by Mina Khan
Lynn sipped her tea and pictured her grandmother’s most protective mother hen instincts taking over. She continued reading, keeping an eye for a name to pop up. Why didn’t she call him by his name?
The diary revealed her grandmother’s ideas about dragon obligations and duties, the dangers of power without understanding, the importance of sharing wisdom and support through mentorship. Of course, she’d heard these ideas before, been lectured on them time and time again. She smiled and bet this other young dragon got lectured too. Soon the journal proved her right.
Obaa-chan seemed happy that Henry—
Her heart slammed up from her chest and into her throat, and a wave of nausea followed right behind. Lynn blinked and read the name again. Henry. Shit, shit, shit. She forced herself to read on. Henry, at the start wary and disbelieving, seemed to be thawing, listening and responding. She had hopes for this one, including introducing him one day to Lynn. Apparently besides being a mentor, she’d been considering a matchmaking role too.
A shudder of dread passed through her as she remembered being stuck with Henry in his truck. She pushed on. The text switched to a darker, tenser tone. Shorter sentences. Agitated words pressed deep into paper.
Her grandmother had been worried. She’d sensed fire and sensed the young dragon at the center of it. He’d promised her he wouldn’t prostitute his talents and dragon powers anymore. He’d been so eager to start learning from her, though the first meditation session had seemed to disappoint. Yet, she felt it in her blood that he’d regressed. The last time they had spoken his words had smelled of lies. After sleeping on it, she knew she had to confront him.
That was the last entry.
Oh God, could her grandmother’s Henry be the very same Henry Callaghan Chase? Lynn slammed the book shut and leapt from the chair, tipping over the half empty cup in the process. Cold tea soaked through her t-shirt turning her skin as cool as her insides. Henry was a young dragon, a misguided one, and from Houston.
She cleaned up the mess, then rushed to her room and changed shirts. Grabbing her car keys, she headed out the door. Time to find Jack.
Chapter 31
Lynn launched out of the car, up the porch and jabbed at the door bell. Continuously. Open, open, open damnit. The air around her smelled musty, carried the scent of dead and decaying vegetation.
The door squeaked open and revealed Jack in a rumpled shirt, jeans and bare feet. Dark circles lay under his eyes. His lips flatlined as his gaze settled on her. They stood staring at each other in silence. The smell of dragon musk filled the air as liquid heat rushed her veins.
Leave. The word bounced inside her head as if he’d shoved the thought in there.
Despite the cozy warmth of the late afternoon sun, panic chilled Lynn. Holy wasabi, the man was downright unhappy to see her and she was getting all hot and bothered over him. How low could she go? She fought down the tears welling inside, the urge to turn and run, and pulled in a deep breath. This wasn’t about her and Jack. This was about saving lives and stopping Henry. “We need to ta—”
Henry pushed into view, a gun pointed at a gagged and bound Timmy.
“Perfect timing. I was just about to call you.” Henry tipped his head to one side. “Come on in.”
As soon as the door was shut and locked, Henry herded the group back into the living room. Jen sat gagged and tied to a chair. Her eyes widened and she emitted some muffled noises. Ignoring her, Henry picked up Timmy and tossed him onto the couch and then pushed Jack toward it, trailing ropes. “Take your seat again.”
Kate sat ensconced in one of the armchairs with a blank, bored look on her perfectly made-up face. Was she truly bored or being careful to hide her thoughts? One hand held a slim, silver gun pointed at Jen, the other half waved, the fingers shiny with rings. “Great, Lynn is here. Can we get the party started?”
“What’s the point of all this?” Jack whirled on Henry, only to have the gun dance over Timmy. He pulled in couple of deep breaths and unclenched his fists.
“Impatient, impatient.” Henry laughed and inclined his head. “If you both will have a seat.”
Lynn and Jack sank into the couch, careful not to touch each other.
Henry swaggered to the center of the room and struck a pose. “This is about my inheritance, my rights as a Callaghan heir.”
Jack blinked at him. “Callaghan?”
“You didn’t notice the family resemblance?” Henry smoothed a hand through his hair. “Can you guess who’s who in this picture?”
