Disappointment weighed heavily on Lyssa as she and Andor walked out of the police station. Kevin was still at large, and while the police assured her that they were doing everything they could, catching him wasn’t a high priority case. They had gone by Kevin’s apartment, but he hadn’t been home. Her ex-boyfriend had been a loner, and if he had any friends he had not introduced them to her. When the police had asked her if she had any idea where he could have gone, she had been at a loss to tell them anything.

Andor put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She supposed her disappointment was evident.

“They will catch him.”

She wanted to believe him, but it was hard to put her faith in the police. She’d had a restraining order against Kevin for weeks, and yet he’d still been able to harass her at the fair and break into her home. Unless the police were with her twenty-four hours a day, there seemed little they could do to keep Kevin away from her.

“I know, but how long is it going to take?” She opened the rear passenger side door and slid into the car. Rickman was sitting quietly behind the wheel and looked up when she got in. Andor walked around the car and got in the back beside her.

“How did it go? Have the police caught him?” Rickman turned in his seat to look at her.

“No. He hasn’t shown up at his apartment, and he hasn’t gone back to my house. It would appear that he’s in hiding, and until he shows himself there is little the police can do other than be on the look out for him. I wish they could find him so I don’t have to worry about what he’s going to do next.”

“I would also like Kevin to be in custody, but do not worry. You are safe and I am not going to let him hurt you.” Andor reached out and took her hand in his. She looked over at him as warmth blossomed in her belly. The one thing she wasn’t worried about was Kevin coming after her while she was staying with him, but she could not impose on his generosity forever.

“I know.” Lyssa sighed as Rickman started the car and pulled away from the police station. “I know he can’t hurt me now, but I just want him dealt with. Joyce was understanding about me missing work today, but I can’t hide at your house forever. I have to work, and I have to get on with my life.”

“You can stay with me as long as you like, and if you need to work I can go and watch over you.” Andor raised her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss on the back.

Her belly did a funny flip, the same one it had done when he’d kissed her in the basement. She was sure that he meant it, that he would watch over her, but she couldn't ask that. He had his own life to live and he couldn’t spend all his time watching out for her. She gave his hand a squeeze and let it go.

“I can’t ask you to do that. You’ve done so much for me already. I just wish there was a way we could get Kevin to go to the police and then we can both get on with our normal lives. Hopefully he will be caught before this Saturday.”

“What is happening on Saturday?” Rickman asked from the front as he glanced at her quickly in the rearview mirror. He was so quiet that she usually forgot he was there. It would take some getting used to, having a driver to take her and Andor wherever they wanted to go. If she wasn’t careful she could become accustomed to this sort of treatment, which would make it harder for her when she went back home.

“Joyce is planning a big showing for one of her up and coming artists. I’m expected to be there. It’s a gala that’s been planned for months. If Kevin isn’t caught by then, I would hate to think of what will happen if he shows up.”

Lyssa nibbled on her lower lip. Kevin had already created a scene at her workplace, but fortunately there hadn’t been any customers there the last time he’d come in to harass her. A large turn out was expected at the gala, just based on the number who’d indicated on their RSVP that they would come. It would be a nightmare if he put in an appearance and spoiled all the work she and Joyce had spent months putting into this event.

“Kevin is a coward, and he seems like the type who would victimize you when you are alone.” Andor spoke with an assurance that Lyssa didn’t feel. From the little time she’d spent with Andor, he’d struck her as an honorable man. He wouldn't be able to fathom how someone like Kevin operated.

“Unfortunately I think it’s exactly something Kevin would do. His break in at my house shows how he is losing control, and what better way to hurt me than to cause so much trouble for me that I get fired.”

“We might be able to turn it to our advantage,” Rickman said as a speculative look crossed his face.

“How would we take advantage of Kevin’s need to hurt me? It would be a disaster.”

“Not if we make plans that account for him being unable to resist making a show. Does Kevin know that the gala is happening?” Rickman seemed to be on the cusp of an idea, but Lyssa had no notion what it could be.

“Considering Joyce started planning this before I broke up with him, and that the event has been heavily advertised, I’d say chances are good that Kevin knows about it.”

