by Emma Nichols
I laughed. “No, because of my name. I was supposed to be Persephone. The nurse had my father filling out the birth certificate while the surgery was taking place. He was shaking like a leaf, couldn’t write to save his life. The nurse took over.”
“And your father said Peri?” He grinned.
“Worse. He couldn’t get that out either. The man was a wreck. The best he could do…Peri.” I giggled. “My mother was furious. I’m her only child, her one chance, and he blew it. I’m practically purple, in her mind.” I shook my head. “At least they aren’t around for this. And thank goodness they were cremated or they’d be rolling in their graves at me being a person of interest.”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea they passed away.” He reached out and smoothed my hair back in a way I found entirely too comforting.
“It was a long time ago. I’m better. And hardly anyone teases me about my name.” I grinned.
“That makes one of us. Growing up, I dealt with plenty of teasing. In Arabic, my name means ‘torch.’ Outside of Morocco, where I was born, it caused years of torment. The go-to was always Michelle.” He grimaced. “And in truth, this may have a lot to do with why I look like a badass biker all the time instead of a refined billionaire, like my brother. Hell, I’m so rebellious, I made sure I lived on the other side of the country to exercise my freedom.”
“I like freedom,” I whispered.
“I like having you free.” Mishal scrubbed his hands down his face. "Sooner rather than later, we need to get to work."
“I’m a person of interest. Let’s work now,” I suggested. “I can’t go to jail, Mishal. This guy is clever. I bet he’d implicate me to get me out of the way.”
“I’m sure he would too. Although I bet he’d prefer you were dead, because then you couldn’t talk.” Mishal blew out a breath. “Now we need to start from the beginning. Tell me everything you know, why I’m here.” He stood up and shook his head. “Huh. I almost forgot.” He pulled off his shoe and then peeled off his bloody sock. “The fucker shot me. It’s the only reason he got away. Sorry, Peri.”
My eyes widened. “You took a bullet for me.”
Mishal grinned. “I’m in security, cupcake. I’d die to protect you.”
4
Mishal
* * *
“It’s getting late. Are you sure you want to do this now?” I reached out and rubbed her calf without thinking. Somehow, it seemed so natural.
She eyed my hand and nodded slowly. “Definitely. We don’t have a minute to waste.” Peri kicked her legs over the side of the bed. “I had a couple of bags,” she murmured mostly to herself as she scanned the room.
I pointed to the spot near the door, then walked over and grabbed all of them for us. Setting them on the bed, I waited to see what she did next before jumping into action. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” Her face was grim. “I wanted to change into something more comfortable.” Peri ran her hands over the bodice and full skirt. “I love this dress. I joked that I planned to keep it.” She sighed. “And now it’s ruined. Keeping it would be a permanent reminder of Devon’s death.”
“You and Devon were awfully…close,” I commented. For some reason, this burned me a little.
Unzipping the bag, she bit her lower lip. “We weren’t mates, if that’s what you’re asking.” Peri smiled sadly. “He treated me so well, I often wished we were, but it wasn’t meant to be, I guess.” Slowly, she pulled out her clothes. A half smile appeared as she dug deep and found a few extras. “He swore he wouldn’t need clothes for later,” she explained, “but I was always more prepared than he and added some just in case.” Peri blew out a breath. “I guess it’s a good thing I did after all. Now I have some clothes to sleep in.” She held a pair of boxer shorts and t-shirt to her chest then stood. “I’ll go change so we can get to work.” Whirling around, she showed me her back and pulled her hair over one shoulder. “Can you unzip me, please?”
I stared at her long neck, her creamy porcelain skin, and my hand shook as I struggled to get my big clumsy fingers on the delicate lavender pull. My brow furrowed as I focused and finally managed to tug it down, inch by inch. As the dress fell open more and more, I could see Peri wasn’t wearing a bra. My mouth went completely dry. She did, however, have a corset laced up her back. “This too?” I asked as I scratched my finger against the pristine white fabric.
“Please.” She nodded and waited patiently for me to assist.
