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WE PARKED OUTSIDE THE Groove Brew, and before I could even get out of the truck I could tell there was a commotion. I could hear people yelling and dishes breaking. “What the fuck?”
Ryane grabbed my arm as I made to jump out of the cab and make a beeline for the shop, “Easy, you don’t know what’s going on. You could get hurt.”
“Aella’s in there. Ryane, let me go.” I wrenched my arm from her as Keegan joined me in the street.
“We goin’ in?” His eyes roamed the glass windows just as they shattered, a huge hulking body barreling through them, landing prone at our feet. We stepped back as Aella appeared in the broken opening, wiping off her hands, kicking a crawling man in the backside toward the exit.
“Don’t you know anything about Dragons? Bullets mean very little, asshat.” She spat just past his head and the concrete began to bubble and dissolve. “That was a warning shot. Fuck with me again and I won’t be missing,” her voice hissed as she looked up, seeing us gawking. “Siegfried?” Stepping out through the broken encasement, she pressed her whole body against me as she passionately kissed me hello, her hands raking through my hair, instantly sending the blood south. I groaned into her and then heard Keegan clear his throat.
I broke the kiss, it was rather porno for the time of day and the environment we were in, after all. She dragged her nails down my chest with a curt little growl.
“What happened?” I asked as the sound of sirens began to blare, coming in our direction. “Should we be running?”
“These three were leftovers from jumping Greisen. They thought they were gonna mess with me and rob the Brew. Pulled this on me.” She pulled out a .22 pistol with a laugh. “Fired it point blank at my chest. Good thing I’m a Dragon.”
My scales ruffled, and I reached down to grab one of the jerkoffs when she stayed my hand.
“I don’t need a white knight, Siegfried, I’ll press charges and it will go in as a hate crime. These fuckers are going to be dealt with in good measure, but I’m probably not going to be able to leave town.”
I nodded my head, watching as Keegan ran interference with the 911 dispatch. The EMS was already assessing if any of the customers needed help and Ryane... Where was Ryane? “Baby, can I leave you here? Will you be okay?”
“I’m fine. You seem to be the one that’s shook up by what I did. Go on, find your friend.”
I nodded as I kissed her forehead. I scanned the crowd and realized that the police only had two suspects, not three. I cracked my neck and checked my phone, Ryane had hers on for a change. I followed the GPS down the road and around the corner to the next block. That was when I caught the scent of blood and heard the muffled scuffling and sound of a struggle. What the Hell?