Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
I’d never tell Iolana how safe I felt having her beside me. She might refuse to carry a gun—silly squeamish woman—but she would protect me. I snuggled against her chest, and she cradled me with her hand. The steady thud of her heart lulled me to sleep.
I woke to find myself alone, and for a moment, my mouth went dry and my heart raced as panic filled me. It eased the moment she emerged from the chamber pot room.
“Morning,” she chirped. “You staying in bed or coming with me? I was going to head down to the kitchen and get started on breakfast.”
“I’ll come with you,” I declared, scrambling out from under the covers and scampering over the mattress.
“In that case, no whining while I cook, nor snatching the ingredients.”
“How else will I see how things taste before they get cooked?”
“Raw meat is bad for you.”
“Bad for humans,” I corrected as we exited the room. “Dragons don’t have that difficulty.”
“You know, on second thought, how about you watch some television in the living room and I’ll call you when it’s ready?”
“By myself?” I hated how pathetic that emerged.
“Why don’t we see if Keanu can keep you company.”
The old man didn’t have a choice but to wake since Iolana pounded on his door until he yelled, “Go away.”
“I can’t. You’re needed downstairs.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to make breakfast.”
“And? Since when do you expect me to do women’s work?”
Iolana rolled her eyes. “Listen, Captain Caveman, if you want food that isn’t poured from a box, you will get your butt downstairs right now. There was an incident overnight, and as a precaution, Tigger shouldn’t be alone.”
“Wait, the dragon needs me? Why didn’t you say so?” Keanu suddenly opened his door, his hair standing on end, his belly straining the shirt he’d worn to sleep in. “What happened to my friend?”
Friend? It pleased me more than I expected to be called that.
“A drone came snooping last night, and in escaping it, Tigger fell from a cliff.”
“Is he okay?” Keanu’s eyes widened.
“He’s fine,” Iolana hastened to add. “He got his wings and glided to safety.”
“I took out the drone,” I added rather proudly. I didn’t mention the fact that knocking it out of the sky didn’t impede its spying ability.
“Of course you did. You’re a tricky dragon. Let me see those wings.” Keanu held out his beefy hands, and Iolana transferred me over. “Well, well. Look at you. A proper dragon now.”
“As if there was any doubt,” I snorted.
“Can I count on you to keep him safe?” Iolana asked.
“Only if you promise to make more hashbrowns than yesterday. Someone ate more than his fair share.” Keanu eyed me, the unabashed culprit.
I lifted my chin. “Not my fault you were slow.”
To everyone’s shock, most especially Iolana, Keanu chuckled. “You can bet I’ll be faster today.”
He tried, but I remained quicker. However, I ended up eating less than usual. Blame the worried expression on Apollo’s face. He knew something.
I confronted him after breakfast. “You are keeping secrets from me,” I hissed.
“He found out a few things but didn’t want to worry you.” Iolana hastened to his defense.
“You told her and not me?” The affront had me bristling.
“Only the barest details,” Apollo quickly interjected, as if that would appease.
“Stop being such a drama dragon,” Iolana chided. “He was planning to tell you after breakfast so as to not ruin your appetite.”
“I’ve completed my repast. Now, report.” I waved a claw imperiously.
“It seems I should have done a deep dive on Malone before I messaged him.” Apollo rubbed his jaw.
“Turns out the man is on the outs with the scientific community because he’s a crook.
The foundation he was running into the research of the existence of mythical creatures let him go quietly a few years ago after discovering he’d been funneling donations into overseas accounts. ”
“To do what?” Iolana asked.
“Not entirely sure. Malone did cover his tracks well. From what I could glean, he appears to have used some of it to fund trips around the world.”
“Where?” I asked, even as I had a sneaky suspicion. “Would those places happen to be where those videos of dragons were taken?”
“Not just those locations. He had a thing for visiting recent volcanic eruption sites, possibly because he had something to do with it. One of his shell companies bought the patent for a device that, in simple terms, can cause volcanoes, even sleeping ones, to become active.”
“Why would anyone devise, let alone use, something like that?” Iolana exclaimed.
