We found her. At long last, we actually found her.
And she was beautiful.
We crossed the street from the pub to Chase’s SUV. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and fretted for a moment, batting at her long black ponytail before letting out a frustrated grunt and releasing the flowing raven tresses from their captivity. My breath caught. However I’d pictured her, it hadn’t done her justice.
Our Queen of the Shadows was here, now, and I was completely tongue-tied in her presence.
I opened the door for her and she smiled at me nervously. “Where are we going?”
I looked to Chase. “Where are we going?”
Chase chewed his lip. “What we need to talk about isn’t really great diner conversation. Would you be okay with going back to our base of operations?”
Arysia fixed him with a skeptical look. The innate trust she had for us as kindred would only go so far. Cass had warned us that she was not one to trust lightly, and we hadn’t done a thing to earn any on our own yet.
“Would it make you more comfortable to let someone know where you’re going?” I asked gently. “You could even keep your phone active, let someone GPS your location.”
I could see a war going on behind those golden hazel eyes. She frowned, then pulled out her cellphone and dialed.
“Missi?” An indistinct, annoyed noise on the other end. “I am so, so sorry to wake you. But… shit’s gone down at the pub. Life’s gotten a little crazy. And I need your help.”
“I’m on my way.” Missi sounded awake and ready to roll.
“No! I mean, we’re okay. Kitty’s taking care of things. But I’m going out with some new…friends. And I need someone to make sure I get home okay afterwards.”
“New friends? You feeling okay? You don’t do new friends.”
Arysia looked up at me, biting at her upper lip. “I know. I don’t. But these guys are an exception.”
“These…guys? Plural? Hold the phone, Sia. You’re going out at three in the goddamn morning with multiple strange men?”
This Missi was not helping our case in the least. I winced slightly. She had a point. This was not sounding like a good idea to me, and it was my idea.
Arysia closed her eyes for a moment. My heart was pounding in my chest. We couldn’t lose her now. If we scared her off, then we could lose her forever. We couldn’t afford that. Our people couldn’t afford that.
“Invite her along,” I offered.
Chase shot me a fearsome look. Are you high? he mouthed. I shrugged back at him. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
“G…Galen?” She looked at me. I nodded. “Galen said you could join us.”
“How many of them?”
“Three.”
“Girl, we’re still outnumbered. Are you nuts?”
“Maybe.” She leaned her shoulder against the side of the SUV. “But I trust them. I don’t know why, but I do.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. “You? Trust them?” Another pause. “Okay. You have the weirdest but best danger sense about people I’ve ever seen. Tell you what I’m gonna do. I’ve got my car keys in my hand. I’ll have my phone on nine-one. And I’m tracking your phone using the Best Buddy app. You will text me every ten minutes, on the dot. Miss a text, and I rain hell down on your location. Cops, fire department, the Marines, and me. Got it?”
“Yes’m.” Arysia cracked a faint smile. “Thanks, Missi. You’re the best.”
“You’re goddamned right I am. I’m gonna make some coffee.”
Arysia started to tuck her phone back in her pocket, then thought better of it and kept it in her hand. “Okay then. Let’s go.” She gestured for me and Cass to go in ahead of her. Smart girl. She wanted to stay by the door in case she needed to bail. It’s what I would have done in her situation.
Once we were all settled, with Cass in the passenger’s seat, Chase driving, and me alone in the back with our very special guest, we started rolling down the street.
“So, where is this base of operations?” she asked, a slight quaver in her voice. Her fear cut into my heart.
“Beacon Hill,” Chase answered.
Her jaw dropped. “What kind of private investigator are you?”
Chase chuckled. “The kind that has a wealthy friend who lets him use his house.”
“Oh.”
An awkward silence descended on the vehicle as we headed uptown. I tried to be subtle, but caught myself staring at her more than once. The streetlights’ half-light gave her pale skin an amber glow. Her profile was like a Victorian cameo, with her lush eyelashes, perfect small nose and plump, enticing lips. I could feel a hunger rising inside me, wanting to claim those lips for my own. I’d been with other dragons before, but none had made me feel this instant desire, this powerful craving. I turned away from her to keep myself from outright gaping at her. A hopeful part of me felt her glancing my way, too.
This was going to be hard.
“So, what’s really going on?” she finally said.
“Hmm?” I answered with all of my wit and charm. Ugh.
“I looked around the pub before we left. It didn’t look like a fight.” She chewed at her upper lip again. “I’ve seen the aftermath of a few bar fights. Yeah, scattered tables and chairs and stuff. This looked like a bomb went off, dead center in the room. Everything was thrown back from one point.” She met my eyes, daring me to lie. “What really happened in there?”
I started to fumble for words. “It’s… a lot to explain. We should wait…”
“No, you should tell me what the hell happened.” Her voice was shaking with emotion. Fear? Frustration? I couldn’t blame her. “Because it was centered on me. Us. When I woke up, it was you and me. What happened?”
“We’re here,” Chase cut in. I swallowed hard and sighed in relief.
“I promise you, you’ll get all of your answers in here.” I reached for her hand. She scooted away and opened the door, practically fleeing the car. She texted something to her friend, and I smacked myself in the face for being an idiot.