“James, he made it so you couldn’t identify them. My sister had her teeth knocked out, and her face was.... It was beyond recognition. If it hadn’t been for the tattoo that she had on her ankle, we wouldn’t have known it was her.” Marissa told her again how sorry she was. “You know, I thought that when I came here, I’d have who I thought was James arrested for his crimes—after I told him off and beat the shit out of him. I thought that it would give me closure, and I’d feel not so helpless again. But that didn’t happen. I met his family.”
“And you realized that there was hope again.” Nancy nodded, tears flooding her eyes. “Come here, child. I want you to hug me. I need it.”
They hugged for what seem like hours. It felt good. Nancy felt the last few months, all leading up to this point, just roll off her. She wasn’t going to forget her sister or forgive the man who had murdered her in cold blood. But she knew that she was in a place that she could heal from both of them.
“Now, we’re going to do that with each other whenever we’re feeling down. But I have to tell you that since James has been taken care of, I feel as if I can move on with my life. There is much to tell you. Starting with, I’m a dragon.” Nancy just stared at her, then laughed. “No, I’m a dragon. So are most of the people you’ve met today. Danburn? He’s the king of us all. My son is his best friend, or one of them. Now, come along, let’s have a look at that bedroom they put you in. My, it’s going to be so nice to have you here. You have no idea. Oh, you’ll need an office and—” Marissa had been heading up the stairs when she turned to her. “Aren’t you coming, Nancy?”
“You’re a dragon.” Nodding, she smiled at her. “You’re a dragon of a castle. And the king of dragons is Danburn. That nice man that goes all mushy when he talks about his wife and daughter. I suppose she’s a dragon as well, the baby.”
“Don’t be silly. Of course, she is. Now, about that bedroom. You’ll have your own maid to clean....”
As Marissa went up the stairs, still talking, Nancy shook her head and followed. If they were dragons, which she wasn’t sure she believed, then…. Well, she didn’t know what. But she had a place to stay and work, so she’d deal with it when one of them became a dragon.
She entered the most beautiful bedroom that she’d ever seen. “Do you like it? I can see that you do. I’m not even going to bother with the other rooms you can have. This one suits you. And from the window there, when we’re flying, you’ll be able to watch. Oh my, it’s a sight to behold.”
Nancy nodded. Yes, she was either in la-la land or she was now in the presence of greatness. Laughing to herself, she wondered what her last boss would have to say about that.
~*~
Griff pulled the last of the burned things from the castle basement. There was still plenty to do in Kip’s home, but together, they were doing a great job of getting it cleaned up. As he put the debris in the ever growing pile, he decided that he needed a breather and set flames to the pile. Kip joined in a few minutes later.
“I had no idea that as a man you can do that.” Griff said that he’d not either, that Lilac had asked him about it. “So, you tried it and it worked. That would save a lot of maneuverability when in a tight place, I’m thinking.”
They both watched the fire burn. There was so much there that was wasted. Books had been destroyed. Chairs that were as old as Kip had been broken and left to rot in the home. Blankets that had been made by his grandmother had been infested with rats and other vermin. Even some of the things like trenchers, that had been used for plates that were centuries old, had been left with food in them and destroyed.
“I might have to steal some things from your museum. Right now, I don’t have anything left but the walls to this.” Kip laughed bitterly, his hurt and anger evident on his face. “They contacted me last night—my mother did, anyway. She and my father are living in France, and they wanted to know if, since I’ve cleaned up the mess here, I could send them some money. And she told me that they’d be arriving on the fourteenth of next month. She wondered if that was going to be enough time for me to get things set up for them to live here.”
“Are you going to let them?” Kip shook his head. “When are you going to tell them? I’m assuming that you’ve made arrangements to make it so they cannot enter.”