Tired of all of Henry’s games, Lynn snorted. “He’s your uncle, and the illegitimate son of your grandfather and Eva Garcia, a local psychic.”
Henry glared at her, turning a deep shade of red. “Excuse me, I’m telling the story here.”
Lynn crossed her arms and settled back into the couch. “Get to the point.”
Henry pulled the empty chair forward, turned it and then straddled it. The gun rested on the chair back, casually pointing at the couch. Jack leaned forward.
Maybe I can rush him and get the gun away.
Don’t.
Already on the balls of his feet, Jack tottered at the edge of the couch while staring at her.
Lynn slapped him on the back. “Breathe. Breathe. I think he’s having a seizure.” She leaned over Jack and thought hard. Dragons can mindspeak.
A snicker. Pretty convenient isn’t it.
Lynn’s head jerked up and knocked against Jack’s. Both their heads swiveled in the same direction.
So when you said you heard someone whispering to Elsie…
Lynn figured there’d be no secrets among the three of them. He convinced her.
Elsie was easy. Henry smiled at them, shared a wink.
Muscles bunched as Jack tensed. “You fucking bastard.”
Henry flinched, then turned cold. “Any other interruptions and I’ll shoot somebody. Maybe I’ll start with Timmy’s toes.”
The child whimpered. Lynn’s dragon rattled its scales and gnashed its teeth. She could feel the sharpness edging her skin. She focused on her breathing, visualized a soft, glowing light. Let it expand and fill her mind. Then she leaned over and patted Timmy.
“As I was saying, my mother was used and discarded by your grandfather. The great John Drake Callaghan himself.” He paused to flick imaginary dirt from his shirt. “He paid her off as if she was nothing more than a whore and could be bought.”
She took the money and ran to New Orleans.
The thought earned Lynn a poker-hot glance from Henry.
Didn’t say a word. She smirked.
“She died penniless.” The sentence ended in a growl. “Do you know what a hard childhood I had? How many nights I went to bed hungry, forced to wear hand-me-downs from charities?”
Jack cocked his head, listening.
“What?” Henry looked around.
“I thought I heard violin music. My mistake.”
The gun went off, blowing a hole in the ceiling. Muffled shrieks sounded from Jen and Timmy. Plaster and dust rained down on them. Lynn thought harder about the light. Every time her thoughts threatened to slide into her mind, she shone them out.
Henry stood up and strode to the couch. Looming over Jack, he grinned. “You’re going to reimburse me for all those years.”
They locked stares. Jack shrugged. “All you had to do was ask. I’ll call the lawyers and give you your share.
Henry hawked up a spit ball and let it land right by Jack’s foot.
The man didn’t even flinch or change expression.
“You are not going to give me anything, I take what I want.” Henry leaned closer. “Let’s start with the treasure.”
“What treasure?”
Lynn’s head swiveled between the two men. Treasure?
A mad light glinted in Henry’s eyes. “The dragon’s treasure.”
All eyes turned to Henry as silence raged in the room.
“Did you just say dragon?” Kate arched a shapely eyebrow.
“I said Callaghan treasure.” Henry licked his lips, and focused on his partner. “The operative word being treasure.” Treasure. You want treasure. Heaped piles of gold and silver, glittering gems.
Kate’s lips slid into dreamy smile and her gaze softened.
Even though Henry’s thought wasn’t aimed at her, Lynn shivered as residual temptation brushed against her mind. For an instant she drowned in the allure of rings on her fingers, gold necklaces dripping from her neck, and coins in the counting house.
Jack’s growl broke through the mental fog. “There is no treasure.”
“Don’t lie to me.” Henry struck Jack with his pistol hand, leaving a long red bruise along one cheekbone.
Jack gritted his teeth.
Lynn gasped and reached for Jack.
“Don’t touch him.” A dangerous tremor laced Henry’s voice, threatening to spill over into something more volatile. You’re mine. Mine.
Lynn shrank back.
Henry refocused on Jack. “Tell me where the treasure is.”
“There’s no treasure.”
Henry shot the couch, Kate shrieked and all the others jumped.
