*
Kai sat quietly with the women in the front sitting room, each of them deep in their own thoughts. When they had entered the front room, the women had sat on the sofa together. Alvena had watched him cross to the chair in which he sat. She still looked at him, but her focus was somewhere far away. He would love to know what she was thinking. He had started to speak to the women several times, but each time had stopped. What would he say to them? Where the fuck was Charlie and Malkum? They should be here with him.
He started to root in his pocket for his mobile when Malkum rushed in to the house. Finally. Kai watched as Rogue immediately jumped to her feet as Malkum walked up to her. Nat and Alvena had snapped out of their thoughts and were staring at the couple.
“Are you hurt?” Malkum demanded as his eyes slid up and down his mate.
“No. Were you hurt badly?” She responded.
“Non. It appeared much worse than it was, cher.” He reassured her. “You and I need to talk, but first I have to talk to Kai."
“Okay."
“Kai, can I speak to you in the office?” Malkum asked as he reluctantly turned from Rogue and walked into the hallway.
Kai stood up and followed, “We’ll be back shortly.” He walked the long way around and squeezed Alvena’s shoulder as he passed her, hoping that his touch could reassure her that all would be taken care of.
Malkum entered the office and sat in the chair in front of the desk. Kai sat on the edge of the desk facing his friend and braced himself with his hands on his upper thighs. His brother looked stressed and Kai was afraid that he was about to get bad news.
“They were after the girls as we feared.” Malkum said bluntly.
Kai cursed and began pacing in front of the desk. What the hell is going on? Kai wondered. The Thirteen were finally starting to find their mates. It should be a time of celebration, but instead it was a time of fear. He turned on Malkum.
“What else did you find out?” He demanded.
“Unfortunately, not enough. All we were able to really find out is that they were hired to kill them. They were mercenaries and worked through a middle man and had never been in direct contact with their boss. We asked about the middle man, but he wasn’t at the attack on the shop, and they seemed almost more afraid of him than us.” Knowing Malkum as well as he did, he saw the tension and fear. “Once you and the girls had left the shop, most of the men poured out of the buildin’. So, I was able to get things in control shortly after you left. I was only able to drag a few men that remained alive out the back, just as the police arrived. The interrogation didn’t get us anythin’ more than the last group of connards.”
Kai had no words to give the man sitting in front of him. He was just as lost in regards to the situation.
“I got to see my mate for only a few minutes before this went down. I have no answers. I need answers.” Malkum looked at his leader, “Kai, our mates aren’t safe and we have no information to help keep them safe.”
“All we can do is to keep looking. While we have the time, we need to get Charlie here and the three of us need to talk to our mates. I have a feeling that the only way we will keep them safe is to take them to Tiranam Dásig.”
“I think you’re right.” Malkum agreed.
***
As soon as the two men left the room, Nat jumped up and began pacing.
“I don’t like this.” Nat stated as she made a pass by Al’s chair. "A house full of large men, dressed in black and packing. Something’s going on and I think we should get the hell out of here.”
Al thinks she should agree with Nat, but she couldn’t. These men made her feel protected and safe. Kai made her feel protected and safe. The way he calmed her down and defended her. She loved how he stood up for her, even if it was against her own misguided beliefs. She couldn’t explain it, she had no reason to trust them, but she did.
Nat continued to pace.
Rogue was quiet. Over the time that Al had known her, she had learned that Rogue always shut down when she was stressed. Her friend had to internalize everything and think it through in her own mind and on her own terms. Rogue stood abruptly from her place on the couch, “I agree with Nat.”
“What?” Al barked. She had thought for sure that Rogue would agree with her. The way her friend had reacted to Malkum, belied her feelings towards the man.
“I say we get back in that truck we rode here in and head back to New Orleans. We’ll go to our hotel, get cleaned up, and go to dinner. This has nothin’ to do with us.” Rogue began to walk to the doorway.
“But what about Malkum, Rogue? He was hurt trying to protect us.” Al began to protest.
Nat stomped over and looked Al in the eyes. “We don’t know these men Al; we need to get back to a populated area where we can find help if we need it, from qualified city police.”
“I for one don’t want to miss my vacation, so goin’ on with our plans seems like a good idea to me.” Rogue said as she came up beside Nat and Al.
“And, how do you propose we do that Rogue?” Al stood and looked both of her friends in the eyes. “We were attacked in the cemetery and the tattoo shop was shot up while we were there, I’m beginning to think we aren’t meant to have this vacation.”
“It’s just coincidence.” Al could tell that Nat wanted to believe what she said, but didn’t.
“Seriously…” Al began, but Rogue interrupted.
“Al, do you want to be involved in some sort of war? That’s what that back there felt like.”
Al felt like they should stay, but they did have a point and she really didn’t know Kai.
“No. But are you sure we’re going to be able to make it out of here? I’m pretty sure it’s too far and dangerous to walk back to the city.”
“We can take the truck we came here in or some other vehicle.” Nat looked out the front window.
Al looked between the two women, “Might as well finish this adventure.” A grin spread across her face, “So, if we’re going to steal a car, do either of you know how to hot wire it if the keys aren’t in it?"
