by Lucy Lyons
“I know why Ryan likes you,” said Mr. Kaur. “He’s always appreciated discipline, just found it difficult to act in a disciplined manner.”
“Well, the stories about him attest to his wild ways. But he couldn’t have been like that all his life. What was he like as a child?”
Ivan Kaur’s eyes lit up when he told stories of Ryan as a boy. Steph formed the impression that it was Ryan’s father who was the overindulgent parent, while Ryan’s mother was the strict disciplinarian. When they learned through Ryan’s tumultuous toddlerhood of his dragon nature Katherine Kaur, Ryan’s mother, worried to death that Ryan would never be accepted in human society.
“We both loved him and wanted the best for him. The hypnosis was a difficult decision but after that the sudden shifts stopped though Ryan became more of a daredevil. If we ever needed to find Ryan all we had to do was look for the most dangerous place on the estate and he’d be there. Poor Katherine nearly had a heart attack several times from his antics. I thought that channeling Ryan’s energy into sports would calm him down and it worked for a while, but the problem was, no one, no human was real competition for him. As he grew older, well—”
After that conversation the elder Kaur suggested Steph get some rest and because of the aches in her muscles she agreed. Now soaking in the wide tub in her ensuite bathroom, Steph thought of all the things she learned about Ryan. Being the top dog all the time, commanding his parent’s attention and later the attention of his teachers it couldn’t have been easy for Ryan. No one likes to stand in the spotlight that much or to have everyone expect so much of you. Steph, the only girl in a family of four beefy boys and a Marine father had to fight for attention. She had to prove she wasn’t a delicate flower that couldn’t take the heat.
In that way then, she and Ryan were opposites. She had to prove herself and Ryan wanted to disprove himself. But maybe that was because Ryan knew in his core that he was different and not the person they molded him to be.
Steph sighed and sunk deeper in the warm water. Every part of her was bone tired and she needed sleep.
She jerked when banging on the bathroom door woke her from when she dozed off.
“Steph,” called Ivan Kaur. “Ryan’s in trouble.”
Swiftly she rose out of the water and slipped on a robe.
“When is he not?” said Steph.
“There was a terrible accident while the police transported him to the station. I couldn’t get all the details, but the two police cars were destroyed. Ryan got burned-”
Steph gasped.
“Don’t worry, Ryan is okay. But Steph, there was some witness who claimed that it was Ryan who transformed into a dragon and destroyed the police cars and injured the officers.”
This was very bad. Dragons were tolerated to a limited extent. A lawless dragon would get no mercy from the courts.
“I’ll pack,” she said.
“I have maids on that already. Three bags will be ready in fifteen minutes.”
“Three, you’re not—”
“No, someone has to put out fires here. I have a good friend with a vacation home in the Maldives.”
“Maldives?”
“No extradition.”
“Mr. Kaur, what you propose is illegal.”
“I’m not going to have my son hauled off to jail for something he didn’t do.”
“You sure he didn’t?”
“Ryan’s been arrested more than once. It doesn’t bother him. You saw how calmly he walked out of here. No. You two lay low while I hire some people to investigate this—all of it. I’m beginning to wonder with the force of everything coming at us if there isn’t someone behind this.”
“The queen of the dragons,” hissed Steph.
“Who?”
“Let me dress. I’ll tell you in the car.”
Driving to the hospital Steph told Mr. Kaur what little she knew at Ryan’s encounter with the queen of the dragons. Ivan Kaur’s face drew up in concern.
“How many?” he asked.
“Sir?”
“How many dragon babies were placed for adoption?”
“I don’t know.”
“Though some things I’ve wondered about over the years have fallen in place,” he said as if talking to himself. “Still, we need to get Ryan out of the country first.”
“I think Ryan can handle that part,” said Steph. “Though he did say he needed a picture of the place he was going to.”
Mr. Kaur took out his phone and his fingers moved over the face of it. “What’s your email address?”
Steph told him her personal address that she rarely used since she was fairly sure her work email was deactivate. Soon a picture of a tropical manse popped up.
“Show him that. Hopefully that will work.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” muttered Steph.
“You are only doing what your employer instructs you to do. Here,” he said handing her a backpack. “This should give you enough cash to pay for what you need when there.” He pointed to two small duffels on the floor. “Things you’ll need before you can get to store or market. There are some clothes.”
“Mr. Kaur, as your lawyer, I have to advise you that what you are doing is illegal and can get you arrested.”
“That’s okay. I’ve made arrangements for my companies to operate should that happen. Now, let me airdrop some contact information into your phone. One of those numbers is Ryan’s mother. Should you fail to reach me, you can her.”
“I thought you two were separated.”
“You’ll find, my dear, that absence does make the heart grow fonder. We’ll always care about each other and Ryan. Sometimes a little vacation makes things fresh again.”
They pulled up to the regional hospital and quickly found Ryan’s room after a brief verbal scuffle with the nursing staff.
“This is his father and I’m his lawyer. You can’t deny either one of us entrance,” proclaimed Steph loudly. The nurse trying to block them muttered by, led them to Ryan’s room. They found Ryan handcuffed to the bed with two policemen standing outside the door. The officers didn’t want to let them in but Steph repeated the line about being his lawyer and she showed them her New York attorney ID card and after turning it over with suspicion let her and Mr. Kaur in.
