by Becca Van
He pushed his disquieting thoughts aside and stared in awe at Niki’s beautiful face. When he realized she was frowning and pushing her food around her plate without eating he tapped into their link and tried to figure out what was going on. He felt her puzzlement and confusion, but he could also feel the love she had for him, Randy, and Russ.
Randy must have felt her emotions, too, because he tapped her on the shoulder to garner her attention. “What’s wrong, baby? Aren’t you hungry?”
“Not anymore, you guys loaded my plate with enough food to last me two whole days.”
“You still don’t eat enough,” Russ butted in.
“I do so. I’m a third of the size of you lot and if I ate any more than I already do I’d end up fat or sick. Probably both.”
“What’s bothering you, love?” Rex asked.
“Why do you hide away? I can understand you having to keep your dragons hidden but as men, you could live in a house like everyone else does. Couldn’t you?”
“We tried that years ago, darlin’,” Russ began to explain. “Somehow one of the villagers got wind of some of our unique abilities.”
“And?” Niki asked when Russ paused to take a sip of coffee.
“And the whole town broke into the large house we were living in and tried to kill us,” Lance answered.
“Shit! That’s terrible. Were any of you hurt?” Niki questioned.
“No, but we had to pretend we were. Even in our human form it’s hard to penetrate our skin. It may not feel like it but our hides are pretty damn tough,” Rex said.
“We were still pretty immature, only in our thirties, and still seen as kids by our elders, and I have to say Lance was right. We mature a lot slower than a human does.” Randy threaded his fingers through his hair. “We always carried small vials of blood around with us and when the men from the village attacked, we’d slap our hands over those vials and break them so it looked like we’d been hurt, and then we’d fall to the floor and feign unconsciousness.”
“Did they believe you were hurt?” Bid asked, her head tilted and a curious expression on her face.
“They did,” Ed replied. “Once they left thinking we were going to bleed to death, they set the house on fire.”
“What?” Niki gasped.
“It’s okay, baby.” Randy lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. “Fire doesn’t hurt our kind and once we knew those assholes had left we took off.”
“I’d always planned for something like that,” Lance said. “I’d been stocking the lair every week. I knew that we’d eventually have to move back here and made sure we had everything we’d need to survive.”
“Okay.” Niki frowned and sipped at her coffee. “I can understand how superstitious people would have been back then, but why stay in the lair now. Most people wouldn’t believe that dragons exist if they were right in front of their faces. They’d think they were going crazy and having hallucinations or something.”
“We thought we knew everything back then,” Eli said. “We were young and stupid and so gung ho. But this was our home and once we left we missed it. Our parents grew up here and although they are no longer with us, this place is full of memories. We feel closer to our kin by being here.”
“Yeah, I can understand that.” Niki swallowed audibly. “What am I going to do about my house and my job?”
“What do you want to do?” Randy asked.
“I don’t know, but I know I can’t sit around on my ass all day long. I’d go stark raving mad if I have nothing to do.”
“I have a suggestion.” Lance leaned his elbows on the edge of the table.
“I’m listening.”
“How would you like to help try and search out all the existing hunters?”
Niki sat up a bit straighter in her chair and a gleam of excitement glistened in her eyes. “I would love to, but what are you going to do to them if I can find them?”
Lance looked uncomfortable and glanced away.
“You aren’t going to kill them are you?”
“We would never seek out and kill someone who’s innocent,” Lance hedged.
“And if they aren’t?”
“The purpose of a hunter is to seek and destroy dragons and dragon mates, and they don’t care if innocents get caught in the cross fire. Do you want us to let them continue roaming about the country and killing innocent people?”
“No, but I don’t know if I can condone murder.” Niki crossed her arms over her chest, showing her stubborn tenacity.
“Would you still call it murder if it were self-defense?” Ed asked.
“Of course not, but—ˮ
Rex clasped Niki’s free hand, drawing her eyes to him. “Love, if we hadn’t killed the mayor Belinda would be dead.”
“I understand that, but unless one of the hunters makes a move and tries to take one of us out and you guys seek him out to destroy before that happens…well, I don’t think I could live with that.”
“I agree with Niki,” Bid said and stared down each of her mates.
“That’s fair enough, Niki,” Lance said, surprising Rex. Their elder had always been about seeking and destroying before things came to a head but maybe living with modern times and having two women in the lair after being without the softer sex was changing the way he thought. In fact it was making them all rethink their priorities. None of them wanted to upset Belinda or Niki unnecessarily and if this was one such way, so be it.
“So can I help with finding the hunters?” Bid asked.
“Sure you can, honey.” Ed slung an arm around Belinda’s shoulders and hugged her.
Rex wondered if Niki remembered that her boss was a hunter and hoped that she didn’t baulk at investigating him further, but she was a professional deputy and used to doing unsavory things.
“What do you know about Darrien?” Randy asked, practically taking the words out of Rex’s mouth.
