Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
H ayley finished tying the scrap of fabric so it’d show outside the boarded-up windows. She didn’t dare leave it there permanently. But after the morning patrol of the grounds, she put it up every day until the evening, when the guards would change and walk in front of her window again.
In the grand scheme of things, the bit of fabric wasn’t much. However, it kept her from feeling restless, and she hoped Nathan and Stonefire would come, see it, and know where she was.
Especially since earlier in the morning, she’d managed to quickly take one of the men’s phones and send a text and delete it. He’d returned less than a minute after she hit Send, and probably would be more careful in the future. Which meant that she might not get another chance.
Please, Nathan. Understand my message.
Oh, she hadn’t given up finding a way to escape safely. However, that could take months, and she didn’t want to be on alert that long. She’d figured out quickly that they always drugged her tea—the bastards—so she had to pretend to drink it and get groggy or risk them giving her a shot.
If she didn’t appear groggy when they looked through the peephole at random times, then the shot came in the evening. So she had about five hours before she had to take her scrap of fabric down. Five more hours to think of how else she could try to escape and not merely sit here and wait to see if her message worked.
For a woman used to making things happen, being locked in a room and repeatedly drugged was beyond difficult. If not for her baby, she might try to escape without a fully formed plan.
But she couldn’t risk her and Nathan’s child. No doubt the dragon hunters knew that about her and used it to their advantage.
At least she still hadn’t heard of her fellow prisoner’s baby being born yet. She really hoped Stonefire would come before that happened.
As Hayley inspected the room for the hundredth time, looking for anything else she might be able to use, she heard muffled shouting coming from outside her window. After racing to it, she peeked through the cracks. But from this angle, she couldn’t see anything.
Then a dragon flew by, and another, until she lost count of the number in the sky.
Nathan had understood her message!
Hayley wanted to stay and watch, but she rushed to the chair the men had finally given her. It was made of wood and the only thing she could use as a weapon, if needed.
So she picked it up and waited, in case one of the guards tried to take her away. Because with her clan so close, she wasn’t about to let them do that. She’d fight if she had to.
Nathan carefully landed on the roof of the formerly grand house, uncertain if it was in good shape or not. But after he counted to five, and it still held, he decided to take his chances.
So before anyone could shoot him with a gun or tranquilizer, he quickly shifted back to his human form and crouched down. Once he moved away, Diana Edgewood landed and quickly stood in her human form as well. Diana was to take point, and she motioned for Nathan to follow. Infiltrating the house naked wasn’t ideal, but they didn’t have time to waste.
Diana pried the wood slats off the nearest window and slowly peered inside. She murmured low enough that a human wouldn’t hear her, but a dragon-shifter still could. “There’s a woman sitting on a bed, staring into space. And she’s heavily pregnant. Let me try to talk to her before you slip inside.”
He didn’t want to stay out on the roof, and yet, given what he knew of Percy’s former prison, a male’s presence might upset her.
After he nodded, Diana crawled through the window and approached the woman, who smelled of human. She barely glanced at Diana before asking, “What now?”
Diana said, “I’m here to help you. If you want to be rescued, that is?”
Some sentience returned to the female’s gaze. “A naked woman is my rescuer? I didn’t see that coming.” Diana must’ve let her pupils flash because the female added, “A dragon? He didn’t send you, did he?”
“I don’t know you or anything related to you. I’m just here to rescue a clan member, and possibly you, too. Now, I won’t ask again—do you want to come with us? We’re from Clan Stonefire.”
Nathan strained to hear her answer, but something crashed right next to him on the roof. He barely managed to grip the windowsill. Using his upper body strength, he held on with everything he had.
Thank fuck his palms had healed completely.
Inch by inch, he hauled himself into the room and fell onto the floor. He crouched and said, “Sorry, but someone just tried to knock me off the roof, and I don’t have a death wish.”
He expected the pregnant female to scream, but she merely glanced at him and back at Diana, as if he were insignificant.
Diana stood and went to the door. “Let me check the hall and then Grace will follow me, with you covering the rear, Nathan.”
He nodded. The human female stood, but put her back to him. Whether out of embarrassment or something else, he didn’t know. However, he didn’t care. He asked Diana, “And Hayley?”
“Grace told me there’s someone being kept next door. It’s probably her.” She gave Nathan a piercing look. “No rushing ahead of me.”
Everything screamed for him to go, to get Hayley. And yet, Diana was the one who could take out an enemy in hand-to-hand combat, or pick locks, or a half-dozen other useful skills the Protectors who ran the most top-secret missions possessed.
