“Bring it on.” Kylee’s chuckle tried to hide the underlying unease that was currently bubbling right through her body.
“You have a set of balls that could have sunk the Titanic,” Tor said as he saw Jo walk into the main cave. “V wants your head on a spike.”
“Does he just?” Jo laughed. “After I tell him what I’ve just found out, I won’t even be on his radar.”
Tor sat up in his chair. “What did you find out?” He stood, the energy his brother was giving off wasn’t one to ignore.
Jo didn’t answer, he just kept walking. The heavy clip of his boots echoed around the stone walls as he kept his stride even. He slapped on the stone door leading to Wyvern’s door. “V’s office.” Walking past Ladon’s, he did the same, and both brothers joined Tor as they followed him to V’s office.
“What are you…” V stood from behind his desk.
“Sit,” Jo commanded, the tone of his voice made all the brothers on edge. “You all need to hold on to your panties, this is going to hurt, and I don’t have time to lube up first.”
“What are you talking about, Jo. Earlier this morning, I do believe you left.” Volos sat, his back straight as he kept eye contact with his brother. “You can’t just walk back in here as if nothing happened.”
“Oh, but I can because I just did,” Jo said as he looked to Wyvern. “What do you know about hunters?”
“That they’re fictional,” Vern replied without hesitation.
“Anyone else?”
Tor frowned. “I remember only what stories father told us… battles of old where the human took on the beast and rarely won. But even the beasts had to eat, I guess.”
“That’s it?” Jo looked to them all.
“Father used to speak of hunters at bedtime, warning us never to let our guard down. They walked as humans and would easily infiltrate into the dragons’ lair and kill,” Ladon said. “He used to train me extra hard so I’d be ready.”
“All those night lessons… I remember them,” Tor added. “I just thought he was punishing you.”
Ladon shook his head. “No. Not punishment. Preparation, he told me.”
“For?” He scratched his head. “Hunters are fictional. No one has seen one or even reported a death from a hunter in decades,” Wyvern commented.
“So, when the dragons went underwater to conceal themselves with the pure intention of making it look like we had vanished…” Jo let his voice trail off. Hoping the boys would catch up sooner rather than later.
“You think?” Wyvern’s eyebrows shot up.
“I know,” Jo said.
Volos sat forward on his chair. His fingers steepled as they touched his lips. Taking in all that his brother was saying, he asked, “What do you know, Jo?”
“How would you react if I just told you I’d shared a meal with a hunter. I was sitting opposite the hunter as they discovered who they were. Baring not just one mark of a dragon hunter, but this hunter is special bearing the mark of three beasts, making the hunter a threat triple. They are also the child of a hunter that I personally have heard tales about. A hunter so feared that they were rumored to possess supernatural powers of control. The hunter’s child, whom I sat with today, doesn’t know or understand what’s happening, and I fear this makes the issue even more dangerous.”
“I wouldn’t be reacting well. Please, tell me you are speaking hypothetically.” V’s voice lowered. He knew Jo wasn’t, yet felt the urge to ask on the slim off-chance this was a nightmare he could wake from.
Jo shook his head. “I saw the three marks myself.”
“There’s a hunter in town?” Ladon sat up, his body lighting up with the need to attack.
Jo looked at him and snorted. “Yeah, there is. Thing is… that’s not the only complication about this little story.”
“There is more to this than the news of a hunter coming back from assumed extinction?” Vern asked.
“Yes, they’re not the only hunter. They have already been contacted by the society. Which means there are far more hunters around, and they’re right in our backyard…” Jo paused for a few then added, “There is still more—”
“More?” V was feeling weak as the blows kept coming. “What else? Just say it, Jo. If we are to keep the clan safe, we need to know who and what we’re dealing with.”
“The hunter, who right now poses no threat to us, because she is as bewildered by it all as a newborn. Given time, though? Knowing her mother was the hunter with the golden tooth—”
“Tell me your fucking with us.” V stood. “The most dangerous hunter in history? She was said to be able to control the beast. Stories told of her control so powerful that the beast would end up killing itself if she told it to. The hunter with the golden tooth was said to be unmatched and unbeatable.”
