Blood of Dragons Page 17

  “It’s not too late, Levi.” I lean toward him, resting on my elbows as I bring my lips inches from his. “It’s just not, and I won’t give up on you. I refuse to. We can do this in person—when you’re human again.”

  “I can’t—” He groans, looking sharply away.

  A knot tightens in my throat as I watch his tortured expression. “I’m going to fix this, Levi. I promise you. I will never give up on you, do you hear me? Not for one minute. And I need you to believe in me. I need you to trust me.”

  His head snaps toward me, his jaw tensing as his blue eyes drink me in. Something I said triggers something deep within him—something he’s not sharing. His eyebrows tilt upward, and it’s clear he’s fighting a bloody internal war.

  In a sudden rush, the bedroom disappears. The dusty swirls of his last lingering memories flit by me as he kicks me out of his mind.

  “Levi, don’t—”

  Just like that, I’m on the roof again, leaning on my hands and knees as I cough, trying to breathe past the agonizing wound in my side.

  He growls gently, sounding more wounded than angry, and stands. His nose presses softly against my back, a comforting gesture to help me catch my breath.

  “I’m fine,” I assure him. “But I mean it. I need you to—”

  Apparently satisfied that I’m okay, he doesn’t let me finish. The rush of his wings tussles my hair as he takes into the sky. I look over my shoulder to find his blue form retreating into the clouds, and I sigh in defeat.

  His dragon takes over more and more every day.

  I just don’t have time.

  In an instant, Jace lands on the roof beside me, the breathtaking thunderbird watching as Levi retreats. He’s tense and ready for war, wings arched as he prepares to give chase.

  “It’s fine,” I assure him, wincing as I hold my side.

  His gaze shifts to me, and he growls softly. With a tender nudge on my back, he inches me toward the window I used to climb out here in the first place.

  “All right, all right,” I mutter, waving him off. “Pushy dragon.”

  He chuckles, waiting until I lift the window before he takes off into the sky again. But as I climb back inside, I pause and stare off after Levi’s retreating form. As he disappears into the clouds, I wonder what on Earth I’m going to do.

  Save him, obviously. But—how?

  When I climb back into the house, I’m surprised to find Harper waiting for me downstairs on the cloud-like sofa. Drew fiddles with something in the kitchen, banging and making a mess of things. Tucker sits on a barstool, cleaning one of his guns.

  “Hey, babe,” he says with a flirty grin. “Wait until you hear what the big bad Fairfax Boss is calling these sofas.” He nods toward Harper. “Go on, tell her.”

  “I decided to call this the bliss-couch.” Harper says with a happy sigh as she sinks into the cushions.

  “That sounds like a sex thing,” I admit.

  Tucker and Drew snicker, each returning to their work as I apparently lay bare what they were both thinking.

  Harper groans. “Great, now you ruined it for me.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  The Fairfax Boss sits up and studies me, a proud little smile on her face. “Sparring with you was fun.”

  I grin. “The feeling is mutual.”

  “That bolt, and the way you blocked my magic? Just—wow.” Harper falls back against the couch and splays her arms out beside her, like she can’t believe what she saw. “Amazing. We should do that again sometime when we don’t have to hold back.”

  “I think I’d be down for that.”

  The Fairfax Boss waggles a finger at me. “I knew you were good, but I didn’t know you were that good. It seems my cousin has been keeping secrets. I mean you—girl, you’re a force to be reckoned with.”

  “Thank you, thank you.” I feign a sarcastic little curtsey, though a sharp pain in my side from the wound means I can’t move quite as far as I would have liked to.

  “What’s on the agenda for tomorrow?” Tucker asks.

  “Palarne requested a formal meeting,” Drew answers. “The only one to follow protocol,” he adds with a not-so-subtle glare at Harper.

  “Oh, go away,” the Fairfax Boss mutters, waving her hand dismissively. “I don’t have to do that stuff if I’ve already met her.”

  Drew rolls his eyes.