This was some special kind of torture, obviously. And I didn’t mean for her. For some reason, this was killing me. While I carefully unlaced her, I considered how many women I’d undressed in the past year and felt absolutely nothing. There was the supermodel in Milan, who insisted on having me guard her. I’m pretty sure she was trying to seduce me. There was the rocker’s wife in Vegas. She was sloppy drunk and needed help getting ready for bed. She was tall, blonde, and surgically enhanced to near perfection, but my heart didn’t even beat fast. Here I was with Peri, Fredo’s niece, and my hands were shaking as I tried to assist her. There,” I whispered, afraid if I spoke any louder my voice would crack.
Peri glanced at me over her shoulder, her brows furrowed, a question lingering on her face, but she simply murmured, “Thank you.” Then she disappeared into the bathroom.
She had the right idea. I decided I’d better change into something more comfortable while I was alone in the room. I pulled off the doublet, the shirt, the breeches, hose, and my other sock. In my bag, I found my pajama pants. At first, I considered only wearing them, then I thought about Peri and how I wanted her to be comfortable around me. While I was grabbing a shirt, she walked out of the bathroom and froze a good ten feet from me. “Sorry. I’m working on a shirt,” I mumbled.
With a hand over her mouth, she shook her head. “My fault. I didn’t think. Of course, you’d want to get changed.” Peri shrugged. “It’s just…”
My head tilted. “What?”
“I didn’t expect you to look so…” She seemed at a loss for words.
I pulled my shirt on over my head. “Tan?” I suggested as I grinned at her.
She shook her head.
“Tall?”
Another head shake.
I began rattling off descriptors in an effort to hit on the one she sought. “Old? Hairy?” I held out my arm, covered in blond hair. This earned a giggle.
“Perfect,” she whispered. “Devon looked nothing like this.” She gestured to my torso. “He was thin, but he was a businessman…” Peri looked away while her cheeks turned pink.
A smile played on the corners of my lips. I wanted to take her in my arms. I needed to see if she felt anything at all for me. Then I heard the sound of sirens in the distance and I was reminded this wasn’t the time to even think about whether Peri might be made for me. Right now, it was my job to keep her safe, and hopefully save the dragons.
Peri plopped down on the center of the bed. “So, the beginning, huh?”
“What?” I shook my head and struggled to focus.
“We need to go back to how this whole thing started, how I ended up getting you involved, right?” She frowned as she studied me. “Are you feeling okay?” Peri crawled off the bed, rushed over to me, and felt my forehead.
Her touch had me on fire. I closed my eyes and savored the feel of her.
“You’re burning up,” she murmured. “Maybe you should rest and I’ll get on this.” She yanked her hand away, but I caught it and held it against my chest.
“No, I’m fine. Maybe a little tired.” I inhaled deeply and stood straighter. “Let’s get to work.”
Peri
* * *
“Where should we start?” I mused as I reluctantly yanked my hand from Mishal’s grasp and hopped back on the bed. With a frown, I grabbed the bag Devon had entrusted to me. I hadn’t taken the time to explore the contents, but now doing so seemed imperative.
There was a knock on the door, which had me jumping, then Stephen peeked in. “I hea
rd voices,” he noted. “Thought I’d check and see if anyone needs anything.” He opened the door wider and leaned on the frame. “I’m kinda hungry.”
I glanced at Mishal. He was holding a hand over his abdomen. “I think that’s a great idea.” The clock on the nightstand showed it was closing in on midnight. “About the only thing left open this time of night is pizza. You wanna pick it up?” My brows peaked hopefully.
“Here,” Mishal mumbled as he reached for his bag and pulled out more cash. “Let’s get three large pizzas. What do you like on them?” He looked back and forth between me and Stephen.
“Just extra cheese.” I grinned.
“I only eat pepperoni and extra cheese,” Stephen admitted.
“I need all the meat.” Mishal eyed our driver. “Got that?”
Stephen stepped in to grab the money and nodded. “Be back soon with food.” Then he disappeared and closed the door behind him.
