by Vella Day
He would know. “Are you sure it was him? I wouldn’t be surprised if Slater hired someone to go in his place.”
“Our person recognized his face. Or does he have a twin?”
“No. He’s an only child. But I’ve heard a ton of times that I look like someone else.”
Connor seemed to look right through her. “I find that hard to believe.”
What did that mean? Before she could ask, the hostess showed them to a table near the back. EmmaLee liked the lit candle decorations, the rolled white napkins, and the soft music. Several people were at the bar, but most of the tables in the main room were empty. Perhaps it was still too early for the dinner crowd.
Connor helped her off with her coat and then slipped in the booth across from her after she sat down. She had to give him credit. He was acting as if this were a real date.
A waiter rushed over and asked what they’d like to drink before either of them had the chance to start a conversation. Connor looked over at her. “White or red?”
“Red, please.”
“A bottle of your best Malbec,” he instructed the waiter.
EmmaLee almost became giddy. “What’s the occasion?”
“Occasion? I want to show you that I can be a civilized man instead of a bodyguard goon.”
“You’re not a goon. You’re a little distant at times, that’s all.”
He reached out, and when he placed his hand on hers for a moment, her body almost melted. “I’m trying to change.”
“I can see that, and I like it.”
Once the waiter delivered their bottle and poured the glasses of wine, Connor held his up in a toast. “May Slater Coghill be apprehended soon and your troubles be over for good.”
She touched his glass and smiled, but she struggled with the whole concept that this nightmare might be over soon. Once Slater was in jail, she’d have no reason to stay in Silver Lake. For the longest time, that was what she had wanted. Now, she wasn’t so sure.
Chapter Eleven
‡
“Tell me about your parents,” Connor said as he cut into his steak.
Because the topic of their death was painful, EmmaLee shunned discussing them, but it was time for Connor to understand why she was so focused on dragons. “I told you my parents died when I was twelve, right?”
He winced. “Yes. They couldn’t have been very old.”
“They weren’t. They died in a house fire.”
He set down his glass of wine. “I’m sorry. Don’t tell me you were in the house at the time?”
“No.”
He blew out a breath. “Where were you then?”
“I was on my way home from having dinner at my best friend’s house.” She sipped her drink. “As I got close, I smelled the smoke. All week I’d had this eerie feeling that something bad was going to happen—and then it did. In retrospect, I think my parents must have been anxious, and it rubbed off on me.”
“Do you know what caused their anxiety?”
“No. Something to do with their research most likely, but it wasn’t like they discussed a lot with me.”
“Research?”
“Yes.” She told him that both of her parents were professors of Lore and Legends, like her.
“So that’s why you are so interested in the paranormal.”
Something seemed off. He wasn’t as surprised as she thought he would be, but EmmaLee didn’t want to get into a heavy discussion when this was supposed to be a fun date. “Yes.”
“Maybe they said nothing because they were trying to shield you from their world. They just wanted you to grow up happy and innocent.”
“I suppose.” She appreciated that he didn’t think she was imagining things. “Anyway, fearing the worst, I took a short cut home through the woods, praying it wasn’t my house that was on fire. As I neared our property, I heard this really loud squawk overhead. Actually, it sounded more like a cry of pain. I looked up and saw a huge bird flying away, or what I thought was a bird. Part of its wing was on fire.”
He leaned closer as if he wanted to absorb every word of her story. “Do you think this bird got too close to the flames?”
“Yes. In fact, I believed it caused the fire.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Caused the fire? What do you mean?”
Needing the fortification, she polished off the rest of her wine. “I know you’ll think I’m crazy, or say that I was just an imaginative twelve-year old, but I swear the bird, or rather the animal, was a dragon.”
“A dragon?” he whispered. “Are you sure it wasn’t a hawk? They can have a five foot wingspan.”
She held up a hand to stop him. “I know you think I was traumatized at seeing my house burn. I might have been, but at the time, I didn’t know my parents were inside. They should have been teaching an evening class, only they weren’t. Even though I was young, I knew this animal was a lot bigger than any hawk. Its wingspan had to be thirty or forty feet across.”
“That’s huge. Did anyone else report seeing this fire breathing dragon?”
“No. I told the policeman what I’d seen, but he just patted my shoulder and then ignored me. But I have proof.”
“Proof? You mean that picture from the Internet?”
“No, it’s something else.” It was time to come clean. “When I saw the flames, I didn’t know what to do. The sirens were drawing nearer, and because I didn’t want to be in the way, I looked around for someplace safe to hide. That’s when I noticed something smoldering on the ground.”
“What was it?”
“A talon.”
“Like one that belongs to a bear?” he asked.
“No, like one that came from a dragon. I would have taken a picture of it, but I didn’t own a camera, so I picked it up. The claw was bloody and had a few scales attached. I’m not quite sure I understood the significance of it at the time, but I put it in my pocket. I still have it with me. I can show you when we get back.”
Connor sat back as if stunned. “So that’s why you’ve spent your life trying to find a dragon. You want to prove that this animal set your house on fire.”