The more she thought about it, the more it seemed likely that this would be something Kevin would try to crash. He wouldn't like it that Lyssa was going about her normal life, and he would be determined to do something to her. He knew how much her job meant to her, just like he knew how much her dragon collection had meant to her. It was why he destroyed all of it. He would want to show her that he could get to her any time he wanted, and what better way to do it than to humiliate her publicly at the gala.

“Okay, so we go with the assumption that he knows all about it and chances are good that he is going to show up. All we need to do is plan accordingly.”

“But Rickman, I have to go to the gala. It’s the most important event in the gallery’s calendar this year. I can’t skip it.” If she did miss something so important it would be like letting Kevin win.

“Of course you are going to go. You will be the bait to lure Kevin out of hiding.” Rickman grinned in the rearview mirror as if what he’d just said solved everything.

“Lyssa will not be used as bait to lure Kevin anywhere.” Andor had been silent for most of the exchange, but now he spoke in a deep, commanding tone. Lyssa glance over at him to see him glaring at Rickman in the mirror. “I am sorry, Lyssa, but you will have to tell Joyce that you cannot go. I am sure she will understand if it puts you in danger.”

Damn Kevin. Apparently he didn’t have to do anything to make her life difficult. Even the threat of what he might do was having an impact. In that moment she decided what she was going to do. He’d already disrupted her life enough. She’d been forced to flee her home, and now she was at risk of losing her job. She couldn’t keep hiding herself away from him forever.

“I’m going, Andor. If I don’t, he wins.” She turned so that she faced him. He shook his head as the line etching his brows together grew deeper.

“It is not safe.”

“It will be if you go with her. And if the police are alerted to the fact that he might show up there, then they can be on the look out for him and head him off before he can do anything.”

Lyssa looked at Rickman, and it was like all the pieces fell into place. It was a perfect plan. The trouble with the situation as it stood now was that the police couldn't anticipate where Kevin would be. If she went to the gala, it would be like sending Kevin an invitation to start trouble. If the police got to him before he could do that, then he would be dealt with once and for all.

“Rickman, you are brilliant.” Lyssa grinned as she looked out the window and it felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

She looked over at Andor, and he stared straight ahead with a closed look on his face. She didn’t want to say anything to him now, but once they got back to his house she’d talk to him. He’d see that this was the best plan they could come up wth to deal with the Kevin situation.

The rest of the car ride to the house passed in silence and as soon as Rickman pulled to a stop, Andor got out of the car and slammed the door shut.

“I don’t think he’s very happy with our plan.” Lyssa looked at Rickman, who shrugged his shoulders.

“He’s rarely happy with any of my plans. He’ll see reason eventually.” Rickman shut off the car and looked back at her. “I think it would probably be best if you explain it to him. He likes you better than he likes me. At least he doesn’t threaten to kill you.”

Lyssa frowned as she undid her seatbelt. That was an odd thing to say. From what she could tell Rickman was a loyal employee, why would Andor threaten to kill him? Surely he was joking.

Lyssa got out of the car and walked up to the house. She couldn't see Andor anywhere, and she went in search of him. She found him in the kitchen facing away from her with his hands braced on the counter top.

“Andor?” She walked over to him and put her hand on his arm. It was an encouraging sign that he didn’t pull away from her. “What’s wrong?”

She gave a gentle tug and he turned to look down at her. The muscle in his jaw worked, and it took him a moment before he spoke.

“I do not like the idea of using you as bait for a trap to Kevin. What if he gets to you before the police can? What if he hurts you?”

“He won’t.” She ran a soothing hand up and down his arm. If she learned one thing during this whole fiasco with Kevin, it was that hiding wouldn’t solve the problem. She needed to face it head on in order to take away his ability to hurt her.

“How do you know?” His voice came out in a fierce growl. It was that fierceness that assured her she would be safe.

“Because you’ll be with me. As long as you are by my side, I know nothing will hurt me. When Kevin threatened me at the fair, you were there to send him on his way. When he broke into my house, you were there to help me. I know that if you are with me at the gala, there is nothing Kevin can do to hurt me.” The reason she wasn’t afraid to go through with this plan was because she wasn’t trusting the police to keep her safe, she was trusting Andor. He’d taken her in and offered her a safe place to stay, when most men would have run the other way at the craziness that Kevin brought into her life.

