by Vella Day
On the side of the station, out of view of any surveillance cameras, sat Nessa’s car. He eased over to it and tapped on the driver’s seat window. Logan rolled it down. “Hey.”
“Is Tory inside?” Birk asked.
“Yup. She’s been waiting for Lily in there. After she arrives, Tory will wait a few minutes to make it look like a legit bathroom break, and then come out,” Logan said.
Good. Even if Toma noticed Tory wasn’t Lily, it hardly mattered. Sure, he’d be pissed, but it would give him more incentive to demand the release of his daughters first.
A whooshing sound overhead drew Birk’s gaze upward. Two dark brown dragons were headed in the direction of the warehouse. Birk had seen a few of them with that coloring near the exchange point, implying they were probably Dorlack’s men.
“I’m going to check to see if it’s all clear,” Birk said. “I’ll make sure Lily is okay and then take off.”
“Kill Dorlack for us,” Logan said.
Birk smiled. “You can count on it.”
From where Logan had parked, he didn’t have a view of the pumps or the front of the little store, so Birk edged his way to the corner and quickly looked. Toma’s truck was now parked in front of the store and not by the gas pumps. He must have finished gassing up and was now paying inside. More than likely, he wanted to make sure Lily hadn’t escaped out the back.
A minute later, Toma exited with Tory right behind him. Because they were under an overhang, it would be difficult for any flying dragon to see them. If Toma planned it that way, Birk had to hand it to him. It was a smart move.
Tory slipped into the front seat, and a moment later, the truck took off.
Show time.
Given it would take Toma about seven minutes to drive to the warehouse, Birk would be able to make sure Lily was okay before he went into battle.
He ducked into the store and looked around but didn’t see her. His heart raced, and he forced himself to at least appear outwardly calm. Lily must be hiding in the women’s bathroom just as Tory had instructed, but that wasn’t going to stop him.
He marched down the small corridor that led to the male and female bathrooms and knocked on the woman’s door. “Lily? It’s me, Birk.”
Feet scraped, and a second later, the door opened. At the sight of her, his dragon shot heat to every pore as his body pulsed light.
She threw herself into his arms and pressed her face tight against his chest. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
He held her close with one arm while he stroked her hair with the other. Nothing elevated his mood more than holding his mate. “Don’t be silly. Nothing is going to happen to me.”
“It better not.” She sniffled, leaned her head back, and looked up at him with watery eyes. “Kiss me?”
He hated she thought she had to ask. “Always.”
When he pressed his lips to hers, his hands tightened their hold and his inner dragon shot fire up his spine. Teasing open her lips, he delved in. Big mistake. His cock hardened and his brain function stopped.
Only when Lily groaned, did Birk lean back. “I can’t get started,” he huffed out. “Or Dorlack might get away.”
She stroked his face and looked up at him with her beautiful blue eyes. “Then go save the world. I love you!”
His heart swelled. The last time she said anything like that, she only thought she loved him. Birk kissed her quick. “I love you too, Lily.” He stepped back and lightly swatted her butt. “Stay another five minutes and then leave. Nessa and Logan are parked right next to the building.”
She smiled. “Tory told me. You don’t think it’s safe to leave now?”
He’d seen two dragons fly by, but there could be more. “Not yet. It might not even be safe for me to go out. Once I shift, I’ll cloak quickly so they can’t find me.”
Lily hugged him once more. “Come back to me.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I promise.”
Having Birk stop by had lowered Lily’s blood pressure tremendously, but now Tory was in the hot seat. All Lily had to do was walk out of the store, turn right, and slip into the backseat of Nessa’s car. Easy.
After she waited five more minutes, she pushed open the bathroom door. Good. No one was there. As she turned to head down the short hallway, someone grabbed her from behind and pressed a cloth against her face.
What the hell? Adrenaline flooded her system. On pure flight instinct, Lily jabbed her elbow into her attacker’s stomach and stomped on the instep. A grunt sounded, but the pressure didn’t let up.