Mishal strode to the door. “I need to lock up after him,” he explained.
I nodded and slowly opened the zipper on Devon’s bag. Taking a deep breath, I reached inside and pulled out the copies of the will, both the original written by Spencer and the one Devon had written up and we signed earlier in the evening. I set them aside and pulled out another stack of papers. Upon closer inspection, I realized there was a smaller version of the family tree he’d shown me a few days ago, which prompted my call to my uncle. There was also a notebook filled with scribbles. Like a true business man, he had created charts and graphs, and a few Venn diagrams as he tried to figure out how the dragons were dying.
I carefully spread it out, wondering where to begin and how to explain everything to Mishal. After all, it’s not like Devon and I had managed to figure everything out. If we had, he’d be alive, I wouldn’t be in hiding, and Mishal wouldn’t be here. All of that sounded pretty good, except for the last part. Ever since I’d laid eyes on him, whenever I thought of Mishal or was near him, there was an uncomfortable tickle in my abdomen. Laying my hand over it, I tried to focus on the papers surrounding me, but I couldn’t.
Soon Mishal peeked in. “Wow. That’s a lot. We need to move all of this down to the dining room so we can spread out. Let me help.” He seemed to glide across the floor to the bed. Without hesitation, he began to gather the papers at the same time I did and our hands collided. This kind of thing happened all the time in business, but this time…the tickle intensified.
“Something wrong?” he asked as he studied me.
Shaking my head, I murmured, “Just hungry, I guess.”
He sighed. “Me too. I hope Stephen doesn’t take long.”
Five minutes later, we were set up at the table as he suggested, with the curtains tightly drawn. “Draco Security, huh?” I commented.
“Yeah.” He grinned. “We’ve been doing this in one form or another for centuries.”
“Right.” I nodded. I’d been raised with dragon shifters, but hearing their life spans discussed in terms of centuries rather than years seemed to always throw me. “You good at what you do?” I eyed him carefully.
“I’ve never lost a client. My record is spotless.” Mishal chuckled. “I don’t plan on changing things now.”
“Good.” My shoulders sagged, which surprised me. I hadn’t even realized how tense I was until then. “Okay, so Draco Investments.”
He nodded. “Is this where it all began?”
“I think so. See, we manage money for all kinds of clientele, but pretty much all the younger dragons work with us.” I pushed a list toward him. “These are all the dragon shifters who have accounts with us. What do you see?”
“Wow. That’s a lot of death. What the hell are they dying from?” Mishal rubbed his forehead.
“That’s the thing. All different.” I flipped through some more papers until I found the one I wanted. “This. Oh, and by the way, don’t you have anyone who monitors the happenings in your world?”
Mishal grabbed the paper from my hand and shook his head. “We’ve never needed anyone to fill that position. Until now, it would’ve been entirely too boring. Look at my parents. They lived to be seven hundred and twelve, and seven hundred and fifty-seven.”
“So, no one tracks…anything?” I frowned.
He shrugged. “We have a law firm that pretty much oversees everything. They handle Draco wills, help manage Draco properties, draw up Draco contracts, that kind of thing. While some of us have branched into law, it was agreed upon long ago that for the sake of propriety, we’d be represented by an outside firm. So we chose…”
“Abbingdon, Betters, and Morse,” I mumbled.
“Yeah. You know them?” Mishal scanned the paperwork. “I’d have thought this would’ve triggered a meeting. This is what…now twelve dragons in the last six months?”
“Yes,” I murmured sadly. “And Devon makes thirteen.”
5
Mishal
* * *
“Let’s see where we’re at.” I exhaled and absently noted my breath had turned steamy. I was far too upset at the moment than was safe or sane.
“Drink this,” Peri suggested calmly as she pushed a glass of ice water toward me. I looked at her questioningly and she merely chuckled. “Go on. You know you need it.”
I picked up the glass and grinned. “You’re right. I needed this.” I swallowed several gulps and felt the fire inside me go out. With a cough, I shook my head. “Thank you.”
