3. Chapter 3
That was an epic failure. Stupendous. Astounding.
Sienna took a deep, centering breath and told Veronica to shut up.
John Baker was infuriating. Of course she had heard about him from her brothers and sisters-in-law, each painting a unique picture of him.
But meeting him face-to-face was another story.
He was a large man. Imposing. Brown hair a tad too long and five-o’clock shadow that wasn’t for show.
He didn’t strike her as a male trying to prove anything.
After centuries was there anything to prove, really?
But his light blue, almost gray eyes hid plenty.
And she had this need to figure out what he was about.
What made him tick, even though his whole demeanor screamed “back the hell away.”
You should be getting up and personal instead, Veronica whispered. Apparently V needed a lesson in impulse control.
Ryan cleared his throat, stopping the argument she was about to have with herself. Her nerves danced as she waited for him to speak. Instead he kept suspiciously quiet until he turned onto the main road. “That didn’t go exactly to plan.”
Just perfect. He sounded like a nicer version of her scolding inner voice. “Eavesdropping, huh?”
“Of course I was listening in.” He smirked. “That’s what makes me a good assistant. Now you don’t have to repeat yourself.”
“Are you seriously sticking with that?” She scowled at him.
He glanced over at her before turning back to the road. “Damn. That look is scary.”
“Worse than my throat-punch face?”
He nodded. “Yep. Now your face is telling me you want to punch something farther south.”
He wasn’t wrong. Which is why he was her best friend.
He cleared his throat again. “Maybe he’ll change his mind?”
A snort escaped her. “Does he strike you as someone who changes their mind?”
“So you approach this another way. Think it through.”
She looked at his profile. “Meaning I didn’t think things through before I came here?”
“I know I’m risking certain parts of my anatomy right now.
” He glanced over at her quickly before turning back to the road.
“But no, I think you reacted to your crap meeting earlier and wanted to do something. And I understand that, but this guy has been dealing with this curse for centuries by himself.”
“Except now the witches and Templars are attacking us,” she argued. “I know something is going to happen soon. We have to be ready for it.”
“How many times do you think he’s faced danger or been attacked? He might see this as another step in his ongoing never-ending life. What you see as urgent doesn’t even faze him.”
Sienna blinked. Damn. How had she not thought of that? “You’re right.”
Ryan smiled. “And you hate it.”
Veronica giggled. Little traitor. Sienna returned his smile. “I do. So what do you suggest, all-great-and-powerful Ry?”
He chuckled. “I like the sound of that. Will you keep calling me that?”
“Hell no,” she answered, fussing with her sunglasses so that she could hide her smile.
“I figured as much, but I had to ask. Okay. So John obviously isn’t too concerned about the asshats in the other clans. And in his defense, I agree with him to a certain degree. I think you need to figure out what would make John want to help.”
“You want me to figure out what motivates a four-hundred-plus-year-old grumpy hermit?”
Ryan merged onto the highway. “Isn’t that why you’re paid the big bucks, fearless leader?”
“I’m not paid any bucks!” She tilted her head from side to side to relieve her stiff neck. “But I get what you’re saying.”
He looked over at her. “You need to get rid of all that tension. How about once we get back to the house, we go work out in the training center. You need more practice on your defensive skills, and you keep finding excuses to miss our workouts.”
She sat up straight. “They’re not excuses! I’m…running a clan,” she sputtered. “I have responsibilities.”
“As your PA, I’m well aware of all your responsibilities.”
“Seriously?” She glared at the side of his face since all of a sudden he wouldn’t take his eyes off the road.
He shrugged. “Have we not already established that you obviously need to punch something?”
“That’s not hard to guess. Was this your plan all along? Get me mad enough that I would agree to kick your butt?”
“Right. You figured me out.” Ryan laughed. “Except for the part about you kicking my butt.”
Sienna laughed too. “We’ll see about that.”
A short time later, Ryan drove through the gate and up to the clan house.
Her sisters-in-law, Megan and Tessa, stood on the front steps, and Sienna barely held back a groan as she took off her sunglasses.
She’d forgotten all about their plans for tonight, especially after the failed meeting she’d just escaped from.
