Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Dragon
I wake to the sound of my phone.
I’m in bed with Diana, our limbs tangled together.
Both dogs walk up to me, whimpering and sniffling.
“In a minute, guys,” I say.
I grab my phone. It’s Alayna.
“Yeah? Hello?”
“Dragon, I’m sorry to call you so early, but I’ve got great news.”
“Yes?” My heart hammers.
“We found the compound. SWAT teams are going in. If your sister is in there, we’re going to get her out.”
Excitement races through me. The compound. The cult.
Griffin.
“Great, I’m on my way.”
“Dragon, you should let the pros handle this.”
Is she kidding? “Hell, no. I’m coming. If my sister is there, I want to be the first person she sees when they get her out.”
Will she even recognize me, though? Hell, I don’t care. I’m this close. This close .
I have to be there.
“You can’t talk me out of this, Alayna. I’m coming.”
She sighs. “Are you still in Taos?”
“Yeah.”
“It will be about a three- or four-hour drive to get here. By then, we should have everybody in place. But you’re going to need to stay back and let the SWAT team handle this.”
“Yeah, of course. Thanks, Alayna.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We don’t know she’s in there.”
“I know. I’m coming anyway.”
“I wish I could talk you out of it, but I know better. See you when you get here.”
The call ends, and I swallow. The dogs are still pawing at me. “Yeah, I know you guys need to go, and you’re probably hungry too. I’ve got to find someone to take care of you while we’re gone. I’d prefer that Diana stay here with you, but…” I shake my head.
She’s going to want to come along with me.
I’ll just tell her no. Put my foot down. Tell her she’s staying here.
“Diana.” I nudge her. “Diana, wake up.”
She opens one eye and yawns, stretching her arms above her head. “Hey…”
“Get up. I’ve got to get on the move. Alayna found the compound for the cult, and the SWAT team is moving in. I want to be there. I want to be there when Griffin comes out.”
“Oh, yeah.” She sits up quickly and swings her legs to the side of the bed. “Sure. I’ll get packed.”
“Diana…”
She gives me a dirty look. “We’ve been through this. We talked about it last night. Where you go, I go. I want to be there for you, Dragon.”
“That’s before I knew the SWAT team was involved.” I rub her shoulder. “This could be dangerous, and your ankle is still healing.”
She rolls her eyes. “I don’t plan to go into the place with the SWAT team. I’ll be fine.”
“What about the dogs?”
“We’ll take them to a kennel like we talked about last night.”
My blood begins to boil. Not with anger, but with love. The need to protect this woman.
“No. I can’t let you come, Diana. I can’t risk you.”
She hops off the bed and whips both hands to her hips. “This is important to you. Maybe the most important thing you’ll ever do. I’m not letting you go in alone.”
Damn her.
I curl my hands into fists. “Damn you for making me care so much, Diana. Damn you for making me love you.” I pace the room. “I can’t have you in danger. I can’t risk losing you. Not now. Not ever.”
She walks to me and pulls me into her embrace. “I need to be with you, Dragon. I won’t let you do this alone.”
“I’m not taking you.”
She grins. “You don’t have a choice. It’s my car.”
“I’ll rent a car. Jesse loaned me some money?—”
She silences me with a kiss.
A raw and desperate kiss.
I break it and pull away.
I’m ready to argue again when I see the fire in her eyes.
“Fine,” I relent. “How’s your ankle?”
She wiggles her foot. “Just smarts a little. I didn’t have any trouble getting out of bed.” She brushes her lips over mine. “Thank you, Dragon. Thank you for not fighting me on this. I need to be with you.”
I don’t want to admit it, but I need her there too. I’d just rather have her safe.
I grab my phone and open the Google app. “I’ll find a kennel to take the dogs.”
“I wish we could take them with us.” Diana kneels and gives each of them a scratch on the top of their heads.
“We can’t be sure they’d behave or stay quiet. We’ll come back for them.”
She nods. “Yeah, of course. You’re right. I’m going to take a quick shower.”
“Okay. I’ll take the dogs down, let them out, and then feed them. After I find a kennel.”
