by Chloe Lang
The sound of heavy monstrous breathing filled the room.
“I was immune because the night I first saw him was not the first time he came to me. The night before, he sent the whole encampment into slumber, including me. He came to my cell and breathed from another of his seven lungs into me. From then until now, I am immune to the impact of dragon’s breath, giving me a special advantage in the search for the creatures. My final night as a prisoner of my enemies, Father Dragon asked me a question that changed the course of my life.”
A deep bass voice that reminded Lucas of James Earl Jones boomed from the speakers. “Will you help to save my kind?”
Hell, with the O’Learys’ fortune, it just might’ve been Mr. Jones’s voice playing Father Dragon.
“I answered I would. His giant yellow eyes seemed to sparkle. Then he took one of his claws, which was at least five feet long, and broke my steel bars as if they were toothpicks. He gently lifted me up on his back and he flew into the air, the place I’d only been in a plane before.”
The sound of flapping reverberated off every wall.
Patrick ended the tale about how the black dragon saved him, dropping him off just outside an American base camp in South Korea, to everyone’s surprise.
“What about the baby dragon, Mr. Patrick? What happened to him?” Kimmie asked.
“The poor thing tried to knock me out with a big blast of hot air. It didn’t work, as you know. I was able to calm him down after telling him the story about Father Dragon that I just told you. Knowing a thing about what dragons need, I gave him directions to a lake where he could find all the fish he needed. The beast promised to come to Destiny when it grows its wings.”
“A real dragon is coming to see us. Really?” Juan stood up, as did all the other orphan boys.
“Yes, really. It might be twenty or thirty years, but he’s coming.”
Everyone stood, applauding like mad. This was the best rendition of Patrick’s account ever.
“Mark your calendars, my fellow Destonians. A dragon will one day come to our town. I’ll be gone, but you better be ready. They need us more than you know.”
The lights dimmed.
More applause.
“Keep your eyes up to the heavens. They’re coming.” Patrick waved and took a seat in the big chair center stage.
All the kids ran up to him with a million more questions. Sam and Ethel helped the kids form a line. In Destiny, Santa Claus had to take a backseat to the Dragon Master this time of year. Luckily for Sam, who played St. Nick at the O’Learys’ Christmas party, he got to enjoy the adoration of all the children then.
“Wow, that was amazing,” Phoebe said.
“He outdid himself this year for sure.” Lucas saw Mitchell’s band take the stage. He only had a few minutes to talk before the music would make it hard to hear. “What do you need to talk about?”
Ashley leaned forward and gave Phoebe a stern look. “Tell him everything, boss. All of it.”
“I’ve got this, Ash.” Phoebe sighed. “How about refreshing my drink for me?”
Ashley didn’t look convinced. “You’re only trying to get rid of me so you can sugarcoat the gravity of the call.”
Phoebe traced an X over her perfect breasts. “Cross my heart. I will tell Lucas everything. I would like to talk to him alone for a second.”
“Oh.” Ashley smiled. “I see. I will be happy to refill your drink. How about yours, Lucas?”
The girl had spunk. “Thanks, but I’m still working on mine.”
“I’ll be back and will want an update.”
“Go,” Phoebe said. “Now.”
Ashley saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”
As she trotted off, he turned to Phoebe. “What’s Ash concerned about? What’s happened?”
“I’m not sure I should involve you, Lucas,” she stated firmly. “This is my problem not yours.”
He clenched his jaw. “Phoebe, don’t do this. Whatever I can do to help, I will. Talk to me.”
She sighed. “Might as well get right to it.”
“Yes, you should.” He could sense the worry in her, which didn’t sit well with him. She was a strong, capable woman. Whatever had her anxious, he wanted to know. “Tell me.”
“The stalker called again. He got my new number.”
Son of a bitch. His entire body tensed. “When?”
Phoebe fidgeted with the hem of her ballet skirt. “Right before the party. I’m sure the guy is harmless.”
