“That’s the team—they’ll be here within the hour. And they said not to worry—the weapon is safe for another day.”
“How’d they figure that out?”
“The device is on a timer.”
To be honest, I didn’t care. My body slumped as relief hit. “We did it. We stopped the bomb.”
Richard looked me over, then nodded in the direction of his car. “Go get some sleep. It’ll be at least forty-five minutes before anyone gets here.”
I nodded. Sleep, even in a car, sounded like heaven. Richard popped the trunk and pulled out a small pillow, sheet and a thermos.
I raised an eyebrow. “Full-service establishment.”
He wiggled the thermos. “Tea. I grabbed it all off the plane. I’ve been known to catch a few minutes of shut-eye on the side of the road myself. Never hurts to be prepared.”
I laughed. “Yeah, too bad we didn’t think of that before we let those guys lock our weapon in a building in the middle of the day.”
“Next time I’ll pack my crowbar.”
He opened the car door and I slid inside. My head barely hit the pillow before I vaulted into dreamland.
*
When I finally woke, it was dark, and my bed was now moving down the road at a steady clip, bouncing slightly along the bumpy asphalt. I jerked into a sitting position.
“Richard! Where are we? I have to disable the bomb.” My sleep-muddled brain was having a hard time keeping up, and despite the fact that the car was in motion, my fingers groped for the latch.
“Myrna. Don’t open the door.” I felt Richard’s hand on my arm. He chuckled. “The weapon was disarmed. One of Lady Adelaida’s employees took care of it. I’m taking you to a hotel so you can rest.”
He met my eyes in the rearview mirror and grinned. “It’s over. They got it. It was sitting right next to the coffeepot in the first floor break room.”
“But, my papers, there was a special way it had to be…” I trailed off when Richard raised his free hand to show me my folder of notes. “Oh.” My shoulders slumped. I was glad the danger was over, but I felt like an idiot for sleeping through the entire thing. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
Richard laughed. “I tried, and you almost hit me. One of the bomb experts Lady Adelaida sent had some experience in biomechanics. She used your notes. Piece of cake.”
Richard was smiling like a loon, obviously elated at the team’s success. He was no doubt looking forward to telling Lord Relobu how the crisis had been averted. All while I snored in the backseat of his car.
Delightful.
I couldn’t help it: I was stiff, groggy, and more than a little bummed that I’d missed the action. “Piece of cake, huh? Easy for you to say. I wish someone would’ve told me the biomechanics chick would make it before I stayed up almost forty-eight hours straight to learn the stuff.”
“I did tell you.”
“Yes, well, they cut it a little too close for my comfort. I’m not made for these spy games.”
I sat up and tried in vain to straighten my clothes. “So why’d they hide it in an office?”
“The building was rented in the name of Puo Enterprises.”
“Ah. Convenience.” It didn’t take a genius to figure out Hian-puo leased the office so he’d have somewhere safe to drop the weapon.
The streetlights were blindingly bright to my still sleepy eyes. I raised my hand in an attempt to rub away the discomfort and banged my knuckles against the necklace. It was blinking a furious red. I stared at it stupidly for several moments. Why was it lighting up now?
“Richard? My necklace. It’s lighting up.”
He glanced back. “So?”
“It’s not supposed to do that unless it comes within five feet of the machine. Maybe a little more.”
Richard had returned his attention to the road, so I couldn’t see his face. “Maybe it’s broken.”
I looked at it doubtfully. “Maybe. But it’s weird that it only started up now. Was it doing this while I was asleep?”
“Not that I remember, but you had a blanket over your head for most of the time. I went in the building with the rest of the guys. It’s possible it’s just reacting to traces on my clothes.”
“I guess.” It didn’t make much sense. From what I gathered from Dr. Renault, the biomaterial was completely sealed off from the outside world until its canister was damaged or released. But then again, I wasn’t too sure how it worked. Dr. Renault was too busy vomiting to do much more than shove the notes in my hand with a few words of explanation.
