Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
Samantha
I’m rested. I’m fed. I’ve been properly fucked. Now, I’m lying in my room, staring at the television, deciding what to do next. Life feels pretty damn good.
And then my phone rings. I see Dahlia’s name and pick up. “How’s it going?”
“Great!” she exclaims excitedly. “We haven’t found any more dragons, but the sensor is definitely working. The doctors gave me a few hours to myself, and I thought, since I’m close to the base, that we could grab a coffee together.”
Normally, that’d be a stupid idea with asshole dragons trying to steal me at every turn, but I know there are a few things we can do to make sure I’m safe. I just have to be smart about it.
“How close to the base are you?”
“Close enough for your dragons to be there in a few minutes if any trouble should find you.” It’s like she’s reading my mind.
“That’s perfect for me.” But I’ll have to check with the guys. “Do you have the address?”
She sends it to me, and she’s right. It’s a quick flight away. Definitely somewhere my men shouldn’t have a problem with me going, and I could sorely use my girl talk.
“Alright, it says it’s a fifteen minute drive, so I should be there in like thirty, I just have to let the guys know and arrange for a car.” Oh, and check where the bad dragons are on the satellites.
“That sounds perfect!” she squeals. “See you there.”
I exit my room and make my way to the lab. The most recent location that Malikay was spotted is a few hours away, and according to the map, they found him just a few minutes ago. As long as I’m not out long, there’s no possible way that he and his dragons could find me in time.
The elevator beeps and Evander exits, looking startled to see me. “What are you doing here?”
“Don’t just say no,” I rush out.
He lifts a brow, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting.
“Dahlia invited me to a coffee shop that’s only fifteen minutes from the base. I checked where Malikay is, and he’s several hours away. I’ll be like a two minute flight away, and there are no enemy dragons around. Plus, I really need some girl time. You guys are fine and all, but the testosterone, oh God, the testosterone . A girl could drown in it–”
He chuckles. “I know you’re crawling out of your skin here, but I think it’d be better if you stay safely on the base.”
“Evander.” I sigh. “It’s fifteen minutes away.”
He gives me a look.
“We know the enemy dragons aren’t close. The coffee shop is just around the corner…”
He looks frustrated. “No soldier in the world would think this was a good idea.”
“Well, I don’t want you to be a soldier right now, I want you to be my boyfriend.”
He stares at me for a long minute before his expression softens. “What if Zane were to go with you and just sit at another table?”
It wasn’t what I was wanting, but I think it’s the best I’m going to get.
“A table far away from us,” I say.
He laughs. “Okay, go have fun.”
I jump, clapping my hands together, then kiss him. Yes, I feel a little like a kid asking to do something, but some part of me knows that my guys aren’t being controlling, they’re being careful. And they have every reason to be.
“Go to the parking lot. I’ll have him and my driver meet you there with the car.”
I kiss him again. I’m grinning as I get on the elevator. I exit out on the surface and watch Aydan and Granger flying overhead with the betas. They look happy, and I’m glad. They deserve to have a little fun. Heading for the parking lot, I pass a few beta males. They sniff eagerly in my direction, but they don’t approach. They know better.
My gaze catches movement close to another building. It’s the strange blond man I remember seeing a few days ago. I know he’s not one of the beta dragons. Could he be a staff member?
A beta male gets a little too close to me.
“Back off!” I shout
He leaps away, and I swear the whole pack of them scatters. I feel oddly powerful around them. My gaze goes back to the strange man, but he’s gone. I make a note to have Evander check the security footage later, just in case, even though I know I’m probably being paranoid.
It’s not paranoia when you literally have a bunch of assholes trying to hurt you.
When I reach the parking lot, the driver and the car are already waiting. I don’t know how Evander does it, but he’s pretty amazing. The driver must be ex-military, because he’s huge. He also has an ear piece in his ear and the stance of someone who is looking for danger in every shadow.
No doubt Evander picked him just for me.
After waiting for another few minutes, I see Zane racing toward me.
“Ready?” I ask him, smiling.
“Evander says I’m going to get to try coffee. I want to try coffee.”
It’s hard not to laugh at the thought of Zane trying coffee. The guy has more than enough energy already. “That’s right. Let’s go!”
We climb into the back of the dark car, and the driver starts driving. The gate opens at our approach, and we pass the grassy openness of all the property Evander owns around Specter Inc. It only takes a few minutes to hit the outside of the city, and then we’re driving down decently busy streets.
Everything looks… normal. I know it’s not. I sense the fear underneath all the normalcy, but I’m still glad things haven’t gotten worse because of the dragons.
“So,” I begin, making eye contact with the driver. “I haven’t been out in the city much, how is everyone doing with this dragon stuff?”
He seems to take a moment to consider what to say. “People are investing in bomb shelters, stocking up like crazy, and many are staying with relatives outside the city. Schools and jobs are offering a lot of people options to do it all online, which has changed how all the in-person stuff operates. I, however, think that this is just a temporary period of time. Eventually, we’ll figure out a new normal with the dragons.”
“Are you worried about them?”
I can’t see his eyes through his sunglasses, but I feel him glance back at me. “It seems clear that we only have to worry about some of the dragons.”
“Of course,” Zane says, “most dragons are perfectly nice.”
It’s hard not to wonder if the driver knows that we’re dragons. Evander has tried his best to keep all of our identities a secret, but his staff no doubt knows more than they’ve let on. He seems to trust his people though, so I should too.
We stop at a red light, and I search for the next thing to say. For some reason, I want to get a sense of what’s going on in the minds of all the people. I can ask Dahlia, but she might be too deeply involved in dragon stuff to know for sure.
“So–”
Suddenly, Zane’s door comes flying open and a hand grabs him. Before I can warn him, he’s thrown like a ragdoll out the door by someone with inhuman strength. He sails through the air and smashes into the brick wall of a building before crumbling to the ground, where he lays, unmoving.
“Zane!” I scream, ripping my belt off, heart hammering as I try to scramble through my door, so I can shift and destroy whatever fucking dragon attacked my man. But the strange man from the base is there in an instant. He grabs me by the shirt, pulls me out, and punches me in the face. My head snaps back. My vision goes dark, and then everything fades away.