“Yes. The one who did the damage fourteen years ago is probably long gone, but it’s why I believe his kind exists. I want to know that I’m not crazy.”
“Why would this animal set your house on fire? He’d be taking a big chance of being spotted.”
Her pulse soared. Connor actually sounded as if he believed her. “I wish I knew, but the night before the fire, my parents were arguing about hearing the flapping of wings outside their house. My mom was afraid, but Dad said it was nothing. He claimed it was probably just a gust of wind.”
“Flapping of wings? As in loud enough to be a dragon?”
“I’m not sure, but that’s my guess.”
“Did you ask them about it?”
She pressed her lips together. “Yes, but they clammed up tight. My parents had always believed that shifters existed, or something akin to shifters, so it had to have been something far scarier to them. My mom thought shifters were creatures who were humans during the day and animals at night.”
“That sounds like she believed in vampires.”
“It does, but she never used that word, possibly to shield me. However, she never even hinted that these animals meant to harm anyone.”
When Connor looked down at his plate, she dug into her sautéed fish, which was lightly breaded and covered in a wonderful lemon caper sauce. One bite of the tasty meal made her groan, almost forgetting about that fateful day.
“Good?” he asked with a quick smile.
“More than good. Yours?”
Connor cut into his meat and took another bite. “Mine’s outstanding. Let me ask you. Did the police ever determine the cause of the fire?”
“They said it was arson.”
“So it might not have been set by this animal then?”
“Possibly, but I’m not convinced. While they did find an accelerant, the report said that somet
hing more than a match was involved—something like a flame thrower to be exact. That had to be true because my parents were in their office at the time of the attack. They would have smelled the smoke and been able to get out if it had been an ordinary fire.”
“What’s your theory?” he asked.
“I wish I had a plausible one besides believing the dragon did it.”
“Could someone have broken in, incapacitated them, and then set your house on fire?”
EmmaLee winced at that horrible possibility. “If a blow torch was used—or if the flames came from an animal’s mouth—the old wooden structure might have gone up so quickly that my parents wouldn’t have had time to escape.”
His mouth sagged, and his eyes turned a very dark brown. It was almost as if he was experiencing their pain. “Did you ever read the arson report?”
“Yes, but it was years ago.”
“Was anyone arrested for the crime?” Connor asked.
She shook her head. “No suspects were identified either. What does that tell you?”
“That the arsonist was careful. I’d like to read that report. It might be time to reopen the case.”
EmmaLee couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. Throughout the discussion, Connor never once mocked her or thought her theory was stupid. “What good would it do now?”
“It might support your theory that some kind of dragon was responsible.”
She studied him, trying to see if he was making fun of her, but he seemed sincere. “I’d like that, but if no one has come forward with any clues in fourteen years, I doubt there will be any proof now.”
“If we look at it from a different perspective and a different knowledge base than what was around back then, we might make some progress. Don’t you want to know why your parents were targeted?”
“Yes, more than anything. It wasn’t like they were drug runners or anything. They were history professors, researching Lore and Legends. That’s not a topic to scare many people unless they knew some of it was true.”
“Your parents could have asked questions of the wrong person. Maybe he or she was a shifter and feared exposure.”
“Like me, they just wanted to know the truth, though I’m not sure if they were committed to keeping what they learned secret. It was Vinea who explained that a lot of people would be hurt if I told the world about your kind.”
A sad smile appeared on his face. “Just telling the world about us wouldn’t do much more than make that person look a bit crazy, since people usually don’t believe wild claims. One of us would have to shift in public to cause a stir.”
“You have a point. No one believes me without proof.”
Connor grimaced. “I admit I’m guilty, but I’m trying to be more open-minded.”
She smiled. “It’s all I can ask.”
As if the topic were now closed, he went back to eating. A minute later, he pointed his fork at her. “Did you ever get the dragon claw checked out?” He acted so casual she would have thought they were discussing the weather.
“Eventually. As a kid, I believed they would take the talon as evidence and I’d never see it again, so I kept it hidden. When I enrolled at the University, I became friends with an ornithologist and showed it to him.”
“Did he know what kind of animal it came from?” His tone turned serious.
“No. He said he’d never seen anything like it.”
Connor finished his wine. “I trust that you asked if it could belong to a dragon?”
She nodded. “Being an expert in birds, he sent me to someone who had studied dinosaurs. While that person said the desiccated scale looked like it might have come from a Pterodactyl or a Pteranodon, he was quick to note that those flying animals weren’t actually dinosaurs.”
“Don’t tell me he thought they were dragons.”
“He never claimed that. Since both types are extinct, he had no way of knowing what kind of animal this talon belonged to.”
“Interesting. I can see why you wanted to stay in Billard to meet this expert.”
EmmaLee leaned back and blew out a breath. “Thank you for believing me.”
Connor studied her. “I’m a cut and dry type of guy. I don’t buy into new theories often, but yours has me intrigued.”
“Yet you yourself are of a different sort, so to speak.”
“I guess you could say I’m a walking contradiction.” He smiled, and his eyes lightened.