“Weird.” I tucked it back under my shirt.
“Well, the good news is, you can trash it once we reach the hotel. I should probably mention, Carol sent Jia and Cai to Tulsa with Dan and Henry. She flew here on dragonback a few hours ago so she could spend the day getting you something to wear to tomorrow’s trial.”
“Wow. Dragonback?” I was both impressed and jealous that Carol had managed to finagle a dragon ride before I did. Then the rest of Richard’s statement sunk in. I groaned. I never thought I’d actually say it, but I’d never been so sick of new clothes in my entire life.
“Just get me to the hotel. I need a shower. And chocolate. Lots of chocolate.”
*
Richard escorted me to my hotel room, then promptly disappeared in favor of the gathering dragon hoard. This trial, even though—or especially because—it had been thrown together on the spur of the moment, was unofficially the party of the year. Based on Richard’s quick retreat, he didn’t want to miss even a minute of it.
But it was after ten in the evening, and despite the nap in the car, I still felt groggy and jet-lagged. I almost cried when I saw the large suitcase on the bed. My new clothes. I was sick of trying to figure out these outfits all by myself.
I stepped closer and laughed.
A pair of soft flannel pajamas, decorated with fuzzy unicorns, had been folded neatly on top. These I could handle. God Bless Carol. She’d come through again.
I walked to the bathroom and twisted the shower nozzle, inching the temperature a few degrees warmer than I usually preferred. I glanced longingly at the tub, because a good long soak sounded heavenly. But the fear of falling asleep and drowning butt-naked where just anybody might find me was more than I could handle. I chose the shower instead.
Even the water couldn’t help me shake the feeling of lethargy. My bones were so heavy and liquid it was a struggle to make it to the bed. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I was drugged. My eyes were closing of their own volition, so I nixed the idea of wrestling into the pajamas and simply crawled between the sheets.
I’d managed to pound the pillow into a shape my head decided was comfortable when someone knocked on my door. Grumbling only a little, I dug through the suitcase until I found a silk robe Carol had included in my “courtroom wardrobe.” I shrugged into it before squinting into the peephole. Trian stood in the hall, looking clean and refreshed and well-healed from his injuries. And human. I cautiously flipped the bolt and opened the door.
He made no move to come inside. Instead his eyes took in my damp and ratted hair, red eyes and bare toes. His voice was hesitant. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Even through my exhaustion, the awkwardness was a living, breathing creature between us. For several moments we both stared at our feet, until I couldn’t take it anymore. “Would you like to come in?”
Trian cleared his throat. “Um, yeah. Thanks.”
I opened the door wider and stepped aside as he entered. As usual, he scanned the room quickly and efficiently, no doubt absorbing the fact that I’d managed to litter it with clothing and wet footprints in the thirty or so minutes I’d been present. Attempting casual, I toed under the bed a pair of red lace panties that must have fallen out of the suitcase. I changed my mind on the type of thank you Carol deserved.
Trian was nice enough to pretend he didn’t notice.
For lack of anything better to do, I perched on the edge of the bed. “
So. I guess you’re all healed up?” I’d assumed with his injuries, Trian would need at least a week before he was healthy enough to fly. But he’d obviously inherited at least a small portion of dragon healing ability, because he stood here—barely twenty-four hours after he’d been injured—clean-shaven, with not a cut or bruise in sight.
He was wearing a classic black-and-white tux with the tie and collar undone, and I wondered whether he was enjoying the party as much as Richard. I’d been so disgusted with myself for sleeping through the most important part of my self-appointed mission that I’d only half listened to Richard ramble about this week’s activities.
“What’s got you wandering the halls this late?”
“Relobu wanted me here to keep an eye on Lady Adelaida. Because she’s hosting the dragon council in her territory, and on such short notice, her resources are stretched thinner than she’d like. She’s not convinced Hian-puo doesn’t have something else in mind to cause her or her people harm. Relobu told her I’m a dragon-morph, so she feels that I am better able to deal with any threats from Hian-puo, should he decide to personally attack her.”
