Chapter Twenty-Three #2
Rowan paused, his frustration rising to a new level.
He was starting to feel like a guy in a rowboat with only one oar.
Rowing a boat with only one paddle meant one thing.
You ended up rowing around in circles or taking a long time getting to where you needed to go.
“And why are you just now sharing this choice tidbit? You knew I was looking for Morgan.”
“If I told you where she was, the lady I was betrothed to would have me drawn and quartered, and I’d never have another chance to ask her to marry me. Like I said, where our women are concerned, it’s complicated.”
Rowan shoved the door open to the outside, hoping the assassin had circled back and was standing behind it so Rowan could vent his frustration and slam him into the next dimension. “And they say women are the weaker sex.”
“You’re talking about a myth perpetrated by men. Women, whether human or magical, aren’t weaker, they’re just more subtle in how and when they use their power.”
“Amen.”
****
Three in the morning, and The Pike Place Market looked deserted.
The street in front of the Market was a different scenario.
Traffic resembled rush hour. Horns blared, people hailed cabs or ran from the market while fire trucks and police and aid cars jammed the narrow streets.
All that was missing was a man with a beard down to his navel, carrying an eerily prophetic poster that read “Repent. The End Is Near.”
Renegade pointed toward a cab parked on the corner a short distance away. “Looks like I’m not going to have a chance to show off my tracking skills after all. There’s milady. My guess is that Morgan either didn’t receive my message to stay away or ignored it.
Morgan stepped out of a checkered cab and paid the driver as she waited for a file of cars to pass so she could cross the street.
The dog Rowan had saved bounded out of the back seat and took his place next to Morgan.
Wiz stared in Rowan’s direction as though waiting for the order to rip out Rowan’s throat.
Rowan might have saved the shapeshifter’s life, but Wiz’s first loyalty was to Morgan. Rowan begrudgingly admired him for it.
“Question. You keep referring to Morgan as ‘milady.’ Why?”
“I thought you knew. Caitlin, the female Wizard who died on Bealtaine, was the leader of the female Water Wizards. When she was murdered, Morgan was next in line to become their new leader. Caitlin’s murder triggered an old alliance between female Wizards and Trolls.
Simply put, if you tried to harm a hair on Morgan’s head, I’d kill you without a moment’s hesitation. ”
“And here I thought we were pals.”
Renegade grinned when they reached the cab. “That was almost funny. I was told you didn’t have a sense of humor.”
In a lull in traffic, Morgan crossed the street and headed toward him.
Her appearance hit him like a bolt of lightning.
He swore the woman was more beautiful each time he saw her.
She was dressed to blend in, wearing light-colored slacks, a cream sweater and a trench coat.
Her efforts to blend in failed in spectacular fashion, if the appreciative glances cast her way were any indication.
Sensual images of their brief time in the alley and their night together scrolled through his mind, heating the air around him. What he wanted to do was forget the events of the last few hours and pull her into his arms and make love.
Instead, he forced a neutral tone into his voice, congratulating himself on his restraint. “This place is too dangerous and congested. I’ll fill you in when we get somewhere safe. My apartment is a short walk from here. I think it’s time we regrouped and started sharing information.”
Morgan glanced beyond Rowan and Renegade to the congestion at Pike Place Market. “Where is your brother?”
“Last I heard, he took AJ back to his place. Why?”
“I told him it wasn’t safe there and to meet us here.”
“It wasn’t safe here either, but here you are,” Rowan said under his breath as he felt all the air rush out of his lungs. “Wait. How do you know my brother?” Reality dug in as he spun toward the Market and the destruction of the attack. Was his brother trapped inside?
Renegade put a steadying hand on Rowan’s shoulder. “He wasn’t inside. Believe me. Your brother’s not someone who goes unnoticed.”
“Except when he doesn’t want to be noticed.
” Rowan reached for his cell phone and dialed Stryker’s number.
He’d found out the hard way that Morgan was a seer.
If she said you were going to be hit by an oncoming truck, you’d better start making funeral arrangements.
“My brother’s not answering.” Rowan couldn’t breathe.
“Use the cell your brother asked me to give you,” Renegade said.
Rowan felt ice-cold as he retrieved the phone and punched in Stryker’s number again. It went straight to voice mail after the first ring, but the greeting sent chills down his spine.
“Dragons are coming.”
Rowan clicked off the phone. “I must go. Morgan…”
She laced her arm around the Troll. “Renegade will take me to your apartment. I’ll wait for you there.”
His core heated, Rowan raced toward Stryker’s house on Bainbridge Island. Dragons are coming was their code phrase for danger.