She liked that he was able to loosen up at times. “You are indeed.”
The corner of Connor’s lips tipped upward. He turned back to her and rested his arms on the table. “Listen, I know I’ve been distant with you from the moment we met, and I’m sorry.”
Whoa. Where had that comment come from? “Why was that?”
Please don’t say it was because I was just a crazy lady.
“When I’m in protection mode, I can’t afford to lose my focus.”
“I can buy that.” It didn’t mean she had to like it though.
“You might not believe me, but I’m really curious what makes you tick. You fascinate me.”
Her heart pounded. “Me?”
“Yes. Why would a young, vibrant woman devote her life to something so unorthodox? Now I know.”
“That you do.” His words almost made her giddy. “Turnabout is fair play.”
The sparkle in his eyes returned. “Fair enough. What would you like to know?”
Really? He was giving her carte blanche to ask him questions? She had a ton of them, but she’d bet she probably wouldn’t want to know the answers to many of them. “What’s the best thing about being the type of…ah…person you are?”
He glanced around. “You mean being a wolf?” He mouthed the last few words.
“Yes.”
“That’s easy. Fighting is a lot quicker and easier in my other form. Plus, I have a great sense of smell and excellent eyesight. That comes in handy at night.”
“I bet.”
He tapped the table. “There’s one more thing. I heal quickly, or rather something inside can heal me.”
Her thoughts shot to Slater. Once he’d cut his finger, and a day later it had healed. But he was no werewolf that was for sure. Or had he failed to tell her? “What else?”
“I can’t help but go into protective mode. It’s what makes my kind good bodyguards.”
She loved all those attributes. As much as EmmaLee wanted to question him about shifters in general—especially concerning mating—someone might overhear. Besides, she didn’t just want to know about his shifter side. She was interested in him as a man. “What’s your favorite desert?”
He laughed. “Really? I let you ask me anything and this is what you want to know?”
Was he actually flirting with her? Heat raced up her face. “Yes.”
“Fair enough. It’s pecan pie.”
She hadn’t seen that coming. “Why?”
“It’s sweet and kind of salty at the same time. My mom makes the best.”
“Perhaps that’s why you like it. It reminds you of the good times growing up.”
He stared at her. “You might be right. I need to add intuitive to your list of traits. Are you sure there is no Wendayan blood in you?”
That made her laugh. “No.”
“Speaking of family,” he said, “what was it like growing up with your aunt and uncle?”
Her heart dropped to her stomach. “I never mentioned that I grew up with them.” Oh shit. Connor ran an investigative firm. She tried to swallow her anger, but she couldn’t help but ball her hands into fists. “You checked into my past?”
Connor inhaled deeply, his chest expanding, and the lines around his eyes deepened. “I needed to find out if there was something in your background that made Slater target you.”
He said it with such confidence that it might be the truth. “What do you mean target me? I didn’t get the sense that Slater set out to harm me. He just lost his temper at times.”
&nb
sp; Connor stabbed a hand through his hair. “I’m wondering if he dated you because he wanted something.”
She widened her eyes. “Oh, is that what men do? Date a woman because they want something?”
“Shit, EmmaLee, nothing is coming out the way I intended it to. The truth is that I wanted to learn why you ended up with someone as scummy as Slater Coghill. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but women who are abused often have been abused before. Did that happen to you?”
Her teen years flashed before her eyes—the pushing, the slapping, and the confinement in her room for the smallest infraction. “Maybe a little, but one doesn’t really have to do with the other. Slater would have acted that way with any woman.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry the abuse happened in both cases.”
She would have told him to fuck off, but he really sounded sincere. EmmaLee pushed her plate away. “I’m not hungry anymore.”
“I didn’t mean to ruin our date, I swear, but we can go if you like.” He raised his hand and motioned the waiter. By the time the man arrived, Connor had his credit card out. “Our bill, please.”
They’d been having such a great time before she found out about his investigation. She was most likely overreacting, but the rush of bad memories had upset her. EmmaLee slid out of the booth and slipped on her coat just as he finished signing his name. He stood and placed a hand on her back, but she wanted nothing to do with him at the moment.
Walking fast to get away from him, she shot out through the front door of the restaurant with Connor right behind her. The lights flashed on his car, signaling he’d unlocked the door. Not waiting for him to do his bodyguard thing, she hopped in. If she didn’t live so far away, she would have walked home.
He got in and then jammed the key into the ignition. She turned to stare out the passenger window.
“EmmaLee, look at me please.” She turned, connecting her gaze to his. Connor touched the side of her face, then tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry.”
I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Like she hadn’t heard that phrase often enough before. A tear slid down her cheek. Was she being too harsh? Probably. He was an investigator by trade, and it came naturally to him to find out as much as he could about the person he was asked to protect. She wasn’t sure how he’d learned that she’d lived with her aunt and uncle. There was a reason why he hadn’t wanted him to know. It was bad enough when people looked at her when she remained with Slater after he hit her the first time. If they knew how unpleasant it had been with her aunt and uncle, people would wonder why she wasn’t smart enough to avoid abuse the second time around.