by Kim Fox
The red dragon lunges on him, pinning him to the asphalt with a huge foot. Nora screams as he opens his mouth over Kneecap’s face, holding it there like a loaded gun.
Sweat starts pouring down Kneecap’s temples as a blaze of fire flares in the back of the dragon’s throat, ready to bathe him in flames if he dares to move.
“I think we’ve gathered enough attention,” Vesuvius says as he lowers Maximus to his feet. “Let’s go visit our tower and discuss the future of your crew in our town.”
Maximus takes a deep breath when the dragon shifter finally releases his neck.
I gulp when Vesuvius turns to me and Nora. The orange rings shining through his sunglasses are locked upon us. “You two are coming as well.”
Chapter Six
Maximus
Say what you want about the dragons, but they have one hell of a bachelor pad.
“Wow,” Kennedy gasps as she steps into the room and sees the magnificent view. There are no walls in the room, just huge panes of glass that show off the spectacular Montana skyline of lush mountains and the rolling plains between them.
The town and ranches are spread out below where the dragons can keep a vigilant eye on every single thing that happens.
They’re the keepers of this town, but it’s not like anyone asked them to lead us or appointed them as our rulers. There was no vote. No meeting. They just showed up and took over.
Vesuvius strolls into the enormous room and heads straight to the bar by the massive fireplace.
Nora and Kennedy are looking around the extravagant room from the Grand piano in the corner to the big comfy leather couches. Kneecap and I never take our eyes off of the smooth-talking dragon shifter.
It’s not a good thing that we’re here. It’s only the second time I’ve been here, and I almost lost my life the first time.
I step in front of Kennedy, keeping my body between her and Vesuvius. I don’t like her being anywhere near this guy.
“So,” Vesuvius says as he pours himself a scotch. “Imagine my surprise when I was in the middle of eating my chocolate Pop-Tart and I saw two grizzly bears fighting in the middle of my streets. There are strict rules in my town. Did you forget?”
“We didn’t have a choice,” I explain. “That bear shifter Bledsoe, who you let escape by the way, was trying to kill her.”
Vesuvius turns to Kennedy and lets out a sympathetic smile. “He was trying to finish the job I see.”
Kennedy turns away without saying a word.
“Still,” Vesuvius says as he steps out from behind the bar. He doesn’t offer anyone else a drink—not a good sign. “There is no fighting allowed in the streets of Redemption Creek.”
I feel Kneecap tighten beside me. He opens his mouth to speak, but I place a hand on his forearm. I don’t have to talk for him to get my meaning: Keep your mouth shut.
Thankfully, he does. We’re in a bad enough situation that I don’t need Kneecap getting pissed and running his mouth.
“He was trying to kill her,” I say, getting frustrated at the arrogance of this guy. “What were we supposed to do?”
Vesuvius shrugs. “Let her die.”
A flash of anger surges through me and my bear growls at his words. I can smell Kneecap’s bear hovering close to the surface, ready for my command to attack.
But that’s not going to help anyone. We’ll need a lot more than two bears to take down a dragon shifter as powerful as Vesuvius, especially with his two brothers that may or may not be nearby. Kilauea, the red dragon that landed on the street, is the middle brother. We haven’t seen him since we arrived at the tower. And Galeras is the youngest of the three. I haven’t seen him in years. He may be in the tower or on the other side of the planet.
“Kidding,” Vesuvius says with a laugh as he sprawls onto the comfy couch. He places his feet on the glass coffee table as he watches us standing in front of him.
“This is what we’re here for,” Vesuvius says with a grin. “Come to us and we’ll settle your disputes.”
“We’re here now,” I say in a firm voice. “The grizzly bear shifter James Bledsoe is trying to kill my future mate. Are you going to take care of it?”
He takes a sip of his scotch and frowns. “I thought I just did.”
