Lost Dragons Box Set Volume Two

by Zoe Chant

  So instead, she simply said, “Yeah. I do.”

  “Well, I’m glad,” Roy said, his voice a little cold. “But to get back to what we were discussing, as I said, I’d like your advice. You’ve lived in Hainesville all your life. You know the people, and if you’re the same as I remember you, you’ll still be working hard to help people here. So – tell me where I should be spending my money, Mercy.”

  Mercy paused, considering. She didn’t know if she liked the idea of being the sole arbitrator of where Roy’s generosity should be directed. And, if her years of working in the hospital and with charities had taught her anything, it was that anything to do with money needed to be done transparently.

  “I... could get you a list,” she said eventually. “I can speak with a few people – ask them to write up a few proposals. See what they’d do with the money, if they were to receive it. I’d like you to have some assurance that your money will be well-spent.”

  “Certainly,” Roy said, nodding. “I think that’d be a great idea. I should warn you though, I’m a busy man. How soon could you have these proposals to me?”

  Mercy hesitated. “I’m not sure. Most of the people I have in mind are run off their feet themselves. But I can speak with them, and do my best to get you something quickly.”

  “That would be excellent.” Roy nodded, before beginning to stand. “Well, as much as I’d love to stay here with you, as I mentioned, I’m a busy man. But maybe we could catch up properly another time – perhaps over dinner.”

  Mercy started, staring at Roy. Is he... is he asking me out on a date?

  It didn’t seem very likely, but then again...

  Mercy recalled the way his eyes had flitted over her body when he’d come in. She knew better than to take his words that she was as beautiful as ever at face value, but still...

  “We’ll see,” she said, not wanting him to think she was interested in him, but still wanting to be diplomatic. “I’d be happy to get a meal with you in order to discuss things.”

  “Sure, let’s say that for now,” Roy said, smiling, a knowing look in his eye. “Now, sorry, but I have to fly. Call me when you’ve got the list.”

  He turned, waving over his shoulder as he headed toward the door, which Tai was just in the process of unlocking, flipping the sign that hung on it from Closed to Open.

  Roy nodded to her as he headed out, but, to Mercy’s mild surprise, he didn’t stop to say hello or tell her she looked well. It was a little odd, since she and Tai had been best friends in high school, and Roy had spent a lot of time hanging around with them both.

  Well, he can’t remember everyone, Mercy reasoned, though for some reason she couldn’t quite put her finger on, she still felt uneasy. And then there had been his words, just before he left: Sure, let’s say that for now. Did he think she’d be more willing to agree to a date later?

  Mercy shook her head. Roy had always been a little cocky, and she supposed having a billion dollars wouldn’t exactly change that. She’d just have to hold her ground and make it clear: whatever had happened in their past, that was over. This was business, now.

  Speaking of...

  Mercy chewed on her lip. Roy had said he wanted that list as quickly as possible.

  “Tai,” she called out. “Flip the sign again. We’ll be closed today.”

  Tai looked up in surprise. “You sure?”

  “Yes,” Mercy nodded. “I’m really sorry to have dragged you all the way out here only to do this, but something’s come up. I’ll still pay you for this shift.”

  “It’s no problem,” Tai said. “You know I’ll take any opportunity to ride. But what’s up?”

  Mercy opened her mouth to explain, but then shut it again. She knew she could trust Tai to the ends of the earth, but the fewer people who knew about Roy’s offer, the better. She couldn’t bear to get people’s hopes up, just in case nothing came of it.

  “I... just have something I need to get done,” she said. “Donate whatever’s in the kitchen that won’t keep for a day to the food bank.”

  “That won’t be too much,” Tai said. “I hadn’t prepared much, since things have been so slow.”

  Mercy nodded. Truly, that was the main reason she wasn’t too concerned about closing for the day. Word got around – Garrick had made sure of that. The thugs on her doorstep last night hadn’t been the first problem he’d caused her. He’d made sure that people knew stopping at her place wasn’t something he’d smile about. The dinnertime rush had slowed to a trickle, especially since three nights out of six he’d station his goons right by her doorway, eyeballing anyone who looked like they might come in.

  Sure, she had a few loyal customers who’d kept on coming no matter what. But aside from that, things had been... well, slow. It was likely the day’s takings would have been dismal anyway.

  “What are you planning, Mercy?”

  Mercy jumped at the sound of Dante’s voice, so close by her side. She swallowed before she looked up at him, her throat feeling tight.

  God, she had never wanted anyone as much as she’d wanted him.

  “I just need to go see a few people,” she said. “So you’re off waiting duty – for now.” She smiled.

  “I’m coming with you,” Dante said immediately.

  Mercy frowned. “What?”

  “It’s not safe for you at the moment,” Dante said, crossing his arms across his chest, as Mercy tried really hard not to notice the way the movement made his biceps bulge. “Those men last night – they said they’d be back. If they catch you alone, who knows what they might do.”

  As much as Mercy didn’t want to admit it, Dante was probably right. She grimaced. She hated feeling like this. She hated feeling like others had to take care of her.

