froze, recognizing the tone and accent. Slowly, her vision came into focus and she recognized the man. Tall and imposing, with cruel, light blue eyes. His blond hair was cropped close to his head, and tattoos crawled out under the neck of his shirt and down his arms. This was the man who had killed Rissa. Andrei. Behind him, several men stood, carrying various weapons. It seemed he didn’t come alone.
Andrei tsked. “Did you think you could get away from us?” he asked. “Did you think you could run from The Brotherhood?” He let out a cruel laugh. “You slipped away from us once, but I’m here to finish the job.”
Fuck. She had to distract him. Or delay him. Surely someone would have heard that explosion. They probably used a rocket launcher of some sort. She’d overheard Ivan bragging about those kinds of weapons before. “How did you find me?”
“That slimy hyena, of course. Best tracker in the business. Unfortunately, he’s also a very dead tracker.”
“You killed him? But why?”
"Because that two-faced sonofabitch wanted more money before he gave us your location," he sneered. "He said he found someone else who would pay more for the information and that if we didn't double his fee, he would turn you over to them instead. But that fool didn't know we were also tracking him. We didn't need his information anymore." He grabbed her collar and hauled her to her feet. "So, where is it? Tell me now, and I'll make sure your death is painless."
“What?” she cried. “What are you talking about?”
"The money!" Andrei shoved her down on the ground and forced her to her knees. Something cold and hard pressed against her temples and a cocking sound rang in her ear.
“W-w-what money? What are you talking about?”
“The money my stupid cousin Ivan and his little whore stole! Why did you think I killed them?”
"I don't know anything about any money!" Oh god. This was it. She was going to die now. The only thing she could think of was Matthew. Her heart sank. She had been so afraid of what would happen if they did become mates and he died and left her that she didn't even think of what would happen to him if she were gone. But she already knew the answer. She had seen it unfold as she grew up.
“Stupid girl!” He slapped her with the side of the gun so hard she fell over. The pain was unbearable; the entire side of her face was on fire. “That little whore didn’t have anyone else. No family, no friends. Only you. Who else would she have trusted with half a million dollars?”
"Half a million …" Oh, Rissa. Why? "I swear, she didn't tell me about the money."
“Stop lying and tell me!” He pointed the gun at her again.
“I don’t know! I swear!”
The sound of tires screeching on pavement made them both start. Andrei whipped his head around, then let out a string of angry curses in Russian. The men around him began to move.
Catherine looked up. She saw a figure leap out of the car. Matthew! Her heart pounded against her chest, and she could barely breathe.
The air around them grew cold, and everyone stopped. Then, Matthew began to change.
“No!” Andrei cried. “Get him!” More guns cocked and then there was the sound of rapid gunshots.
But it was too late. Matthew’s dragon ripped out of him so fast, his human form was barely a blur. A fifty-foot dragon with golden scales and razor-sharp claws stood before them, spreading its wings and tossing its head back with a roar. The cold air turned hot as fire began to spew from its mouth.
Catherine watched in awe at the sight of Matthew’s dragon raining down flames. She barely heard the popping sound, and only realized she’d been shot when she felt the pain in her side.
“You idiot!” Andrei screamed. “We need her alive! She hasn’t told us the location of the money.”
“I’m sorry!” someone cried. “But we need to get out of here! Look at that thing!”
“Coward!”
Catherine slumped down to the ground. God, it was so painful. Then, she felt her body begin to grow cold. She looked up, watching the dragon as it continued to bring hell on earth while she lay there bleeding
***
The dragon let out a roar, a stream of fire shooting from its mouth, targeting the lions surrounding him. It wasn't much of a contest. There were only about a dozen of them. When they started firing and realized ordinary bullets only bounced off his scales, they threw their guns down and began to shift.
Lions!
They surrounded him, and the fastest one managed to climb on his back but was tossed away with one flick of a claw. Years of practice and working in the mines had helped Matthew perfect his aim, and he could carefully direct the flame so as not to hurt anyone in the vicinity. Though today, he was doing the opposite.
The smell of charred flesh filled the air, and he let out a puff of smoke. Where was his mate? He swung his gigantic body around and saw three men standing over a small figure on the ground. The dragon let out a roar and swung its gigantic body around.
“Run!” one of them said.
His dragon roared for revenge, but the sight of Catherine on the ground made Matthew stop. He quickly pushed the dragon deep down inside of him and changed back. Please let her be okay. But as the smell of blood hit his nose, he knew she wasn’t.
“No!” he cried as he knelt down in front of her. Catherine was lying on the ground, her hand clutched to her side. “Catherine … don’t move …. no, don’t try to talk! Stay with me, sweetheart. Please.” Think. His car was still intact, but it would take too long to drive her. She was losing too much blood. She’d be too weak to hold onto him if he flew, though. So, he picked her up gently, then carried her to his car. Carefully, he put her in the back seat.
“Hang on, Catherine. Please.”
He slammed the door shut, then quickly began to change into his dragon form. Once he was fully transformed, he dug his talons into the car. With a flap of his wings, he was airborne. Matthew pushed his dragon faster and harder than he'd ever done in his whole life. He soared over Blackstone until, finally, he landed in front of the Lucas Lennox Memorial Hospital. As he set down the vehicle, the dragon let out a loud roar, hoping it would get the staff's attention.
The dragon hopped back as medical personnel began to stream out of the hospital’s door. Matthew quickly changed back to his human form and grabbed the nearest nurse he could.
“Gunshot wound victim in the back of the car,” he barked at her.
“We’ll take care of it, Mr. Lennox,” she said with a nod. “We need a stretcher!” she called to the rest of the staff. “And get an OR ready NOW.”
Behind him, two ambulances roared to life and sped out the driveway. “Where are they going?” he asked a passing nurse.
“To Castle Road, Mr. Lennox,” she answered. “Got a dispatch. From the Sheriff’s office.”
“Fuck!” The police car and the escorts had been overturned when he arrived, but Meacham was alive. Probably not in very good condition. Plus, there were still three lions out there.
He ran across the pavement, then pushed his dragon out, its claws barely touching the ground as he flew away. He went back toward the castle, using his enhanced vision to scan below for any sign of the lions.
There!
The three of them had gathered in a clearing. Idiots. They were dressed in fancy leather shoes and jackets. Probably from the city. And, obviously, they’d never encountered a dragon before. As he drew closer, three heads looked up. More curses in Russian, then they scattered. Not that it did them any good. The dragon flapped its mighty wings and chased after two of them, raining down a stream of fire until they were nothing but ashes.
He landed in front of the third man, then grabbed him with his claws.
The dragon began to shrink, scales turning into skin, claws turning to hands. “Who are you? And who sent you?” Matthew roared, squeezing the man’s neck.
"Che-Chesnovak Brotherhood Pride," he choked out.
Matthew threw him to the ground. “What do you want with my mate?”
“She … she knows where the money is!” he cried. “The Alpha wanted his money back. Please don’t kill me!”
"I'm not going to kill you," he said. "I want you to go back to your Alpha and tell him that she is mate to the Blackstone Dragon, and I will turn every single one of you into ash if he tries to harm her again!"
"I-I-I will tell him!"
“Now go!”
The man scrambled to his feet, then sprinted toward the woods like a bat out of hell. Good riddance.
Matthew turned back into his dragon form once again and took to the skies. Sweeping back toward the site of the attack, he saw a couple of people in uniform walking about, helping others climb out from their cars. The sound of sirens was drawing closer, so he assumed help was near. He went in the opposite direction, back to the hospital.