Chapter 21
Chance
And suddenly, it wasn’t just him anymore. Chance watched Randi as she sat in the chair. He could almost see the wheels spinning in her head. Even still, he wasn’t prepared for what she was actually thinking.
“Bryn knew,” she said slowly, more to herself than to him.
He should have known what she meant, but his brain went blank. “Bryn knew what?”
“She didn’t tell me everything. But she knew about Sven.” An almost disbelieving smile touched her lips. “I always thought there was something missing, like I was only seeing part of who he was.”
Chance watched her carefully while he tried to gauge anything that would force him to pull back, but there was nothing.
She looked back at him, “You just gave me the missing piece.”
His brow furrowed as he struggled to make sense out of the turn their conversation had taken. “What?”
“The part that never made sense. I knew there was more, but I just didn’t know what it was.”
Chance worried that he had given away a secret that Sven and Bryn had obviously protected.
“Well, you know, it’s not something that royals go around talking about.
It’s somewhat of a secret until there is enough trust between two…
people....” He quit talking before his mouth got him in over his head.
“I get that,” she responded. “And I can respect it. That’s a pretty big secret, especially if it’s a dragon. But a sister knows when something is hidden, and now I can quit wondering.”
He had to strain to hear. It was almost as if she were talking to herself. Randi had a devilish smirk as she mumbled, and he could just read the glee running through her mind that she now had figured out her sister’s secret.
“Thank you,” she spoke louder and this time the words were unmistakably directed at him.
“For what?” Chance asked.
“For trusting me enough to tell me,” she said simply. “Now I want to see.”
It was almost dark when they left the beach house. Chance was more careful than usual watching for anything out of place and ensuring they weren’t followed before he drove to the isolated stretch of coastline away from prying eyes.
The night sky opened wide above them and the moon hung low over the water and cast silver ripples of light across the waves. For a moment, everything felt still and quiet except for the night sounds that he normally found soothing.
“Are you sure?” he asked. He had never been so uncertain in his life.
Randi nodded. “I am absolutely sure.”
He kissed her gently and memorized her lips in case it was the last time she kissed him. He knew she thought she was ready, but seeing a dragon wasn’t really something you could actually ever be ready to experience.
Without another word, he stepped away from her. The shift wasn’t sudden in the way she might have expected, but something that seemed to ripple through him, through the air itself, until he was no longer the man standing in front of her.
He was terrified that she would panic when he stood in full form. Massive and powerful, his dragon was a presence that demanded attention and respect.
For a moment, he watched her. He heard her breath caught and felt her instincts unsure whether to step back or stand her ground.
But beneath the fear, he felt the same connection that had drawn him to her from the beginning.
Slowly, deliberately, he lowered his massive head and brought himself closer to her level so she could see the detail in his eyes and recognize the familiarity.
“Chance.” Randi hesitated only a second before she lifted her hands and placed them gently against his scales. He felt her warmth and her steady pulse.
And when she spoke, her voice was quiet but certain. “I’m not afraid of you.”
Chance launched off the beach and spread his wings. He flew a loop and twist before he landed on the beach again. Randi clapped with awe as he watched the expression on her face. He shifted back and pulled her close.
“I wanted a ride,” she protested with her voice muffled against his neck.
“I never stay too long in that form. Less chance of getting caught. You never know when a night fisherman is going to motor past.” He kissed the top of her head. “Ask me how I know that. But you’ll get your chance to ride on my back.”
“I can’t wait, but for now, we need to go back.” The thrill of the moment passed, and Randi brought reality back.
“I know. The longer we’re gone, the harder the explanation is going to be.”
She dozed off as they headed back toward Tampa. If he had it his way, they would have stayed at the beach house permanently. But he knew that life had a way of moving on whether you were ready or not.
The silence gave Chance time to think as he drove.
He had feared the moment would splinter under the weight of what he had revealed but instead, as he drove them back through the quiet stretch of coastal road, Randi sat beside him holding his hand and there was an unfamiliar steadiness settling into his chest.
Relief.
Not the fleeting kind that came and went but something deeper that reached into the spaces he had kept guarded for far too long.
She knew. All of it, or at least enough that there were no more walls, no more half-truths or deflections, and no more constant reminders not to get too close so he could hold back.
And she hadn’t run.
They stopped by the police station first. With it being late, the normal traffic in and out was at a minimum. The desk officer was busy on his phone and had them fill out a few forms before he told them to come back when the detective assigned to the case was available.
Randi shook her head as they headed back to the car. “I do believe that kid is going to get reprimanded for just letting us walk out of there.”
“I was thinking the same thing. I don’t think he cared a bit about doing his job.”
“Can you just drop me off at my apartment?”
He looked over at her like she had grown two heads. “Are you kidding me? We’re leaving a police station because you were almost kidnapped, by the same people who were probably in your apartment the night that Josh saved you, and you think I’m taking you home. That’s rich.”
“For starters, Josh did not save me. I just happened to be on the phone with him when I heard the sounds. He called to make sure I survived the storm.”
Chance tried to ignore the pang of…something…that jolted through his chest. She hadn’t called him to come save her. Total coincidence. He felt ridiculous at how happy that made him.
“And two, we don’t know that these were the same men. Maybe it was, but we can’t be sure.”