  “I don’t need a babysitter,” she muttered, shaking her head. “I’ve been getting on just fine since before you showed up.”

  “You’re right, you don’t need a babysitter, and that’s not what I’d be,” Dante said. “But there’s more of them than there are of you. Let’s even the odds a bit.”

  Despite herself, Mercy felt a smile tugging at her lips. “Even the odds, you say?”

  “Yeah.” Dante’s voice was dark treacle. “What do you say?”

  “All right, then,” Mercy said, after a brief pause. “Let’s do it.”

  ***

  Clearly, Mercy thought, she hadn’t considered the size of her car before she’d agreed to have Dante come out with her on this errand. It was a fifth-hand Corolla, tiny enough on the best of days, but it seemed smaller still with a guy as broad, tall and muscular as Dante was in the passenger seat.

  Mercy kept her eyes trained on the road, doing her best to ignore Dante’s... everything only a few inches away from her. The physicality of him seemed overwhelming: the thickness of his muscular thighs, the broadness of his shoulders. The hint of stubble on his chin and cheeks, the slow rise and fall of his massive chest as he breathed.

  Focus! Mercy told herself as she clutched the steering wheel, trying not to drive the car up onto the sidewalk out of sheer, desperate horniness.

  You’re actually doing something a little bit more important right now than trying to get laid, Mercy told herself. Yes, driving straight was the most immediate concern. But she was also on her way to the minuscule Hainesville Community Library, where her friend Jessa Phillips was the head librarian, and she should be focusing on how to explain to her the offer that Roy had so unexpectedly made.

  Nonetheless, she couldn’t stop herself from glancing across at Dante as they sat stopped at traffic lights. He was looking straight ahead, one large hand on his thigh and the other propped by the window, with a kind of casual masculinity that made her heart race.

  “Do you mind if I ask what this errand is?” Dante asked as, with great concentration, she changed gears to start driving again.

  I should tell him, Mercy thought. Despite her earlier resolution to keep it quiet, for some reason she wanted to tell Dante what had
happened.

  “The man who came to see me this morning was Roy Wilmore – you probably don’t know him unless you keep up with property mogul news, but he’s kind of a big deal in that world,” Mercy said. “And,” she added, swallowing, “he was my high school boyfriend – though there’s nothing between us now. I haven’t seen him in years. But he’s back, and he says he wants to do something for the community. I want to collect proposals from people for what they’d do with a bit of money, if they got some.”

  Dante glanced across at her. “And... do you think you can trust him?”

  “Of course I can,” Mercy said automatically, but then frowned. Can I really say that?

  At one time in her life, Roy had known her better than anyone. But that had been many years ago. Could she really know for sure that he hadn’t changed?

  “I mean, I’m pretty sure I can,” Mercy said. “And I’m not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, here. If he says he wants to do something for Hainesville, I have to take him at his word – at least until he gives me a reason not to.”

  “Of course,” Dante said, nodding – but Mercy didn’t miss the reservation in his eyes.

  If he had any doubts, he was polite enough not to voice them, though, which Mercy was grateful for. Dante may have been on his guard, but it was clear that he was willing to trust her judgment.

  Hainesville wasn’t that big, and it wasn’t long until they pulled up in the library parking lot. It was on the same lot as the elementary school, and she knew Jessa ran reading programs and let the kids whose parents worked late stay in the library after school until they could be picked up.

  “I’m coming in with you,” Dante said.

  Mercy smiled, shaking her head. “Well, I wasn’t going to leave you in the car. But I warn you, this is probably going to be pretty boring.”

  “I’ll manage,” Dante replied. “Anyway, I’m curious – it seems like you do a lot for this place. I don’t know how you manage it all and run a restaurant at the same time.”

  “It isn’t easy,” Mercy said as they got out of the car. “But someone’s got to do it.”

  Dante nodded. “You’re right,” he said, his voice surprisingly soft as his brilliant green eyes rested on her face. “But it’s still amazing how you’ve decided you’re going to be the one to do it. I mean what I say, Mercy – it’s amazing. You’re amazing. I don’t know if I’ve ever met anyone so selfless before – anyone so dedicated to helping others. I –”

  Dante cut himself off suddenly, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed heavily.

  Mercy licked her lips, watching the movement as if entranced.

  God, I want him.

  The thought was in her head before she could stop it, urgent and desperate. There was no point in denying it: right from the first moment she’d dragged him into the kitchen, Mercy had known just how attracted she was to Dante. She couldn’t explain it. At this point, she wasn’t even sure if she cared about trying to.

  She shook her head as she turned away, walking up the concrete path to the library entrance. She hadn’t responded to Dante, but she wasn’t sure she could right now. Her throat felt too tight to let any words past her lips. And she couldn’t think about this right now! She was here for a meeting!

  While she met with Jessa on a semi-regular basis, Mercy didn’t often have time to come into the library itself. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it wasn’t a school trip featuring what looked like about a dozen unruly six-year-olds.

  “Sorry about all this,” Jessa said, as she pulled one especially energetic kid down from the top of the returned books trolley. “It’s our weekly reading circle day. Not that anyone’s getting much reading done.”