Then a burning stench clogged her throat and rendered her muscles immobile. Her eyes rolled back in her head as her knees buckled.
Chapter Twenty
Knowing Lily was safe energized Birk. Remaining in his cloaked form, he raced over to the warehouse, ready to take on Dorlack and his men. The rest of the Guardians who had flown there were already circling in their cloaked form. Birk almost laughed thinking how surprised Dorlack would be when he thought Lily would step out of the truck, and instead Tory would transform into a dragon. Once that happened, it would be the Guardians’ signal to charge in.
The whine of an engine sounded on the pavement as Toma’s truck slowed. It was almost if he was waiting for a mass of people to attack and rip him out of the driver’s seat. He was right to be cautious. The double cross could still happen.
As soon as Toma made it through the gate, three men stepped out from the warehouse, forcing him to stop in front of them. One of the men was Dorlack, and it took all of Birk’s control not to swoop in and rip out the man’s heart right then and there. Sure, it would be three against one and more to come, but this man was pure evil.
The driver’s side door opened, and Toma stepped out. Thankfully, Tory remained in the truck. He and Dorlack exchanged words for a bit, but it was when Toma grabbed Dorlack’s lapels that things became interesting.
Dorlack shoved him back. Birk bet that if Toma had been a dragon shifter, the two would be in the air right now battling it out. Dorlack held up his hands and then said something to one of his men. While Birk had never seen a panther shifter and a dragon shifter fight, he bet the cat could do some damage. Panthers were powerful animals.
Toma slowly returned to his truck, only this time he walked to the passenger side. Shit. Dorlack must have demanded he see Lily first—or rather Tory. Fire burned hot in Birk’s gut.
Both of Dorlack’s flunkies stepped back into the warehouse and returned a moment later with Toma’s two daughters. Thankfully, they looked unharmed but very scared. Both were slightly unclean, but at least they were safe—or were almost safe. Birk hadn’t expected Dorlack to come through on his promise. In a way, that almost pissed Birk off more. The man must want Lily badly to turn over the two women who were sure to provide him with a nice return.
Toma opened the door to his truck and Tory stepped out, head down and slightly slumped over, acting quite submissive.
Dorlack yelled, “Come over here.”
Even at Birk’s distance, he could hear the harsh command.
I’m ready, his dragon said, beating his wings faster and shooting more power into Birk’s veins.
As Tory shuffled toward Dorlack, Toma’s two daughters took off for their father’s truck. Toma stepped backward as if he expected Dorlack to pull a gun and shoot him. Birk wouldn’t be surprised if he did. Then the man would have Tory and the two daughters.
Dorlack grabbed Tory’s arm and lifted her chin. “What the fuck?”
As he reached for his gun, Tory wrenched her arm out of his grasp and managed to step back a few feet before shifting.
Even though Birk couldn’t see Dorlack’s expression, he bet the man was quite surprised at that turn of events. Thanks to Magnolia, Tory didn’t have a dragon shifter scent, so it would have stunned him when she shifted.
As if the Guardians had choreographed it in advance, six of them appeared just as Dorlack and his two men shifted into their dragon form.
> The two daughters jumped in the backseat just as Toma revved up his engine and shot backward, spitting gravel in every direction. Dorlack probably wouldn’t try to stop him only because he had other things on his mind—like staying alive.
Tory shot upward and was immediately met by another dark brown dragon who was uncloaked. Birk wasn’t worried. Tory could handle herself quite well in battle.
Because he’d told his men that Dorlack was his, they agreed to help only if need be. With his target in his line of sight, Birk shot straight toward Dorlack’s chest. Right before he reached him though, one of Dorlack’s two lackeys shot between them, causing Birk to abort. Damn. Changing tactics, Birk dove underneath his adversary, ready to drive his claws upward into the dragon’s chest. He’d almost reached the right altitude to make the transition when someone from behind crashed into his tail, and the impact threw him off course. Birk wavered. Fighting three at once sucked, but he would if it meant he’d have access to Dorlack.
