5 – The Investigation Begins
How did a woman get to Jessalyn’s age and have no idea of her heritage? What had happened to her parents? Why hadn’t they passed on the training essential to the survival of a modern-day taniwha? His father and mother and every taniwha kid of his acquaintance had received careful instruction. As they’d grown older, they’d had gatherings where the mature taniwha had taken a group each and given them training exercises. Dragons more at home in the water—Jack, for instance—had received knowledge specific to them. Other elders had taught Manu and Hone and other fire-breathers to control their fire. How had she missed the necessary training?
And worst of all, what was he going to do?
Teaching her now when it was obvious she considered herself human might backfire. Before he took this step, he needed to learn more. The woman’s true name for a start. Every one of her human instincts would fight what he told her, which was part of the reason taniwha began their training at a young age.
You could take her to bed. Seduce her into obedience.
Manu froze at the sly suggestion from his taniwha. For an instant, he swayed as blood rushed down his body to fill his cock. Heat roared through him as he clenched the battered countertop in his kitchen area.
“Not happening,” he growled.
At least not until he discovered the truth. The clueless woman was his mate, and if she didn’t get her act together, he’d have to execute her to keep the rest of his tribe safe.
One woman versus the life of thousands. Not just his tribe, but the taniwha who lived in other regions of New Zealand.
Despite the rumbling growl from his taniwha, his human side accepted the reality. He was a monster for thinking this but he couldn’t risk many to save one.
The first time—the taking of his mother’s life—had passed in a blur. He’d acted on instinct in self-defense. Still murder, according to his father, and Manu had never argued this point.
His phone sounded, and he answered as he filled the teapot with boiling water. “Yeah.”
“Emma had twin girls,” Hone said, laughter in his voice.
“Two?”
“Yeah, the doctors told Emma a while ago. She kept it a secret from Jack because responsibility for one child was stressing him. Two might have shoved him over the edge.” He paused a beat. “Twins. Wow, I hope Cassie never does that to me.”
“They okay? Emma?”
Hone chuckled. “They’re great. Jack is in shock, but you can see how proud and protective he will be. He’s doing his hovering thing, and Emma is ready to deck him. She ordered him to go to work.”
“I have a job for you. It’s—” He paused as Jessalyn stomped toward him.
“You locked the door,” she spat, hands planted on her curvy hips. “You can’t keep me a prisoner.”
“What’s going on?” Hone asked. “Who is that?”
“I can’t talk now, but if you’d swing around the workshop at ten, I can speak with you then.”
“We’ll be there,” Hone said. “You’re not in danger. Otherwise, you would’ve called us or your brothers earlier.”
“Yeah,” Manu said, wishing he could spill everything to Hone now. “See you at ten.”
Jessalyn got right in his face, her brown eyes flickering to dragon. “Unlock the door.”
“In a moment. Have a cup of tea.”
“I need to get to the train station or I’ll be late to work.”
“I’ll give you a lift,” Manu said.
She shoved him again before blinking. Her hand dropped from his shoulder and contrarily, he craved the intimacy of her touch again. Manu turned away and filled two mugs with milk and added tea. He handed her one.
“You can stay here tonight.”
“Most people would prefer to distance themselves from me. I-I’m a monster.”
“Think about it, okay? You’re safe here with me.” How he squeezed those words out without choking, he had no idea. Her instinct for flight was an excellent one. “Drink your tea while I get your clothes from the drier.” He skirted the frowning woman, leaving her alone in the kitchen. He ignored his erection and prayed she hadn’t noticed. Things were bad enough now. Adding sex to the equation would act as a spark during a summer drought.
He retrieved her laundry and handed it to her. While she changed and drank her tea, he entered his office. He used his handprint and scanned his eye to open his safe, then pulled out one of his stealth units. He strapped it on his right wrist and re-locked the safe.
“Are you ready?” he called. “I can drive you to work now. You’ll have to give me directions.”
“I work at The Viaduct.”
“No problem.”