Before she could make it up the stairs onto the porch, Tessa groaned. “Oh no, I’ve seen that look before.”
Why was everyone suddenly an expert on her facial expressions? “What look?”
“You don’t want to go out. Adam and Eric are babysitting the kids tonight. Megan and I need to get our drink on!”
“My schedule is booked. It’s all Ryan’s fault,” Sienna said with a shrug. Let’s see how Ryan planned to get out of this one.
Tessa turned toward Ryan and plopped her hands on her hips. “She will work herself into the ground if you let her.”
Ryan’s eyes widened. No one wanted to face off with Tessa. “We can reschedule.”
Sienna shook her head. “Nope. I have been avoiding my training. You were right to hold me accountable.” She looked down to hide her smile when Ryan narrowed his eyes at her.
“What sort of training?” Megan asked.
“Self-defense,” Ryan answered.
Megan nodded. “That is important.”
Maybe Sienna would get out of going to a bar yet.
Tessa pouted. “So is stress release, friendship, and libations.” She tapped her finger to her chin. “You go ahead and get ready to work out. I have an idea. I need to talk to some people.” She turned on her heel and headed back into the house.
Now Sienna was scared. Tessa’s ideas could be wild or often problematic. She glanced at Megan, who was as wide-eyed as the rest of them. “I’ll go see if I can rein her in.”
“Good luck with that.” Ryan chuckled as Megan followed Tessa.
Sienna sighed, which made Ryan’s chuckle grow into a laugh.
“It’s not funny,” she grumbled.
“Neither was you throwing me under the Tessa bus.”
“You’re right. I should have known it would come back to bite me. I’m going to go change before she gets another idea. I’ll meet you in the training center in thirty minutes.”
True to her word, Sienna walked into the training building that sat to the left behind the clan house and came to a stop.
The space was normally a large open area with mirrors and various equipment on the outside walls.
The dragon guards trained in the building under the watchful eye of Marcus, their head of security and a surrogate uncle to Sienna.
Tonight the one corner had been transformed. A table and chairs had been set up with a festive tablecloth. Tessa and Megan sat at the table with chips, salsa, and a pitcher of margaritas.
Tessa held up her glass. “We’re here to cheer you on while you work out with Ryan.”
Of course they were. Tessa was nothing if not persistent. Ryan was over at the side grinning as he stretched.
“What are you grinning at?” she asked.
“Nothing.” But the jerk kept on grinning.
Tessa clapped her hands. “All right, you two. We want a clean fight. Let’s see what Ryan’s taught you.”
Sienna’s eyebrows rose at the declaration, and she looked at Megan, who simply shrugged.
“If you’re so excited about this, why don’t you fight him, Tessa?” Sienna said.
“Sweetie. I started modeling at fourteen. My mother had me in self-defense classes before the ink was dry on my first contract. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Forty minutes later, Sienna was sweating and irritated. Ryan had showed her some moves, and now he was circling her, getting ready to attack so that she could defend herself. Marcus had trained her as a teenager, but she had to admit that she’d gotten rusty.
Plus, the longer they worked out, the louder Tessa’s suggestions became. The clean fight she had requested earlier had been forgotten. Instead her cheering was more suited for an underground cage match.
“Go for his junk!” she hollered.
Ryan stopped circling and glared at her.
“What? The number one point of defense is to go for vulnerable places, right? There are numerous men from my past whose ability to father children is now in question.”
Sienna leaned forward, placed her hands on her knees, and sucked in a deep breath. The funny or maybe scary thing was she didn’t doubt that Tessa was telling the truth.
Ryan rested his hands on his hips. “The number one point of self-defense is actually to get away. If you have to attack, you do go for the vulnerable areas—eyes, nose, and groin area.”
Tessa raised her glass. “Exactly!”
Before she could make more suggestions, Marilyn, the clan cook, walked into the center with a tray of snacks and another pitcher of margaritas, distracting Tessa. “Taquitos and fresh guacamole! You’re amazing.”
Marilyn smiled. “I enjoy cooking for someone who appreciates food. I’ll bring the churros in a little while.”
“Let’s stop for today,” Ryan said. “Just promise me you’ll drink a large glass of water before you start in on the margaritas.”