I’d say that Lady Adelaida was just a touch paranoid, but then again I’d met Hian-puo. I wouldn’t put it past him to try and kill her on a whim. The rules of common sense and logic just didn’t seem to apply.
And after the fight between Trian and Hian-puo, I’d gathered that dragon-morphs were the faster, stronger, meaner cousins to the regular strain of dragons. If I were Lady Adelaida, I’d have probably done the same thing. Especially if Trian was doing the guarding. In a tux.
I sighed. It was hopeless. He was my kryptonite.
“Isn’t Hian-puo still in custody?” The last time I’d seen the dragon lord, he’d been trussed up tighter than a Thanksgiving turkey and just as cooked. Dragons may be lenient on humans being injured when dealing with dragons, but they did not take well to dragon lords intervening with other lords’ business.
“Dragon lords are forbidden to be restrained while facing charges from the dragon council.”
I waited for Trian to tell me he was joking. “Who made that stupid rule?”
He smiled. “Apparently it was among the original agreements put into effect when the dragons began to nationalize.”
“And I thought human laws were dumb. So is this the new dress code for security detail?” I asked, waving at his formal wear. “Gonna be hard to hide your sword in that.”
Trian sighed. “That’s the least of my problems. Right now, I’m just trying to familiarize myself with Adelaida’s schedule. Which means a whole lot of useless parties.”
“Right.” I fell silent. I still wasn’t sure why Trian had stopped by my room, and judging by the fact that he’d just engaged in more small talk than I’d ever witnessed from him, I knew something was wrong. So I waited until he’d stopped his pacing and came to sit on the bed beside me.
“Myrna, at the trial. You’re going to have to testify.”
“I know. Relobu told me. That’s why I’m here in Budapest. I meet with the council tomorrow morning.” Relobu was still doing his best to keep the human mediator bit under the radar, just in case there was a chance he could revive the international dragon agreements once the dust settled on Hian-puo’s temper tantrum.
“They’re going to need you to do it in public. In front of Hian-puo. The plan was for me, in dragon form, to provide testimony on all of it—from the attack by his subject at Lord Relobu’s to his commission of the weapon and imprisonment of Relobu’s team. That’s why they could keep you out of the public eye. Your testimony would serve to simply fill in the blanks. But since the confrontation at Hian-puo’s, too many people know I’m a dragon-morph.
“They aren’t the type to share that information,” Trian said after he saw my worried look, “but so far they’re proving to be sticklers for following the rules. And, like the rule about dragon lords appearing unfettered before their peers, there is a law in place that allows testimony from, and I quote, ‘human or dragonian subjects.’ Relobu was afraid one of Hian-puo’s cronies would get wind that I don’t exactly fit into those categories and get the trial thrown out completely. We can’t risk that.”
No, we definitely couldn’t. Hian-puo was out for my blood. I looked down to see my hand tightly gripping the bedding, and forced it to relax. This was crazy. “But Hian-puo is a dragon-morph. Are they even sure they can charge him?”
“Yes. Luckily, the laws use a title, ‘Dragon Lord,’ for all references to the procedure for his trial. He’ll be unable to testify in his own defense, but we will be able to try him.”
“Has Hian-puo been told about the events since his arrest?” He was not going to be happy about me making a deal with one of his generals.
Trian nodded grimly.
Not happy was an understatement. Hian-puo would be furious. Now the odds that I had a price on my head were almost certain.
Trian’s voice interrupted my panicked thoughts.
“Relobu has petitioned DRACIM for Emory’s presence here in Budapest to serve as the DRACIM liaison while you’re busy with the trial. It’s mostly a way that Lord Relobu can give the appearance that your office is fully invested in the proceedings.” Trian cleared his throat and looked to the floor.
“We’re also saying the dinner invitation to Lord Relobu’s was a chance for the dragon lord to get to know you, since you’re dating the head of his security.” He met my eyes. “I’m sorry about that. It was the only thing we could think of to explain your presence the night of the attack without mentioning Relobu’s plans for international dragon-to-human trade agreements.”