Five minutes later, they were on their way. Jessalyn sat in the passenger seat beside him, but her clasped hands told of her tension. The silence grew heavy and oppressive, and Manu wasn’t sure how to ease the strain. Bottom-line, she was coming home with him tonight if he had to drag her over his shoulder and carry her there.
The traffic was lighter than he’d assumed, and they soon neared the inner city. The downtown area of the city was a construction zone with orange traffic cones and temporary fence barriers making stopping difficult. At this time of the morning, office and shop employees filled motor vehicles and buses and poured from Britomart train station. No one was going anywhere in a hurry.
“Where do you work?”
“You can drop me near the ferry terminal.”
Manu didn’t argue but pulled up in a waiting zone and let her scramble from the passenger seat. “What time should I collect you?”
“You don’t have to worry. Thank you for last night.” She slammed the door and hurried into the ferry terminal.
“Run, wee dragon,” he whispered. “You won’t escape me.” Manu barked out a laugh, amused at his weird stalker vibe.
Manu found a place to park and checked both ways before he pushed a button on his stealth unit. Invisible, he locked his truck and followed in Jessalyn’s footsteps. Cleverly—if he did say so himself—he’d washed her clothes with strong laundry soap, and he’d pick her scent from the crowd without trouble.
He dodged rushing humans, extra careful because while he could see them, they had no clue of his presence. A running man crashed into him from behind, sending them both flying. A grunt escaped Manu as he struck the ground, but he raised his wrist to save damage to his stealth unit. The man’s expression had him laughing until Manu realized that was just as peculiar for the man as his unexplained fall.
After ascertaining the man was unharmed, Manu scrambled to his feet and sniffed to locate Jessalyn. Ah, yes! The pungent eucalyptus trail drew him to the left. This time, he took care to hug the wall of the building to avoid further incident.
Jessalyn had walked through the ferry area and gone along the waterfront toward The Viaduct. Manu strode past the giant KZ1 yacht turned into a sculpture, and the New Zealand Maritime Museum, not yet open for the day. The briny tang of the sea filled his nostrils as he turned the corner. Two super yachts moored in front of him, the crew polishing the deck and shining brass.
The America’s Cup tour company had a stand offering two or three-hour trips on the harbor in old America’s Cup yachts. Farther on was a whale-watching boat and several other luxury vessels available for hire. To his left were restaurants, cocktail bars, and a pub. He continued following Jessalyn’s scent.
The trail led to a rear door of the pub. Deciding to risk detection, he pushed open the door and entered. He discovered Jessalyn, busy at work in the kitchen, helping the chef with food preparation. At least, he presumed the man was a chef since he wore a tall white hat.
Manu listened to the conversation but learned nothing more about Jessalyn. The chef informed her and two other staff—a young male and an older woman—what he needed them to do, and each employee started their tasks.
Manu retreated and paused on spotting an office. It was empty with the door closed but not locked. He slipped ins
ide, leaving the door ajar in case he needed to make a quick getaway. A roster, pinned on the wall, gave him no clues since it listed Christian names. The filing cabinets contained creditor invoices.
About to risk switching on the computer, he spotted an employee list with addresses and phone numbers in the top drawer of the desk.
Ah. Jessalyn Brown. Her address was a cheap hostel close to Queen Street. With a quick glance at the door, he pulled his phone from his pocket and snapped a photo. He’d just slipped the phone out of sight when the chef pushed through the door. He strode straight to the desk and grabbed the list of phone numbers from where Manu had placed it on the desk.
Manu eyed the door and waited.
The chef punched a number into the phone and snapped and snarled at a tardy employee. “Don’t bother coming back.” The chef slammed down the phone. “Bloody unreliable kids.” He stomped from the office and headed back to the kitchen. “I need someone to work late. Volunteers.” He scanned his staff.
“I can work late,” Jessalyn said.
“Thank you,” the chef said. “I need you to cover for Kelvin and finish at six. You can have an extra half-hour break.”
