by Sky Winters
"I got something I like for me, but I know that you're into meat and all that, so that's what I got for you."
Thorne, still groggy, pulled open the container and let the smell of freshly cooked food hit him right in the face.
"And there's coffee too, of course."
"Wait a goddamn minute," said Thorne, coming to his senses. "Does that mean you went outside, knowing that we're being hunted by dragons?"
"It was…just down the road," said Adelaide, her voice now sheepish.
"That doesn't matter," said Thorne, anger and frustration creeping into his voice. "You're person of interest number fucking one with a family of extremely goddamn powerful dragons, and you're traipsing around outside in broad daylight like we're about to have a nice relaxing Sunday at the park!"
Adelaide said nothing, her eyes wide. Thorne could tell she was feeling ashamed.
But as she stood there, the food that she'd gone out of her way to get for Thorne on the table behind her, he couldn't help but feel that he was being a little too harsh.
"I just…thought we'd have some breakfast before we went out."
Thorne snatched his food off the table and plopped down onto the edge of the bed behind him.
"I get it," he said. "But it was stupid of you. This is no goddamn joke. If they'd been onto us and spotted you while you were alone, that'd be it. You'd be taken and I'd wake up to an empty fucking hotel room."
Adelaide nodded in understanding.
Thorne shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth and washed them down with a long sip of coffee.
"But…thanks," he said. "Just don't pull a stunt like this again. Until you're out of my hands, I don't want you going more than five feet from me. Got it?"
"Got it," said Adelaide.
The two of them ate their breakfast, gathered their things, and headed back to the parking lot. Once they arrived at Thorne's bike, he stopped for a minute and looked it over.
"This is no good," he said, shaking his head.
"What?" asked Adelaide. "Something wrong?"
"Shouldn't be driving something like this if I'm trying to keep a low profile. Come with me."
Thorne headed into the motel lobby. Slipping his wallet out of his pocket, he pulled out a few hundreds as he approached the clerk.
"Say," said Thorne. "Mind if I leave this bike here for a week or so? Might be worth your while…"
An hour later, the two of them pulled out of the parking lot of a local used car dealership in a late-model jet-black Audi.
"Nice ride," said Adelaide. "And all in cash?"
"I might not have as much money as the Abruzzi, but I do all right."
With that, Thorne turned toward the highway[LR1], and they were back off and on their way.
CHAPTER 8
"Not a fucking chance."
Thorne's voice was stern. His eyes fixed on the road ahead of him, he kept his hands gripped on the steering wheel. Adelaide didn't think she was going to get a response like this from such a simple question.
"I just wanted to see if you'd want to tell me about yourself," said Adelaide, taking a sip of her soda as she sat in the passenger's seat.
"You don't need to know any of that," he said. "In about a day you're gonna be property of the Abruzzi and you're never gonna see me again. Plus, I don't make it a habit of telling people about my past."
"I just figured it'd be a better way to pass the time then, well, nothing."
"We can listen to the radio," said Thorne, fiddling with the stereo and turning it to a pop channel. "There – Bruno Mars. Listen to that and quit pestering me with questions."
"I'm not pestering you. I'm just curious. I mean, we did sleep together, after all."
"That was nothing," said Thorne.
The words hurt Adelaide a little more than she would've guessed. But she wasn't about to let him see it.
"We'd just been through a dangerous situation, and shit's always running high during life-or-death things like that. It's all the adrenaline."
Adelaide harrumphed but didn't say another word. Though she agreed with Thorne about the intensity of the events of the other night getting the better of them, she couldn't deny that there was something more than that going on. Even here, in the car, she could detect his scent, that lovely musk, and it nagged at her like a splinter in her mind. She knew she couldn't read Thorne's thoughts, but he certainly struck her as the type of person to try to hide his feelings unless he otherwise had to.
"Anyway," said Adelaide, "I don't want to listen to the radio."
"Then stare out the window for all I care. We're barely halfway through with the drive and I'll be damned if you're gonna talk my ear off the entire time."
Adelaide zipped right up. Thorne, like back at the hotel when he snapped at her for going out for breakfast, must've realized that he was being too hard on her again. He softened his tone and spoke.
"How about this: you tell me about yourself."
"Seriously?" asked Adelaide. "You care about that?"
"Why not?" asked Thorne. "I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't a little curious about this girl from New Orleans who's got some of the most powerful shifter families in New York after her."
"Well," started Adelaide. "I don't know why. I mean, when you told me all about this, that was my thought – ‘why me?' What the hell would dragons from New York want with me?"
"Then let's hear it," said Thorne. "Tell me this fascinating life story of yours. Were you made in a lab? Did a Greek god come down from Olympus and impregnate your mother? There's gotta be something to it."
"There really isn't," she said. "I was born in Chicago, and I moved to New Orleans when I was little. And that's where I've lived ever since."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
But then a thought occurred to Adelaide.
"Well, I was adopted. I guess that's something."
Thorne raised an eyebrow.
"Really?" he asked.