A quick glance to the side let him know that each of the other six Guardians were busy taking care of their attackers. Guess it was three against one. Dorlack opened his mouth and shot fire at Birk almost as if to mock him.
Birk would show him. With the image of Lily firmly in his mind’s eye, he charged again. This time he was ready for an intercept or two. Instead of traveling in a straight line, he deviated his flight at the last minute, and then swooped up and over Dorlack. Nose down, Birk dove at him. While that move wouldn’t kill Dorlack, tearing a wing would injure him enough to hinder his ability to fly.
With his talons extended, Birk grabbed a hold of Dorlack’s wing and tugged. A shriek blew out of Dorlack’s mouth just as the top bone of his wing bent. Birk’s victory was short lived however, when both of the man’s minions attacked him, clawing at his back and wing.
Pain sliced through him, and his animal shrieked. Furious that he let those two goons temporarily best him, Birk had to incapacitate them before going after Dorlack. His main adversary wouldn’t try anything for another minute while he recovered.
Birk flew toward the sun and waited for the two dragons to come after him. They did. As they soared toward him, Birk whipped his tail back and forth, building momentum. Just as they were within a few feet of him, he turned around and swung his tail at the men. The impact caused them to crash into each other, and they tumbled.
As they were righting themselves, Birk attacked. Claws out, he shot under one of Dorlack’s men and then flipped him over, taking him by surprise. With a huge upward force, Birk stabbed his claws into the man’s chest and dug hard. The dragon let out a roar before going limp.
One down, one to go. Then he’d kill Dorlack.
Birk released his hold just as the second dragon attacked. Before Birk could turn around, his attacker clawed Birk’s wing, managing to dig a hole in it. Shit. A loud roar sounded below him. It came from Dorlack, who appeared to be calling off his man. What the fuck?
But hell, if Dorlack wanted a fight to the death, Birk was more than happy to oblige. The problem was that Birk’s ability to maneuver was now hindered, but that wouldn’t stop him. Dorlack needed to die, because Birk had to keep Lily safe.
With his claws out, and his wings pinned back, Dorlack charged and managed to grab hold of Birk’s chest, and a searing ache shot through him. He’d been in this position before, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what to do next.
Then Lily’s laugh tumbled in his mind, and her sweet smiling face flashed before him. As if she’d given him some extra power, Birk reached up and clawed at Dorlack’s eyes a split second before Birk chomped on his enemy’s neck. While not fatal, Dorlack let go, giving Birk a moment to recover.
As Dorlack fluttered his injured wing, Birk sucked up what strength he had left and shot straight for Dorlack’s heart. Birk’s claw missed the spot on the first attack, but when he beat his wings hard enough to turn Dorlack over, he managed to stab the man once more, right where he intended.
Die, motherfucker. Die!
Fire shot from Dorlack’s mouth just before his body went limp. Birk retracted his claws and let Dorlack sail downward to his death. The victory sent enough adrenaline into Birk’s body to keep the pain at bay. All around him the battle continued, but because the Guardians seemed to have things under control, Birk drifted to the ground to mend.
Two more Guardians headed straight toward him from the direction of the gas station. It was Logan and Nessa. What the hell?
A wave of pain suddenly weakened him. While he didn’t want to shift into his human form, he needed to ask them why they were there. They wouldn’t have left Lily alone. They landed in front of them and shifted. He followed suit.
“What are you doing here?” he asked as they rushed up to him.
They both scanned his body and failed to keep the shock from their faces. “Are you okay?”
No. “I’ll be fine. I just need a minute. Where’s Lily?”
“That’s why we came,” Logan said. “She never showed. We waited as long as we dared.”
“I rushed inside to find her, but she wasn’t anywhere.” Nessa glanced to the sky, probably checking for Kyle. The brief smile on her face told him that her mate was doing well.
“Lily sure as hell was there when I checked.” Birk could barely contain himself. He hadn’t sensed any dismay from her. “So where is she?”
