Val didn’t hesitate. She started down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Once she was out in the sun, she would be free! Never mind that she was in slippers and a robe. She would run naked if she had to. The nearest neighbor was about half a mile away. She regularly covered more distance than that in her daily runs on the Riverwalk at home. Once she was safely in someone else’s home, she could call Mai. Her friend would get her on a plane and take her home.
“Valerie! Look! Isn’t this beautiful?”
As her foot hit the last step, Val glanced up. Melinda stood at the top of the stairs. Beside her was the trim, black Britax stroller that Val had drooled over in the baby catalogs. Melinda pushed it temptingly back and forth a few times.
No! She was not going to let Melinda buy her! Val’s slippered feet slithered across the marble floor of the foyer. She shoved between the surprised housekeeper and the UPS driver, and shot out into the sunshine. The warm light hit her like a beacon. She felt strength surge. She opened up her stride and dashed out into the gravel driveway.
One side of the iron gate stood open. It began to close as she neared it. Someone in the house saw her going and meant to cut her off. She could still slip through! Eight paces! Six!
A hand grabbed her by the shoulder. Val was dragged back by the very force of the grip. She looked over her shoulder to see Henry’s grinning face inches from hers. How had he moved so fast? Coolness, like ice water, ran from his hand into her body. Val shivered. He really could do some kind of magic.
“Now, now, now, you don’t want to go out there like that,” Henry said.
Defiantly, she put one foot out, trying to force the other to follow. It wouldn’t move.
“Yes. I. Do.” Val gritted out the words. She strained to make her limbs move. Her feet were glued to the ground. Henry put his arm around her waist. Val’s feet came unstuck, but they wouldn’t move toward the road, only back in the direction of the house. Henry guided her along the drive and up the front steps.
“Oh, come back in, darling. You should see the wonderful things that Melinda has for your baby! You will be just thrilled. Marcella, help me with her. So sorry.”
Henry apologized to the UPS driver, who stared at the sight of the pregnant woman in her pajamas. Val sent a pleading look his way, hoping that he would see that they were taking her back against her will. She tried to ask for help. Her mouth wouldn’t follow her instructions. She was furious, even more so because her lips formed into a smile. The last thing she wanted to do was smile! Marcella saw her distress. Val knew she wanted to help, but the housekeeper was just as helpless as she. She put her arm around Val from the other side. As if it belonged to someone else, Val’s body stepped in over the threshold.
“Good! Come on back and see all the things for your baby.”
Henry and Marcella led her inside and up the grand staircase. He guided her toward the stroller. Melinda pushed it into her hands. Val couldn’t help it. She stroked the handlebar. Henry smiled.
“Look, isn’t it wonderful? It has every safety feature you can imagine,” Melinda said. “And I have beautiful clothes, from newborn on up. Bring her this way.”
Val had no choice but to go. With every step, she felt her resolve fading. They led her into Melinda’s rooms, which were piled almost to the ceiling with boxes and bags of baby things.
“Look, darling,” Henry said, opening up a backpack with dangling straps. He clipped it around her chest. “A snuggle pouch. Your little one will be nestled close to you, hearing your heartbeat. He’ll be so cosy and safe. Don’t you love it?”
Henry’s voice slunk into her ears, praising each of the gifts as Melinda handed them to her. Wasn’t she thrilled with the tiny garments? Didn’t the handmade furniture fulfill every possible wish she had for equipping her baby’s nursery?
Once again, Val felt like a princess, being overwhelmed by gifts from her fairy godparents.
After all, what was so bad about staying with Melinda? Where else could she get room service at all hours of the night? A sensible part of her brain said that most of the restaurants in New Orleans delivered, at any time. Melinda was making her a full partner in a growing business. And Mike was such a nice guy. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could go without jumping on him. And, after all, Melinda was her baby’s grandmother.
By the time Melinda opened the box containing a beautifully made three-in-one car seat with a plaid quilt that matched the washable upholstery, Val wondered what she could possibly have been worrying about.
• • •
George’s phone rang. He reached toward the nightstand. The phone fell off into the gap between the bed and the table. It kept ringing while he chased it with one hand. The rest of him didn’t want to get out of bed. Everything hurt too much.
“Yeah?”
“George? Are you all right?” It was Debbie.
“Just taking five,” he said. “What have you got on that creature?”
“Finally got a bite or two. It’s coming in now.” George heard the computer printer grinding away on the other end. “Run the description past me again? Just to make sure.”
“Gollum with shark teeth,” George said. “Flexible as a rubber band. It’s a hell of a good hunter, but I wasn’t in a position to judge whether it’s primarily a sight or scent hunter or if it homes in on emotions or body heat or what.”
Debbie whistled. “Melinda can sure pick ’em. This thing is strong enough to kill dragons. It can’t bite through their hide, but its jaws can snap an iron rod. In fact, it doesn’t LIKE dragons. We ought to have one in the office if it wasn’t so uncontrollable. How’s she keeping it from killing everyone in the family?”
“The secretary. A gay guy named Henry. Lives on the premises, like the housekeeper, cook, and gardener. He was carrying its leash. Or at least I thought it was a leash. Could have been a whip.”