"Yeah," said Adelaide. "My birth parents were from Chicago. I mean, I think. I don't really know much about them."
"What do you know about them?"
"Um, nothing, really. I know that they had me, and that they gave me up to an adoption facility when I was less than a month old. I don't have the faintest memory of them."
"And then what?"
"I was in foster care for less than a few months. I guess it's lucky for me that I got put up for adoption so quickly; the younger the kids are, the easier it is to find adoptive parents. So, I moved in with my new mom and dad before I was even a year old, and that's been it ever since."
Thorne's interest seemed to have been piqued.
"Did you ever look into who your parents were? Why they gave you up? Try to track them down?"
"No, not really," said Adelaide, fidgeting with her fingers. "I'd been with my adoptive parents for so long that I look at them more like my real parents. My biological mom and dad are just the people who made me. My adoptive parents are more my real parents than they are."
"That's a real sweet notion and all," said Thorne, "but you've still got your parents genes in you. Whoever they are, that's who you are."
"I see where you fall on the ‘nature-vs-nurture' debate."
"I don't give a shit about that, but if there's some reason why the New York families are after you, it might have something to do with who your biological parents are. You never once thought to look up who they were?"
"Of course, it occurred to me, but I always figured that it'd be, I don't know, a little insulting to my adoptive parents. That they'd spent so much of their life raising me only to find out that I'm still hung up on who the parents who didn't even bother to keep me for a month were."
"It's not too late, you know."
"I guess. But I just got caught up with school and dating and friends and everything else. I just didn't think it was that big of a deal."
Thorne said nothing, and Adelaide could tell he was clearly thinking about somethi
ng.
"Well, you might not care about your past, but your past might care about you. A lot."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, if the New York families are after you, it could mean that there's something…special about you."
"I doubt that," said Adelaide. "I'm just a normal girl. I've never really felt all that special."
Thorne said nothing, his mind clearly working in overdrive.
After several more hours of driving, the two of them decided it was time to call it a night. They had another eight hours of driving ahead of them, and Thorne let Adelaide know he didn't want to push her too hard, despite how eager he was to get back into the city.
"Can we, um, get a better place to stay tonight?" asked Adelaide.
"Are you serious?" said Thorne as he pulled off the highway.
"I just don't want to stay at another one of those shitty motels where the door opens up onto the parking lot. They're depressing."
Thorne turned, looking at Adelaide with disbelief.
"Hey," she said. "I figure that if you're gonna kidnap me and drive me across the country, the least you can do is spring for a nicer place to spend the night."
"Fine, fine," said Thorne.
Adelaide smiled, pleased that she'd at least won this small victory.
Thorne pulled into the parking lot of a large, two-story hotel in the city center of the nearest major urban area. It was a nice-looking hotel, and Adelaide was more than pleased.
"Will this do for her majesty?" asked Thorne.
"This will do nicely, thank you," she said, her tone pleased.
They checked into the place, and Adelaide was happy to see that it was, indeed, much nicer than the cheapo motel they'd stayed at the previous night.
"And I want room service," she said, taking a seat on one of the two large, plush beds.
"Goddamn," said Thorne. "Talk about giving an inch and taking a fuckin' mile. Fine, fine."
"With wine."
"Fine!”
Adelaide sat pleased on the bed as Thorne dialed up room service and placed an order. She decided to take a shower while they waited for the food, and by the time she was done, the food had been delivered.
"Excellent," she said.
"You know, for some ‘normal' girl from New Orleans, you've sure got expensive tastes. And a bratty little fuckin' attitude."
"Just making you earn your paycheck," she said. "Besides, would you rather deal with other dragons trying to kill you, or me being a pain in the ass?"
"I'd like to deal with neither, actually."
"Well, tonight you're getting one of those things."
Adelaide wasn't sure why, but she really felt in the mood to put the screws to Thorne. As she reflected on this, she set into her meal and sipped her wine. Something about the way he had to be in control at all times, to tell her where to be, where she was allowed to go, and what she was allowed to even talk about – it all made her want to be as difficult as possible. And, of course, there was the whole matter with him kidnapping her and taking her to New York. Adelaide still thought of escape, but after what happened with the dragons the other night, she wasn't all that keen on escaping.
Thorne took a slow bite of his steak and looked at her with a skeptical eye, as if trying to figure out just what was going on in Adelaide's head. Then, after a moment, a sly little smile formed on his lips. It appeared to Adelaide to be his way of saying: "if you want to play it that way, then challenge accepted."
The two of them continued their meal. When they were done, Adelaide popped open the second bottle of wine and topped off their glasses.
"I'm going outside," Thorne said, snatching his glass off the table and heading to the balcony overlooking the small city.
Once he was gone, a feeling of emptiness came over Adelaide.
He knows what he's doing, she thought, leaving me alone.
She sat in silence for a minute or two longer, taking a couple sips of her wine. After a few minutes passed, she realized she couldn't be alone. As much as she hated to admit it, she was growing accustomed to Thorne being around. Just sitting near him made her feel safer. Taking her glass of wine in hand, she joined him on the balcony.