“Dad? Steph?”
“Are you okay, son?” asked Ivan Kaur.
“I’m fine. Got some minor burns, but otherwise good.”
Steph gripped the bars of his bed. “Are you sure?”
“Sure, babe. I’m just a little tied up right now.” He rattled his handcuffs with a grin.
Steph leaned over the rail and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Can you shift?” she whispered.
Ryan’s face drew up in consternation. “I’m not sure I can. It was my dragon form that was burned badly. It was awful changing back to human.” He shuddered.
“Mr. Kaur?”
“Let me see what I can find out,” he said turning away from both of them and concentrating on his phone.
“What happened?” asked Steph gently.
“The two dragons that chased us in Scotland showed up. I don’t know how they found me, but they ripped open the police cars like tin cans and tossed the officers out like they were dolls. One of them tossed me into the fire they started in the middle of the road and my dragon burned.”
“Ryan,” she said. “Do you hurt now?”
“No. It’s healing quickly. Courtesy of my dragon blood I suppose. What hurts is not being with you.”
“I am here now,” she said softly.
Mr. Kaur turned back to them. “My contacts say that both dragon and human bodies heal at the same time. Shifting from one form to the other facilitates healing as the body is forced into the other shape. So, another shift should finish off what healing you’ve done.”
“Okay,” said Steph. “We’re getting you out of here, Ryan.”
“What? No. Dad? Is this your crazy idea?” he said to Ivan Kaur.
“Well, maybe I should be locked up. Did you ever think that? These dragons are insane and I’m just as crazy as the rest of them.”
“Now, Ryan,” said Mr. Kaur. “I don’t believe that for a minute. I may not be your biological father, but I raised you. I have to think that you’ve taken some of what I taught you to heart. In fact, I know you did. From what Roberts told me you could have left but stayed to help the officers. That’s not a crazy person, son.”
“Roberts?” asked Steph.
“The head of the security firm my father hires,” said Ryan. “So if that is true, dad, I’m not leaving. I’ll face my accusers.”
“That’s a noble thought,” said Ivan Kaur, “but not practical. There is supposed to be a witness.”
“And ten-to-one if you find that witness you find one of the dragons that did this. Dad. You have to find that witness.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Ryan
Ryan steadfastly refused to do what his father wanted. Yes, he could run, but he’d only expose Steph to more danger. The dragon queen wanted him for whatever crazy plan was in her head and she’d keep sending her minions after him. There was some mechanism he did not know that allowed her soldiers to keep finding him—that much was clear.
“Okay, son,” said Ivan Kaur, “we’ll play it your way. I’ll go talk to the doctors.”
Ivan Kaur left Ryan and Steph alone. Ryan couldn’t think of a time when he saw his father so defeated, but if Ryan escaped he knew in his heart he’d ruin his father’s businesses and all he worked for.
“Ryan?” said Steph gently.
“Yeah, babe. I’m okay. Just hoping that dad finds that dragon and we can get the additional charges dismissed. I’m not worried about the kidnapping charge. That is, unless you plan on pressing charges.”
“I don’t know,” said Steph. “You did manhandle me pretty well.”
“I wouldn’t call it manhandling,” he said with a wink.
Steph’s face turned serious. “You don’t have to do this. We can leave.”
“And wreck my father’s business in the process? No. I don’t care about myself and Dad can take care of himself. But thousands of people work for my father and they’d lose their jobs if Kaur Industries went under. And that doesn’t include the hardships the various suppliers that sell goods and services to the business.”
One of the police officers entered the room.
“That doctor is releasing you now into our custody, Kaur.”
Ryan didn’t care about being brought to the jail or being processed into a cell. But he did care very much about what his father and Steph were facing. As the police brought him into a transport wagon he worried that his father was placing himself and the business at risk. He suffered the indignities of processing with the grace that he could. It was his own reckless actions that brought him here in the first place. He shouldn’t have driven so fast on the road that he caused an accident.
Ryan spent an uncomfortable night in the cell tossing and turning this time worrying that he placed Steph in an impossible situation. If it hadn’t been for him she would be still be working for Peters, Watins and Roe none the wiser about dragon shifters working her way up the corporate ladder.
But that wasn’t entirely true and Ryan knew it. The whole pairing a dragon with a seneschal thing was part of Rhea Gentrix’s plan to bring her children back into her fold. Thinking about Rhea angered Ryan. He didn’t understand how one person, okay, dragon could be so callous toward her children. She may have thought that the children she adopted out would naturally follow her plans. But Ryan never would and he suspected that once they knew many of the other adoptees would feel the same way.
But first they had to be told.
Ryan figured he should be the one to tell them.
After he got out this legal mess, of course.
Having a new purpose calmed Ryan. He could do some good in the world. Anything he could do to alert other of Rhea’s children would be a worthy purpose. He finally got a few hours sleep before the guard woke him.
“Here are clothes your father sent for court. You better get moving. We’ll be loading the van in a half-hour.”