“Yes, to that, but I told her last night. And told her that she’d not be able to enter due to me taking over. I don’t think she believed me. Oh, and Kenneth, my older brother, he’s been imprisoned. I don’t know for what—don’t care—but they could use some money to pay his bail too. That, I think she understood when I told her no fucking way.” Kip sat on one of the stumps from the trees they’d had to have removed as well. The lawns looked better, but there had been a great deal of destruction there as well. “Do you suppose that my mate is out there, just waiting for me to find her and introduce her to my family?”
“Yes. I believe that. And we’re your family, Kip. We always have been.” Sitting on the other stump, he regarded his friend. “Have you told Danburn about what is going on here?”
“No, not yet. Having you know was hard enough on my pride.” Kip looked at him as he continued. “All of us have envied Danburn and his relationship with his parents. I did more so, I think, because Fletcher, Danburn’s father, was so kind to me. Whenever I was hurt by them, beaten until I could barely stand up, he would help me hide away for a few days. And I’ve never told anyone this, but Fletcher also paid for me to go to school when we were younger. He said it was the least he could do for what I had endured over the years.”
Griff knew that Fletcher had done that for Kip, because Fletcher had asked him to keep an eye on Kip, to make sure that he had enough funds. He’d also told him to call him if his family came around, that he’d take care of it. They hadn’t, so Griff often wondered what the man or dragon would have done to them had they bothered Kip while at school.
“I have money now. Not as much as the rest of you do, due to bailing my parents out of things all the time. But I’m finished with them. Much like you were with James. Kenneth and Bethany are grown, older than me by decades.” Griff had wanted to know why his parents, or family for that matter, always needed money when they were dragons too. “Ah, that is a fantastic tale. When I was born, I was treated as if I wasn’t worth the broken egg that I’d come from, according to my family. So one night, in desperation, I went to see Fletcher. He in turn took me before the council. I was only there to tell them that I couldn’t live with them anymore. That they hurt me continually. But Fletcher had other reasons for taking me. After telling them what he’d found out about the family, he wished to take me with him to his home.” Griff said that he remembered that. “Yes. I stayed with the Englishes just long enough to come into my own as a dragon. But you see, what I didn’t know, but he did, was that my parents were abusing their tears.”
“How does one abuse their tears?” Kip laughed; it was the first time he’d done that in a while, he’d bet. “This is going to be great, isn’t it? Tell me.”
“Okay. You know that we’re not to use our tears for anything but what we deem we need. But my parents were using them to pay hitmen. People who’d been hired to burn down houses that they owned and had insurance on. All things, you’re going to say, they could have done themselves. But they were lazy. And because Kenneth and Bethany were in on it as well, the council stripped them of their tears. I mean, they can cry, but they’re just tears. Just like most humans cry.”
“So, they’ve been unable to sustain themselves for centuries.” Kip smiled and said that was right. “Holy shit, Kip. No wondered they’re calling on you. Did they know that it was Fletcher that went after them?”
“Oh yes. They knew that I had been a large part of it as well. Lucky for me, I had someone that could take me in. My family disowned me, just verbally, and they took care that I couldn’t take my things from the castle. The broken stuff here, most of it was mine that you found in the sublevels. Where I lived for most of my young
er years.”
Griff hadn’t known this—not all of it, anyway. No wonder Kip was so bitter about his family. They’d not just fucked him over, but themselves too. This was worse than the relationship that he’d had with James. Kip’s entire family had turned on him, and had given him nothing in return for all his help with their troubles.
“You know when they’re coming here?” He told him that they were to arrive on the fourteenth. Griff continued. “You come and stay with Lilac and I until this is ready. There isn’t any sense in you still renting a home when we all have plenty of room.”
“I was actually thinking about buying myself a home. It’s not like I have good memories of this place. There isn’t any kind of sentimental attraction to it either. I thought that I’d donate it to your museum. To put all the things that you’ve gathered for one.” Griff was taken aback. That was quite a gift. “No, it’s not. And if you use it for that, it’ll make people happy to be in it. There hasn’t been happiness in this place since I was born. You and Lilac take it—I’ll buy me a nice house. I’m getting prepared for my mate when she gets here. It’s only a matter of time, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes.” Both of them got up; it was time to get to work, and he reached out to Lilac to tell her what Kip was planning to do. He doesn’t like the castle. And the only reason that I think he owns it is so that his family can’t return.