He doubted that. “I thought Jason was on this weeks ago. Why hasn’t he found the fucker?”
“I don’t know. All the calls come from blocked numbers. He and Dylan put traces on my old cell phone, but the man never called. How in the world he’s able to get my new numbers, I don’t know.”
“Doesn’t sound harmless to me.” Lucas’s blood was boiling. Phoebe might not be his anymore, but she still was his to protect, no matter what their current relationship status. “Tell me exactly what the creep said to you.”
“He called me ‘baby’ like he always does.”
His gut tightened. “And?”
“He uses some kind of voice-masking device. He sounds more like a sci-fi villain. I can’t recognize who he is.”
That was going to make it harder to identify him. “You think you know him?”
“Shouldn’t I?” Phoebe shrugged. “Why would he be stalking and calling me if he never met me before?”
Phoebe was the best at deduction in the entire town, which made her the perfect attorney. But with some psycho gunning for her, Lucas wasn’t about to let her be alone. “What else?”
“I told him to stop calling, but he wouldn’t hear it. He even told me to have fun at the party tonight. How did he know I was coming to the O’Learys’?”
Lucas scanned the room. Is the bastard here? Is the fucker watching her from some dark corner? “With everyone in costume, the stalker could be anyone. Time to get you out of here, Phoebe.” He stood up and offered her his hand.
Phoebe looked unsure. “Shouldn’t we wait for Ashley to come back before we leave?”
And give the creep more time to watch her? No way. “Text her. She always has her cell and iPad with her. She’ll understand. Besides, once she learns I’m spending the night at your place, I’m sure she’ll be fine with us leaving without telling her.”
“You sure are taking a lot for granted, Mr. Wolfe.” Phoebe placed her hand in his, allowing him to help her up.
“I’ll sleep on your couch, but I’m not leaving you alone tonight. Understand?”
Phoebe gave him a cute salute, like Ashley had done earlier to her. “Yes, Sir.”
Chapter Three
Phoebe opened the door to her home.
“Stay here,” Lucas said, removing his fake beard and toga, tossing them to a chair. In only his jeans and T-shirt, he looked formidable, ready to take on any attacker. “I’m going to check your place out.”
“Why?” she asked, closing the door. “There’s no sign of a break-in. I had to use the key. Aren’t you being a little overprotective?”
“With you? I can’t help being cautious. You stay here,” he repeated in the commanding voice she remembered from long ago.
She shrugged. “Okay.” She took a seat in her plushiest chair.
Lucas brought out his gun. Like most Destonians, male and female, he was always armed. She peered into her purse at her own weapon, “Lady Equalizer.”
Lucas went through her house thoroughly. All three Wolfe brothers had been in the military. He had been in the Army, Mitchell in the Navy, and Jason in the Marines. She’d never asked the three why they’d chosen different branches to serve in. Didn’t have to. She had a good idea why. They were so different from one another. The Marines fit Jason to a tee. Rules. Regiment. He loved structure more than any man she’d ever known. Mitchell was drawn to the Navy for the adventure. Lucas, the middle of the three, was a blend of the other two in many ways. The Army had been good to him.
/> Lucas returned to the living room. “All clear, Phoebe. I checked each closet and under every bed. Nothing. I even made sure every window was locked. They are. The place is secure.”
“I really do appreciate this.” Her nerves began to settle down some. “So glad we have been able to remain friends.”
“You know we are more than friends and always have been. Always will be.”
She shook her head. “Lucas, let’s don’t go there.”
“Go where? It’s the truth.”
She needed to change the subject. “How about a glass of wine?”
“Wine?”