Jo nodded. “That’s the one, and I was just in the apartment with her daughter.”
“Who wears three marks?” Jo nodded to Vern’s question.
“Her?” Tor’s question was met with a nod from Jo.
Ladon’s sharp intake of air told Jo he had made the connection first. Turning to look at him, his face draining of the blood as he started at Jo. His eyes pleading for some mistake to have been made. Jo nodded his head confirming to his brother that what he feared most was indeed true.
“Elyse?” V whispered her name as he was next to connect the dots. “No, it can’t be.”
“I saw the marks myself. Kylee is with her, and Elyse is scared out of her mind. This is a world she knows nothing about.”
“This makes sense,” Vern mumbled to V as they passed a look between them.
“It makes sense that my mate is not only the daughter of a fabled dragon hunter but also wears three hunter marks, making her possibly the most dangerous hunter yet to exist?” Ladon’s voice was not panicked, it was eerily calm, uncomfortably calm for those around him. “How does this make sense? Please, I’m sincerely asking because right now, this makes as much sense as me ever becoming a vegan.”
V nodded to Vern to explain what he meant. Vern turned to look at his brother who was clearly hitting a wall of confusion and dismay. “I was investigating the accident that cost Elyse her parents’ life. Nothing added up. It was like out of the blue their car ended up on its roof. Both adults died, yet the child was flung through the windshield onto the road’s surface but didn’t have a single scratch on her. No trees, no other cars, no reasons for it to happen. Even the autopsies have disappeared. There is no record of the details of the accident nor the details of death except the word ‘accident.’”
“No autopsies either?” V asked.
“No, nothing, and that’s not just for them. It’s for the whole line of family members. I can find their death dates, and they’re all marked ‘accident.’ Then it’s like white noise. Nothing, no matter how deep I dig.”
“Then dig deeper,” Tor said.
Vern whipped to look at his brother. “You dig, dipshit if you think there’s a door I can’t open or a digital lock I can’t break and you can? You’re welcome to have a try. I know that if there’s something to find, I can find it.” He looked back to V. “There isn’t anything there… simple.”
“Still not following how this makes sense?” Ladon’s voice showed a crack in his armor.
V took over. “It makes sense but not the way you want it to. Vern was referring to the mystery surrounding the family and its generational tree. We were sitting here yesterday debating how a family can be so vague, so non-descript. It was like they existed only not to exist.” V leaned back in his chair. “There have been no hunters actively hunting in decades. This we know is true. The mistake was in thinking that they were gone for good.”
“Shit,” Jo exclaimed.
“What?” V asked.
“In all the drama of hearing she was a hunter, I just remembered something else she said.” Looking at Ladon. “Not only is she a hunter of dragons, but she’s being hunted herself.” Looking back to V. “She made mention
that the hunter woman she met with had informed her that her parents we killed by phoenix. Not only that, but her survival was accidental, and while she didn’t remember, she posed no threat to them.”
“But now she remembers?”
“The hunter becomes the hunted,” V answered Tor’s question.
Ladon stood and started to pace from wall to wall while the brothers watched him carefully. Letting him digest what he’d just heard, this was after all, not just a clan issue, it was also his chosen mate. “The goddess who knows all gives me a mate. A hunter of my species among others, yet also being hunted by our enemies.” He kept an even-paced walk as the words rolled out, not specifically for anyone to answer, merely so he could hear them said out loud. “A danger to our clan and to me on a physical and emotional level. A danger to herself with a lack of knowledge and expectations of her family and hunter duties.” He turned to look at his brothers. “How am I supposed to keep her safe, us safe, and have her fall in love with the very species she was born to kill?”
“I don’t know, Ladon,” V said. “But we will work it out.”
“She’ll need someone with her at all times,” Tor said.