Will we have trouble with them? Before you answer that, let me tell you that’d I’d like to take them on. Kip is a wonderful person. Too nice for those people. Griff laughed and told her that she could count on it. Good. I’ll see what it’ll take to get it ready when it cools off enough. I want to help him out. You should see if he could not donate it to us, but rent it to us. That will piss his family off and give him some extra cash. Then later, he could have it back if he wants.
He liked that idea and told her that. After telling her again how very much he loved her, he got back to work. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner Kip could find himself some peace. Well, the illusion of it at least. He’d never get that with his family out there somewhere.
Four hours later, the house and all the contents were cleaned out. After they’d taken the debris out, they had gone into each room and taken care of the larger things that had piled up. They could have done the burning inside the walls, but Kip hadn’t wanted to heat it up any more than he had to. It was dangerous to the remaining trees surrounding the castle.
Deciding to meet with the others for dinner, they met up at the newest restaurant in town. It was a sub place, and they all could use some down time. After placing an order for Lilac and himself, he watched the people get overwhelmed by the size of the orders for those who had come to join them. Laughing to himself, he figured that they’d have to call ahead from now on. With six grown men and spouses, they had ordered thirty-five subs, all large, with drinks and chips.
It was an enjoyable evening, just friends and family. His mom joined them later with Nancy, and they all got to meet her. Griff thought that Kip was slightly disappointed that Nancy hadn’t been his mate. But Griff knew that she was out there. Probably on her way here even as he thought about it.
If anyone needed to have someone love him, it would be Kip. He literally had no one that cared about him as much as these men did. His family were leaches, thieves, and liars. They’d blame everything on Kip that had befallen them, even if others had seen them commit the crime. He was the nicest person that he’d ever met, despite having the family that he did.
“I was thinking.” He asked Lilac if he needed to bail her out when she did whatever it was. “Why do you think I’m going to get myself into trouble? Well, I usually do, but I can get myself out of it too.”
Griff laughed. “What is it you’ve got planned?” She snuggled under his arm and he held her there. “Does this involve us making an early night of this? If so, I’m all game if you are.”
“No. Why is every thought you have centered around sex?” He told her that he was a man. “Yes, you are at that. But what I was thinking was that we should have a fall fun festival for the town. It’s been a good year so far. There are two new businesses here. Lots of people have jobs that didn’t before. I think it would be good to have a fair, invite them all and do it up right.”
“I like that idea. But you do know you have to run it by Danburn first?” She said that she knew that part. “And I’m betting that Elissa will want to help, as well as the others. Also, Rett. I’m sure that he’ll approve it. Yeah, I love that idea. And the best part is, no bail money is involved.”
“I hate you sometimes.” Griff knew better and kissed her. “All right. You ask Danburn and I’ll clear it with Rett. He’s a great mayor, by the way. And Cassie is doing such a good job at the shelter too.”
“I’ve heard that.”
After standing up and kissing her again, Griff made his way to Danburn. If nothing else, he thought that he could use a project like this one to work on too.
Chapter 13
Dalton had nowhere to go, but she was told that she needed to use her built up vacation time or she’d lose it. The new company, the ones that had taken over the warehouse where she worked as a security guard, did not allow employees to turn vacation hours in for cash, nor let the time roll over to the next year. So, because of the new company allowing them to keep their built up time, Dalton now had nearly three months of mandatory vacation on her hands.
“And nothing to do.” She had some money stashed away. Not a great deal, but if she wanted to go to the movies, she could also afford to get herself a drink and popcorn. “Like I go anywhere anymore.”