“Good, now pass me another slice of pizza.” She pointed at the box of extra cheese. When I merely looked at her with raised brows, she snapped a few times. “Seriously. I’m trying to stay awake. We have to figure this out. I need fuel,” she complained.
Reluctantly, I picked up a slice, dropped it on a paper plate, and passed it to her. “You’re going to make yourself sick, cupcake. We can finish this in the morning.” Then I glanced at the clock. “Or the afternoon. It’ll be dawn in a few hours.”
Peri shook her head. “No, we need to finish this.”
I have to admit, I liked her spunk. Hell, I liked her. That much should’ve been obvious to anyone within a thousand feet of us. After all, I couldn’t seem to stop touching her. I could barely take my eyes off her face. I was fascinated with the way she knelt on the chair and leaned on the table. Every time she gathered her hair over one shoulder, I wanted to kiss the back of her neck and nuzzle her exposed skin. Peri had me so enthralled, I seriously struggled to focus on our mission.
“Let’s go over what the victims have in common,” she began slowly as she scanned the family tree. “All young, but not the youngest. These are the guys who’re working, making money, but unmated.” Her brow furrowed. “The line stops with them.”
“Hell, I should be in jeopardy too,” I murmured while I stared longingly at her hands. I’d touched them earlier and had yet to recover. Peri was so soft, so tiny. I could practically wrap my whole hand around her fist. In fact, I wanted to try it. With my fingers extended, I slowly pushed them toward her.
Suddenly, Peri bounced to her feet. “Bathroom. Be right back.” Then she bolted up the stairs and the door slammed shut.
Seconds after she disappeared, I heard footsteps on the stairs. The driver had finally come out of seclusion after disappearing the minute he finished dinner. “What are you doing?” Stephen’s eyes narrowed.
I stiffened. “I don’t know what you mean.”
He turned his head, watching me from his peripheral vision. “See, I think you do. I watched you over dinner and I think you like her.” His brow arched in challenge.
“Maybe I do.” I shrugged. “So what?”
“Listen, now is not the time. This girl is counting on you to keep her out of jail and…and not dead.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m watching you.” Stephen gestured to his eyes, then pointed at me.
“Really?” I stood and loomed over him.
He held up both hands. “Just watching. I mean…what could I do to you?” He swallowed hard. “Plus, you pay me.�
� Stephen shrank down in his seat.
“Obviously, I care about her. Help us figure this thing out.” I pointed to the family tree.
He moved from the foot of the stairs to the end of the table in all of six paces. The man was far more curious and interested than he let on. Slowly, he scanned the papers and his brow furrowed. “I don’t understand…” His voice trailed off.
Peri skipped down the stairs and froze at the end of the table. “Mishal…no!” Her mouth gaped open. “He’s not a friend. He’s an employee. He doesn’t…know.”
“Fuck!” I reached out, grabbed Stephen by the lapels and sat him in the chair beside me. Then I looked up at her. “I had no idea.”
“Obviously,” she grumbled. “Now I’ll have to fix it.”
“How?” I frowned.
Stephen watched her walking towards him with a resolute look on her face. “What’s going on? What’s she doing?”
Slowly, Peri moved to stand in front of Stephen. “Shh,” she whispered as she laid her hands on his temples. “Go to sleep and when you wake, no memories of tonight will you keep, nor claims of dragons will you make.”
His eyelids drooped immediately and he began to fall over, but with her help, we managed to keep him from hitting the floor. I hefted him over my shoulder and studied her for a moment. Her shoulders drooped and she couldn’t meet my eyes.
“Cupcake, I’m going to get him in bed. We’ll talk when I return.” I waited for her response, but she barely nodded. So, I cupped her face and tipped her chin up with my thumb. “For the record, I think you’re amazing,” I whispered, then I bent my head and pressed my lips to her temple before I mounted the stairs.
This was an interesting turn of events. I concentrated on ensuring Stephen was laid comfortably on his bed. I tugged off his shoes and removed his socks. Then I draped a throw over him. Standing upright again, I took a few deep breaths before I wandered back down the stairs and joined Peri in the dining room.