6. Chapter 6
Thump. Thump.
Why was a bass drum playing in his skull?
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Damn. He needed to tell whoever was pounding that drum to knock it the hell off. He growled as he opened his eyes and took in the woman sitting next to him.
Had he finally died? The beauty had to be an angel, which made him think it was a possibility.
Then the angel spoke. “It’s about time you woke up.”
He blinked and his brain clicked with recognition…Sienna.
“How long have I been out?”
Sienna leaned closer. “About fifteen hours.”
He took in the large bedroom. “Where am I?”
“The dragon clan house.”
He growled again. “Damn woman. Why would you bring me here?”
Her eyes widened at his tone and then narrowed like a laser beam taking in its target.
“Well, let’s see. You were shot with an arrow and we escaped through some underground tunnel, and then they set off explosions and you proceeded to pass out in the car while I was getting us the hell out of there.
Where exactly did you expect me to take you? ”
“Anywhere but here.”
“Sorry.” Although she sounded anything but. “You were unconscious, so I got to make the unilateral decision. Instead of growling at me, you should be thanking me.”
“I’m not going to thank you for putting everyone else in danger.”
“You needed help. I couldn’t dump you on the side of the road, although listening to you now, it should have been an option I considered more carefully. By the time I got you here, you didn’t look invincible. Far from it.”
He sighed. “I can’t die. It doesn’t mean I can’t be hurt.”
“Obviously.” Her gaze softened as she took in his exposed chest. He fisted his hands in the blankets to stop from reaching up and covering his scars.
“Where are Eric and Adam?” he barked.
Her eyes moved from his chest and narrowed on his face again. Good—he could handle annoyed Sienna. Caring Sienna? Not so much.
“They’re meeting with Marcus, who is our head of security. They sent some guards to check out your house.”
“They shouldn’t engage them.”
“Engage who? Who attacked us?”
John ignored her question, looking around the room again. Where was it?
“Your backpack and the duffel from your truck are on the chair in the corner,” she said as if reading his thoughts. “No one has gone through your bags, John.”
Now it was his turn to narrow his eyes on her.
“I know your backpack is important to you. It was the only thing you took from your cabin before we ran. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.”
It was time for him to get out of here. He tried to sit up, but his side protested loudly.
“Take it easy.”
Sienna’s hands landed on his chest, and he hissed at her touch. It was like a firebrand, and his whole body took notice.
She jerked her hands away. “I’m sorry, did I hurt you?”
He shook his head, staring at the IV in his arm. “I need to leave.”
She shook her head right back. “You need to see the doctor first.”
“No,” he growled. “I need—”
She held up her hand as if he were a recalcitrant child, and his tongue stumbled to a stop at her nerve. Seriously? Was this female not intimidated by anything?
She pulled out her phone and clicked on a number before resting it against her ear. “Hello, Ian. He’s awake.”
Ian? Who the hell was Ian?
She looked him over. “He’s alert and cranky, so I would say he’s back to normal.” She smiled at whatever Ian was saying. “Okay. We’ll see you in a few.”
“What was that about?”
“Dr. Murphy wanted to know when you woke up so he could come check on you.”
Why wasn’t he surprised that she was on a first name basis with the doctor? “I’m fine.”
Sienna frowned. “You’re not Superman. The arrow punctured your side, and the poison knocked you on your ass. So you are going to humor all of us and have the doctor check you over before you even think about getting out of bed, Sir Grumps-a-Lot.”
“You sound like Tessa.”
She shrugged. “Who do you think I got the name from?”
He glanced away for a moment to hide the smile that had reluctantly started to form.
He schooled his expression before looking up at her.
Her blond hair was pulled back in a sloppy ponytail, and she had dark smudges under her eyes.
But her expression told him that she would tackle him to the ground if he tried to get up.
And would that really be such a bad thing?
Nope. Not going there. He was losing control of this situation. Ah hell, who was he kidding, he’d never had control of the situation to begin with.
So he nodded and her eyes widened at his acquiescence. “We’ll wait for the doctor. But then I’m out of here.”
Her golden-brown eyes darkened, and his heart rate accelerated at the challenge in her gaze.
A few minutes later, a male carrying a medical bag walked into the room followed by Adam, Eric, and an older male. Introductions were made to Dr. Murphy and Marcus, the head of clan security.