“Yes, Chef,” Jessalyn said and got back to work.
Satisfied with his sleuthing, Manu retreated and exited the pub. He’d drunk here a few times and found it a successful hunting ground for willing sexual partners. Outside the pub, he took a more direct route to where he’d left his truck. Pleased with yet another successful test of his stealth unit, he waited until he climbed into his vehicle before making himself visible again.
His phone rang before he arrived back at his workshop.
“Where are you?” Hone asked.
“I’m on my way now. I’m stopping at the supermarket to stock up on food. Give me another half an hour.”
“Jack and I have paperwork to keep ourselves busy. I told Dad we were meeting with you. I mentioned you needed information to help with tribal decisions. Dad told us to make you our priority this week. He’s concerned.”
Hone and Jack were worried about him too, as were his brothers. It made him realize he wasn’t alone. “See you soon.”
It was closer to an hour when Manu pulled up beside Hone’s black work vehicle. Jack and Hone came out to meet him.
“Excellent timing. You can help me carry the groceries inside.”
Hone goggled at the number of bags. “It’s good to see you’re intending to eat, but are you trying to send your taniwha into a sugar coma?”
“Long story,” Manu said.
“You look happier,” Jack said slowly.
Manu studied Jack. “You look like hell.”
“This is how you look after you’re up all night watching your wife give birth to babies. Not one but two girls.” Jack shook his head as if he wasn’t sure he was awake.
“He’s been like this all morning,” Hone said, humor digging into his face deep enough to leave a dimple. “Jack is right. You don’t seem as stressed.”
“Not true. Since you were here last night, I have an entirely new set of problems,” Manu said, his gut twisting as he considered Jessalyn.
“What is that god-awful stench?” Jack asked.
“Eucalyptus-scented laundry powder,” Manu said. “Cassie shopped for me and bought it without realizing we prefer products with no scent. As it happens, it came in handy.”
They took two trips to carry the bags of groceries into the warehouse. Manu unpacked and put things away while he sorted through his thoughts.
“Last night after you left, I caught a woman lighting fires out the back. I believe she is the one responsible for setting fires in the Domain.”
“What did you do?” Hone straightened from stacking perishables into the fridge.
“Where is she?” Jack asked.
His cousin and friend exchanged a glance.
“Did you execute her?” Hone asked the question.
Manu’s shoulders slumped. “She is my mate.”
“What?”
“Who is she?” Jack demanded, appearing more alert now.
“She told me her name is Jessalyn McKenzie, but I discovered this morning her real name is Jessalyn Brown. I have learned nothing, apart from the fact she has no idea she is a taniwha and my dragon wants her. I should’ve acted straightaway, but I… I couldn’t.” He straightened and met Jack’s and Hone’s gazes this time. He saw no condemnation or judgment, so he continued. “I drove her to The Viaduct this morning and let her think she’d escaped me.”
“You used a stealth unit and followed her. Hence the stinky laundry powder,” Hone said.
Manu’s brows shot upward. “Hence?”
“Cassie and Emma have me thinking the word too,” Jack confessed. “What will you do?”
“I need info on Jessalyn Brown. She is working at the Three Horseshoes, the pub not far from the Maritime Museum. I figure she’ll need to give them her IRD number to get a job, and they’d have details of previous employment, which might hint where she comes from. I didn’t have a chance to rifle through the computer files this morning.”
“Describe her for us,” Jack said.
“I…um…took a photo of her. I’ll send it to you both.” Just thinking about Jessalyn made his skin itch. The distance between them was too great. He wanted her in his sight in case another taniwha tried to steal her.
The thought gave him pause. What was he? A barbarian?
Yep.
His taniwha’s amusement sparked through him, and he must’ve had a strange expression on his face because both Jack and Hone were grinning at him. “What?”
“Welcome to the club, cuz,” Hone said.
“What if I have to…” He trailed off because he hated to think the words, let alone state them aloud.