They both shook their heads. “The back door to the store was open, so maybe Dorlack figured a double cross was possible and had someone there to kidnap Lily just in case,” Nessa said.
“Once he had Lily, why fight me? On the other hand, I doubt more than a few seconds elapsed before we swooped in.” Birk shook his head. “I don’t think that’s what happened. He was genuinely surprised to see Tory,” Birk said.
“If not one of Dorlack’s men, who took her?” Logan asked.
“Hell if I know. Right now that doesn’t really matter.” Blood rushed into Birk’s head, blinding him. “I need to find her.”
“Doesn’t her ring have a tracking device in it?” Logan asked.
He hadn’t been thinking clearly. “Hell yeah, it does.” He patted his pants and extracted his phone. “Camden is tracking her. He implanted the GPS in her ring.”
He called his brother. The phone rang and Birk paced, trying to ignore the fire in his shoulder muscles. “Hey, Birk. What’s up?”
“Lily’s in trouble. I need you to find her location.” He put the phone on speaker.
His brother was smart enough not to waste time asking questions. “I’m already on it. She’s on the move. I thought she was with Nessa and Logan heading back to town.”
“No.” He didn’t have time to explain. “Where exactly is she?”
“On the road toward Edendale. Where are you?”
“I’m with Nessa and Logan at the warehouse in Glen Meadow. It’s only a few miles from the gas station where the switch took place.”
“Okay. She’s about twenty miles from you, heading east.”
Birk couldn’t get a grip on anything. “If a dragon took her, I would think he’d be carrying her. If that were the case, they’d be farther than twenty miles away.”
“From her speed, I’d say she’s in a car,” Camden said.
That made finding her easier. Maybe. “Thanks. Keep monitoring her. I’ll touch base when I can.”
“Sure thing,” Camden said.
Birk pocketed his phone, happy that Nessa and Logan were with him. Until his dragon healed his wing completely, his ability to fly and fight was limited.
“Let’s head back to the car,” Birk said. “If Lily is in a vehicle, maybe Logan can fly overhead, and Nessa and I can follow behind. That way I can keep in contact with Camden.”
“Good idea,” Logan said.
The three of them shifted and took off. The flight was awkward and painful, but his dragon worked hard to heal him. A minute later they landed next to Nessa’s car, and the three of them returned to their human form.
Birk withdrew his phone. “I’m calling Camden again.”
Hammers of all different sizes attacked Lily’s body. Her eyes refused to open, and her muscles wouldn’t move. Not only did her head pound, acid was eating a hole in her stomach.
Shit. What had happened to her? She remembered walking out of the ladies’ room, and a second later someone must have come out of the men’s room or something and pressed a cloth over her face. All Lily recalled was a sweet smell and then not being able to breathe or move.
Once more she attempted to open her eyes, but even that seemed to be too big of an effort for her body. Needles pricking her hands implied they were asleep. Her shoulders ached too. Oh, crap. That was because her hands were tied behind her back.
If Birk were here, he’d tell her to study her surroundings. She could do that.
Tires whined.
Large vibrations shook her.
Lily didn’t need to be good at puzzles to know she was in a moving car. Unfortunately, her face was smashed against a dirty smelling seat. Ugh. Lily inhaled and worked hard not to cough. Right now, she wanted to figure out where she was without alerting her captors that she was awake.
As soon as she slowly eased her face away from the seat, a sweet and sour scent reached her. Okay, she had to open her eyes for more clues.
Wake up! she silently commanded her drowsy body.
The muscles in her right eye released, and she cracked it open. She was definitely in the backseat of a car. Rough blue fabric faced her.
“Turn here,” a woman said, though it took Lily a moment to understand even those two words.
“I know where we’re going.” The man sounded disgruntled.
Needing to move before she cramped, Lily straightened her legs, only to find her feet hit something. Most likely it was the side of the car. Not only were her hands tied behind her back, her ankles were also restrained. Shit. Where was Birk when she needed him?