  “It’s no problem.” Mercy swung out an arm to stop the kid Jessa had just pulled down off the trolley from barreling into an overflow shelf. “Really, it’s me who should be apologizing – have I caught you at a bad time?”

  “No, it’s never a bad time to see you,” Jessa said. “But we may need to make it quick – I have to try to wrangle these little guys into the reading area for their story.”

  “That seems easier said than done,” Dante said, as yet another six-year-old charged by them, heading in the direction of the fish tank.

  “You’re telling me,” Jessa sighed.

  “This might take some time,” Mercy said. “I really should have checked before I came out here. I just got... caught up, I guess, and let my excitement get the better of me.”

  “Excitement?” Jessa raised her eyebrows. “Well, now I’m curious. What’s happening?”

  Mercy hesitated. “Well –”

  She was cut off by the sound of a short, terrified scream, and whirled around just in time to see a kid she didn’t know toppling backward off the shelves he’d been trying to climb.

  “Alex!” Jessa cried out, dashing forward – but Mercy could already see she’d be too late to stop him from falling. There was simply too much distance between them. Nonetheless, Mercy charged forward anyway, hoping against desperate hope she could somehow get to Alex before he fell onto the floor.

  She waited for the thud, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  But it was a thud that never came.

  Mercy caught her breath, blinking in shock as she took in the sight before her eyes.

  She’d been expecting to see poor Alex sprawled on the floor crying – but instead, he was simply looking up in great surprise at the man who’d caught him and prevented his fall.

  Dante.

  Mercy couldn’t stop herself from gasping. How had he moved that fast? She hadn’t even noticed him – and he’d been several yards away from the shelf. It didn’t seem possible that he could have gotten all the way over there before Alex hit the floor.

  But whatever the case, Mercy felt relief flooding her body. Alex was safe, having fallen directly into Dante’s arms.

  His strong, muscular arms, her brain added, unhelpfully.

  The kind of arms she really wished he’d wrap around her, lift her up in, carry her away in...

  Okay, stop! Not the time!

  “Maybe you should be a bit more careful,” Dante said, as he gently placed the clearly shaken Alex down on the floor.

  Alex only nodded, his eyes wide.

  “What do you say, Alex?” Jessa asked, her tone calm, but her voice a little shaky.

  “Thanks, mister,” Alex murmured, having to crane his head upward to look at Dante’s face. He was clearly quite impressed with Dante, Mercy thought. Alex was looking up at him the way someone might look at Superman if he’d just saved them from falling from a twenty-story building. Though given how tall and muscle-bound Dante was, Mercy didn’t think the comparison was necessarily too far off – and a bookshelf probably felt like a twenty-story building when you were in first grade!

  On hearing Alex’s scream, the other kids – who had until now been running more or less riot – had stopped what they were doing to check out what deadly danger one of their number had gotten into. They came swarming over to check on him, asking Alex if he was okay, and glancing curiously at Dante.

  And with that, an idea suddenly popped into Mercy’s head.

  “Dante,” she said, before she had a chance to change her mind. “Would you mind watching these guys while I talk to Jessa?”

  “Me?” Dante asked, looking up at her, his green eyes wide with surprise. His expression turned doubtful. “I’m not good with kids.”

  Mercy had to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling. “Have you spent much time with them?”

  Dante frowned. “No. But –”

  “I’m sure you’ll do fine!” Jessa trilled, grinning. “They’re gorgeous kids – when they’re sitting still.” She turned away, grabbing a book from behind the library counter. “We’re reading this today – Mr. Dragon Goes Shopping. It’s an easy read – just make sure you do the voices.”

  “The... voices?” Dante asked, looking more and more mystified by the second.
Mercy stifled a laugh.

  “The voices of the characters,” she said. “They can’t all sound the same. Mrs. Dragon has to have a different voice to Mr. Dragon.”

  Dante was staring down at the book Jessa had shoved into his hands as if it might be radioactive. “But –”

  “Well, I need to talk to Jessa now,” Mercy said. “Remember, like I said, time is of the essence here. We won’t be long – just keep the kids entertained for about... fifteen minutes. We’ll be back.”

  She turned away, Jessa by her side.

  “Where on earth did you find him?” Jessa murmured to her as they headed to her small office. Mercy didn’t fail to notice the long, admiring glance Jessa cast back over her shoulder at Dante as they went inside.

  Almost immediately, a loud, possessive voice rose up inside her, shouting, he’s mine!

  Mercy blinked, surprised at herself. Apart from anything else, Dante was most certainly not hers. She’d only just met him! And this wasn’t like her – she wasn’t usually a jealous or possessive person at all.

  She swallowed, trying to push down the instinctive shout from her gut. She had to concentrate, dammit! This was important!

  “So,” Jessa said, settling into the chair behind her desk. “Tell me just what exactly all this excitement is about.”

  Chapter Five

  Dante

  Dante looked at the young boy who was looking up at him, dark eyes wide.

  “Are you going to read to us, mister?”

  Dante swallowed. “I... guess so,” he said uncertainly, looking down at the book in his hands.