by Tully Belle
“And yet, here she is, pretending to hold a grudge, but the whole time trying to forgive you and accept you back into her life.”
Caran rolled her eyes. “I don’t see that.”
“I do.” Ash looked forward, realizing that they were headed towards the stables. They hadn’t made that their destination, yet here they were making a beeline right to it. “If you apologize for abandoning her, this feud you have between the two of you will be forgotten.”
She sighed. “But that’s just it. I didn’t anything wrong. Choosing a city hospital to do my residency over Greenslopes County shouldn’t be something that she’s angry with me for.”
“She’s not angry about that.”
Caran shook her head. “I know it’s more complicated, but it comes down to that she feels like I abandoned her for choosing there instead of here. She didn’t care about what I wanted.”
“She cares a great deal more than you give her credit for.”
They reached the building. There were no doors at the end so they both walked in. A pile of hay bales were stacked neatly just inside the door. Caran pulled one down for her and another for Ash. She sat on one of them and rested her chin in her hands. “I’ll think about it.”
Ash moved his bale next to the wall so he could lean back. He placed his hands behind his head and looked around the stable. It wasn’t large, about the size of the training hall back at Mount Pike. Mostly it was being used for storage. Old farm machinery, a rake or two, and hay—lots of hay.
A barn fly flew in front of Caran’s face and she swatted it away. She was still looking thoughtful about her relationship with her mother.
“The job with your mother. We’ll probably do it in a couple of days. Mac will make the call when we’re ready,” said Ash.
“Okay. It’s good that you’re helping her.”
“Do you want to be involved?”
Her face locked onto his. “You want me there?”
“You could be useful.”
“You think someone is going to get hurt?”
Ash leaned forward. “You have more skills than just your medical training, Caran.”
She narrowed her eyes, suspicious of what he meant.
“You’re fit and fast. You’re also quiet and can fight if you need to.”
He could see her visibly relax, her shoulders dropping and the tension falling away. “I thought you were going to say I have skills in the bedroom.” She began to laugh.
“Well, I’m not going to deny those.” He grinned. “But I’m sure we won’t need that at the job.” He winked which made her laugh again. It was good to see her in a better mood.
“Okay,” she said. She nodded her head to consolidate her decision. “I’ll help. Just tell me what you want me to do.”
“Great, I’ll fill you in once I’ve talked to my brothers.”
“Ahh. So this might not be a done deal.”
“I’ll talk to them.”
She chewed on her lip looking skeptical. “Whatever is best. When is Lyson going to change back?”
“I really hope it’ll be soon. He usually transitions much faster than this.”
“I still find it fascinating that it’s possible to do it at all. I’d love to see it happen one day.”
Ash cocked his head to the side. “You didn’t seem that enthusiastic to see Lyson.”
“I didn’t know it was him, I didn’t know anyone could do that. Are you and your brothers it, or can others change at will?”
“You’d be surprised. The world is a lot more complicated that you think it is.”
“I’m beginning to understand that.” She clasped her hands in front of her, resting them on her knees. “I was so sure I had a path to follow, now I’m feeling lost, like I don’t know where I belong.”
She was opening up to him, becoming vulnerable. He moved closer, resting his hands over hers. “Maybe you belong here. Just because you chose something in your past, doesn’t mean you can’t start again. Starting fresh can give you a new purpose. Your mother would love you to come back. You could work at the hospital and finish your residency. Only if you want to, of course.” He gave her shoulder a quick squeeze, the back of this thumb gliding over a spot where the skin felt thick and puckered. Had she been bitten? She didn’t seem to be bothered so he thought nothing more of it.
Caran leaned forward kissing him. When she pulled back, her eyes were filled with excitement and hope as if she’d just wrestled with a hard decision and could now see light at the end of the tunnel. “Yeah, a new start might be just what I need.”
It was good to see her smile again. He believed what she was saying. This new determination wasn’t something you faked, she really did want to change. It no longer mattered why she was here or what her old motives were. Whether she meant to find Lyson or not wasn’t the point. What she did from here forward was. And now, Ash trusted that now she wouldn’t give them away.
He guided her lips back to his, parting them with his tongue. His hand slipped behind her neck, holding her to him as he moved closer still.
“Ash,” she whispered, her voice muffled by his lips on hers.
“Mmmhh.”
“I really like you,” she said.
He pulled back. “I know.”
She raised an eyebrow and smirked. “You know? Why you arrogant…”
He didn’t let her finish. His lips were back on hers, halting her words.
Ash pulled into his space and got out of the car. John was on door duty today, but before going to say hi, Ash waited for Caran. He couldn’t wait to get inside. After their makeout session, he’d already gone over the things he’d do to make her melt under his touch.
But as they walked inside he could feel something had changed.
Lyson.
He twisted and looked up to see his youngest brother bounding down the stairs. Back in human form! Mac followed behind, hanging back when he saw Caran.
“Ly,” exclaimed Ash as he hurried over, hugging is brother and patting him on the back. “About time.”
“You know me, never want to leave the party.” Lyson glanced over at Caran, and held out his hand for her. “Nice to meet you.”