“He’s got to be a warlock or at least an alchemist. There are some compounds that are supposed to calm it down.”
“Guaranteed?” George asked.
“Are you kidding? If magic worked the same way every time, it would be science.”
“Can you send me some?”
“I’ll put it into overnight, but you’d be better off concentrating on getting Henry out of the way. This creature’s bonded to him. You’re going to have to distract it to get it away from your exit point, or you’ll never get the girl out.”
“I know, I know!”
“You still thinking this contract was a good idea?”
George nodded, even though he knew she couldn’t see him. “More than ever.”
Debbie sighed, a gusty noise on the other end of the phone.
“Just promise me you’ll never take a job like this again.”
“I promise,” George said. “If any other female dragon gets pregnant, she’s on her own.”
Thirty-nine
Griffen woke up to someone’s pounding on his door. He felt for his bathrobe and put it on as he walked to his door. The clock said 9:00 A.M. Griffen moaned. It had better be an emergency to get him out of bed that early. The poker game hadn’t broken up until after four.
“Griffen! Are you there? Griffen, answer me!” Fox Lisa’s voice came through the ancient wooden panels.
Griffen disengaged the double dead bolt and the security chain. No sooner had he pulled the door open than Fox Lisa threw herself into his arms.
“Oh, I’m so glad you’re all right!”
Griffen frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be all right? What happened?”
Fox Lisa’s nose was red, and her long hair was disheveled. She wore a skirt and blouse, but instead of matching heels, she wore battered sneakers.
“When I got up this morning to go to work, Penny asked if I’d talked to that no-good boyfriend of mine. When I said no, she told me that if I wanted to speak to you, I should go down to the police sta
tion. I did, but they said you weren’t there! I came back here to see if I could find you.”
“Why didn’t you try calling me?” he asked.
Fox Lisa gave him a look that called him stupid. “That was the first thing I did! It went straight to voice mail. I figured they had it with your other things in Properties.”
Griffen hadn’t really needed the confirmation that Penny was behind the appearance by the police and the press the night before. She had set him up to be arrested. But it hadn’t worked.
“I’m fine,” Griffen said.
“Oh, I’m so glad!” She squeezed his ribs tightly. Griffen hugged her back.
Once he held her in his arms, he realized how long it had been since they had been together. He had missed the feel of her skin and her scent. He put his face down in the waves of her hair and took a deep breath of her warm, spicy aroma. She giggled. He kissed her earlobe, then nibbled it. Fox Lisa brushed her lips along his collarbone and followed the line with her tongue. Griffen started kissing her seriously. She kissed right back, let out a deep sigh as he bent to continue his gentle bites down the side of her neck. He started undoing the buttons of her blouse. Fox Lisa untied the belt of his robe and began to fondle him. Griffen could no longer ignore the urgency he felt. He swept her up and carried her, still giggling, into the bedroom.
He couldn’t hold back from rushing the first time, but Fox Lisa met him with the same desperate energy, thrusting her hips against his. He pushed between her legs. She wrapped her ankles around him and held on. Their bodies rocked together, faster and faster, until Griffen felt his hot tension release.
Once his immediate need was sated, he took the time to caress her in the ways she enjoyed. She moaned and writhed under his hands. The sight of her pleasure aroused him again, but he waited until she pulled him toward her. He was glad of his dragon-hard skin as her nails raked down his shoulders.
“I’ve missed you,” he said afterward, with her head nestled against him. “Looking after Penny has made us waste too many nights apart.”
Fox Lisa toyed with the hair on his chest with a thoughtful forefinger.
“So, what really happened last night?” she asked. “Why did Penny think you were in jail?”
Griffen hesitated before he answered.
“Because she set me up to get arrested.”
“You’re pulling my leg!”
Griffen told her about the events of the night before, including his private conversation afterward with Harrison. She looked dismayed.
“And you think it was Penny who sent them after you?”
“I’d bet on it. I quit her campaign yesterday. You were sitting right there when I called her. I could hear your voice. Didn’t she tell you what I said?”
“No,” Fox Lisa said. “She said you were still investigating about that zombie, and you’d get back to her. She lied to my face! I am going to go down there and give her a piece of my mind! I’ll quit.”
“Don’t walk away just because of me,” Griffen said. “She’s still in danger. I don’t have to like her vengeful attitude, but I recognize that she needs protection. I said I’d help out with that. I just said I refuse to come to any more of her rallies.”
Fox Lisa shook her head as if to clear it. “I don’t know what to do. I really believe in her, Griffen. She could do such great things.”
“Where is she now?”
“I don’t know,” Fox Lisa admitted. “I suppose she went to the campaign office. I didn’t care. I walked out of there. I was so angry. I just couldn’t believe it. All this time you’ve been trying to pull me away, I resisted because I just hate having anyone tell me what to do. Are all dragons bossy like you?”
“I don’t know,” Griffen admitted. “I only know about me.”
“Well, I was being stubborn. I knew you didn’t believe in Penny, and I did.”
“I just don’t believe in any politicians,” Griffen said. “More now than when I got involved in this election.”