Bits and pieces of stuffing wafted in the air, belched out of the gaping hole between Lynn and Timmy. The boy sat there shivering and sniffling. Lynn glared at Henry as she scooted over and put an arm around Timmy’s small shoulders.
Jack leapt from his seat.
Lynn cut her eyes to Jack. A vein throbbed on the side of his neck. She wanted to press her fingertips to it, smooth away the tension.
Henry backed up, the gun aimed at Timmy and Lynn. “Next one will be in the boy.”
Jack ran a hand through his already disheveled hair. Nothing in the cave is worth anyone’s life. “Fine, I’ll take you to the treasure.”
“Good thinking.” Henry motioned to the others. “All right everyone, time to travel.”
Jack let out a harsh laugh. “It’s not exactly easy to get to. You can’t go up a mountain with an entourage, especially when some of them are bound and gagged.”
Lynn stared at him. What was he doing?
Henry rocked back on his heels. “What did you have in mind?”
“Let everyone else go and we can head up to the treasure.” With a casual wave he included Kate and Henry.
Kate jumped up from her seat.
Henry chuckled. “Sorry, not happening. Not that I don’t want to whoop your ass. Again.”
Jack growled in frustration.
Henry grasped Lynn’s arm and pulled her off the couch. “I’ve got a better idea.” Nodding to Kate, he said, “You stay here with our collateral, while Lynn accompanies us.”
“I don’t get it.” Jack shook his head. “Why do you have to drag Lynn along?”
Henry cast a lingering glance at her. “She knows my reasons.”
Jack stomped toward the laundry room, and they followed.
Lynn looked over her shoulder at Jen and Timmy. Their shiny eyed gazes stayed pinned on her. They had nothing to do with treasure and dragons, but everything to do with her. The blame always came to roost on her shoulders. Sighing, she turned away. She had to get them out of this mess.
At the back door, Jack reached for the axe leaning against the wall.
Henry stiffened. “What are you doing?”
Jack froze. “Need this along to clear some overgrown brush out of the way.”
Henry gestured with the gun. “Fine. Just remember I can shoot you dead.”
After a sharp glare, Jack grabbed the axe and pushed out the back door.
They climbed into his truck, with Lynn sandwiched in the middle, warmed by the press of flesh. Her dragon trembled like a dousing stick sensing water, surrounded by an overload of male testosterone. Jen and Timmy’s frightened faces crowded into her mind, squelched all inkling of desire.
A wild energy burned the air in the small cab as the truck bumped and jostled down a caliche road, stirring up dust. Twilight colored the sky in shades of mystery. Her gaze latched on to the Evening Star shining out of reach like hope.
The bottom of the backpack vibrated in her lap. She swallowed her yelp when she realized someone was calling her. “I’m hungry.” She slipped her hands inside the backpack searching. Her fingers found the phone. She turned the phone over and under other things, before pressing the talk button. Otherwise, the bright light of the phone would be an instant giveaway. With the other hand she pulled out a package of crumbled crackers and tossed them onto the dash, before resuming her fumbling around.
“How can you be hungry?” Henry shook his head.
“When I’m scared or nervous, I eat.” She pulled out a pack of chewing gum. “And having a gun pointed at me is scary. Anybody want some?”
Jack shot her a glare, while Henry just chuckled.
She tossed it back in. “What’s going to happen to Timmy and Jen at Jack’s place?”
“Nothing if both you and Jack cooperate with me.”
“How can you be sure? What if Kate shoots them?”
Henry shook his head. “She’s one of the few people in this area who actually listens to me and follows orders.”
She pulled out a package of beef jerky, ripped it open and settled back. Gnawing on the spicy meat, she crossed her fingers that whoever had called had hung on long enough to hear their conversation and do something.
The truck ground to a stop at the base of a hulking hill.
Lynn stared into the deepening shadows. “Are we going to climb that in the dark?”
Henry pulled a flashlight from his pocket. “I’m tired of waiting.”
Sighing, Jack grabbed the axe and a heavy duty flashlight. Then he shouldered past them, leading the way.
