“What should we do with him?”
Jude stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Don’t your people put bad guys like him in jail?”
“You’re right.” Relief at the obvious solution penetrated her hazy mind. “I should have thought of that. I’ll go call the police.”
Leaving Jude to stand guard over her attacker, Natalie went into the silent, dark lodge, wondering how to explain how Jude saved her. It’s easy. Just leave the dragon part out. Jude saw him trying to kidnap me and hit him on the head.
From her office, she called the sheriff’s department, explained briefly that someone just attacked her, and one of her guests knocked the man out cold. She hung up when the dispatcher told her to stay on the line, then returned outside. The starlight cast a shadow from Jude’s tall form as he stood watching her, and, while afraid of him, she also knew her liking for him hadn’t changed a bit.
I am headed toward falling in love with him. At least I was, until I discovered he’s in truth a dragon.
“The cops are on their way,” she said quietly, stopping near him. “What did you hit him with?”
Jude understood her immediately. He looked around and spotted a fist-sized rock at the edge of the parking lot. Striding to it, he picked it up, hefting it with a grin. “I saw him trying to drag you away,” he told her, returning. “So I cracked his head with this to stop him.”
Natalie gazed toward the forest in the direction the attacker was taking her before Jude intervened. “He must have a vehicle out there somewhere,” she muttered. “He didn’t drive onto the lot, or I’d have noticed.”
“Should I go look for it?” he asked.
“No. Let the deputies do it. But this guy must have been hired by Peterson.”
“Do you recognize him?”
“No. So I don’t think he’s a local.”
It took several long minutes before two squad cars drove in from the highway, their lights flashing. Four deputies got out, and Natalie appreciated that one of them was Dave, a man who had gone to school with her father. Dave approached, clicking on his big mag light to shine it on them, then the unconscious guy.
“What happened, Natalie?” he asked as all the cops gathered around, their lights shining on the scene. One checked the man’s pulse, then drew his hands behind his back and cuffed his wrists together.
“I was on my porch,” she said, folding her arms over her stomach, queasily recalling how he grabbed her and forced her down the steps. She explained even as a deputy picked up one of the man’s arms to study the scratches she left there. “If Jude hadn’t seen what was going on—”
“What were you doing that you saw Natalie being attacked?” Dave asked Jude.
“I was out for a walk,” Jude replied. “I came up behind him and hit him with a rock. It’s right here.”
Jude showed him, and Dave nodded acceptance. “Do you know this man?” he asked Natalie.
“No. Do you? I didn’t think he was local, but you never know.”
“I ain’t never seen him before,” said one of the other deputies. “Do we need an ambulance, Dave? Take him to the hospital and have him checked out?”
“Ayuh, get one out here, Carl.”
Carl got on his radio and asked for an ambulance. “Was he dragging you toward the parking lot?” Dave asked.
Natalie shook her head. “No, he was taking me that way.”
“There’s an old logging road back there,” he commented. “Ben, go see if there’s a car or van.”
One of the other deputies nodded and headed off in that direction with his flashlight. One the ground, the unconscious man groaned, stirring, and involuntarily, Natalie stepped back. “I can’t help but wonder, Dave,” she said, staring at the guy on the ground, “if Lloyd Peterson hired him.”
Dave studied her. “That crossed my mind, too,” he said at last. “Peterson lives in New Hampshire, but the police agencies I contacted to talk to him can’t seem to locate him.”
Natalie shivered, and Jude, observing her, put his arm around her shoulders. “He could be anywhere,” she muttered, her stomach quivering. “He has the money to go places, and he has inns all over New England.”
“That’s what I’ve been told.” Dave looked at the man as the deputy helped him to sit up. “You attacked this lady?” he asked.
Seeing his face clearly for the first time, Natalie saw the hard, unshaven jaw, the scar on his forehead, watched him clamp his lips tightly together upon seeing her. He met her eyes grimly, and she expected him to start raving about monsters grabbing him. He said nothing.