Dalton couldn’t remember the last time that she’d had free time on her hands. The apartment that she lived in was spotless, thanks to the first two days of her mandatory vacation. She didn’t own a car, or any kind of transportation for that matter. Working so close to where she lived had made not owning that sort of thing great.
And since she wasn’t home all that much, she didn’t even have a television to watch. Not that she’d do that either. Dalton had figured out yesterday morning that she was boring. Not only boring, but she was also a hermit.
“Not really.”
Trying to nip talking to herself in the bud, she went to the kitchen to get a glass of tea. The apartment was warm—the air conditioner had gone out a few weeks ago. The landlord told her that she’d have to deal with the heat. Bastard.
Dalton was lucky in that she’d signed a lease on her apartment several years ago, and it stated that she was to have the same rate for as long as she lived there. Also, she didn’t pay for cable or her trash pickup, nor did she have to fork over anything for repairs. But she had no idea who owned the building that she could complain to, so she did suffer the heat. Besides, it would be cooling off fairly soon, and she’d be freezing then.
Dalton looked at the door when someone knocked. She wasn’t expecting anyone, hadn’t ordered anything that was to be delivered. Though that stuff was supposed to be signed for by the man at the door. Dalton had never been sure why Carl was there. She was capable of opening and closing a door all by herself, but she figured that he was related to someone or he got free rent for doing the job. Whatever it was, she didn’t go to the door for that very reason.
“Dalton Mueller? I’d like to speak to you.” Sure, like that was going to have her opening a door for a stranger. She stood in the kitchen with the jug of tea in one hand, and slipped her gun out from her back, just in case. “My name is Wendell James. You might have heard of me.”
Nope, her mind said. No one she knew even had James as a first name. When he pounded on the door again, really hitting the wood hard, she made her way to the door with her gun out and ready. Pulling the slide back, she knew that the man on the other side had to hear it. Pocketing the discharged ammo, she stood there waiting. Next move was his.
“I’m not going to hurt you. So, if you’d just open the door after putting the gun away, I’ll talk to you.” She sai
d no. “Lady, this is just stupid. Open the fucking door before I have to knock it down.”
“You do, and they’ll be picking up your body.” Pulling out her cell to call the police, she made sure that he could hear her side of the conversation. Never putting her gun down, she eyed the door carefully. “My name is Dalton Mueller. I have a man at my door that says that he’s going to break it down to get in. His name is Wendell James. Or that’s what he told me it was.”
The man cursed—she heard that as plain as day. And when the door sounded like he’d shot it with a gun, Dalton did the only thing she could think of and fired at the broken wood. Falling back on her ass, she looked down at her chest and saw that he’d fired at her first, and she was bleeding. When the man looked at her from the hole that he’d put in the door, she fired until the magazine was empty. She’d seen him fall back, so knew that she’d at least hit him.
Picking up her phone with shaking hands, she heard the dispatcher screaming her name. Telling her that she’d had to kill the man because he’d shot her, Dalton wasn’t sure she was going to make it.
“My chest is bleeding pretty badly. I can’t see the man, but I’m sure that I hit him a couple of times.” The dispatcher told her to remain calm, help was on its way. “Yeah, I’m not sure that’s going to happen either. Christ, I hurt.”
Before she passed out, which she thought was as good as done, Dalton put another clip in her gun before lying back.
Dalton felt someone touch her arm, and before she could lift her gun to fire again, her hand was grabbed. The man leaning over her didn’t look familiar. When he smiled at her and told her that he was a police officer, she tried to pull her gun from him harder.
“I’m going to let your hand go, miss. And then I’m going to reach into my pocket and pull out my identification. All right?” She felt her hand being released and lifted the gun up to his forehead. “Christ, you’re scary. My name is David Brooks. Here is my badge, as well as my ID. Please don’t shoot me. My wife will be really pissed off at me if you do.”
Griffith: The English Dragon ― Erotic Paranormal Dragon Shifter Romance Page 16