“Promise me that when we are at the gala, you will stay close to me.”

That was not a hard promise to make.

“I will. I don't know how to thank you for all you’ve done for me. Once Kevin is dealt with, I will go back to my house, and you can resume your normal life.” As soon as she said it, she realized that while she wanted Kevin in custody, she wasn’t so certain she wanted to leave Andor so soon. He made her feel things, stirred something inside her that she hadn’t felt for a long time, if ever.

“Yes, I will get my normal life back.” He didn’t look as happy as she thought he would when he said that. Did it mean that perhaps he wasn’t as eager to see the back of her as she would have thought? Was there a chance for them to explore the feelings that ran between them once Kevin was no longer a problem?

He pulled her close to him, put his arms around her and she rested her cheek against his chest. As she listened to the steady beat of his heart, a small blossom of hope unfurled inside her that maybe there was more to this than him rescuing a woman in need. It would be interesting to see what happened once Kevin was out of her life.

* * *

Andor arose with the sun the next morning, and the steel of determination straightened his spine. Despite what he had let Lyssa believe, he was not going to let her be bait for Kevin. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a dark T-shirt, and went in search of Rickman.

The house was silent as he made his way down the hall toward his minion’s room. Rickman was likely still sleeping, but he could damn well get up since this whole potential fiasco was his fault. What had he been thinking by proposing to Lyssa that she act as a lure to draw Kevin out? The only thing that had saved his minion from being shaken like a rabbit in the jaws of wolf when he had suggested it was Lyssa’s presence.

He opened the bedroom door, and as he suspected, Rickman lay in his bed asleep as if he had no cares. Andor towered over him as anger burned inside him. When was his minion going to learn to stop being so stupid? Did he truly think that putting Lyssa squarely in Kevin’s path would solve everything?

Rickman nuzzled his head in the pillow, and the word chastity was a murmur on his lips. Why would his minion be dreaming of celibacy? Andor’s confusion cleared when he realized that Rickman was not dreaming about a concept, but about at person. He had put Lyssa in the path of danger, and now he was fantasying about strippers in his sleep?

With a growl, Andor lifted his leg up and put his foot on Rickman’s side and shoved him hard. His minion rolled off the bed and hit the floor with a thud. He let out a startled squawk and sat up, his blue hair standing up all over his head as he looked around in confusion.

The moment his eyes lit upon his employer, Rickman huffed out a sigh.

“What now? I didn’t know that the job description of minion entailed me going without sleep.” Rickman slowly stood, and Andor didn’t think he appreciated the seriousness of the situation he was in. His minion’s mouth opened wide as a huge yawn over took him and he scratched his hand through he sprinkling of hair on his bare chest. Fortunately his minion slept with flannel pants on, so Andor was spared the sight of his nude body. “So what is it that couldn’t wait for a decent time?”

“I would advise caution in how you speak to me. I want you to find Kevin's address, and I want you to find it quickly.”

Rickman rolled his eyes. “What do you want that for? We have a plan to catch him on Saturday.”

Andor’s mouth tightened and he remained silent as he stared hard at Rickman. His minion finally took a good look at his face, and the blood drained from his.

“I shouldn’t have suggested that she act as bait. You’re still sore about that?”

Andor nodded slowly and did not speak to Rickman. The other man swallowed hard and walked around the side of the bed and over to his desk. He turned on the light and sat down on it. He pulled his laptop to him and opened it.

“I’ll get that information to you right away. I’ll bring it to you in a minute.” Rickman’s fingers flew over the keys of his computer, and Andor came to stand behind him. Rickman jumped and let a startled noise when Andor’s hands came down to rest heavily on his shoulders. Andor flexed his fingers for a moment as he fought to keep them from encircling his minion’s throat. “You aren’t going to strangle me are you?”

For the first time since he’d woken, he heard genuine fear in Rickman’s voice. Perhaps his minion was finally learning that Andor was not a creature to be trifled with and that his patience only stretched so far. Andor hoped that the seriousness of this situation would make Rickman do some soul searching and make the necessary changes needed to amend his reckless behavior.