“Oh yeah, you’re a dark beer drinker. I remember.” She smiled. “I just happen to have a six-pack of your favorite.” The truth was, she kept on hand his, Mitchell’s, and Jason’s preferred drinks. Funny, since they hadn’t been to her home since the breakup. Jason’s bottle of Jack was three years old, but whiskey never went bad. Lucas and Mitchell were both beer drinkers. Every six months, she threw out the old six-packs and replaced them with new ones. It might’ve been a waste of money, but it was a practice she couldn’t bring herself to break. Now, Lucas was here.
He smiled. “I remember a lot of things, too, sweetheart. You bring your wine. And of course, beer is always great for me, but we are going to talk. We have the perfect opportunity, and I’m going to take advantage of it. Do you hear me?”
“It’s been over three years, Lucas. Haven’t we said all there is to say?”
Lucas’s eyes narrowed. “Just get the wine, Phoebe.” His cell buzzed, stopping him from saying more. “Hello.”
She headed into the kitchen to get their drinks, hoping to come up with something she could do or say to derail the conversation Lucas wanted to begin. She’d been avoiding the Wolfe brothers since the breakup. It was always hard on her heart whenever she couldn’t. For the past three years, she’d kept them at arm’s length. It was how she’d been able to survive.
She heard Lucas yelling at the person on the other end of the phone.
“Listen to me, motherfucker, you call her again and you’re a dead man.” Lucas’s rage was evident in every syllable. “I will find you. I will kill you.”
Her heart pounded hard in her chest, and she spilled the wine. The stalker? Shaking like a leaf, she left their two glasses and walked back into the living room. Lucas glared at his cell in his hand, staring bullets into its screen. It was clear the call had ended.
Oh no. It couldn’t be…“Lucas? Was that him?”
He turned to her, his face blood red. “Yes.”
“How did he get your number? Why did he call you?”
Lucas walked toward her, taking her hands in his. “I’m not sure how the son of a bitch has my number, but he called me because he knew I came to your house with you. That we were together. I don’t think we need to consider the bastard harmless anymore.”
Am I really in danger? She’d wondered about that possibility for some time, but every time she did she tried hard to think about something else. “Oh my God. I can’t believe this is happening.”
Lucas looked her in the eyes. “Phoebe, like it or not, we will not leave you alone until this bastard is caught.”
“We?” Could he promise that?
“You know. The three of us—me, Mitchell, and Jason.”
She shook her head. “I can’t ask you to do this. Besides, how do you know that your brothers would even agree to such a thing?”
“I know and so do you.” Lucas stepped closer, pulling her to his chest. “We have a huge barricade to knock down, but our feelings for you have never changed. And I don’t believe yours have changed either.” He brought his hands up to her face.
She felt heat well up inside her. God, it has been so long since he’s touched me…since I let him touch me.
“I’m right, aren’t I, baby?” He didn’t wait for an answer, but pressed his lips to hers.
Her whole body responded to his kiss, but she still pushed him away. “I can’t do this, Lucas.”
Since the breakup, no man had kissed her, or anything else for that matter. Though her heart was racing and her skin was tingling, she couldn’t forget the damage of what they’d done.
“It’s okay, baby. Just relax.” He stepped back, removing his hands from her face. She instantly missed his touch. “All I want to do is talk. We need to hash everything out. It’s long overdue.”
He was right, of course, but she wasn’t sure this was the right time. “Why now? Let’s worry about the stalker issue first. Once that’s worked out and the guy is caught, then we can talk as long as you want.”
“Same feisty Phoebe I fell in love with. Baby, we’re not going to put this off one more second.” His commanding tone didn’t leave her any room for argument.
Though he and his brothers knew why she’d ended it, they’d never talked about it. For months, they tried to get her to open up, coming over and calling day after day. She’d refused every attempt. She was afraid she would be unable to resist the sexy Dom trio since she was still in love with them.
“Where’s my drink, baby?”
Crap. The wine. “I had a little accident in the kitchen. Sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about.” Lucas put his arm around her shoulders. “Let me help you clean up. Besides, you and I both know I’m the better bartender.”