  “I think it’s time to leave,” I say. “I’ll send Isaac a note explaining the situation, but I don’t want to stay just for that. Technically, I’ve already met him, too.”

  “That doesn’t count.” Drew sets down a plate of chicken and broccoli and leans his elbows on the counter as he picks at the food. “You could learn something useful from him.”

  “Like what?”

  “What he wants with you.” Drew shrugs. “Why he’s trying so hard to get you to his Capital.”

  I shake my head. “He’s been pretty good at stringing me along. I don’t see how tomorrow will be any different.”

  “Yeah.” Harper nods. “I’ve enjoyed hanging out with you, Rory, but you’ve done more than enough for these Bosses. I think it’s fair if you head home early.”

  “It’s not just that,” I admit. “I want them to know how, even with their armies around me, even though I’m literally sitting in the middle of an open field, I can get away from them at any time.” I grin wickedly. “That I can slip through their fingers with ease.”

  “Huh.” Harper lifts her brows in surprise, eyes momentarily glossing over as she thinks through my idea. “Yeah, actually. That’s brilliant.”

  “I’m down.” Tucker screws the last bit of his gun into place and slings it over his shoulder. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  “Drew?” I ask, curious to hear his thoughts.

  It’s still odd to me—having a team. Asking for input before I make a decision. But it makes us stronger, and I would be a fool to just disregard their advice.

  “After today, yes,” he eventually admits. “I think you have a valid point. I still think you would benefit from staying and talking with Palarne, but you can always meet with him another time. There’s nothing especially important about it happening tomorrow.”

  “Good.” I smirk. “I doubt Jace will mind, so let’s pack up.”

  And thank the gods—because like Tucker, I can’t wait to get the hell out of this dragon den.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  In the dead of night, once only a few lights remain on in the main castle, we leave in a silent stream of cars.

  There were some heated deliberations—to put it mildly—on how best to make our way back to the dojo. The sheer distance we need to travel, combined with regulations on human-owned dragon neutral zones, like Reggie’s, ironically enough meant we can’t fly.

  That leaves us stuck on the ground. Not the best option, by any means, but we have to make it work.

  Given how there’s a lone hitman after me, off shooting cars in an effort to track me down, quite a few tempers flared. Including mine.

  In the end, we went with keeping the element of surprise.

  This hitman knows we’re aware of him, and he’s going to expect us to have extra guards. To deal with that many soldiers, he might use explosives or jeopardize human bystanders in an effort to throw us off our game, and I want to keep one step ahead of him.

  That’s why I’m going to do the thing he least expects—hop in a gaudy limo with no obvious guard.

  Is it my favorite choice? Hell no.

  Is he going to be looking for me in one of these things? Also no.

  That’s why Jace and I settle into the back of a stretch limo, the windows tinted nearly to black.

  Twelve cars roll out of the castle grounds at once in a nearly silent procession down the main road. Once the single roving road out of the castle branches off into side streets, the decoy cars begin to take off in different directions. We have everything from limos to SUVs to even a taxi with one very confused driver making his
way toward the airport. I made sure to put an extra guard with him, since I didn’t want him hurt on my behalf.

  Every unit has two vans of reinforcements on standby, following at a short distance to swoop in if anything happens. Within moments, any lone gunman targeting the cars will be overwhelmed and, ideally, dead.

  There’s still risk, of course. I wanted more cars. More decoys. More reinforcements, but we ran out of unmarked vans. I also wanted an army of dragons flying overhead as cover—but in the human-owned areas we have to pass through, the five-hundred-foot rule was still in effect.

  All boots have to be on the ground, in their human forms and armed to the teeth. That seriously limits our choices. Especially given how last-minute our departure was.

  “It’s a good plan, Rory.” Jace takes a deep breath, his eyes closing as he leans his head back against the headrest. “There’s risk, but my team can handle this. Stop worrying.”

  “Stop worrying?” I grin, giving the dojo master a once-over. “Who are you, and what have you done with Jace Goodwin?”

  He chuckles, the bags under his eyes worse than ever. “I’m so glad we’re out of there.”