“Kylee’s with her.” Jo saw V’s eyes widen. He turned to face him, placing his hands on the desk and made direct eye contact. “For a start, you owe her an apology. Straight up, you were a fucking jerk to her. She has never, and would never, jeopardize this clan. To even consider that blows my mind. She might be human, but that human has a heart of a fucking dragon.” Jo’s voice was full of rage at V on his best friend’s behalf. Jo turned his back on V and faced his brothers. “Kylee is the obvious choice for this. They have a connection, and Elyse already trusts her. Plus, for the next few nights, she’s staying in her apartment. I don’t think it would take much to convince Elyse to let her stay longer.”
“Kylee works for me.” Ladon nodded. “This way we can go check-in, too… on Kylee, and by default, Elyse.”
Tor nodded. “I think she’s the best choice. Any of our women would be good in this circumstance. However, Kylee is three steps ahead already, and I don’t know about you guys but fucking around isn’t what I want to do.”
“All right,” V said. “Vern, you have your work cut out for you. Tor and I will get our clan’s safety set at a high-risk level. Ladon and Jo, you both have a difficult task with Kylee and Elyse. Keep them safe. Yes?”
“With my very life,” Ladon said as he firmly nodded his head and walked out of the office like a dragon on a mission.
Which he was.
A heavy knock at the door made Doug jump. She looked at Kylee who was presently trying to kill some dwarf on Warcraft. “Someone’s at the door,” she said.
“Not my door. I’m about to teach this dwarf a lesson about picking on girls.” She grinned madly. “I am actually seeing what’s so good about this game. Don’t know why I didn’t ask Ladon to let me play earlier.”
“It’s addictive, I’ll give it that.” She got up and walked to the door. “A great distraction from life, too.” Doug turned the handle and opened the door. She took a small step back as she saw two very large men in uniforms.
“Elyse Douglas?”
“Who is it?” Kylee called out.
“The police,” Doug said weakly.
Within the beats of a butterfly’s wing, Kylee was standing beside her. She didn’t hear her move but simply felt the light pressure of her hand on the back of her upper arm. Providing her with the strength she needed right then.
“Which one of you is Elyse Douglas?” the blond-haired officer asked. The two men stood one behind and to the side—they were too wide to fit side by side in the small opening of her door. Kylee noticed the dark-haired officer who stood behind had his hand poised discreetly over his weapon. Like they were some fugitives, who were planning on going down in a shower of gunfire.
“Hey, you… tall, dark and uninformed,” Kylee addressed the officer at the back when he made eye contact with her. She waggled her eyebrows. “No need for the trigger finger twitch. We are all at ease here. This is Elyse.” She squeezed her friend’s arm. “I’m Kylee, and you both are?”
High-pressure situations didn’t faze Kylee. It was one of the things the dragons liked about her. No matter what situation she found herself in, her ability to keep calm and crack a joke to release the tension had saved their lives before and would promise to do the same in the future.
“I’m Officer Banks,” the blond one replied with his deep baritone voice. “This is Officer Darlington. Elyse?” Officer Banks said as he swept his hands to quick draw at his back. “Can you please accompany us to the station. We need to ask you some questions.”
“To the station?” Elyse looked to Kylee with a panicked grimace.
“What’s this concerning?” Kylee stepped forward, pushing Elyse slightly behind her. In that moment, she saw Officer Darlington’s hand drop to his weapon’s grip, his thumb flicking the release in one smooth motion while widening his stance in a very well-practiced movement.
“Woah, there, bud.” Kylee’s arms went up with her palms flat out in front of her. “I’m just asking,” she looked at Banks. “He’s a twitchy one, isn’t he?”
“We need Elyse to come with us,” Banks said.
“Is it okay if Kylee comes, too? She is my…” she looked at her new friend and hoped she would go along with the next thing she said, “… sister. I don’t go anywhere without her.”
“You don’t look alike,” Darlington mumbled from the back.