“Don’t want to implicate yourself?” Dave asked. “The scratches on your arms speak louder than that. Miss Natalie put up a bit of a fight.”
Dave reached for her hands. “Natalie?”
She extended her hands toward him, and he shone the light on her fingers. Dave commented dryly, “Blood on her fingernails with skin under them. You’ll have to come in and make a statement, Natalie, but I think we can get by with taking pictures of your hands as evidence.”
Under the bright flashlights, the deputies photographed her hands. As they worked, Ben returned, his light bobbing ahead of him. “Yeah, Dave,” he said as he approached, “there’s a van back there. Found rope in it as well as a gun. I didn’t touch anything until we can get it processed.”
“We’ll take photos of it come daylight,” Dave said, “then tow it in. What were you gonna do with her, boy? Take her someplace safe, then shoot her in the head? Nice little disappearing act? Never find her body, and no one would ever know what happened to her?”
Natalie leaned against Jude’s strong shoulder, sickened by what Dave described, yet her anger rose. “Shithead motherfucker,” she grated. “I wish Jude had killed you.”
“Now, now,” Dave stated mildly. “Then we wouldn’t be able to find out why he came to our quiet neck of the woods to abscond with you. And your friend there won’t have blood on his hands.”
Don’t you mean talons? Natalie choked on a harsh bark of laughter than held more tears than humor in it. Jude’s arms tightened around her. Dave watched them both for a moment.
“Seems you two are getting fond of each other,” he remarked.
Natalie drew away from Jude and wiped her face with the back of her hand. “I hired Jude to market for me,” she replied, “and yes, we are now good friends.”
“Glad he’s here for you,” Dave went on. “Your daddy would be pleased you got someone looking out for you.”
“Yeah. He would.”
The ambulance rolled into the lot, its sirens wailing, lights flashing, and Natalie glanced back at the lodge to find lights in rooms coming on, faces at windows. A few stepped out onto the porch to gape. As the EMTs arrived, the deputies stood guard over her attacker as they checked the man’s pulse, inspected his eyes and the wound on his head before pronouncing him healthy enough to be put under arrest.
“Thanks, guys,” Dave told them as they packed up their kits.
“No sweat. Not much wrong with him that we can see.”
At Dave’s signal, the deputies hauled the man to his feet, searched him, and then pulled out his wallet. Dave shined his light on it. “Randy J. Austen,” he said. “Well, Randy J., you’re gonna spend the rest of the night in our jail. And most likely for a long time to come.”
The deputies took him to one of the cars as the ambulance rolled quietly away. “His license here says he’s from New Hampshire,” Dave commented, eyeing Natalie and Jude. “Interesting place to be from right now.”
“Do you think he’ll confess?” Jude asked quietly.
“Not likely,” Dave replied. “We’ll charge him with assault and attempted kidnapping, but my guess is that he has a long record. He’s been to prison before, and his best bet is to keep his mouth shut.”
Dave looked long at Natalie. “You gonna be all right, girl?”
“I think so.”
“Keep this guy close to you. We don’t know where Peterson is.”<
br />
With a sharp nod, Dave went back to his police cruiser, Ben with him. “We’ll be back in the morning,” he called before getting behind the wheel.
Not wanting to face the questions from the fascinated guests, Natalie watched the cruisers drive away. She glanced up at Jude. “We kept your secret, anyway,” she whispered.
“For how long?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder at the watching eyes. “With Peterson out there and still looking to kill you, I might need to change to keep you alive.”
“You’ll just have to protect me while in this form,” she answered. “You can’t be seen as a—you know.”
Jude laughed low in his throat, turning her around to head back to the lodge. “Maybe this Peterson guy will leave you alone once his ass gets burned.”
Chapter Eight
“I’m all right,” Natalie insisted at breakfast the next morning, almost snapping at him. “Please stop smothering me.”