"See?" she said, sitting down next to him, the small city spread out before them, the mountain range in the distance outlined by the silver light of the moon. "Isn't this better than some twenty-dollar-a-night flophouse?"
"Fine," he said. "You were right."
Moments passed, Adelaide enjoying her wine and Thorne's company. As she sat near him, the scent that hung on his body drifted over to her. Once the intoxicating aroma slithered into her nose, she felt momentarily out of control. Part of her wanted to cut the bullshit, climb over on top of Thorne, and give him the ride of a lifetime.
Jesus, girl, she thought. Cool your damn jets.
She sipped her wine, her eyes drifting over to Thorne's body, the image of just what he looked like with no shirt on still fresh in her mind. Adelaide imagined the taste of his cock, the way his hands felt as he held her hips firmly while he fucked her from behind, the sensation of him cumming deep inside her. Her head swam, and she knew there was more than the wine at work.
I need to get inside, she thought. I'm losing more and more control by the damn second.
Her heart raced, and she felt herself get more aroused and wet by the second. When she closed her eyes, all she could think of was the feeling of Thorne's cock being buried to the hilt inside of her, driving into her over and over again.
Then, when she leaned over to take a sip of her wine, Thorne appeared to have the same idea. Their eyes met as she reached for her glass and their gaze locked. The tension built by the moment, and Adelaide knew that if she didn't do something now, she'd be putty in his hands.
"I…have to go inside. Good night!"
She grabbed her wine and dashed inside. Adelaide rushed into her suite and shut the door, taking a nervous sip of wine as soon as she was alone.
There was something taking over her, something about Thorne that had worked its way into her mind and wasn't letting go. She'd never been so attracted to a man before, and she began to think there was something more at work here than just thinking he was hot.
Gotta stay in control, she thought, her chest rising and falling.
But she knew it wouldn't be that simple.
CHAPTER 9
"This is her?"
Jace was incredulous. Standing with her hands on her hips, looking down at Adelaide with a bemused expression on her face, it was clear to Thorne that she wasn't impressed by the girl that her boss had nearly died bringing back to New York. Thorne had always been good at reading people, which is one of the reasons he excelled as the leader of the Silver Talons, but he hardly needed such skills to see that the rest of the crew felt the same way.
"What exactly were you expecting?" asked Thorne as he stood near Adelaide, who appeared to be totally overwhelmed at being the center of attention. "Her to be ten feet tall and able to shoot lasers from her eyeballs or something?"
"That would actually be pretty cool," said Mick.
"Yeah," said Hoxson. "Hell, I'd bring her on the squad if she could do that, shifter or no shifter.
The group was gathered in the Silver Talons HQ in Hell's Kitchen. The rest of the drive had gone uneventfully, and Thorne was eager to meet up with the Abruzzi and put the mission to bed.
"Call me crazy," said Corvo, his arms crossed under his barrel chest, "but I'm a little more concerned with the fact that boss nearly lost his life bringing her back here. This was supposed to be an easy pick-up, but now we've got half the piss-ant merc crews in the city trying to off us and take this girl."
"Perhaps we should just give her up," said Aurelius from where he sat behind the group, the large window behind him in the main meeting room of the headquarters giving a sweeping view of the city at night. "I'm sure it wouldn't be too much trouble to find a new buyer for her if she's this…popular."
"Not a chanc
e," said Thorne. "We're this close to having her delivered to the Abruzzi. Then we're done with all of this."
Strangely, however, the thought of giving her up didn't sit well with Thorne. It tugged at his stomach to speak the words, and he was already feeling a sense of longing.
What the hell is wrong with me? he thought. Just give the girl to the Abruzzi; that's all that's left.
But he couldn't deny that he was starting to feel…something for the girl. If nothing else, he had a strong feeling of protection toward her.
"There you go," said Adelaide, speaking up, "talking about me like I'm merchandise or something."
"As far as we're concerned," said Aurelius, "that's all you are."
Without thinking, Thorne shot Aurelius a harsh glare. The younger dragon returned the expression for a moment before apparently realizing that he was going toe-to-toe with the boss.
"Well, what's the next move?" said Corvo, his own expression all business. "I'm guessing the Abruzzi aren't going to want to wait long before they get their hands on her."
"You're right about that," said Thorne. "They want to meet with us in an hour. They're sending an escort to pick us up to make sure we get there in one piece."
Right at that moment, Thorne's phone buzzed his pocket. Taking it out, he saw that it was a message indicating that the escort was on its way.
"They'll be here in twenty," he said.
Then he took a long look at his crew, noting that they were all dressed in jeans and t-shirts, clothes that wouldn't look out of place in a biker bar, but not at all appropriate for a meeting with one of the most powerful families in the city.
"Uh, go put some more presentable clothes on," he said.
The crew groaned in unison.
"That's an order," he said.
The squad headed out of the room, leaving Adelaide and Thorne alone. A silence hung in the air for a moment. Thorne wasn't sure just what to say to Adelaide, and apparently, neither was she.