“He’ll be back,” Kennedy says. There’s a shudder to her voice that sends a knife through my heart. She’s afraid. What good is a bear shifter who can’t even keep the girl that he loves safe?
Even now, she’s in mortal danger and there’s nothing I can do about it.
“He won’t come back.” Vesuvius says it with such certainty that it borders on arrogance.
“He will,” I say. “He’ll never leave us alone until we’re dead or he is.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” Vesuvius says with a grin. “But he won’t be returning to this town.” He swirls his drink, staring at the tiny tornado in his glass as he relishes the moment. “Because you won’t be here any longer.”
My mouth drops. Is he—
“The Grisly Grizzlies and their mates are no longer welcome in Redemption Creek.”
Kneecap steps forward. “You can’t do that.”
Vesuvius laughs. “I can do whatever the fuck I want. I run this town.”
My body aches as it all sinks in. We’ll be forced to leave our ranch and give up our homes that we’ve spent years building. The girls will be forced to quit their jobs and leave their businesses that they’ve worked so hard on. This is a disaster.
“Unfortunately, I knew this day would come,” Vesuvius goes on as he stares inside his glass. “It was only a matter of time before a ticking time-bomb like Kneecap went off.”
“It wasn’t his fault!” Kennedy says. The outrage is thick in her voice. “He was just trying to protect me. Kick me out instead and let them stay!”
Vesuvius shrugs. “Nah, I think I’ll kick you all out.”
“He was protecting an innocent woman,” Nora says as she stares at the dragon shifter in disbelief. “They both were. Aren’t those the type of shifters you want living in your town?”
“I want shifters who can lay low and not bring any attention to this town,” he snaps back.
“Bringing attention like riding a dragon through the streets?” I say, glaring at him.
He lowers his drink as his bright orange eyes lock onto mine.
“What I do is no concern of yours,” he says in a firm voice. “Thankfully, the streets were empty after your little show.”
I’ve always felt that there was something suspicious about these dragons. They act like they’re wholesome heroes, but I’ve always felt that there’s something else going on. Something darker.
“How long do we have?” I ask. There’s no point in arguing now, especially with the girls in harm’s way. We can regroup back at the ranch and figure out what to do from there. That is, if we’re allowed back on the ranch at all.
“You can have the night to gather your stuff,” Vesuvius says with a wave of his hand. “But by sundown tomorrow, I want you all out, or I’ll snuff you out. Understand?”
I take a deep breath and nod.
He slaps his drink down on the table and jumps up with a smile on his face. “Don’t look so glum,” he says as he saunters over to a large painting on the wall. He pulls it open like a door, revealing a large safe tucked into the wall. “You don’t think I would leave you empty-handed, do you?”
I don’t respond as he opens the safe and swings the thick door open. There are papers and files stuffed on the top shelf along with stacks and stacks of cash on the bottom shelf.
“You,” he says, pointing at Kennedy. “Grab that bag and come help me out.”
My bear and I are on full alert as we watch her walk to the table and grab the plastic bag. She looks nervous as she walks over to him, but she’s brave and does it anyway.
“This will get you started,” he says as he pulls out a stack of cash. “And it will make sure you won’t be coming back.”
&nb
sp; He takes the bag from Kennedy and stuffs the cash inside. She looks into the safe while he’s distracted, and seems to see something because her eyes widen just a little.
“That’s very generous of you,” I say, walking to him in order to distract him. He meets me halfway and thrusts the bag of cash into my hands.
I see Kennedy quickly reach into the safe and snatch something out of the corner of my eye. She slides it up her sleeve and out of sight.
Vesuvius leans into my ear and my body tightens. “Generosity is not one of my usual traits,” he whispers. “If I see the face of anyone in your crew again, generosity won’t be what they’re greeted with. Got that?”
I nod slowly as he lets go of the bag. “Got it.”
“Good.” He looks from me to Kneecap to Nora to Kennedy. “Then I guess we’re done.”
He walks back to the couch and drops down on it, grabbing his drink as he turns on the TV.