Nathan vowed to learn some in the future, even if he never ended up using them. “I know.”
“Good. Now, let me pick this lock and if it’s safe, we’ll check the room next door.”
Grace seemed to have retreated into herself again, and Nathan worried she wouldn’t follow orders.
However, as soon as Diana had the door unlocked, peeked out, and motioned that it was safe, the human moved—more like waddled—when needed.
He kept an eye out for any intruders while Diana worked on the next locked door. She’d nearly finished when two males ran down the hall, brandishing some sort of new gun he hadn’t seen before.
Nathan didn’t hesitate and ran toward them, using his supernatural speed to knock the pair down before they could fire. He trusted Diana to get Hayley safely to the nearest exit.
For now, his entire focus lay on the two humans, one of which was under him.
He punched his jaw, then again, careful not to break any bones. The DDA could be understanding in cases like this, but only to a certain degree.
His dragon roared. I say kill them. They dared to take our female.
Just help me get them unconscious, dragon. Getting Hayley home is all that matters.
The human finally went slack. But as he turned to fight the other one, a jolt of electricity went through him, then a searing pain before the world went black.
Hayley had nearly hit the dragonwoman when she burst through the door, but quickly recognized the tattoo on her arm and flashing eyes. Doing her best not to notice the woman’s nakedness, she blurted, “Did you find the other woman being held here? She’s due any day.”
Diana nodded and, at some noise, pushed a strange woman into the room—who was heavily pregnant—and said, “Stay here with Grace. I need to help Nathan.”
“Nathan?”
She rushed to the door, but Diana slammed it shut behind her. She dared to open it a crack to see what was happening. But all she could see was Diana fighting against some man. One who fell quickly since he’d been leering at Diana’s nakedness.
The dragonwoman said, “Thank fuck you’re here, Kai. Help me with Nathan and the two females.” She shouted, “Come out, Hayley and Grace.”
Hayley should check on Grace first and help her out. And yet, her heart thumped hard as she thought of what had happened to Nathan.
So she dashed out the door, past Diana, to find Kai crouching next to Nathan.
A very still Nathan.
“No!”
She kneeled next to him and touched his cheek. For a beat, she thought he wasn’t breathing. But then she noticed the faint rise and fall of his chest.
Kai said gently, “He’s still alive. But we need to get him to Sid and Gregor as soon as possible. Stay with Diana, and I can do that. Okay?”
She wanted to go with Kai, to say she’d risk it.
But then she remembered their child, who might be the only piece of Nathan she had left.
No. She refused to think like that.
She kissed his cheek and whispered, “Don’t you dare die on me, Nathan.”
Nothing.
Kai said, “I need to go. Sorry, Hayley. You need to move.”
In a daze, she scooted backward and watched as Kai hefted Nathan on his back. Before he dashed off, he said to Diana, “The place is secure now. Take the females downstairs to Nikki.” He looked at Hayley again. “Diana will let you know when you can see Nathan again.”
And before she could do more than blink, Kai was running down the hall and descended the stairs.
For a few beats, Hayley merely stared at where Nathan had been. He’d been so pale and still and the scent of something horrible filled the air.
Something she didn’t want to think about.
Diana touched her shoulder. “Come on, Hayley. We need to get you and Grace to safety. I know it’s not easy to wait for news about a loved one, but Dr. Sid is the best. She’ll help him.”
“I know that, rationally. But…”
“Come on, Hayley. Dr. Sid and Gregor will want to check you and the baby out as well.”
At the mention of her child, Hayley shook her head to clear her maudlin thoughts. She’d worried about the drugs they’d given her. “They drugged us, Diana. Me and Grace need to be checked out. Grace first, as she’s due soon.”
The other human finally spoke. “I was due a week ago.” Her voice fell to a whisper. “I didn’t want him or her born here, though, regardless of their bastard father. I’m glad my wishing worked.”
There was such sadness in Grace’s voice. Hayley walked over and opened her arms. “Can I hug you?”
She nodded, and Hayley engulfed the woman in a hug. She was younger than Hayley, although not by much. And she hated to think that some dragon-shifter had hurt her.
Well, if nothing else, Hayley would ensure Grace stayed with her child, if she wished to.
That’s right, think of work. It’ll distract you. For now.
Diana motioned for them to follow. “Come on. We need to get you two out of here.”
And so she went, helping Grace—who had trouble with the stairs—and somehow went through the motions of leaving and being taken back to Stonefire.
Images of Nathan still on the ground kept creeping into her mind, though. And while Nikki said no news was good news, her stomach twisted in knots the entire way back to Stonefire.