Rogue, Nat, and Al grabbed each other in a hard hug as they all laughed quietly.
“Well, come on.” Nat ordered.
“Hold on,” Al stopped her friends, “I personally don’t want to be accused of stealing a car.”
“Al, takin’ the truck is the only way to get out of here.” Rogue argued.
“Rogue, who’s going to bail us out if all three of us are in jail for grand theft auto?” Al asked.
Nat stood with her fingers tapping on her leg, “What if we leave them a note telling them where to pick up the truck? It would probably still be considered theft, but I think we have a decent case for kidnapping if they want to push it.”
“Nat, they didn’t kidnap us, they saved us.” Al defended the men.
“Come on Al, if it wasn’t for whatever they’re mixed up in, we wouldn’t have been in that situation. They may have saved us, but they put us in the middle of it in the first place.” Nat said as she walked to the doorway to the hall. “Hurry up, write a note and let’s get out of here.”
Al could tell her friend wasn’t putting this up for discussion, so she walked over to a table where a phone was sitting with a pad of paper and a pen beside it. She quickly wrote a short note telling the guys they could pick up their car near the Café Du Monde by the French Market. Al figured that would be a pretty public place and not too close to either their hotel or the tattoo shop, but close enough for them to easily get back to the Melrose.
She walked up behind Nat, her and Rogue waiting while Nat scoped out the hallway.
“I think Malkum and Kai, went somewhere back towards the kitchen.” Rogue waved in the direction the men had walked.
“So, we should go the opposite way.” Al stated the obvious.
Nat looked in all directions, “The coast is clear.” She motioned them to follow her to the front door where she looked out the leaded panes of glass, before opening
the door and exiting the house.
Once they were on the front porch, they bunched up close to the wall and huddled together. They could see that the truck hadn’t been moved and no one remained around it.
Nat placed her finger against her lips and motioned for her friends to wait. She slowly walked down the steps and off the porch. Her eyes were scanning in all directions. Al watched as her friend hurried cautiously to the truck. She glanced inside and then waved for the girls to hurry. She quietly opened the door and jumped in as Rogue and Al rushed to get in on the passenger side.
Luckily for them the keys had been left in the ignition. Kai must have been in too much of a hurry to get her and her friends inside to remember the keys. Nat started the engine just as she slammed the door shut. Over the roar she heard someone yell and then Nat hit the gas and the truck bumped down the gravel drive to the road that had brought them.
“That was too damn close.” Nat exhaled a deep breath. Her hands gripped the wheel tightly.
“Hot damn!” Rogue exclaimed from the backseat.
Al couldn’t help but start to giggle, “Just like the movies.”
“Al, you really need to get out more.” Rogue said between her own giggles.
“Do you two mind? I’m trying to remember how to get back to New Orleans.” Nat was fighting her own smile.
It was strange how something as simple as taking back their own choices, could change their outlooks, but Al still wasn’t sure they could continue their vacation. She had a feeling that there was more to come.
So, as the cool winter sun began to set, Nat pulled onto the road heading away from the house and towards New Orleans. Al couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach as they got farther and farther away from Kai. She was sure that he would be upset that they had left this way, but she couldn’t fault her friends for wanting to distance themselves from the horrible events of that afternoon. Warriors didn’t sit meekly as others made their decisions and her friends had chosen to be warriors, and so had Al.
The truck moved smoothly down the highway and thankfully Nat had a good sense of direction and found her way back to the I-10. Around an hour later they parked at the Café du Monde and caught a cab back to their hotel. All of them too tired from all that had happened to walk even the 15 minutes back to the Melrose.
Chapter 11
After a humorous mission impossible act led by Nat to escape the hotel without being seen or followed, the morning found them sitting around a table at The Ruby Slipper on Burgundy Street for breakfast. The restaurant was just the type of place that Al liked to go. Breakfast was her favorite meal and she hadn’t been able to decide on one choice, so she had ordered multiple: the French toast, a short stack of the Daily Special pancakes, and the Eggs Cochon along with chicken sausage and fresh fruit. Yeah, she was going to be very, very full; but she was also going to be very, very happy. After everything, she was determined to be happy and enjoy this vacation.
Nat and Rogue sat quietly and drank coffee and orange juice while they waited on the food to be brought to the table. All three women had been lost in their own thoughts since they had returned to the hotel the night before. Nat had been adamant that they go on as if nothing had happened, but Al herself hadn’t been able to get Kai out of her mind. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw his staring back at her. The compassionate looks he had given her while helping her overcome the shock of the attack at the tattoo shop. Every word the man had said to her since that first save from falling on the ice and he said, “No problem, lass” had replayed in her mind as the dawn had broken over the beautiful city surrounding her. Her skin felt alive with the remembered touches and the kiss he had placed on her nose. How he had asked her permission to take care of her, instead of just taking charge and doing everything like most men like him would have done. The man towered over her, his arms and legs the size of tree trunks. Al couldn’t help thinking that she should be afraid of him, but she couldn’t be. Not when everything about the man called to her. His smile tormented her as did the remembrance of his very masculine scent. She had no idea what cologne he wore, but it reminded her of her dad’s tobacco that she had loved to smell when she was a child – sweet, smoky, earthy.