Sienna nodded. “Yes, Mom.”
“You can join us, Ryan,” Megan offered.
He shook his head. “That’s okay. You all need to catch up.” He turned and grinned at Sienna, and her alarm bells started to ring. “Maybe they can give you some advice.”
Tessa perked up. “Advice? Advice on what?”
Not for the first time Sienna wished that she had laser vision and could give her best friend a sunburn right now. Ryan picked up his towel and winked at her before escaping.
Sienna sighed as she wiped her face with her towel and then plopped down at the table.
Megan handed her a bottle of water. “Do you want to tell us what Ryan was talking about?”
She took several big gulps before she set the bottle down. “I had a Dragon Council meeting today.”
Tessa’s nose wrinkled like she smelled something rotten. “Adam mentioned that. Are they still not taking the threats seriously?”
She turned the bottle in her hands. “No, and I was so frustrated I decided to do something about it.”
“What did you do?” Megan asked.
Sienna picked at the label on the bottle. “I guess you could say I channeled my inner Tessa.”
“Oh yeah!” Tessa exclaimed.
“Oh no,” Megan mumbled at the same time.
“It didn’t go so well.”
“At least you’re not in jail,” Megan volunteered.
“Hey!” Tessa barked. “Not fair. I’ve only been arrested once, okay…twice. But it wasn’t my fault, and the charges were dropped.”
“I went to see John.”
Megan’s eyebrows shot up. “John Baker?”
“The one and only.”
Tessa crowed. “Oh boy. I bet he didn’t take that well.”
“You could say that. But I thought if he was willing to speak to the Dragon Council, maybe they would believe him about the curse.”
Megan set her glass down. “The guy who won’t leave his cabin or barely talk to anyone?”
“I know. I didn’t think it through. But he doesn’t care that the other clans—or asshats, as he calls them—believe or not. He said that’s not our problem.”
“I never thought I would say this, but I agree with John,” Tessa said.
“You agree with John about what?” a voice called out.
Sienna turned to see Adam and Eric walking toward them.
In front of them Lily held Arabella’s hand as she toddled alongside her older cousin.
Bella let go of her hand when they reached the large mat in the center of the room, and plopped down on her bottom.
Lily twirled in a circle as Bella squealed.
Adam leaned over and kissed Tessa on top of the head. “You, Tessa Marie Stuart Simonson, admit to agreeing with John Baker on something? I need to hear more.”
“Me too,” Eric added.
Tessa looked at Sienna as if to ask permission before speaking. “John said that if the other clans don’t believe about the threat, that’s not our problem.”
Adam frowned. “When did you talk to him?”
Sienna might as well rip the Band-Aid off. “I talked to him. I, ah, went to see him.”
Now both Eric and Adam were frowning.
“It was time for me to meet him. The rest of you had already had the pleasure.”
Tessa snorted. “So true.”
“Tessa’s rubbing off on you,” Eric said.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Tessa said before she raised her glass and took a sip. “Why don’t you fill us in on the conversation with Sir Grumps-a-Lot?”
Sienna relayed what happened, and they sat quietly until she finished. Adam gave her a long look. “I asked you what was wrong earlier today, and you didn’t mention any of this.”
“I know. I decided to see John when I got back to the office and started thinking about next steps. We have to do something. What if we showed the other clans the curse?” She held up her hands before they could protest, and glanced over at her nieces as they played.
“We could remove the line about the oracles.”
The couples looked at each other, communicating without saying a word. A small ache settled in her chest. She was happy for her brothers, but she couldn’t help but wish she had that sort of connection with someone.
“We don’t have to decide anything now,” Sienna said as she watched Lily turn Bella around very slowly, both girls giggling.
Eric watched the girls as well. “Bella, Lily, it’s time for bed. Come get your good-night kisses.”
Tessa and Megan held out their arms as the girls climbed into their laps for smooches.
When they were done, the girls climbed into Sienna’s lap, and she kissed them both, hanging on tight.
She wouldn’t do anything to hurt these girls.
Would destroy anyone who tried. But she couldn’t get over the feeling that sitting back and doing nothing would put them in danger as well.
And as clan leader it was her job to protect them all.