“Actually not that much, but I will dig into his background. He and I never really got on and I tried to stay out of his way as much as possible. I’ll see what I can find on him and this Lord Jerome.”
“I have a feeling Jerome is only an underling,” Lance muttered but not so quietly that the women didn’t hear.
“Why do you say that?” Niki asked.
“Because from what you told us about your dream, this Jerome visited Darrien. If he was the top of the pile he wouldn’t have deigned to do such a thing. Jerome may be high up the ladder but he isn’t the top rung. There has to be someone above him giving the orders and I’d bet my last dollar that this King Dick has a right-hand man doing all his dirty work for him.”
“So what, you think Jerome, Darrien, and anyone else under them doesn’t know who their leader is?”
“I’d bet my dragon on it.”
* * * *
“I don’t think I should quit my job just yet,” Niki said and waited for the explosions. She didn’t have too long to wait.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Randy snarled his question.
“There is no fucking way you’re going back,” Rex snapped.
Russ was the last to respond to her little bombshell. “What are you planning, darlin’?”
“I think after my vacation time is up I should head back to work. I need to be as close to Darrien as possible if I’m going to find out who is leading the hunters.”
“What makes you think the leader is ever going to meet with him?” Erwin frowned.
“I don’t think he will, but Jerome is. I can shadow Darrien and when he meets the Lord again I can put a tracker on his car and follow him. Jerome could lead me to the 2IC and from there, we can track him to the top.”
“I don’t like it,” Randy shifted with agitation.
“Me neither,” Rex said.
“Do you remember what we told you about the hunters being aggressive and crazy?” Russ asked.
“Yeah, so?”
“So? Damn it, Niki. You could end up getting hurt, kil
led.” Randy crossed his arms over his chest.
“I know how to defend myself.”
“That’s beside the point,” Rex replied.
“I have to agree with Rex and Randy on this one, darlin’. We don’t want you to get hurt. We’ve only just found you.”
“What if you come with me? If you come and stay at my house, you’d be close enough to get to me if I end up in danger.”
“That’s not an option,” Lance cut in before Russ could say anything. “Hunters have the ability to lock onto our elevated body heat. If they were with you then you could end up with every damn hunter in the country on your doorstep.”
“Then I go by myself.”
“No,” Randy answered quickly, succinctly, and emphatically.
“But how—ˮ
“You still have nearly two weeks before you have to decide,” Rex said. “Why don’t we wait and see what happens?”
“Rex is right,” Russ agreed. “Take your vacation time and try to compile a list of the hunters. We’ll decide what to do closer to the end of your time off.”
“Okay, but if I can’t find what we’re looking for, me going back to work and casing Darrien may be the only way to get the information we need.”
“Time will tell, baby.”
“I suppose.” Niki sighed. “So whose going to show me where all the real equipment is?”
“How did you—ˮ
Niki held her hand up palm out and smirked at Randy. “We’re bonded, remember? I can feel what you do and with each minute that passes that bond is getting stronger. I just had the image of a hidden control room flash into my head.”
Everyone burst out laughing and Niki chuckled when Russ joined in. She loved the sound of her men’s deep baritone voices at any time but when they laughed the low musical notes went straight to her pussy. She hoped that she could make her mates laugh more often. They were way too serious most of the time and needed to lighten up more.
If she didn’t have a job to do she would have tried to coax them back to bed for another round of lovemaking. The last time they’d made love had blown her mind, body, and soul and she couldn’t wait to do it again.
Niki followed Randy and Ed out of the kitchen and down the hall that led to the back exit and Lance’s apartment. She studied the walls as she walked, aware of Belinda bringing up the rear, but she couldn’t see where the entry to the concealed room was.
How these men had incorporated so much technology underground astounded her and she could just imagine the nightmares they’d had to contend with as they set the place up, but then she remembered her dream and seeing Merlin battle Rose. Maybe the wizard had used his magic to create the luxurious underground home and if he’d been able to see into the future, which history seemed to think he could, he might have set everything up in advance, creating the hidden wiring and such. Or maybe everything ran on magic.
She was so intent on her introspection she didn’t notice when Randy stopped in front of her and bumped into his back with an “oomph.” He spun around, snagging an arm around her waist just as she was about to topple back onto her ass.
“Are you okay, baby?”
Niki snorted. “I’m fine. Sorry about that. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
Randy made sure she was steady on her feet and then reluctantly released her. She moved up beside him and watched as Ed waved a hand in front of the wall on the opposite side to the “back door.” She gasped with awe when a panel slid out of the wall and then Ed placed his eye up close to it. A laserlike red beam scanned his eye and then a section of wall just seemed to disappear.
“That is… Wow.”
“Yeah, wow,” Bid breathed out. “How come you never showed me this room before?”
“Uh, I…”
“Don’t you trust me?” Bid placed her hands on her hips and glared at her mate.
“Of course we trust you, honey, but I didn’t think you’d be interested.”