Of the other two other men going to court he was the only one wearing a suit and tie. One didn’t look at him and the other sneered. There was no convict camaraderie in this small space that rocked side to side as they moved down the road.
“Hey,” said one. “I know you. You’re that dragon.”
“I’m no dragon,” said Ryan.
“The news said you were.”
“Whoever said that got their facts wrong.”
“They say,” said the other man, “that there is a witness.”
Ryan looked off to the side. “Then they lied.”
“You’re rich,” said the second man as if that was a crime.
“And you’re not. Congratulations.”
“How much money do you have?” asked the first man.
“Enough,” said Ryan.
“Think you’re above us, don’t you? Well, you injured two policemen. That will get you twenty years at least.”
“Thank you,” said Ryan. “I didn’t realize you were an attorney.”
“Fuck you.”
“No thanks. You aren’t my type.”
The second man laughed. “You’re a funny dragon.”
Ryan shook his head.
The transport stopped suddenly. The guard opened the window between the driver’s section and the back. “We’re here. Behave yourself.”
Finally, Ryan was led into the courtroom. The spectacle of Ryan Kaur in shackles and handcuffs caused a stir as he entered. Steph stood at the defendant’s table and gave him a small smile.
The bailiff read the charges. Ryan admitted it was an impressive list even for him.
“Your honor,” said Steph, “I ask for the charges to be withdrawn. Mr. Kaur did not evade responsibility. He took me to the nearest hospital for treatment. I can personally attest he did not kidnap me.”
“Objection, your Honor. This is in direct contradiction of the facts.”
“Please, your Honor, this is an arraignment, not a trial.”
“Your objection is noted, Mr. Prosecutor, though Ms. Brooks is correct. Ms. Brooks there are substantial charges, and Mr. Kaur is not a stranger to the court. The charges stand. A court will decide whether or not they are false.”
“Excuse me,” said a thin reedy voice at the back of the courtroom. “Alan Watins, your Honor, from Peters, Watins and Roe.”
“Come forward, Mr. Watins. Do you represent Mr. Kaur?”
“Yes, sir, we’ve been the Kaur’s US attorney for many years. Ms. Brooks is our associate assigned to handle certain matters for the Kaurs. But she was not assigned to handle criminal matters.”
“See here,” sputtered Ryan’s father.”
“Order,” commanded the judge.
“I apologize for the confusion,” continued Mr. Watins. “I filed with your clerk an Amicus Curiae brief detailing the various charges and how they will fail in court examination. In fact, my firm was the attorney of record of for Ryan Kaur’s adoption. You’ll find his birth records that certify his totally human parents. You’ll find a statement from the chief of police in the town were Mr. Kaur was arrested for gambling that Mr. Kaur acted as a confidential informant, and helped to break up a dangerous gambling ring. Finally, you will find a statement from a Miss Jenna Cantor, the so-called “witness” to the last night’s incident detailing that she gave her report for revenge because Mr. Kaur stopped seeing her socially. You will also find a statement from one of the police officers from last night’s incident. In this statement, he says he witnessed Mr. Kaur rendering assistance to the officer’s fallen partner. I’m sorry, your honor, but the prosecution’s case is built on conjecture and false information. We can proceed at your discretion but I second Ms. Brooks request to have the charges withdrawn. We don’t need to en
gage the court in a lengthy trial because of several misunderstandings.”
“Well, Bill,” said the judge looking pointedly at the prosecutor. “Is there any truth to any of this?”
“This is all news to me. And it’s supposed to be an arraignment. You haven’t even asked his plea.”
The judge drummed his fingers on his desk several times before answering.
“I’m sorry, Bill. But I think you are in an uphill battle on this one. Mr. Kaur, this is your lucky day. I’m dropping all the charges. But don’t darken my courtroom again.”
“Thank you, your Honor,” said Ryan.
“Release Mr. Kaur,” said the judge to the courtroom guards “And the court is recessed for lunch.”
Ryan winked at Steph. “Good job.”
“I didn’t do anything. It was Mr. Watins who did it all.
Watins moved closer to them as people filed from the courtroom.
“And just what is your game, Watins?” said Ivan Kaur.
“I just want a few minutes with Ms. Brooks,” said Mr. Watins. “It won’t take long.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Steph
Guards stepped up and released Ryan from his handcuffs and shackles. Steph turned to Mr. Watins as he stepped away from the Kaurs and beckoned her with his hand. She followed as far as the courtroom doors and stopped. With her fist clenched by her sides she asked, “What do you want?”
“Come along with me, Ms. Brooks,” said Mr. Watins. “And I’ll explain it all to you.”
She shook her head. “I’ll wait for Ryan.”
“You know the types of documents I turned in? I can just as easily turn in quite another version, one not so favorable to the Kaurs. Come with me now.”
Ryan’s attention was on the guards letting him loose and the elder Kaur was standing behind his son. Steph followed Mr. Watins reluctantly out of the courtroom and out of the building.
Immediately two beefy security types were behind her and each took one of her arms.
“Get her into my limo.”
“Stop this, Mr. Watins. I’m not going anywhere with you.”