“I can’t get that tattoo out of my mind.” Nat broke the silence.
“Me either. I just keep relivin’ the moment I saw it on Malkum’s arm.” Rogue agreed.
Al looked between her friends. Her mind so full of confusing thoughts of Kai, that her friend’s statements were taking a moment to register.
“The two of you say practically nothing since last night and now you’re talking about tattoos? I don’t think I’m in the mood to get a tattoo now gals.” Al said with aggravation.
“Al, you misunderstand. I’m not talking about getting the tattoo, although I dreamed about just that last night. It’s the fact that all night I was having dreams about that tattoo." Nat tried to explain. “And this morning I feel drawn to that damned tattoo shop.”
“What the hell, Nat?”
“Al, don’t. I had the same problem as Nat. All night I kept dreamin’ about the tattoo. About tracin’ it on Malkum’s arm. Nightmares of the attack were there too. Basically, I keep dreamin’ of Malkum. It’s like a huge piece of my insides is missin’ and I want it back.”
“Seriously? I wanted to stay at the house with Kai and find out what was going on, but you two kept saying that we needed to leave, that we needed to distance ourselves from them.”
Nat looked over at Al, “You feel it too, don’t you Al?”
“Feel what? I have no clue what you are talking about. You two are talking in riddles.”
“We’re talkin’ about feelin’ a soul deep connection with those tattoos.” Rogue replied. “When we left Malkum behind at the tattoo shop, I thought for sure he was dead. It felt like my world had ended. I had met the man for a matter of minutes, but I wanted back into that shop. Back to him.”
“Okay, where are the cameras?” Al asked.
“Cameras? What are you talking about?” Nat responded.
“Obviously you two are having some fun with me. So, I want to know where the cameras are so I can wave at them.”
“Al, we’re not joking. I don’t understand it, and frankly I don’t like it. But… well, I simply can’t get that stupid tattoo out of my head.”
“Al, don’t you feel anythin’ about the tattoo you chose and Kai? I saw how you looked at him yesterday. I know you have some type of feelin’s for the man.” Rogue reached out to hold Al’s hand.
Al looked between her friends. She didn’t understand what was going on, but it was seriously pissing her off. This trip had taken a weird turn and she didn’t want anything to do with it. Maybe she should just go home.
“You know what? I’m leaving!” Al stood up, threw a twenty on the table from her wallet and stormed out of the restaurant.
She was fuming, but for the life of her she couldn’t really understand why. She heard her friends yelling from behind her, but she kept walking. Her heart was pounding and her vision was slightly red around the edges from the fury. How could her friends do this? It was their idea to leave the men last night and now they were talking like they wanted to go back. Kai was probably so upset about them taking the truck and leaving that he wouldn't ever want to see her again. She had lost what little chance she had to spend time with him, because once again she had let someone else dictate what the right thing to do was.
She stopped, clenching her fists, “No more. I will make my own decisions and lead my own life."
At that moment Nat and Rogue caught up with her. She looked around and realized that she had turned the wrong way when she had left The Ruby Slipper. They stood in front of a dark alley. The buildings on each side blocking out the light, so she saw only a few feet in before everything turned to shadows. That’s my life, dark and dreary, mired in the shadows of boringness and weakness, Al thought to herself before turning to look at her friends.
“I�
��m not doing this anymore. For now on I will make my own decisions. And, first thing I’m doing is going home.”
“Al, don’t.” Rogue pleaded. “I’m sorry…”
“No, Rogue, I’m not letting you talk me out of this. I should have never come on this trip. Things have been strange ever since we left Memphis. The only time I felt like things were good, was when I was with Kai and thanks to the two of you I'm sure he won’t ever want to see me again.” Al ranted.
“Oh, Al.” Nat and Rogue came up and put their arms around her.
“I think we’re all feeling a bit off kilter. None of us travel much on our own and everything that has been happening seems like something off of TV. I mean how many people are involved in a shootout?” Nat said.
“Please Al, let’s just go back to the hotel and…”
At that moment several men in black grabbed the women, cutting off Rogue’s words, and began to drag all of them into the dark alley. Oh, Shit! Al thought, Not again! The fury that had started to abate came back a hundred times more explosive and she started kicking and twisting in the arms of her captor. She bit down on his hand, trying to get it off long enough to scream for help. She hoped that they would be able to draw the attention of someone before it was too late. The man cursed, but didn’t release her mouth. She bit down again, harder, he jerked back his hand but as she was about to scream, he was gone. She froze. This seemed familiar. She turned around and came face to face with seven foot of very pissed off male. Al looked at Kai and then glanced around searching for Nat and Rogue. They were a few feet further into the alley. Malkum was holding Rogue by the shoulders as he demanded something of her. Nat was across from her being held into place by a tall blond man that Al hadn’t seen before. One of the men that had grabbed them was out cold at Nat’s feet.
“Alvena.” Kai seethed. “Look at me, Alvena.”
Finding the Dragon (Dásreach Council Book 1) Page 12