“Can’t we? Do you really want to take that risk? What do you think will happen when they see a light on in your windows?”
She mulled it over. “Well, at least stop and let me get some clothes. I can find a hotel.”
He snorted. “You’ll stay with me. Close to work, no commute, I won’t pace all night worrying about you. It’s a win win.”
She thought for a moment. “You’re probably right.”
He was surprised she gave in so easily, but it was solidified when they passed her apartment building and found it surrounded by crime scene tape.
“Seriously?” Randi exclaimed. “What did they do to my stuff?”
He squeezed her hand. “It’s just stuff. We can get you some clothes.”
“Stop the car. We are going on a trip and I want my own stuff.”
Chance groaned as he eased to the side of the street. “You know that crime scene tape is for a reason, right?”
“There is no one around, and by the time someone might see us, we’ll be gone. Besides, they might just have it taped up because they can’t find me. It’s not stealing when it’s my stuff.”
“This is a bad idea, Randi.”
She winked at him as she opened her door. “If there are bad guys, just burn em with your fire.”
“Oy, lady. I can’t just go around doing that. And didn’t you forbid me to make crispy critters like that?”
She eased the door shut. “No. I told you not to be eating people. If I tell you to roast them, that’s fine. Just don’t eat them.”
He almost threw his head back and laughed, but they were trying to be quiet. He followed her inside, no front door key necessary.
“Jesus, what were they looking for?”
He watched her move through the living room. The place was absolutely trashed. Photographs were smashed, the furniture was shredded, and not a drawer was in place.
“This was for show more than anything. Proof of what they could do. We need to hurry.” Chance hated that the lights were blazing against the outside darkness.
Randi loaded his arms with clothes. “Take these to the car. I can sort later.”
“Not happening. We came together, we leave together.”
“Yeah, we did, didn’t we?”
It took him until he saw the cheeky grin on her face to realize what she had implied. His own body responded almost instantly to the memories.
“And if we’re going to shack up together, there’s more where that came from,” he teased.
“There better be.” Randi grabbed a few more things including her Kindle and toiletries. She carefully picked up one of the photographs and shook off the broken frame. “Everything else will keep until this fiasco is over.”
“Let’s go. We’ll tell the detective tomorrow what you took.”
The next couple of days passed in a blur. Chance gave statements and waited while Randi did. They stayed holed up in the office with strict building security while they frantically caught up on company business.
Randi’s conversation with Josh hadn’t been easy. He had come into the office while she and Chance were in the conference room.
“Hey,” she said softly. “How are you?”
Josh looked up and his expression brightened when he saw her, though there was something else there too, that was thoughtful and expectant.
“I’m good,” he answered and offered a small, reassuring smile. “Just a faint bruise where I hit my head on the sidewalk and a lump on the back of my head where I was hit. Nothing big. Takes more than that to keep me down.”
She let out a breath but before she could say anything more, he gestured slightly.
“Can I talk to you for a second?”
Randi hesitated only briefly before she nodded and followed him a few steps away, though not so far that Chance was completely out of sight.
Josh ran a hand through his hair and exhaled slowly as if choosing his words carefully.
“I’m not an idiot,” he said finally, his tone gentle but direct. “I see the way you look at Chance and I know there’s something going on there. Honestly, I think I’ve known it all along, I just didn’t want to push it.”
Randi’s chest tightened. Guilt flickered briefly, though she didn’t interrupt.
“And after what happened,” he continued, “I’m pretty sure whatever’s going on between you two isn’t something I can compete with, and I don’t think I should try.”
“Josh…” she started, but he shook his head lightly.
“It’s okay,” he said, and surprisingly, it sounded like he meant it. “Really. I’d rather step back now than pretend this is something it’s not.”
The kindness in that, the understanding, hit harder than anger would have.
Randi stepped closer and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. “Thank you for being you about this.”
He huffed a quiet laugh. “Yeah, well, don’t make me regret it.”
“I won’t,” she promised.
She knew by the look on Chance’s face that he had heard. She needed to find out exactly how good a dragon’s hearing was.
They wanted to tie up all of their loose ends before their trip, but a call came sooner than he would have liked.
Chance stood near the window with his phone on speaker. Jakob and Sven were on the other end and their patience thinned with every passing hour.
“You’ve delayed long enough,” Jakob’s voice was firm. “This is no longer contained.”
Sven didn’t interrupt, but Chance could sense his presence in the silence that followed.
“I told you I needed time,” Chance replied. Tension had already begun to coil throughout his body just beneath the surface.
“You had time,” Sven said then. “And now the consequences of that time are spreading beyond Noriveille.”
Chance’s jaw tightened slightly. “You think I don’t know that?” he shot back. “They’re already here. They made a move in broad daylight.”
“And next time it won’t be contained to a parking lot,” Jakob said bluntly. “If this escalates further, if your father pushes harder, it won’t be just a risk. Randi almost learned that the hard way.”
“You need to return,” Sven added and this time there was no softness and no room for argument. “Not eventually. Now.”
“Then we go.”
Chance turned sharply. From the look on her face, Randi hadn’t just caught the end of the conversation.
She had heard enough.
“Randi…” he started, but she shook her head.
“No, you don’t have to figure this out alone. We’ll do this together.”
Together.
And to him, that made all the difference.