Jude hadn’t wanted to leave her alone the previous night, and while he didn’t share her bed, he slept in one of the spare rooms in her house. “Sorry,” he said, truly contrite and a little embarrassed. “It’s sort of in our nature to be possessive and overly protective.”
Blowing a gust of breath, Natalie offered him a strained smile. “I shouldn’t bite your head off. But I’m not used to having someone hovering over me. I feel like I can’t breathe.”
By habit, Jude glanced over the dining room, and he didn’t need the excellent hearing of a dragon to know the guests talked of himself, Natalie, and the events of the previous night. He caught many a stare in their direction and hoped that her attempted kidnapping wouldn’t send the guests fleeing in panic.
“I’ll try not to smother you,” he answered. “But don’t let yourself be alone anymore.”
Natalie watched him carefully, stirring her coffee. “What if you want to fly again?”
“I won’t.” He suddenly grinned at her. “Unless I take you with me.”
Natalie gaped at him, her mouth open, and only shut it when the waitress brought their breakfast. The young woman hovered for a moment, her eyes on Natalie.
“Did someone really try to kidnap you last night?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Natalie replied, lowering her eyes. “It’s a good thing Jude was not far away.”
“Why?” the waitress asked, her expression anxious. “Things like that don’t happen here. What if he tries again?”
“The man’s in jail, Jane,” Natalie told her firmly.
“And if he gets out on bail?”
To Jude’s eyes, Natalie’s grim expression told him she had already been asking herself that question. “Let’s just hope he doesn’t,” she said softly. “Stop worrying, Jane, it doesn’t do anyone any good.”
Jude felt the woman’s eyes on him and glanced up. “Thank you for saving her.” She smiled. “We all love our Natalie.”
With that, the waitress left their table and went to serve coffee to the guests. “You’re quite well-liked around here,” he commented.
She started on her breakfast. “It comes with being in the same town all my life.”
“No. You are well-liked for yourself.”
Natalie merely shrugged. “Unless Dave lets us write them here, we’ll have to go to the sheriff’s station and give our statements.”
“What does that mean?”
“We write down what happened, what we saw and did. They use it in their investigation.”
“I see.” Jude began to eat, half his mind on flying with Natalie held safely in his arms. “What do you think?”
Natalie glanced up from her plate and correctly read his eager expression. “Maybe. Though the prospect sounds a little frightening.”
“You’ll be safe. I promise.”
“Yeah? But I might hurl.”
“And you might not.” He grinned at her. “You might learn to love it as much as I do.”
“I make no promises, flyboy.”
Jude laughed. “Is that what I am now. A flyboy?”
“It suits you somehow,” Natalie told him with a quick grin. “One day, maybe we can go somewhere safe where you can, er, change. I’d like to see you—that way—when I’m not scared out of my head.”
“There’s a clearing not too far away,” he replied. “No one can see us there.”
“I know which one you’re talking about. Only hunters might be in the area, but it’s not hunting season.”
Jude looked up, feeling almost guilty, when someone stopped at their table. It was Dave, the deputy.
“Morning,” he said equably. “Mind if I join you folks?”
“Of course not.” Natalie motioned him to a chair. “What would you like? It’s on the house.”
She lifted her hand and signaled for Jane as Dave said, “Don’t mind if I do.”
He put his hat on the table and sat down with a small sigh. “We’re out checking the van on the logging road,” he began. “It’s registered to Austen, but I believe, Natalie, that Jude here truly saved your life. That boy meant to kill you, clear as day.”
He stopped as Jane arrived and she quickly took his order. Dave turned back to them as she went away. “I was right. He’s been imprisoned before and has a rap sheet a mile long. Mostly petty crimes in New Hampshire, but a few assaults with a deadly weapon, robbery, and kidnapping. If he’s murdered, he’s gotten away with it.”
“Any links to Peterson?” Natalie asked, suppressing her shiver at the prospect of what would have happened if Jude hadn’t stepped into her life.
“Not that we’ve found so far, other than they live in the same state. New Hampshire’s a big place. We’ll keep digging, though.”
