Drake didn’t return it.
He answered the loud pounding on the door, swinging it wide. Two uniformed officers stood there, their sharp gazes taking in Drake wearing only jeans, and past him to Emily. “We got a call about the alarm being tripped?” one said.
“A stalker shot through the window,” Drake replied, stepping aside and gesturing them in. “She’s been injured.”
Immediately, one young officer went to Emily while the other used the radio on his shoulder to request a supervisor and an ambulance. “How bad, ma’am?”
“My arm,” Emily replied, easing it out from under the blanket. “Drake tied that on.”
“Okay. The ambulance will be here soon.” The officer glanced around, observing the shattered window. “Can you tell us what happened?”
“I have a stalker,” she began, her mouth horribly dry. “I’ve been working with Detective Carlisle. Can I have some water?”
Drake left the room to fetch it while she explained seeing Toombs outside in a strange car, then him driving past, shooting. Drake returned with the water and helped her to drink it. The second cop examined a bullet hole in the wall behind where Emily had been standing.
“She’s lucky she isn’t dead.”
More sirens screamed in the night, lights cutting through the almost silent darkness. The EMTs arrived, examining Emily, asking questions as Drake hovered nearby. More cops filled the living room, much too small for all of them, taking pictures, asking questions of both Drake and Emily. Drake answered as best he could, and Emily thought she was going to pass out.
At last, she was loaded into the ambulance, and Drake climbed in with her. “I have to stay with her,” he snapped at the EMTs, and they must have decided it best not to argue with him. He held her hand through the trip to the hospital, his face tight with worry.
“I’ll be fine,” she tried to reassure him but knew she didn’t succeed.
Chapter Twelve
The emergency room personnel wouldn’t let him stay with her as they attended Emily. Drake paced outside, not caring about the curious looks he received for wearing only jeans. Feeling lost without her, with too many things he didn’t understand, he paced back and forth in front of the room where Emily lay.
He had watched for more than an hour when a voice behind him said, “How bad is she?”
Turning, Drake found Clem Carlisle closing the distance between them. Relief etched its way through him. “Toombs shot her in her arm,” he replied. “She’s in there.”
“The officers called me at home,” Clem said, staring through the window. “I checked out the house, then came here. Tell me what happened.”
Thus, Drake went over it again and added in Emily’s comment that it seemed as though Toombs had heard them talking. He left out the part where they discussed the need to kill him by setting him on fire.
“Emily said something about Toombs needing to be put down like a rabid dog.”
Clem’s gaze sharpened on Drake’s face. “Then he drove at the house, shooting?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit.” Clem stared through the window toward where the medical people worked on Emily. “Could he have bugged the place? He might not have the ability to feel anger, but something like that could provoke him.”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe Toombs put a listening device in her house,” Clem said. “Or even a miniature camera.”
Drake’s hand on Clem’s arm turned him to face him. “You mean he could be watching and listening to everything?”
“Yeah. Once we get Emily home, I’m gonna search every nook and cranny.”
A physician finally came from the room an hour later. “She’ll be fine,” he said. “She can go home as soon as the nurses get some scrubs on her since she didn’t come with any clothing. I’ll prescribe a pain killer and antibiotics; she’ll need them both.”
“Anything else, doc?” Clem asked.
“She didn’t lose too much blood thanks to the pressure put on the wound,” he went on. “The bullet passed right through her arm, so we did a bit of sewing, and she’ll need rest and quiet. I presume you’re a police officer?”
“Detective Carlisle.”
“I hope you find who did this,” the doctor said. “I hate violence. She should go see her family doctor if she’s having any issues, but she can also come back here if it’s after hours.”
With a friendly nod, he moved on, leaving Drake to wait with Clem. It troubled him that Toombs had been listening, possibly even watching everything they did in the privacy of Emily’s home. As Toombs already knew he was a dragon, that part didn’t worry Drake—Toombs would soon be dead and would tell no one.