We all take a quick look at each other and hurry out of the open door, lucky to escape with our lives.
“We have to move?” Kneecap asks once we’re outside. It’s rare to see the big guy flustered, but he’s looking pretty agitated right now.
“We’ll figure it out,” I say as we walk down the sidewalk.
“I just opened up my business,” Nora says as she stares at the cobblestones under her feet. “I just sunk my lifesavings into it.”
“We’re a crew,” I say, trying to act like I’m not about to throw up. “If we stick together, we’ll be fine.”
Kennedy is quiet as we walk back into town where the car and trucks are parked. I want to know what she took from the safe, but I’m not about to ask out here in the open.
Kneecap and Nora leave in the pickup truck that they came in as I walk with Kennedy to her car. There’s a ticket on the windshield that I toss onto the backseat as I get behind the wheel. I drove my truck here, but I’ll just have to get it later.
She starts crying once the doors are closed.
“I’m so sorry,” she says as she buries her face into her hands. “I never should have come here. I ruined everything.”
It’s always killed me to see her cry. I lean over and take her in my arms, holding her close and wishing that I could take her pain away.
“You did the right thing,” I whisper as I kiss the top of her head. “Bledsoe is only chasing you because of me. This is all my fault. Not yours.”
“But none of this would have happened if I hadn’t shown up.”
“But you’d probably be dead,” I say, squeezing her even tighter.
There’s a question that’s been at the forefront of my mind since I woke up and it slips from my tongue. “Why did you leave?”
She digs her face into my chest and wraps her arms around me as a fresh wave of sobs spills from her. “I know what last night was,” she whispers into my wet shirt. “I don’t want you to be with me out of guilt.”
I reach down and find her chin. “Is that what you think?” I ask, shaking my head in disbelief as I tilt her head up so I can look at her beautiful face. Her eye is red and her scarred cheeks are wet with tears. This girl has cried too much for a lifetime.
I’m holding her head up, but her eye drops down in shame. “We don’t have to pretend like things are the same as they were.”
Things will never be the same as they were. I do know that much. There’s been too much pain and anguish in our past to ever go back to the carefree days of our youth. But maybe we can find a new life. One full of forgiveness, joy, love and each other.
“Last night was real for me. There was no pretending. Being with you, Kennedy, is like having my soul back again.”
“But,” she says, looking up at me with a deep pain in her eyes, “my scars…”
“Are beautiful because they’re you.” She closes her eyes as I lean down and gently kiss her face, from her flawless skin to the deep ridges of the scars that travel down her cheeks. “You’ll always be the most beautiful girl in the world to me. Always.”
She closes her eyes and takes deep breaths like she wants to believe me, but I can tell that she’s not quite there yet.
At least she’s here with me now. There’s time to make her see the truth.
“I got this,” she says, changing the subject as she pulls out a USB from her sleeve. “It was in the safe.”
I stare at it, wondering what is hiding inside.
“I figured there was either porn on it or something damning,” she says as I take it from her. “Why else would he keep it in his safe?”
I take a deep breath and start the car. “Let’s hope there’s something other than boobs on there, because we’re pretty screwed.”
I hit the gas and the car pulls away from the curb.
“How do you think the guys are going to react when they hear that they have to move?” she asks as she stares out the window.
“They’re mature guys,” I say as I squeeze the steering wheel. “They’ll handle it with dignity and grace.”
“Really?” she asks, looking hopeful as she turns to me.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “They’re going to freak out.”
Chapter Seven
Kennedy
“Noooooooooo!” Tito yells as he grabs a chunk of his blond hair and nearly rips it out of his head. “I don’t want to move!”
“What do you mean we have to move?” Caleb says as he jumps up from the table.
Maximus sighs. “I don’t know how else to explain it. We have to leave the ranch and find somewhere else to live.”
Caleb raises an eyebrow. “Or what?”