“You got a stick to lick ‘cause I’ll take a DNA test right now, buddy,” Kylee sassed him with a flick of her head. She didn’t bow down to men with dominance issues, and today would be no different.
“You can both come,” Banks said as he looked at his partner and back to Elyse. “Now, would be good.” Stepping to the side, he motioned for them to go past him.
Kylee raised an eyebrow as she heard Darlington groan with pain at another impending delay. “I’ve got to pee, and I need to get my bag.” She looked at Elyse. “Better feed Quil, too. You don’t know how long these delightful men might keep us company. Oh, and turn off the computer. Can’t have the apartment catch fire… although…” She grinned widely. “More men in uniforms turning up might be fun.”
“Just hurry up,” Darlington growled.
Kylee looked at him as her hip kicked out to the side. “Which part? ‘Cause I can only pee so quickly.” The way he looked at her made her grin. “Okay, big guy, I’ll be quick.”
Forty-five minutes later, Kylee and Elyse sat in a room by themselves. “I phoned Jo, so he knows where we are. Didn’t want him to come back and find us missing. He tends to get a little antsy when he doesn’t know where I am.”
“I wish someone cared that much about me,” Elyse said. “You sure you’re not together?”
“Positive.” Kylee chuckled. “He said he’ll bring Ladon and come down to take us home.”
“Ladon,” Elyse said. “He’s different than Jo, isn’t he?”
“It’s actually Jo that’s different from the rest of the brothers. Ladon is serious. He takes his job very seriously.”
“What does he do?” Elyse asked.
“Security and defense,” Kylee answered the way she always did. “He is undercover most of the time. Safe to say when he’s around, I feel perfectly secure. Nothing will get through him.”
“You like him.”
“Fuck me, girl, no.” Kylee dismissed. “These brothers are family, nothing more. They are hot, sexy, and delicious to look at but strictly family for me.”
The door opened, and the room grew smaller as Officers Banks and Darlington stepped in. Sitting opposite them at the table, a cream-colored folder was placed on the table still under the weight of Banks’ hand.
“Elyse,” Banks said.
Kylee’s eyes were firmly placed on Darlington, the permanent scowl he’d been wearing for the past hour was deeper, more intense.
“Yes?” she r
eplied.
“You signed for the release of one, Mr. Charlie Jones?”
Elyse’s stomach both danced with joy at this not being about her, but also sunk with terror at it being about Charlie, whose last name wasn’t Jones, but they didn’t need to know that tiny detail.
“I did, but I haven’t been able to find him lately. We’ve been looking for him,” Elyse said. “Have you found him? I’m happy to sign for responsibility again.”
Darlington huffed. “Responsibility? Ha!”
Kylee flicking her eyes to him. “I don’t like your attitude,” she stated. “You’re being a dick. Just so you know.”
“Noted,” he replied dryly.
“Yes, well,” Banks said. “The reason why you haven’t been able to find him has been solved.”
“It has?” Her smile was brief as she saw the flicker in the officer’s eyes.
“His body was discovered this morning floating in the North Sea. It got caught on one of the oil rig’s pylons.
“He’s dead?” Elyse whispered. “Are you sure it’s him?”
The officer opened the folder, and he pulled out a photograph and slid it across the table in front of her. The face staring back at her was bloated and purple which made her recoil, her head turning into her friend’s shoulder.
“I’ve always wanted to know what a floater looked like. That’s gross.” Kylee leaned forward and checked the image closely. “Is that Charlie?” Elyse’s head nodded accompanied by a sob.
“So, it is him?” Banks asked.
“Yes, take the photo away.”
“Hang on, I want another look,” Kylee said with a grin. “How often does a girl get to see this stuff?”
“Freak,” Darlington mumbled under his breath.
Kylee’s eyes flicked up to meet his winking salaciously. “You don’t know the half of it. Pity your attitude is crap because that body of yours… I’d love to see if I could break it.”
“Kylee,” Elyse laughed as she cried. “Really?”
Submerge (Apalala Clan Book 3) Page 11