“Will he be out on bail?” Jude’s education on the crime and justice system among humans wasn’t very extensive, but he guessed what Natalie and Jane meant by bail.
The deputy shook his head. “That’s up to the judge. A high bail, he may not be able to post. But for something like this, I bet the judge will set a high one. He don’t like felons coming to his jurisdiction and trying to kidnap the locals.”
“Let’s hope he sets a high one, then,” Natalie offered. “You’re sure he was going to kill me?”
“I am. He had all the makings of a kidnap with the end result being you dead and vanished into nowhere. He had shovels, the gun, rope, duct tape, and a map marked with an old quarry a couple hundred miles from here.”
Dave glanced at Jude, then back at Natalie. “You keep this boy close, you hear? If Peterson hired him, and he’s in the wind, he still may be looking to do you in. I wish we had more manpower to watch over you, Natalie, but we’re a very small department.”
“I will guard her with my life,” Jude said softly. “He will not kill her.”
“Just watch yourself, Jude,” Dave said, his tone a warning. “I want no vigilantes in my county.”
While Jude had no idea what a vigilante was, Natalie obviously did. “Dave, if Peterson comes here with the intent to kill me, I will protect myself. I won’t hesitate, and neither will Jude.”
“I just don’t want anyone seeking their own justice or revenge.” Dave scowled at the two of them. “That’s all I’ll say on the matter.”
His food arrived, and Dave grinned down at it. “Natalie, I swear you nabbed the best cook in Landson.”
“You bet I did,” she answered with a grin. “With Jude’s help with marketing, I was able to get Rick a raise. We’re booked solid for the next two months and working to fill August.”
Dave said, his mouth full, “Don’t stop there. Open this place to the hunters this season, appeal to the guys with guns.”
“Dave, that hasn’t worked in the past.”
He pointed his fork at Jude. “Get your marketing guru on it. Most lodges are inaccessible in winter, but this one ain’t. I know we ain’t got no fancy ski resort here, but you know we still get winter tourists needing places to stay.”
Natalie nodded, and Jude observed the sudden flash of hope th
at flooded her beautiful face. “Maybe there is a way to attract the hunters here,” she murmured. “Everything I’ve tried in the past failed, but with Jude’s ability to sell over the phone, this time will be different.”
“Don’t let me natter on and forget,” Dave told them. “I can’t leave without your statements.”
“I’m glad we can write them here,” Natalie said, her green eyes on Jude with a happy anticipation. “Then this boy and I need to get to work.”
With their statements written, signed, and Dave, belching, on his way with the towed van, Jude followed Natalie into her office. “Do you shut down in winter?” he asked.
“No,” she replied, “and the cost of staying open is what has killed us in the past. Not even my dad could attract the hunters, but his father did. Somehow, we need to get the guys who flock to these woods during hunting season to stay here. But how?”
Jude sat down at his own desk near the window, thinking. “We appealed to tourists on buses. Are there organizations for men who hunt?”
Natalie snapped her fingers. “Yes. And there’s a big one for people who like guns. We’ll talk to them about advertising in their magazines.”
As Natalie worked on her orders, receipts, and tended to her guests with the smile and warmth that they liked, Jude used the phone and the computer to place ads in newspapers, magazines, and on the radios in big cities. He enjoyed what he did for her, and wanted to see the lodge succeed as much as Natalie did.
But he didn’t like her out of his sight and left his desk often to check on her. Natalie cooperated by chatting with the guests in the open, and he saw no potential danger to her while she was surrounded by happy people.
She returned to the office with a grin. “The billboard is up on the interstate,” she told him, grabbing his hand. “Let’s take a drive out there to see it.”
“But I’m waiting on calls back,” Jude protested. “We should stay here.”
“Nope. We’re going. Come on. Never disobey me; I’m the boss lady.”
“The calls—”
Natalie groaned, tugging him out of his chair. “They want our business. Believe me, they’ll leave messages or call back. Let’s go.”
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