  I nod, smiling a bit at how adorable he is when he gets this tired. “I bet you’ll sleep for days to make up for this sleep deficit of yours.”

  “That sounds pretty good,” he admits.

  The limo goes over a bump in the winding country road, and Jace’s head rolls toward my shoulder. As his temple brushes my neck, he sits abruptly upright and clears his throat, trying to look alert.

  I chuckle. “It’s almost over, Jace. Hang in there.”

  In answer, he yawns. “I just want to get home, where I know you’ll be safe.”

  “I wouldn’t mind that, either,” I admit. “I’m ready for a bit of quiet.” I adjust in my seat, the thick gauze around my abdomen restricting my movement. My muscles are stiff and sore as I recover, and a sliver of pain slices through me as I move. I grimace, holding the injury on impulse.

  “What’s wrong?” Jace leans in instantly, his hand on my abdomen as his eyes rove my torso, probably in search of blood. He lifts my shirt, checking the wrappings before I have the chance to bat his hand away.

  “I’m fine.” I laugh and shoo him off, adjusting my shirt to cover all the gauze. “I’m mostly just sore at this point.”

  “Really? Just sore?”

  “There’s a bit of pain, but it’s not terrible.” I shrug. “I’ve had worse.”

  “Wow. You heal faster than even I do,” he says, impressed. “That’s incredible.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m not at a hundred percent yet,” I remind him. “So that means no training for, what, a week?”

  He scoffs. “You’re lucky if I give you an afternoon off.”

  I grin. “Hardass.”

  He smirks at me, giving me a playful sidelong glance, and lifts a small communications device to his mouth. “Units, check in.”

  “One, clear,” Drew’s voice chimes through the transmitter.

  I grin at the fire dragon’s voice—he was none too happy about Jace joining me in the car, instead of him. I’ll probably get quite an earful later, but we all decided it was better to fan out. It would confuse the hitman and hopefully trip him up.

  “Two, clear,” Tucker chimes in. He only agreed to take another car if I convinced Reggie to let him have the castle’s brand-new Jeep.

  “Three, clear,” one of Jace’s soldiers chimes in.

  One by one, the eleven other cars sound off. Thus far, everyone is fine. No suspicious activity. No gunfire. Not even a roadblock to redirect anyone.

  “Have you seen anything, yet?” Jace asks the elite dojo soldier disguised as our driver.

  “Nothing, sir,” the man replies. He briefly glances into the rearview to catch his superior’s eye, the visor on his chauffer’s cap blocking a good bit of his face. “I’m keeping an eye out.”

  Jace sighs and leans back into his chair. “Good work, Russell.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Can you relax, now?” I ask, reclining against my seat.

  “Not until we’re home.”

  “And then?”

  Jace’s stormy gray eyes shift to me, and he grins mischievously “I’m going to drag you into my bed and fall asleep with you on top of me.”

  I laugh. “Such a romantic.”

  He shrugs. “I try.”

  “What if—”

  “Unit seven under fire!” a woman shouts into the transmitter. “He came out of nowhere. Gods—requesting backup. Repeat—”

  A resounding boom interrupts her, and her voice abruptly cuts off.

  “Reinforcements assigned to unit seven, engage!” Jace shouts into the transmitter. “Move, damn it! Cover them!”

  “Alpha team engaging, sir!” a man shouts.

  Somewhere nearby, several vans filled with his warriors were already in pursuit, speeding off to take out the threat.

  Though I’m concerned for Jace’s soldiers, he promised to only pick the best of the best—the ones who have been in situations like this before. They can handle this, and so can I.

  Satisfied with my plan, I smirk. Whoever this lone hitman is, he fell for our decoys. By the end of the day, we’ll have him outnumbered and outgunned.

  “Do not hesitate to eliminate the target,” Jace orders into the device. “I repeat, I want this motherfucker dead, do you hear me?”

  Whoa.