“Or the dragons will kill us,” Maximus says flatly.
“They can try,” Kneecap says, grinding his knuckles into his palm.
“They won’t have to try very hard,” Ronin says, looking defeated. “Unfortunately, I’m not fireproof.”
“I’m not afraid of a little fire,” Kneecap grunts.
“But my brother,” Abigail says as she stares at the food on her plate. “I won’t be able to see him again.”
My stomach churns as I watch them. I wonder if they blame me like I blame myself.
“It’s going to be okay,” Caleb says as he puts his arm around his mate. “He can come visit us wherever we go.”
Everyone is quiet for a minute as their thoughts race about the uncertain future. Maximus called everyone home for lunch and broke the news as everyone ate. Well, as almost everyone ate. My stomach is so upset that I haven’t eaten a bite.
“Where are we going to go, Max?” Lachlan asks, looking sick.
I know how much this is hurting Maximus. They all love this town to death and he feels like it’s his fault that they have to leave. He thinks that he’s the one letting them all down.
Everyone turns to him, but I can tell that he doesn’t have any answers. He’s lived in this town his whole life and it’s all he knows.
“My parents will let us stay on their farm for a week,” Caleb says. “Maybe two. We’ll have to live in the barn though.”
“As long as I get to sleep between these two teddy bears,” Zoe says, wrapping an arm around each of her mates, “then I’ll be just fine.”
“It will be okay, Max,” Lachlan says as he stands up from the picnic table. He slaps a hand down on his alpha’s shoulder and squeezes it. “We have each other and that’s all we need, right guys?”
“That’s right,” Ronin says, nodding along with everyone.
“We’ll be fine,” Nora adds. “It’s just a minor setback.”
It’s so nice to see the love they have for each other, but I feel strange standing here and witnessing it. I’m not one of them. If things had turned out differently, I’d be the happiest and most enthusiastic member of the crew, but I’m an outsider and I feel like I’m intruding.
“Those dragons and their fucking rules,” Tito says, pounding the table with his fist. “Why do they get to decide who stays and who goes?”
“I’ve never liked those brothe
rs,” Lachlan says, shaking his head. “I always suspected they had ulterior motives.”
Maximus looks at him and nods. “Kennedy was able to steal this from their safe,” he says as he pulls out the USB stick.
Everyone turns to me with looks of shock and admiration on their faces.
“Way to go Klepto-Kennedy!” Caleb says, looking impressed. I start to blush.
“We’ll see if there’s anything incriminating on here,” Maximus says as he slides it back into his pocket. “Maybe there’s something we can use.”
“I bet you it’s loaded with dick pics he took of himself,” Tito says with a serious look on his face.
Lachlan frowns. “Who the hell would keep naked pictures of himself in a safe?”
Tito jerks his head back in surprise. “Everyone does.”
“No,” Lachlan says, shaking his head. “Normal people don’t do that.”
Tito looks flabbergasted. “I do.”
“Why?” Kneecap asks with a laugh. “Who the hell would want to see your dick pics?”
“Nobody,” Lachlan says with a chuckle. “That’s why he keeps them locked in a safe.”
Tito frowns as everyone laughs at him. I feel bad for the poor guy, but not enough to not join in with a giggle.
“Anyways,” Abigail says when the laughter dies down. “It’s probably encrypted. I can get Bryce to look at it. He’s really good with computers.”
“Who’s Bryce?” I ask. That’s not a name I’ve heard before.
“He’s the most vicious, dangerous and powerful bounty hunter in Montana,” Ronin says, looking terrified.
Abigail rolls her eyes as she slaps his arm. “He’s my younger brother, and he’s lovely.”
“Get him over here asap,” Maximus says as he turns to his cabin. “And the rest of you… start packing. We have to be out by tomorrow night.”
“Don’t even think about leaving my side,” Maximus warns when we’re back in his cabin. Alone. “I was terrified when I couldn’t find you.”