Fox Lisa started to sit up.
“I’d better go talk to her. Afterward, I’ll decide whether or not to continue.”
“I’ll come with you.”
She sprang out of bed.
“Beat you to the shower,” she said, grinning over her shoulder.
Griffen scrambled up to follow, but she had too much of a head start. She stood in the tub, fending him off with the back brush. He joined her under the hot spray. Their laughter echoed off the walls of the bathroom.
• • •
In a much better mood, Griffen walked Fox Lisa to the campaign office. The small lot was full of cars, including a few he recognized as belonging to news reporters. To his surprise, the reporters were in them.
“What’s going on?” he asked the man from the Times-Picayune through the window of his car.
“Some bigwig arrived, and they tossed us out,” the reporter said. “He looked pretty mad. They locked all the doors, including the back.”
“They’ll let us in,” Griffen said with determination.
“Well, if you get something, give us a break. My editor wants copy in by two.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Griffen promised.
He marched up and rapped on the door. At first he didn’t get an answer, then the door crept open about an inch. Behind it was Neil, a dapper black man in his fifties, a staffer from Penny’s legislative office. His tense face relaxed a little when he saw them.
“Hey, Griffen. Hey, Fox Lisa.”
“Hey, Neil,” she said. “I have to talk to Penny.”
Neil looked over Griffen’s shoulder. The reporters began to get out of their cars when they saw the door open.
“I’ll let you in, but keep those reporters outside. We can’t let them hear this.”
“Hear what?” Fox Lisa asked.
In lieu of answer, Neil pulled them inside and shut the door firmly. The reporters banged on it and yelled to be let in. After a short time, they gave up. The shouting went on, though. Griffen realized it was coming from Penny’s office. Winston stood in front of it with his arms folded. Griffen could hear two voices, a man’s and a woman’s. The phone banks in the outer office were quiet. All the other staffers, about thirty young men and women, most of them young, sat wide-eyed at their desks.
“What’s going on?” Griffen asked.
“Your uncle arrived here over an hour ago and asked to see the representative. They started arguing right out here in the phone room. Horsie herded them into the office and told Winston to guard the door. Horsie’s been trying to make peace between them, but it hasn’t done any good. They’ve been bellerin’ at each other ever since.”
Griffen felt astonished. “I’ve hardly ever heard him shout before. He’s always been kind of cold. In fact, the madder he was, the quieter his voice became.”
“Well, he’s been the opposite of quiet since he got here,” Neil said. “And they’re going round and round on the same argument.”
“. . . Outrageous behavior!” Malcolm bellowed. “Putting my nephew in jeopardy out of pique! Not to mention almost causing ME to go to jail because you are angry. An undignified, unwarranted nuisance! Is that any way for a potential governor to behave?”
“How dare you accuse me of taking revenge? I campaign on a platform devoted to law and order! When I hear of a crime in progress, I turn that information over to the authorities! All good, law-abiding citizens should do the same.”
“Don’t try your rhetoric on me! You received a tip? At two o’clock in the morning? How convenient that a news camera should also appear on-site to record that show of legal force!”
“The public should see crime being stopped!”
“And there weren’t enough muggings or thefts last night to provide fodder for the news? Instead my nephew and I were nearly seriously inconvenienced!”
“You let me down,” Penny said angrily. “Everyone lets me down. There isn’t a single person who has stood by me through this whole miserable mess!”
Fox Lisa looked stricken at the last remark. Griffen put his arm around her. “It’s nothing personal. She strikes out like a rattlesnake. You’ve seen it. She’s just angry.”
She gave him a grateful glance.
“I know. It’s not me. I really never should have gotten as involved as I have. I should have stuck to seeing her at the shooting club or at a bar. She’s a good pool player.”
“I saw,” Griffen said.
“Treating your staff and volunteers like traitors will ensure that they will behave like traitors!” Malcolm snapped.
Penny burst into furious tears.
“Now, honey, don’t cry,” Horsie said. There were some muffled endearments.
“He doesn’t care!” Penny wailed. “He’s watching my campaign fall apart around me, and all he does is complain about one teeny little mistake! Y’all aren’t helping me!”
“I wouldn’t have tried crying if I were her,” Griffen said thoughtfully. “It never worked for Val. Uncle Malcolm is the original immovable object.”
It didn’t work.
“It seems to me, Representative, that all the problems stem from you yourself,” Malcolm said coldly.
Penny let out a scream of fury. A crash against the wall that separated the offices made everyone in the outer room jump. More crashing noises followed.
“You’re so unreasonable!” she shrilled.
“You are behaving unreliably,” Malcolm retorted. “You need more focus.”
“I’m desperate!” Penny said. “The field is too crowded!”
“Then set yourself apart! Give the public reason to follow you and you alone!”
“I can’t! My campaign is outgunned by every other one out there! I can’t compete on television, print, or radio advertising. I can’t afford to sponsor any kind of event, and I’ve tapped all the local sources as much as I can. You promised to help!”
“I have been helping!”
“No,” Penny snarled. “You sent me your good-for-nothing nephew to do your work for you. He’s been there, getting in my way, interfering where he shouldn’t!”
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