But Drake and Emily had spoken of leading Toombs into a trap in order to kill him. That worried Drake plenty. What if he plans to strike at us before we can kill him? That their conversation enraged him, Drake had little doubt. And now he’d be wary of being trapped where I can set his ass on fire.
Emily emerged, wan and pale, dark circles under her eyes. She wore, as many of the hospital personnel did, loose clothing of a pale blue color. The blanket lay around her shoulders, and her left arm lay in a sling. Without shoes, she now wore plastic slippers.
“Hi.”
Drake took her carefully into his arms and hugged her. “I was so scared I was going to lose you.”
Her right arm hugged him back. “Naw,” she said, aiming for a grin. “I’m tough.”
“Girl, I am gonna have to lock you up in protective custody.” Clem also gingerly embraced her. “I ordered your window boarded up, but the glass is still there. I’ll take you home, but I suggest a hotel for the night. Until you can get the glass cleaned up.”
Emily held Drake’s hand. “No. We’re going home.”
“Then I’ll give you a lift.”
In the rear seat of his police vehicle, Drake put his arm around Emily. “Clem is suspecting that Toombs may have been watching and listening to everything in your house.”
Emily nodded as Clem glanced into the mirror. “That’s what I was thinking. As soon as I said he needed to be killed, he came at us, shooting.”
“When we get there,” Clem said, “I’ll do a sweep.”
All the police had gone by the time Drake, Emily, and Clem returned to the house. Toombs was nowhere to be seen, but Drake looked carefully around even as Clem did before allowing Emily out of the car. Once inside, Drake eyed the broken glass and assisted Emily to her favorite chair. Then he fetched the vacuum cleaner and started cleaning up the broken glass.
As he worked to clean the glass and Emily’s blood from the carpet, he watched as Clem examined light switches, lamps, the lintels above all the doors and windows. He inspected every corner and started to shake his head. Then he stared straight up at the small chandelier in the middle of the ceiling.
Drake switched the vacuum off. “Emily, do you have a step stool?” Clem asked.
“Drake, it’s in the closet in the kitchen.”
Emily huddled under the blanket as Drake fetched the step stool. Then Clem climbed it, closely inspecting the chandelier. “Got it,” he said. “One listening device right here.”
After asking for a few tools, which Drake brought him, Clem stepped down and showed them the small device. To Drake, it looked like a button. Emily plucked it from Clem’s hand.
“Is it still working?” she asked.
“I’m afraid not, as I cut the wires,” Clem answered. “Did you want to tell him something?”
“Yeah. That his ass is mine.”
Clem clucked his tongue. “Bad attitude, girl. Now this will become evidence, and more charges against him. Now it’s almost daylight. Why don’t you get some rest, Emily?”
“I need a pain pill,” she complained, her voice querulous. “A Percocet.”
“Do you have some? The doc gave you a prescription.”
“In the bathroom cabinet.”
Drake fetched it for her as Clem spoke to Emily in so
othing tones, yet Drake had no doubt that he warned her against retaliation. Emily swallowed the pill, then leaned back into the chair and closed her eyes. Drake walked Clem to the door.
“Look after her, Drake,” Clem said softly, glancing back at Emily. “I’m afraid of what he’ll do now that we took away his ability to listen in.”
“If he comes here with the intention of harming her,” Drake replied, “he won’t leave alive. I’m telling you now.”
“Just make sure it’s clear self-defense, son,” Clem told him. “No vigilantes; you hear me?”
“Yeah.”
Clem stepped out onto the porch, Drake with him, and softly closed the door. His hands in his pockets, Drake looked at the lightening sky toward the east, waiting for Clem to say what was on his mind.
“You love her.” It wasn’t a question.
Drake nodded.
“Then know Toombs will see you as a challenge,” Clem said, his brown eyes on Drake’s. “He will want to take you out. Only then will he be able to claim Emily. You know that, right?”
Drake smiled and Clem visibly recoiled. “I know.”