I nodded, ignoring the small stab of hurt that Trian was uncomfortable with admitting, however incorrectly, that we were dating. I struggled to keep my feelings from showing on my face. “No. It’s a good idea. Emory is aware of our past, if not why we broke up, so it won’t be too much of a stretch to convince him we’d picked up where we left off.”
A silence descended upon the room while both of us contemplated the new situation. Trian was the first to say something.
“When Richard spoke to Emory, he did his best to downplay the trial and stress the social functions taking place throughout the week. Emory’s wife was also invited to attend.”
I smiled weakly. Richard had Emory’s number all right. There’s no way my former boss would allow DRACIM to turn down the opportunity for him to rub elbows with an entire world’s worth of the rich and influential. Especially if Amy could come with a camera.
“Richard plans to testify on the majority of events that took place at Hian-puo’s residence, but…”
“I was the only one around for a lot of it,” I finished for him.
Trian nodded. “Myrna, I came by to tell you you’re not alone. You’re still entitled to protection by Relobu’s security services. I stopped by to ask your permission to organize a security detail of human and dragon guards, until Hian-puo’s trial is complete. It won’t be Dan or Henry, but I have a couple of guys that should do a good job.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you.” More guards. More danger. And I still hadn’t completed a single successful mediation session. I nodded my head, and then did something I hadn’t done in a very long time.
I burst into tears.
The shocked expression on Trian’s face was almost comical. To be honest, even I was more than slightly surprised at my outburst.
“Myrna!” In one swift motion, Trian plucked me off the bed and settled me into his lap. Tucking my head into the crook of his neck, he let me sob.
For several minutes all I could do was cry. The stress, the lack of sleep, the fear—all of it had managed to catch up to me at last.
Trian didn’t say a thing; he simply held me while all the pent-up emotions of the past few weeks poured in a wet stream down the front of his shirt.
I made a noise—half sob, half laugh. “Lady Adelaida isn’t going to be happy that I’ve ruined your penguin suit.”
“I’
m off duty, and I have a couple of spares. They tend not to make it when I’m forced to go scaly, so I plan ahead.” He squeezed me gently and ran his hand across the back of my head.
“Does it hurt?”
“Does what hurt? Turning into a dragon? Sometimes. A little. It’s a lot easier when I’m relaxed.”
I laughed. “So I guess it hurt a little bit at Hian-puo’s?”
“It wasn’t exactly comfortable.”
“Do you like being able to turn into a dragon?”
“For the most part, yes. It was weird at first. I was eight the first time I morphed.” He chuckled. “A kid hit me with a basketball after school, and I got angry. He never did it again. But I’m sure his mom got one hell of a story when he made it home. When my parents died—car crash—Lord Relobu stepped in. Helped me learn how to control the dragon side, to shift only when I wanted to, and to do it fast. Now, I’m equally comfortable in either form.”
“Wow.” It was a lot to soak in.
“Myrna, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess. It was never my intention to put you in danger. I just…” Trian paused as he searched for his next words.
“I was stupid. I thought I could bring you in on this case, spend some time with you, and maybe find a way to tell you about why I left a year ago. Instead, I risked your life in more ways than I can count.”
He squeezed me again, and this time he was the one with a catch in his throat. “I left you because I didn’t want you hurt. That’s the honest truth. But you’re right. I did it mostly because Relobu asked it of me. And I’ve regretted it every moment since.” I gazed into his eyes, so solemn, so full of absolute despair, and felt my stomach clench.
I put a hand on his arm. “Trian. Look at me.”
It was a moment before his attention returned to my face. When that golden gaze met mine, I spoke, each word carefully enunciated to ensure he didn’t miss my meaning.
“My feelings are still hurt that you decided to hide the truth instead of letting us work through the problem together, but let me make this very, very clear. I’ve spent far too many days of my life worrying what strangers thought about me.
Never Deal with Dragons Page 21