“Why the hell not? I’ve been interested in everything else about you all and this place.”
Niki tried to hold in her smirk of amusement as Ed’s face tinged red. It was funny seeing a tall, muscular, confident, alpha male squirming uncomfortably as his much smaller mate grilled him.
“Would you believe I forgot?”
“Not fucking likely,” Bid bit out. “Now why didn’t you show me this room? And don’t you dare lie to me, Edrick Anders.”
“We just wanted you to become more settled before we showed you everything.”
“I’ve been here for months, Ed. Why would you think you needed to still hide things from me?”
“Uh, we didn’t want you to be pissed at us,” Ed hedged and sidled into the room.
Niki glanced behind him and couldn’t believe the bank of monitors they had lining the large wall. The dragon shifters had tapped into CCTVs and the pictures changed constantly. She couldn’t work out why Ed and the others would conceal all this from Bid, but she was definitely curious to hear the answer.
It came sooner than she expected.
Bid gasped, covered her mouth with her hand, and rushed toward the last monitor near the far end on the wall. “Is that my house? You set up cameras at my old house?”
“We knew you missed your home, honey, and didn’t want to upset you by seeing it.”
“Oh.” Belinda gulped. “I do miss it, but you guys are more important to me than material things. I love you, Eli and Erwin. I want, no, I need to be with you more than I need a dumb house.”
Niki blinked back tears of her own when Ed pulled Bid into his arms and hugged her against him.
“I love you, too, Bid. I’m sorry we kept this from you but we didn’t want to upset you.” Ed kissed the top of her head.
“Apology accepted, you big dope. Now, tell me why you set cameras up at my place.”
“We weren’t sure if Wally had divulged that you were a dragon mate to other hunters. We wanted to keep an eye on things just in case.”
“Oh. Well, okay then.”
“So, we’re good?”
“We’re good.”
Bid drew out of Ed’s arms, looked at Niki, and rolled her eyes. Niki nodded, acknowledging the other woman’s silent communication. Men could be such dumb-asses sometimes.
“Okay, show us what we need to know,” Niki said and she moved to one of the computers on one of the desks.
The next hour was spent with Ed and Randy showing her and Belinda their computer system, software, and security. Their stuff was amazing because even though it was all the same as any other computer she’d used, anything they did was encrypted and the systems were totally hackproof. She was glad about that because she didn’t want anyone finding out about her mates or the other dragon shifters.
Finally the men left to do some of their own work and Niki moved closer to Bid so her voice wouldn’t carry.
“This place is amazing.”
“Isn’t it though?”
“How the hell did they set all of this up? There has to be electrical wiring and stuff in the walls or ceiling doesn’t there?”
“Yes, and they had to have outside help.”
“Then there are people out there who know about the lair and what’s inside it,” Niki stated with trepidation.
Bid shook her head.
“No? What do you mean no?”
“Ed told me that Merlin and Rose were the last ones standing after the massacre of their parents. Rose fell first and although Merlin was dying also he was able to transfer some of his magic to Lance. Once he'd hidden the children away, he'd rushed back to the battle site to help, but he was too late. He has the ability to wipe a human’s memory.”
“Shit! I’d better make sure I never piss him off then.”
Bid burst out laughing and Niki joined in. She knew that Lance would never do anything to harm either of them, but now she knew about him having magical abilities she wanted to know more. She would wait for the opportune time and grill it out of her mates.
>
She rubbed her hands together with glee. Tonight was going to be so good and all of them were going to fall asleep with smiles on their faces.
Chapter Fourteen
Darrien hadn’t been able to lock onto the dragon’s heat signature and his lucid moments were becoming less and less. He’d spent all yesterday driving around in his car trying to feel any unfamiliar anomaly in the air, but he’d come up empty-handed. With his enhanced senses he’d been able to smell those animal fuckers at the Boysen Reservoir but they’d gone before he could get a lock on them. What worried him the most right now was that he could actually hear and feel the clock ticking down and knew that he was running out of time.
He’d wasted two weeks searching Niki and staking out her place but she just seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth. The only conclusion he could come up with was that those dragon assholes had her.
And that wasn’t all he had to contend with. That bastard Lord fucking Jerome had sent one of his lackeys to shadow him but Darrien was a lot smarter than the average bear. He’d caught sight of that fucker following him and also the blue sedan with the dark tinted windows tailing him. It didn’t take a genius to figure out his so-called boss had him in his sights.
He pulled up at the station, parked his car, and headed into the office. Reece was sitting at his desk, finishing up a report he’d been writing. When the younger deputy turned to face him, the rage simmering inside of him rose up to a boil and he snapped. He didn’t even remember moving but in the next moment he had his hand wrapped around Reece’s throat and he lifted him from his seat until his feet were inches from the ground.
“Where the fuck is she?” He roared his question. Reece shook his head, the veins in his forehead and neck bulging as his oxygen was cut off. Darrien shook him like a puppet on a string. “Where the fuck is Nikita?”