Caran moved forward. She shook it, a smile on her face. “Nice to meet you, too.”
“I see you’ve got a burn there,” he said. “You best get that looked at.” He winked at her, making it clear he knew exactly how she got it.
Caran looked at Ash then nodded when she realized that she would need to play the charade in public. “Thank you, I will.”
“Can we all talk?” asked Mac. It was clear that it wasn’t a question, but a request. “Upstairs.”
“Ah, yeah, sure.” Ash turned to Caran. “We’ll catch up later, is that okay?”
“Of course, go.” She waved him away.
“It’s good to have you back,” said Ash. He flopped onto the sofa in Mac’s room. Lyson sat opposite him, “Thanks, good to be able to eat normal again.”
Mac remained standing, his arms folded across his chest. “I see you’ve given her free reign of the facility again.”
“She’s not a dog, Mac. She doesn’t need a leash.”
“I never said she was.”
“No, you’ve already convicted and sentenced her.”
“She went snooping where she shouldn’t. I’m surprised you’re being so nonchalant about it.”
Ash’s chest tightened. “I’m not. I just don’t think her motives were nefarious. Whatever the reason for her being there, she isn’t a threat.”
Mac raised a brow. “What can you add, Lyson. You saw her face.”
He pursed his lips tight as he thought back. “She was clearly shocked at seeing me there, that was obvious.”
“See,” said Ash.
Mac shot him a warning look. “But you must have felt threatened otherwise you wouldn’t have attacked.”
“She woke me. I was surprised to see her there, didn’t know who she was since I’d never seen her be
fore. I lost it. But, I wasn’t attacking, I was warning her to get out.”
“You can’t see the problem.”
Ash kept his mouth shut. If Mac was going to come around to Caran, he needed to come to that conclusion on his own. Ash defending her only prolonged that.
“I can,” said Lyson. “But Ash knows her best.” He turned. “What happened at the farm? Obviously you trust her now, why?”
“She’s not a bad person. She was raised right by Mrs. Rivers, and if she’s made mistakes in her past, and who hasn’t, then she’s not going to continue that going forward. Yeah, I trust her.” Enough that he believed she wouldn’t hurt them at least.
Mac shook his head. “You can’t see that she’s clouding your mind.”
“Look,” said Ash. He stood up. “I’ve got as much to lose over this as you do. More, because I’m involved now. I’m not taking this lightly. I believe her.”
“She hasn’t give us any indication that she plans on telling our secrets,” said Lyson. “If she really was working for Princess or some other group, she’d be gone by now, heading back to report in. That she’s still here, says a lot.” Ash didn’t want to add anything more. Not yet. Not until he was sure.
Mac steepled his fingers over his lips. “Maybe.”
“Lyson’s right. She could have run anytime at the farm. I was inside talking with her mother for a good twenty minutes while she was outside. She didn’t leave even though she knew we suspected her. That takes courage.”
“Or stupidity.”
“Hey.” Ash narrowed his eyes in warning.
Mac relented. “Okay, I know she’s smart. I know she hasn’t given any indication that she’s about to bring us down. Still, I want us all to be careful. Until I feel we can fully trust her, I want to keep her close.”
“Keeping her close will be Ash’s job,” said Lyson.
“Yeah,” said Ash. “It’ll be my pleasure.”
Mac rolled his eyes. “This meeting is over.”
27
Ash shook Caran awake. She opened her eyes, peering around the dark room.
“We’ve got to go,” he whispered.
“Go where?” she asked. She reached up, trying to rub the sleep away. “What time is it?”
“It’s four a.m.” He sat on the edge of the bed, pulling on black boots over his dark cargo pants.
Caran blinked letting everything come into focus. What? She bolted upright, the sheets falling to the side. The council job. Today was the day.
She quickly got out of bed. Her clothes neatly folded on an armchair. Her clothes were dark too. Black mostly, but the belt she wore was brown. She dressed then glanced at herself in the mirror.
Inside Princess they trained in gym wear. For missions, they would wear comfortable but professional attire so they would blend in with everyone else in the city. There were no uniforms like the one she was putting on now.
She turned, admiring the way the top fit snug against her body yet gave plenty of room for movement. Her pants, covered in pockets, didn’t restrict her. The only thing she wasn’t sure about was the boots with the heavy sole. This wasn’t a shoe that you could run long distances in. Hopefully there would be no running today.
“You look good,” said Ash as he came up behind her. He pulled on a cap to finish his outfit.
“You look pretty hot yourself,” said Caran.
They’d been getting along so well over the last few days. She knew that this was the start of something special and she wasn’t about to mess it up. She had practiced what she would tell Tessa when she called next. She was leaving Princess, and that was that. No discussion. She didn’t belong there anymore.
Caran pulled her hair up into a tight ponytail and added her own cap to her head before they both headed downstairs.
There were six people going on this mission, the rest of the crew would stay back at Dragonspark. Mac headed the team, Lyson was there to break into the computer system, Ash for any combat. Not that they thought there would be any trouble. From Pete’s surveillance, they knew that the offices would be unattended by workers or cleaners at this time. The other two people, Juliana and John were to keep watch outside.