“I’m trying to say be careful. And look after her. I’ve grown rather fond of our Emily.”
Drake’s dragon possessiveness didn’t rise at this remark, and his instincts to protect his chosen mate from other males remained quiet. That meant his gut knew Clem was Emily’s friend, not a potential rival. He stuck out his hand. “I know.”
Clem shook it, then took a longer look at the fading scars on Drake’s hand and arm. “You heal damn fast,” he remarked.
“Yeah.”
“Must be nice.” Clem walked toward his car. “Remember, he’s gonna be pissed.”
As Clem got into his car and drove away, Drake glanced once more at the arriving dawn and returned inside. Emily, shivering under her blanket, the lines of her face taut with pain, asked, “What did he have to say that I shouldn’t hear?”
“Nothing you don’t already know.” Drake rested his hand on her brow, feeling her cold yet damp. “Toombs will see me as a challenge.”
“We already knew that.”
“Come on, you need to be in bed.”
Emily made no protest as Drake led her into her bedroom. He pulled back the sheets and blankets, then tucked her inside them, still wearing the hospital scrubs. “How’s the pain?”
“I wish I healed as fast as you.”
Bending, Drake kissed her cheek. “Sleep.”
Emily closed her eyes, and whether the pain pill had kicked in or not, she fell asleep almost immediately. Drake turned out the light, then left the bedroom and turned off the lights in the kitchen and living room. He lifted the curtain and gazed out onto the quiet street, now gray instead of deep black.
Making certain the door was locked and the alarm reset, he lay on the couch. He didn’t expect to sleep, but he did. And dreamed of burning Toombs to ashes, then leaving them to drift upon the wind.
Emily slept until well past noon, but Drake refused to allow her out of bed except to use the bathroom. He made her soup and watched as she ate it, then gave her another pain pill. “How can I get you more?” he asked, concerned about how her face was still drawn and pale, the dark circles even darker.
“You can’t unless you drive,” she replied, her voice dull. “Maybe Clem can fill the prescription.”
That turned out to not be necessary, as the neighbors, Jim and Mary, knocked on the door. Drake invited them in. “We saw the police lights early this morning,” Jim said. “We know about how Emily got shot. Is there anything we can do?”
Emily emerged from her bedroom, her arm in its sling, once she heard their voices. “You guys are so sweet.”
Mary hugged her. “Emily, I am so sorry this is happening to you.”
“I know a good window replacement guy,” Jim said, examining the window. “Should I call him?”
“That would be great,” Drake answered. “I cleaned up the glass, but I think there’s more in the carpet.”
“I can get your prescription filled,” Mary told Emily, her arm over her shoulders. “And I’ll bring food over later.”
“Drake can’t drive,” Emily told her. “So, your offering to get it for me is awesome, Mary.”
“It’s no trouble at all.”
Thus, later that day, Drake and Emily had food and pain medicines, and the window replacement fellow worked for several hours replacing the shattered window. Drake paid him from the roll in his pocket while Emily slept in the bedroom. Later, he brought her some of Mary’s pot roast and watched her eat it, then she fell asleep again.
When the phone rang, Drake answered it, knowing exactly who it was.
“Hello, Jonas.”
“On a first-name basis, are we?”
“Why not?”
“Listen, Drake,” Toombs said, his voice hard, “Emily is mine. Leave now. I sure wouldn’t want to inform the authorities of what you truly are.”
“If you think anyone would believe you,” Drake replied easily, “you’d have done it by now.”
“You’re not as tough as you think you are,” Toombs snapped. “You bleed just like everyone else.”
“That’s true,” Drake said. “However, you know what I can do. How are the burns? Are they healed yet?”
“Asshole.”
“Tsk-tsk. How juvenile. Now, how about you crawl away and go back to the hole you came from? Because if I find you, Jonas, believe me, you will burn.”
“Like hell I will. I’m not afraid of you.”
“Only because you are a freak of nature, Jonas,” Drake told him. “Had you the ability to feel emotions, then you’d be afraid. Very afraid.”