They climbed single file, feet slipping and sliding on the rough trail. Clothes got caught on prickly bushes, skin got scraped and scratched. Muttered curses and the crunch of gravel under their shoes created a discordant symphony.
Every time Lynn stumbled, she’d clutch onto Jack. Henry’s hand would immediately be on her body, steadying her. The hot, hateful glares exchanged by the two men left Lynn singed.
Finally Jack stopped and shone his light on an overhanging rock. A shiver ran through her as Lynn’s gaze followed the outline of a dragon’s head, mouth opened to throw a flame. Where were they?
The light traveled lower and shone on a thick tangle of brush. “Here we are.”
Henry shifted next to her. “Where?”
“There’s an opening hidden behind the brush. All you have to do is clear it.” Jack’s voice slid along her skin like the cold metal flat of a knife.
Henry laughed. “Okay, Axeman, go get ‘em.”
Jack tossed her his flashlight. Both she and Henry followed the glint of metal and light flying toward her.
For some reason, her head jerked back toward Jack. Lynn watched the edge of the axe head glint silver in the moonlight as it arced into the night. At the last moment, Jack twisted around, the blade rushing at Henry. Must keep Lynn safe.
With speed fueled by desperation and dragon genes, Henry threw himself into a back flip and fired a shot. The loud crack drowned out the soft noises of the evening. The sting of gunpowder and hot scent of fresh blood splashed the air, flooding her senses. The flashlight landed at her feet and rolled around creating a dizzy pattern of illumination.
Through it all, she saw Jack grab at his right arm, blood seeping between his fingers.
Woman and dragon entwined in agitation. Lynn grabbed the flashlight, found herself next to Jack, her hands on him. Before she could think it through, she threw the flashlight at Henry, but he ducked. “You shot him!”
“I should have shot him in the damn nuts.” Henry glared as he picked up the flashlight. “Either of you try anything like that again, and I’ll aim there next.”
Fuck it. She should have attacked Henry instead of flying to Jack. Talk about stupid moves. She cut her eyes at the man lying next to her. Mr. Callaghan was so not good for her. Lynn rummage
d through her backpack, and pulled out a purple and silver pashmina scarf, saved as a memento of Obaa-chan. She grasped the soft material with regret. Jack needed it. Sighing, she tied it tightly around his wound.
“Enough with the nursing.” Henry rested on a boulder. “Get to clearing.”
When she reached for the axe, Henry tut-tutted. “No need to dirty your hands, sweet heart.”
“Thanks for the offer.” Grim faced, Jack lifted the axe with his good hand and hacked at the vegetation with a deliberate murderous rage. Sweat darkened his shirt as he stood panting finally, at the mouth of a dark opening in the rock wall. “There you go.”
A rope tied around a boulder near the lip continued down the hole. Probably left there by a prior visitor. She glanced at Jack, but he stood staring away from her, sadness kissing his face. What was down there?
Henry pushed off the rock and aimed the gun at Jack. “Toss the axe down the hill.”
Clenching his jaw, Jack complied.
All the air almost left her lungs as the axe disappeared from view, swallowed by darkness. With Jack injured, her chances against Henry didn’t seem too good. A shiver rappelled up her spine as she remembered his alien takeover of her mind.
“Off we go down the rabbit hole.” Henry extended his gun arm like a gracious host and smiled at Jack. “After you.”
Nerves twitching, Lynn hovered by the opening. The darkness beyond lay shrouded in sinister warning. “I don’t want to go in there.”
“Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.” Henry sniggered at his own wit, then shoved her forward.
Like worms they crept and crawled through the dirt, deeper and deeper into the earth. Jack’s movements slowed, turned clumsy. Lynn was glad she plugged the space between the two men. With Henry on the edge, she didn’t want him to hurt Jack any more. The blood soaked shawl had turned a dark plum.
Finally, they emerged into a cave and stood up. Lynn stifled a scream as the flashlights lit up the pale stalactites and stalagmites, rising from the floor, bearing down from the ceiling. For a moment, she stood as if in a mouth full of jagged, sharp teeth.
“Cool.” Henry turned in slow circles, his face bright with wonder.