“No.” Andor let his hands fall away from Rickman. “Let this be a lesson to you that I will not tolerate any behavior that puts Lyssa in danger.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. She seemed so distraught over her ex still being at large that I only wanted to help solve the problem. I only suggested it because I knew that you would protect her.”

“Of course I can protect her, but that is not the issue. I do not want any danger to touch her, and that is why I am going to Kevin’s residence and take care of the problem.”

Rickman gave a few more strokes on the keys in front of him. He must have found what he was looking for because he moved his hands away from the computer and pulled a pen and piece of paper from the drawer in the center of his desk.

“All I can find is the street address, and not the apartment he’s in. Will that be enough?”

“I have his scent, and if he has been in the building recently it will be enough to locate him.” Andor took the slip of paper from him and shoved it in his pocket. It was time to deal with Kevin in a way that would take him permanently out of Lyssa’s life. As long as Kevin breathed he would be a danger to her, and that was unacceptable to Andor.

“You’re going to kill him aren’t you?” Rickman stood beside him, and his face was pale. It was if he was realizing that Andor was capable of more than merely threatening to kill someone, that he was prepared to follow through with action.

“If I can find him.”

“Just don’t leave any evidence that will link back to you.”

“There will be nothing left of Kevin by the time I’m finished.” Dragon’s fire was all consuming, and there would be no evidence that Kevin had existed at all if he was touched by the flames of Andor’s anger. “Stay here and guard Lyssa. I will take the car.”

“Are you sure? I’ve been with you when you’ve been behind the wheel, and it isn’t pretty.”

“I do not know why you think I am a terrible driver.” Andor turned away and walked toward the door of Rickman’s bedroom.

“You drive like you’re eighty. It’s going to take you a week just to get into town to Kevin’s apartment.”

Andor rolled his eyes at his minions exaggeration, and did not bother to justify it with a response. He walked out Rickman’s bedroom door and around the gallery until he got to the staircase. Once he was at the front door, he put on his boots and pulled on his leather jacket. The keys to the car were on the hook where Rickman always hung them. He scooped them up and went out of the house.

As he walked down the front steps toward the car he wished he could fly to Kevin’s location. He had been practicing his driving since the last time he’d been out with Rickman, and while he could travel faster than the crawl Rickman accused him of, flying would be so much faster. Perhaps if Kevin had lived in an isolated area he would risk going to him in his dragon form, but unfortunately Kevin lived in the heart of a populated area and Andor would have to go to him as a man.

By the time he got to Kevin’s apartment building, he was shaking his fist at the cars honking behind him. If he was going too slow for them, they were free to pass. He carefully maneuvered the car into a parking spot in front of the building. The car behind him went screaming by with a blare of a horn and profanity pouring out the driver’s side window.

Andor got out of the car and straightened up until he was his full, intimidating height. He rolled his shoulders back and tucked the keys to the car in the pocket of his jacket. It was still early in the morning, and if luck was with him, Kevin was in his apartment. He had to know that the police were looking for him, so he would be on the look out for a police car. He would not be on the look out for Andor.

Andor strode toward the building like he belonged there, and went into through the front door. There was another door inside the vestibule, and for a moment he feared that this would be as far as he could go. If the door was locked, could he look harmless enough for someone to let him in?

He gave the door a tug, and to his relief it opened. He walked in and drew in a deep breath. There were many smells lingering in the building, and none of them belonged to Kevin. He crumpled the paper in his hand and shoved it his pocket. The lack of scent did not mean that Kevin did not live here, but it did mean that he had not used this door for a while, since the scents of the other people in residence drowned his out.

Andor walked over to the bottom of the stairs, to an area where the scents thinned. He drew in his breath again, and it was there. The faint smell of Kevin. He went up the stairs, taking them two at a time, following the scent until it brought him to the corridor. There were two places where Kevin’s scent was the strongest. Which one to choose?

He did not want to risk pounding on the wrong door, and alerting Kevin to his presence too soon. A quick glance around the quiet hall showed that no one was around to observe him. He went to one door and sniffed the knob. He felt ridiculous doing so, but he reasoned that if there was an apartment here that Kevin only visited his scent would not not be as strong on the knob than it would on the door to his home. After careful examination he found the door that belonged to Kevin.