“You’re the freak, asshole. Not me.”
“Ever wonder what dragon fire can do to the fragile human body, Jonas?” Drake asked conversationally. “There isn’t much left, you know. Even the ashes are like the ashes of ashes, no true substance.”
“You’re full of shit.”
“Care to really find out? How about we meet, just you and me. The victor takes Emily.”
“I heard you planning a trap. No fucking way.”
“And now you can’t listen any more. Poor guy. No trap. We meet, face to face. My dragon against your gun.”
“I’ll shoot you faster than you can kill me.”
“Then you got nothing to lose. So, how about it?”
Drake listened to Toombs’ silence, knowing he was still too much a coward to face a dragon on even ground and knew the man would try to kill him in secrecy and stealth. Thus, he felt no surprise when Toombs replied, “No. It’s still a trap.”
“Or that even if you can’t feel fear,” Drake replied cheerfully, “you’re a fucking coward. Not even a man, Jonas. A coward who stalks women. Can you even get it up, Jonas? Maybe you’re limp as well as cowardly.”
He felt no surprise and much satisfaction when Toombs hung up the phone. Now Toombs would see him as the ultimate challenge and would strike at Drake, not Emily. Drake set the phone back on its cradle and turned.
Emily scowled at him from the kitchen doorway.
Chapter Thirteen
“What the fuck are you doing?”
Drake smiled faintly. “Oh, just challenging Toombs.”
“Good grief. What for?”
“Because maybe then he’ll strike at me and give me a chance to send him to hell where he belongs.”
Emily sat in a kitchen chair, holding her left arm with her right. Her pain hadn’t receded by much, and she felt light-headed from the Percocet. “He won’t do it,” she said wearily. “He’s smart enough to know that if he confronts you head-on, he’s dead.”
Standing beside her, Drake caressed her hair. “I know.”
“What are we going to do?” she asked, feeling strained, scared. “The police can’t catch him; he overheard us talking about trapping him. He’s like a fucking ghost.”
Stepping in close, Drake pulled her into his belly, her right arm creeping
around his waist. “Maybe it’s time I hunted him.”
“How?”
“Next time we catch him sitting out in front, I’ll fly out there. He’ll run, and no matter what, he won’t escape me.”
Turning her head, Emily gazed up at him, her hazel eyes filled with tears. “You can’t just set his car on fire, Drake. It’s too risky. Other people will get hurt.”
“I have to try, Emily. He can’t keep hurting you like this. You’re a prisoner in your own house.”
Straightening, Emily dashed the tears from her eyes and sniffed. “True. But even if he is suspecting a trap, we might manage it.”
Drake sat in a chair beside her and took her hand, his blue eyes warm, yet worried. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know, I’m not thinking right. But maybe if we go out, and he follows, we can drive out of town, into the country. Then you can, you know, do your thing.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “That might work.”
“I shouldn’t advocate killing him,” Emily said, wondering why she felt no guilt over plotting a man’s death.
“Knowing what we do about Toombs,” Drake reminded her gently, “there are not many ways of stopping him.”
“Unless Clem can catch him.”
“If Clem could catch him, he’d have done so by now. You know that.”
“Yeah. I guess I do.”
“Are you hungry? You should eat something, then rest again.”
Though she didn’t feel hungry, Emily let Drake fix her a bowl of soup. She ate slowly, fearing that between her pain and the Percocet, she would upchuck it. And who knew what kind of misery that would set off. Drake watched her eat as though counting every mouthful, and before he was half done, that had gotten on her nerves.
“Please find something else to do,” she said, irritable. “I can’t handle you watching me.”
Drake’s cheeks blushed a cute shade of pink, and Emily felt bad for almost biting his head off. “Sorry.” He looked away. “I’m just worried about you.”
“I know, and I appreciate it. But you can worry without staring.”
Dragon Fever: Limited Edition Holiday Romance Boxset Page 47