  My eyebrows arch along my forehead as I stare at Jace in amazement. He’s never spoken like that before. In my surprise, I simply observe every detail of his face. The wrinkling along his nose. The deep scowl. The look of utter hatred directed at the floor as he barks orders to his soldiers.

  Just like that, the General in him broke free. I’ve never gotten to see this side of him. The authority. The control. The commander, leading his army.

  And, despite the danger, I can’t help but lose myself in how freaking hot he is.

  My blood boils with desire for him, at knowing the lengths this man would go to in order to protect me.

  To protect us.

  “Sir, we have movement,” Russell says from the driver’s seat. “Two black SUVs at our six. Possibly engaging. Standby.”

  Jace draws a gun from a holster hidden under his shirt and cocks it. “Risk level?”

  “Unknown, sir.” The warrior up front tightens his grip on the steering wheel, his eyes glued to the side mirrors. “Continuing to observe.”

  “Unit four under fire!” a man shouts into the transmitter.

  “What?” I frown, confused. “Four is several miles from Seven, Jace. There’s no way this guy could—”

  “Damn it.” Jace aims his gun out the back window, eyes trained on the two black cars behind us. With his free hand, he lifts the transmitter to his mouth again. “All reinforcements, deploy to your assigned units immediately. Repeat, all units. Move!”

  I curse under my breath and draw my gun from the holster at my waist, carefully twisting in my seat so as not to tear open the still-healing wound on my abdomen. I aim at the cars behind us, trying to get any details on their faces that I can.

  “I don’t think this is a lone wolf, Jace,” I mutter. “Was our intel bad? How could—”

  “I don’t know,” he interrupts. “Stay low and don’t engage, Rory. Let me do this.”

  “Right, as sleep-deprived as you are, I’m sure your aim is golden.” I snort derisively. “Maybe you should sit this one out.”

  “Rory, just listen.” He glares at me, his voice deep and rough. “I’ve trained for situations like this. No amount of sleep-deprivation can—”

  “Sir, they’re leaving,” Russell says with a sigh of relief.

  Jace and I return our attention out the back window as the two black cars turn down a side road.

  In the silence that follows, I keep my gun trained through the back window, scanning for threats. It would be lovely if the danger had passed, but I don’t let myself believe it. Still, I
can’t help but wonder if we got worked up over nothing. If, perhaps, those two SUVs were just tourists, or maybe locals driving home.

  The limo screeches suddenly to a halt. I’m thrown forward, rolling across the floor as Jace falls on top of me. Bolts of pain tear through me. Something in my side rips. I groan in agony as hot blood bubbles from my torn skin.

  Russell swerves. “Mother of—”

  Whatever the soldier was about to say, he never gets to finish.

  A car races toward us out of nowhere, catching us off guard as it hits us square in the side. Unable to avoid the impact, Russell’s head jerks violently to the side.

  To my dismay, the limo flips.

  We jostle through the cabin, tossed this way and that. Everything’s a blur. Somewhere, glass shatters. A man groans in agony. We roll and roll, until the limo finally lands upside down.

  The first thing I feel in the aftermath is blood seeping from the dozens of scratches in my arms.

  I grimace, my world still spinning as I slowly lift myself onto my hands and knees. My palms rest against what was once the ceiling, and shards of glass scattered beneath me threaten to slice open my fingers. The sleek black leather is ripped nearly to shreds.

  Dazed, my arms shake as I try to get my bearings.

  The limo is empty. No Russell. No Jace. All that remains of either man is a huge hole where one of the windows used to be.

  “Jace!” I yell. I can barely hear myself over the ringing in my ears. I stumble, trying to stand, trying to rush to him and make sure he’s okay.

  I don’t make it very far.

  The door behind me opens, and blinding light streams through. I squint, trying to summon my magic to defend myself, but my body hasn’t caught up yet. I can barely sit upright, much less fight.

  A shadow looms before me, cutting through the blinding light. A man’s form, judging by the broad shoulders. For a second, I wonder if it’s Jace—but then he grabs a fistful of my hair. His fingers nearly dig into my scalp, and with a sharp tug, he drags me from the wreckage.