Caran was to hang back, stay near the car. She was only there because Ash insisted, and Mac had only relented if she stayed far away from the building. She didn’t mind. That he’d let her come at all meant that she was making progress in winning back his trust.
“We’ll take two cars,” said Mac. “Lyson, me, and Juliana, will go in the first. Ash, Caran and John follow behind. Stay tight.”
Ash got into the drivers seat and Caran sat beside him. Her stomach was churning with nerves. She’d never done anything quite so exciting before. The trip down the mountain in the dark only made it worse.
They reached the council buildings within half an hour and they parked the cars a block away in a takeaway restaurant car park. Everything was eerily quiet at this time of the morning. Not a soul was about. It wasn’t like this in the city where there was always people going about their business. Here it was like a ghost town.
Lyson handed everyone communication radios and instructed everyone to keep them on. Caran hung hers on a loop on her belt.
Ash came over to her, cupping her face in his hands. “If it all goes well, it shouldn’t take long. We break in, hack the computer, transfer the money, set up the explosives, and get out. We’ll detonate from here.”
“Stay safe,” said Caran.
Ash kissed her forehead and turned, following the others toward the building.
She watched them for as long as she could until they disappeared. The low static of the comm device the only thing keeping her company.
Caran tapped her fingers impatiently against each other. She kept her focus on the road ahead, waiting until something happened. Each moment felt like an eternity even though she knew that only minutes would have passed. She frowned. Her phone was in her pocket and she pulled it out to check the time, although that didn’t help because she didn’t know how many minutes ago they’d left, so she couldn’t estimate their return.
When she was sure ten minutes had passed and she still hadn’t heard anything, Caran began to pace, walking further up the road then turning back toward the car. She should have insisted that she go with them, the wait was excruciating. Not knowing if everything was going accordingly to plan, was messing with her. Her thoughts twisted into worst-case scenarios. What if they’d been captured? What if they’d tripped an alarm and someone had found them and shot them all dead? She was too far away.
She stepped forward then heard footsteps behind her. She turned.
Two people were heading straight for her, but they weren’t in dark uniforms like she was. Their faces were in shadow, she wouldn’t see who they were until they were closer. By the pace they were heading, that would be any second now.
“Hello, Caran,” said a familiar voice. It dripped with fake sincerity.
“Tessa?”
Tessa stepped forward, her features now close enough to make out. Elle was beside her. Both of them looked angry.
“We’ve missed you,” said Tessa.
“How did you find me?” Caran stepped backward.
“We used the tracking location on your phone, of course,” said Tessa. “I have to say, it’s been hard figuring out your co-ordinates, but after you called a few days ago, we came here and waited. We knew it wouldn’t take long before you surfaced again. And here you are.”
“You tracked me?”
“Of course. I had to know where Dragonspark was located. I knew you’d eventually get there, but I had no idea you’d be lucky enough to snag Ash.” She raised a brow. “That was impressive.” Elle sneered next to her.
“No, you wanted to know where the dragons were, that’s all.”
Tessa looked bored. “If we find Dragonspark, we find the dragons.”
“You’ve got it wrong,” she said. “These dragons aren’t killers.”
“All drago
ns are killers, sweetheart. All dragons must die.”
Caran took another step back. She had no weapons to fight Tessa with. She reached down and pulled the comm to her mouth. Tessa didn’t budge.
“Princess is at the cars. I repeat. Princess are here.”
“Oh darling,” said Tessa. “I respect your need to warn them, but it’s all too late. We have them now.” She reached behind herself and pulled out a semi automatic rifle. Elle did the same.
“What are you doing?”
“We are eradicating the monsters. It’s for the greater good.”
“These are people,” pleaded Caran. “You can’t do this.” She could feel her insides turning to ice at the thought of what was about to happen.
“But, they aren’t people, are they, Caran?” She lifted her gun and pointed it down the street. Elle kept her gun pointed at Caran, a sick smile on her lips.
Oh god, oh god, oh god. Caran had to figure out something quickly.
Her comm crackled. “I’m coming right now,” said Ash.
“No,” screamed Caran. “It’s a trap.”
An explosion shuddered through the ground and the sky was lit with a burst of fire and smoke.
28
Ash used the cover of the explosion to make the run. As the three of the women had their attention fixed in front of them, he dived behind the first car. Ash lifted his head as Tessa’s assistant trained her gun back on Caran.
“You stupid girl,” hissed Tessa. “I suppose you think you’re one of them now. Sweetheart, you’re being used.”
“That’s not true,” said Caran. Her voice was calm and she remained in control. Good on her.
“I suppose you think its love? Commander Ash falls for sweet hometown girl. But you aren’t that sweet are you Caran. What do you think he’d do if he found out you were from Princess? Maybe we should tell him. Elle, get the comms.”
Ash couldn’t let that happen. If Tessa broadcast that and Mac found out that Caran was part of Princess, he’d never forgive her. Ash stood up.
Tessa swung the gun in his direction.