She laughed. “I remember you were heavy handed with the liquor, Mr. Wolfe.”
“Don’t worry, honey. A glass of wine to take off the edge is fine, but we both need to be clearheaded tonight. We have a lot to discuss.”
“I know.” It was time to put all her cards on the table. He deserved that at least.
As promised, Lucas helped her clean up the mess she’d made. Then he poured them each a new glass of wine. They sat back down on the sofa. He was so close to her that she could feel the heat from his body on her skin.
For a few long sips, they sat in silence.
She took a deep breath. Now or never.
They both started to talk at once, stopping after the first word. She waited, and then began again, but so did Lucas.
They laughed.
“You first, sweetheart,” Lucas said politely.
Where to begin…“I still don’t understand why you turned Shane in for such a small amount of pot. You could’ve come to me.”
Lucas shook his head. “You’re protecting him, Phoebe. You and I both know that it turned out to be much more than just marijuana.”
“I could’ve taken care of this—like I just said—if you just had come to me in the first place.” Her heart still ached for how everything had gone down with Shane and her three Wolfe brothers. “He needed family.”
“Maybe that would’ve been a better solution, but we did what we thought was right. Everything we did was to protect Shane. When he started acting so strangely, Mitchell and I began to worry. When we found that bag of weed on him during the camping trip, we confronted him. He exploded.”
“I know.” The awful memories bubbled up to the surface in her mind. “I read everything in his case file. Besides, I was there at the trial. I heard your testimony first hand.”
Lucas looked so sad. “Honey, we had no idea it would turn out the way it did. When we found the meth in his glove box two days later, we knew Shane needed an intervention. That’s when we went to Jason.”
“He was deputy sheriff then.” She remembered how proud she’d been of Jason when he’d been sworn in. Soon after, everything had changed. She’d always known how by-the-book he was, but after becoming deputy, the only thing that seemed to matter to Jason were rules and the law. “Why him? Why not me?”
“We planned on going to you after we talked to Jason. Since he and Shane were also friends, we thought he would want to talk to you and your parents about what we’d found, too.”
That is what you’d expect a friend to do. But not Jason. “He didn’t though, did he? Same old Jason, taking charge of everything and leaving everyone else out.”
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br /> “Yeah. That’s my brother. Without our knowledge, he went straight to Shane. Shane blew up and punched Jason in the face. That’s when they really went to blows at your parents’ diner.”
Phoebe closed her eyes, recalling how upset her mom and dads had been that day. “Why? Shane and Jason had been so close before.”
“Best friends.” He shook his head. “I don’t know why Jason testified so harshly against your brother.”
Nor do I. She would never understand it. “I believe his account played a big role in the extreme sentence Shane received. A first offence getting the maximum is unheard of.”
“I have a question for you,” Lucas said. “Why didn’t you represent your brother? You’re the best defense attorney in the state. That didn’t make sense to me or Mitchell.”
“Shane refused my help.” She never understood that either. God knew she had wanted to help Shane. “No matter how much my parents, my older brother, Corey, and I tried to convince him to let me represent him, Shane wouldn’t give in. Corey tried to help, too, using whatever pull he had as a US marshal, but Shane didn’t want any of us to lift a finger. Not me. Not Corey. Not my parents.” Phoebe sighed, feeling the old weight return. “We lost Shane. I didn’t know what to do to get him back.”
“It’s so weird. One day, Shane was the same old fun-loving guy I’d always known and the next day he was a stranger.”
“Drugs, Lucas.” She hated to think about how they’d changed her brother. “He got caught up in the drugs.”
“Phoebe, it just doesn’t add up. I still find the whole thing so hard to understand.”
“Me, too.” She wasn’t about to dredge up that the search of Shane’s place had found even more drugs and tons of cash. Though her brother had never been convicted of selling, it sure appeared that he must’ve been.
“I still can’t believe this all happened with Shane. I’m sure there is so much more to this than has come to light.”