“To hatch dragons, of course.” It seemed very obvious to me. I tilted my head. “He’s hunting my kind.”
“So it appears. Whether or not he’s succeeded in finding any dragons, though, I couldn’t discover. I do know he was fairly active with his travels until about six or seven months ago. Then, it’s like he went to ground and didn’t resurface until I contacted him.”
“There’s more.” Call it intuition, but I could sense it.
“Two local men, who have a long rap sheet, mostly involving petty theft, turned up dead this morning in an alley. Police are claiming they overdosed, but the wife of one of the deceased told a reporter they were murdered. She mentioned something about them being hired to hit a house and steal anything related to a lizard and to make it look like a robbery. She claims they were supposed to meet with the person who hired them for payment, only they ended up dead instead.”
“Someone’s tying up loose ends,” Iolana murmured.
“Did the wife mention Malone’s name?” I asked.
Apollo shook his head. “No, but given what I’ve learned about the disgraced doctor, I’m thinking he’s definitely responsible.”
“Which would make him a killer.” Iolana paced, wringing her hands.
“Seems like.” A grim reply.
“Good work, protector.” See, I could give praise when warranted, but I followed it up with a slight whack of the verbal stick. “But I’ve yet to hear you mention your plan to get rid of Malone. So long as he’s alive, the man is a danger to me.”
“I’m working on locating him. It’s not going to be easy, though. There are too many hotels in the area he could be staying at, not to mention private rentals.”
“What about his rental car? Don’t people have to provide a local address as part of the rental agreement?” Iolana suggested.
“I already looked into that. The sly bastard used mine.” Apollo’s lips turned down. “The man made sure to cover his tracks.”
“Malone’s going to come after Tigger, isn’t he?” Iolana chewed her lower lip.
“He can try, but I don’t plan to make it easy.
Within the hour, a security company is going to be installing cameras that will capture every inch of the property perimeter.
I’m going to have some watching the beach as well.
A drone jammer will be delivered in a few days.
As well, I’ll be interviewing some guards to patrol the property, which means—”
“I’m to be a prisoner in my own home,” I lamented. “The cruelty.”
“Only until the Malone situation is resolved,” Apollo promised. “Hopefully this will only be for a few days.”
“There’d better be plenty of food.” I offered a mighty scowl.
“Tons, and after talking it over with Iolana, we’ve decided we’re going to introduce you to Francine.”
“The chef?” I straightened with interest.
Apollo nodded. “She’s been working for me for years. Super loyal. When I told her I was relocating to Hawaii, she offered to come so she could continue cooking for me. I think you’ll like her, and I know she’ll enjoy testing out her creations on you.”
A new servant for my retinue somewhat mollified my irritation at being housebound.
“Keanu will be staying?” I directed the query at Iolana.
She nodded. “He’s not going anywhere.”
“Very well. I suppose I can live—for a short while—with these inconveniences.”
“You’re being so brave,” Iolana crooned.
“I am a dragon. We are not cowards.” Words I wished I felt. The knot in my belly wouldn’t go away no matter how much I ate.
And ate.
Francine, a lovely older woman, did her best. She’d been wide-eyed with shock when first introduced but then honored to become part of my personal inner circle. So honored, she made me a chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting, a layer of cherry jam, and sugared cherries on top.
It was glorious and left me feeling sleepy. Keanu carried me to bed and, without asking, lay down beside me.
“What are you doing?”
“Napping, apparently. Iolana says you’re not to be alone.”
“I’m not a baby,” I grumbled, even as I welcomed his presence. While I could ask Iolana to snuggle, males could never show such weakness to each other.
Sometime later, as I drowsed, Iolana fetched Keanu, something about needing his help. Whatever. My last molt had left me tired, and so I slipped off into dreamland again—where I stood taller than a house and everyone loved me.
I woke when someone entered the room, their scent unknown to me. Before I could cry out in alarm, a smelly cloth was thrown over my snout.
A chemical-induced drowsiness took me, and when I regained consciousness, I found myself in my enemy’s clutches.