Dr. Murphy took a few minutes examining him before stepping back. “You’re doing much better. I’m going to remove the IV, but you still need to take it easy.”
Sienna crossed her arms. “Which is the opposite of leaving.”
Eric took a step closer to the bed. “Are you still planning on taking off?”
“Yes. I knew something was coming. After what just happened, you can’t blame me.”
“I can blame you,” Sienna said. “Like it or not. You pulled us into what’s happening. We all need to break this curse.”
He respected her conviction, but that didn’t mean he would agree with her. “You have all suffered enough from what I started. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She leaned closer to him and he would swear the gold in her eyes flickered like flames. “Your grandmother created the curse and used her own grandson’s blood to strengthen it. You’re as much a victim as anyone.”
A sharp pain centered in his chest like he’d been shot again. Her words were meant to console him, yet they did the opposite. He looked away from her to Marcus. “Have you increased your guards around the property?”
“Yes. We have the house on lockdown for now. Guards around the perimeter of the house and overlooking the valley and reserve lands behind us. Cameras that watch multiple entry points that we installed last year. We haven’t seen anything yet.”
John nodded and kept his attention on Marcus even though he could feel Sienna staring at him. She was too close for comfort. “You checked the cabin?”
Marcus stopped near the foot of the bed. “Yes, from overhead. The cabin was destroyed, as was Sienna’s car. We saw four men walking the woods for several hours before settling down and watching the area. They finally left a couple of hours ago. Since then, the forest has been empty.”
“Why would they destroy your cabin and my car?” Sienna asked.
“They didn’t. It was the charges I set to blow the house before intruders could get inside.”
She jumped to her feet. “You blew up my car!”
He shook his head. “Technically I blew up the cabin and your car got in the way.”
Yep. Fire was definitely coming from her eyes now.
“Okay. Let’s calm down and talk about this.” Adam held up his hands before turning to John. “Why did you blow up your cabin?”
John closed his eyes for a second. “Because whoever came there was after me, and if they couldn’t get me, then they would settle for information about the curse.” He glanced at the backpack in the corner.
Sienna frowned. “We escaped. What was left behind that was important enough to blow up your cabin?”
Did he really want to tell them the truth? But he owed them after everything he’d put them through. “Because I can’t risk leaving any of me behind.”
Dr. Murphy nodded. “Your DNA.”
“Exactly. My blood has kept a curse going for over four centuries. What if witches got their hands on some more of it?”
Dr. Murphy bent down and pulled out the IV, then taped a piece of gauze over his arm. He held up the needle and tube. “We’ll burn all the medical waste. And once you’re up, we’ll burn the bedding and scrub down the room.”
Eric shook his head. “I don’t understand why witches would want to strengthen the curse. It’s taking away their magic as well.”
“Maybe ‘strengthen’ was the wrong word to use,” John said. “They could also want to change the curse so that it only affects dragons.”
Adam grimaced. “And we’re not just dealing with witches now. We’re dealing with Templars who, if our theory is correct, are trying to destroy us. They will do anything to that end, even lie to witches, promising them that their magic will be restored if they help.”
“My vote is that this was a Templar attack.” Marcus crossed his arms. “Don’t know why witches would use arrows.”
“Unless they don’t have any magical powers any longer,” Eric said.
Sienna turned to her brother. “But we know some do. They attacked you and Adam in the past.”
She was making his argument for him. “Which is why I need to leave. It’s been a while since I’ve been attacked. They’re getting nervous, which makes them dangerous.”
Adam frowned. “Except you aren’t the only one under attack now. Our clan isn’t safe either.”
“Which is why we need to stick together,” Sienna announced. “We obviously are close to figuring out how to reverse this curse, or they wouldn’t be attacking us.”
“That doesn’t mean I should stay in the clan house. It would be safer without me here. You can’t argue that.”
Sienna crossed her arms. “Except you aren’t strong enough to leave right now. Ian?”
Dr. Murphy nodded. “I would say you need at least another day to recuperate. If you leave and collapse somewhere, they could find you.”
“Fine,” John ground out. “But I’m gone tomorrow.”
Sienna opened her mouth and then closed it without responding. But she didn’t need to say a word. Her expression told him what she was thinking. We’ll just see about that.
And his heart thumped like his head had been doing earlier. He was in trouble with this female.