“We’ll help you train her,” Hone said. “Can we tell Cassie and Emma? I know they’re both human, but we have intelligent mates. They might help.”
Manu saw the sense in Hone’s suggestion. As women, they might get through to Jessalyn when he couldn’t. “Just them. I’m not mentioning anything to Tane and Kahurangi yet. Hell, this is such a mess.”
“Finding a mate will go a long way to appeasing the more traditional in our tribe,” Jack said.
“And on the plus side, once you’re mated, you won’t get single taniwha women shoved at you,” Hone added.
“Yeah, but if one whisper escapes about Jessalyn and her fires, the tribe will demand her death. She’s a danger to all of us,” Manu said.
“Jack and I were intending to start our spying this morning. Why don’t we carry on with it? You’ve already visited the pub and know the layout. You could do the undercover work there. If you didn’t find any paper records, they’ll be on the computer. Most people have a password on their computer these days, and employers have employee numbers if more than one use the same terminal. You’ll need to stake out the office and wait until someone leaves the computer free to dive in and get the information we need. Have you tried an internet search?”
“I did last night, but she gave me a false name.” Manu pulled out his phone and did a search, this time for Brown. “She has a social media page. Hell, she’s from Piha. Waaka territory.”
He lifted his head, his pulse racing with frustration and the urge to strike out at something or someone. His gaze landed on Hone.
Hone raised his hands in surrender and took half a step back. “No hitting my pretty face. Remember, Cassie will get upset. She won’t send you any more food.”
“Don’t look at me,” Jack added. “I’m a father. Two babies are expensive, so Emma needs me at full fitness.”
Hone winked at Manu. “Two girls.”
“Don’t remind me. All I can think of is the boys who will chase my girls when they’re older. I need another gun.”
“What if this girl is a plant?” Hone asked.
Manu shrugged. “If the Waaka taniwha intended to send a spy, why not send someone with full power? That way they’d have a better
chance to cause real friction.”
“There is the alternative.” Jack’s brow furrowed as if he were deep in thought. “They sent her as a honey trap.”
“No,” Manu said. “She arrived dressed in worn jeans and a T-shirt. One of her shoes had a hole in it. Her scent said she’d been sleeping rough for a few days at least.”
Hone nudged Jack with his elbow. “She’s a dog.”
“No, she is not,” Manu snapped. “She is…” He trailed off on seeing his cousin’s amusement.
Hone licked a finger on his right hand and marked an imaginary score.
“Don’t give me a hard time. I helped you with Cassie,” Manu said.
“I suspected you were trying to steal my girl,” Hone corrected.
Manu diverted his mind from the rest of that story. It hadn’t ended well. Not for him or his family.
“How are we going to work the Piha connection? It’s not as if we can go around asking questions up there,” Jack said.
“My suggestion,” Hone said. “Investigate as much as we can down here. Once we get her full name and date of birth, we can apply for a birth certificate and learn her parents’ names.”
“Makes sense,” Manu said. “Come to the office and I’ll get you the stealth units. I need to build more, but I haven’t had time with everything else going on.”
Jack and Hone had both trialed the units for him, helping him with tests. He trusted them with his life and his invention, and that wasn’t something he could say about many people. Apart from his two brothers, the list was short.
“We’ll meet back here this evening,” Hone said.
“You want to meet my girl,” Manu said.
“Ah! You admit she is your mate. That’s half the battle,” Jack said.
“That isn’t exactly the problem.” Manu’s phone rang before he could elaborate. “I’ll see you later. I appreciate this.”
“Don’t worry,” Hone said. “Dad will insist on sending a bill even if he gives you a discount.”
Manu checked on his caller. “Hey, Tane. What’s up?” He listened to his brother. “Crap. I’m on my way.”
Half an hour later, he pulled up at the family property. A charred wood stink and smoke filled the air, and he cursed on seeing the remains of the garage to the right of the bungalow. He climbed out of his vehicle and scowled. From where he stood, he spotted his Ducati—or what was left of it.
Black Moon Dragon Page 6