“Okay.”
I can’t help but watch her as she walks into the bathroom, still naked. God, she’s a beauty. How did I ever get so lucky?
All of this…
All of this is going to cost so much money.
And today is Thursday. I’m supposed to go back to Denver so I can start that job this evening.
Probably won’t happen at this point.
Should I call Antonio now? Or should I wait?
Fuck. Griffin is more important than all of this. People are usually pretty understanding when you invoke the words family emergency .
And if I lose the job, I lose the job. I’ll get another one.
I do a quick search to find a kennel that’s open and make arrangements to drop the dogs off in the next half hour or so.
Then, though I’m tempted to join Diana in the shower, I wait until she’s done. We don’t have time for sex right now, as much as I’d love to.
I give her a quick kiss as she’s drying off and then get into the shower myself. Once I’m done, I get out, dry off, get dressed.
The dogs are both yapping.
Diana scratches her head. “They’re acting weird, Dragon. Didn’t you take them out?”
“Fuck. I forgot. They need to be fed too.”
“I’ll take care of it. You get dressed.”
“Thanks, baby. I owe you one.”
Owe her one ? What a laugh. I owe this woman everything.
And if it takes me the rest of my life, I’ll repay every bit.
When Diana returns, I’m fully dressed, and I’ve packed everything up in my duffel. “Are you packed up?” I ask.
“It’ll just take me a sec. Where are the dogs going?”
“It’s called Taos Kennel Club, a couple of blocks over. They can take them for the next couple of days, but they need permission to vaccinate them.”
Diana presses her lips together. “Are they above board? Will they be treated well?”
“I didn’t have time to check out everything, Diana, but I’m sure they’ll be fine. The place had decent reviews, and they insist on making sure they’re up to date on their shots. Since I didn’t know if they were, they said they offer the service.”
She twists her lips. “I just hate to leave them.”
“Look. If you want to stay with them, stay with them. I understand. This isn’t your fight. It’s mine. You should stay here where you’re safe.”
She swallows. “Don’t start with this again.” She places a gentle hand on my cheek. “You’re no longer alone in the world, Dragon. You’re not an island. You have someone who cares about you. Who loves you. Who wants to protect you.”
I look down. “You’re not supposed to protect me, Diana. I’m supposed to protect you . And I’ve done a lousy job protecting the people I love.”
“Dragon, you were eight years old. You couldn’t have protected your baby sister if you’d tried. But you can protect me. And I can protect you as well.”
“You can’t,” I tell her. “And before you spout off a bunch of women’s lib nonsense?—”
“Women’s lib nonsense?” She lets out a sharp cackle. “I bet I’m a better shot than you are.”
“I’m sure you probably are, but are you armed?”
“I never travel without it,” she says. “I’ve had a concealed carry license since I was twenty-two years old.”
Damn.
I’m not even armed.
Maybe I do need her to come with me.
“Be sure, Diana. Because I’ll do everything I can to protect you, but I don’t know what we’re going into.”
“I am sure.” She looks into my eyes. “Where you go, I go.”
And if I wasn’t sure I could ever love her more—my heart expands.
“You’re amazing,” I say. “I don’t deserve?—”
She places her fingers over my mouth. “You’re done saying that. Understand?”
I nod. She doesn’t want to hear it. But in my heart of hearts, I know I don’t deserve this woman. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to be worthy of her.
God, I’m actually thinking about the future.
I never thought I had a future worth giving a shit about, but then, after Jesse invited me into the band and became an incredible friend to me, I thought hey, this isn’t so bad. I was able to stay sober enough as well, until that night in London.
That was because of that Griffin tattoo on one of the women.
But now…
I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I will never drink or do any kind of drug again.
Because now I truly have something worth living for.
I have the love of an amazing woman. And if all goes right today, I’ll have my baby sister back.
And I have a niece. A niece who needs me. Especially if I can’t rescue her mother.
I don’t know what kind of father I’d be, but I’d do my damnedest.
“You ready, baby?”
“I was born ready, Dragon. Let’s bring your little sister home.”