He raised his fist and pounded on the door, and he could hear it echoing in the apartment on the other side and throughout the hall.

There was no answer coming from inside the apartment. He raised his fist again, and pounded harder. He would keep pounding until Kevin came out of his hole. Lyssa’s safety depended on Kevin being dealt with and the sooner the better.

A door opened behind him, and he heard someone step out into the hall. He did not turn around and pounded on Kevin’s door once more.

“Can I help you friend?” A menacing growl sounded behind him, and Andor lowered his fist. He assumed that the voice belonged to the man living in the apartment that also carried Kevin’s scent. He turned slowly to see who spoke to him.

The man had a shaved head and tattoos covering his bare arms and chest. He was clad only in jeans, and there was a menacing snarl on his face as his eyes swept Andor. He was certain the man thought he was intimidating, but he did not realize that he was facing a dragon who was in full protection mode.

“I need no help. And I am not your friend.” Andor turned away, dismissing the man as if he was nothing more than a troublesome fly. He pounded on Kevin’s door again, and the man behind him had the nerve to grab hold of him and attempt to turn him around.

“I was talking to you.” The man tugged, and Andor remained welded to his spot. It would take more than this man’s gym induced strength to move him. He stayed facing Kevin’s door until the man got the message that he would not be turned unless it was what he wanted. “What are you doing here? It obvious whoever you’re looking for isn’t home so why don’t you move along.”

Andor moved to face the man fully. The smell of Kevin was all over this man’s apartment and he sounded a little too sure that Kevin wasn’t home.

“Where is he?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Just because I live across the hall doesn’t mean I know the guy.” The man snarled at him, as if to distract Andor and cover up the error he made.

“How did you know I was looking for a man? If you know so little about your neighbor, I could be looking for a woman inside the apartment.”

“Just because I don’t know him, doesn’t mean I haven’t seem him coming and going around here. Now since he isn’t here, there isn’t any reason for you to be hanging around so why don’t you just go away.” The man took a menacing step toward Andor, as if his size and bulk were enough to convince Andor to leave. He suspected that Kevin was likely hiding away in this man’s apartment, but short of bursting in and ransacking the place, he could not prove it. He could use him to get a message to Kevin, however. “Listen asshole, just go.”

The man was daring enough to grab him by the arm as if to forcibly remove him from the building and something inside Andor snapped. He lost all patience with this man’s feeble attempts at intimidation, and a fire lit through his body as he wrapped his hand around the man’s throat and slammed him against the wall. The man struggled to find purchase on the floor with his booted feet as he clawed at Andor’s hand.

“I want you to give Kevin a message. Tell him that Lyssa is off-limits. If he comes near her or bothers her in any way, I will end him. I am Lyssa’s man now and I protect what is mine. Is that clear?”

The man’s eyes widened as the color leached out of his face. He stared into Andor’s eyes as if he was shocked by what he was seeing.

“Your eyes.” The man’s voice rasped out, and Andor tightened his hand so that he could no longer speak as he fought to breathe.

“Is the message for Kevin clear?” Andor was sure that his true nature was showing through his eyes, but he doubted this scum would realize what he was seeing. His mind would chalk it up to a hallucination brought about by near strangulation. “Is it clear?”

The man nodded and Andor let go of his throat. The man dropped to the floor, clutching his neck as his breath rasped in and out of him. He made no move to get up from where he lay crumpled on the floor, and Andor knew that he would trouble him no further.

“Make sure Kevin gets my message. If he bothers Lyssa again I will know exactly where to start my search.”

Andor turned on his heel and walked down the corridor toward the stairs. He was under no illusions that his warning would magically make Kevin see the error of his ways and make him repent what he had done, but hopefully it would give him cause to think twice about going near Lyssa again. Surely he would realize his life depended on staying away.

Andor took on last look at the building before climbing in his car. He would have to be on his guard Saturday night in the even Kevin was stupid enough to disregard his warning. He meant what he said to the thug in the hall. He was Lyssa’s man and he protected what was his.