Chapter 20 #2
When the screen loaded, I almost gaped at the flames eating the interior of the barn. Sitting there amidst the inferno—looking majorly pissed—was my Little Fella.
I did what any good pet owner—and friend—would do. Told him to escape and got slapped for it. Coppery blood ended up in my mouth because my lip split on my tooth. The pain didn’t bother me as much as Abaddon’s agreement.
He was turning himself in to save me.
Aw. He did like me.
Despite Abaddon’s capitulation, Malone made a phone call and barked out orders.
“Tell the team to get suited up ASAP. The creature’s on its way.
I want everyone equipped with a canister of sleeping gas, which means masks on.
While the creature has agreed to hand itself over, it might try and fight at the last minute. ”
As Malone stalked off, preparing for the drag-ageddon, Leo crouched by me. “Don’t look so worried. Malone’s not going to hurt him.”
“Doesn’t sound like it,” I muttered.
“I’m afraid he still sees dragons as vicious monsters and not the intelligent, thinking beings that they are. But I do.”
“You forget, Abaddon is still pretty much a baby, or would that be teenager in dragon weeks? He might not react the way you expect.”
“Then help me. Help us. Explain to him we don’t wish him any harm.”
“You want me to lie.” A flat reply.
“I see you’re not ready yet to change your way of thinking. I’ll let you ponder it while I go and check the last-minute preparations for the habitat. I am hoping the crate of Cheetos I ordered arrived. I’ve noticed how fond he seems to be of them.”
The casual way he dropped that—a not-subtle-at-all admission of the spying—pissed me off. Leo left, giddy with excitement, while I stewed. Worried about Abaddon. Frustrated at the situation.
If only I could set myself free, maybe I could do something.
Being a big movie buff, I knew of one trick that people tied to chairs tended to do, but it would hurt.
I grimaced before attempting to rock the seat.
Sturdy fucker wouldn’t even wobble, which made me doubt falling over would snap it into pieces.
The next thing folks did was find something sharp to slice their restraints.
A glance at the desk in front of me showed a smooth, glossy surface.
Leo didn’t use his office for much more than show.
A clatter of boots and people shouting indicated something was happening. The next few moments seemed to involve those outside the office scattering as it soon grew quiet. Too quiet. What was going on?
A distant scream that cut off abruptly made me stiffen. Sounded like Abaddon might have arrived, but apparently not to meekly turn himself in.
My lips curved. “That’s my Little Fella.”
Crash. The sudden noise made me frown, especially seeing as it was followed by the noise of a revving motor. Had someone crashed into the house?
I got my answer when the door to the office was flung open and in stalked Maddox, my big, beautiful boyfriend.
“Pip, thank fuck you’re okay,” he exclaimed.
“Hey, babe. I’d give you a hello kiss but I’m kind of tied up.”
His expression turned rigid as he took in my state. A pocketknife emerged as he knelt behind me. “Give me a second to get these ties off you,” he muttered tightly as he began to saw at my wrists.
“What are you doing here? I thought you needed to keep an eye on your shop?”
“Turns out Suzy was out of power, too, and since she lives only a block away, offered to mind the genny and the store so I could run out and check on you. While en route, Abaddon texted me to say you were in trouble.”
“I’m in trouble? He’s the one in real danger,” I exclaimed.
“Leo was behind those attempts to kidnap Abaddon. He sent that fucker in the suit, who goes by the name Malone, and those goons to my trailer. Turns out, Abaddon was right. They were spying on us at the barn as well as drugging us at night to take samples from Abaddon.”
“Those fuckers!” Maddox swore.
“Now they’re planning to stick Abaddon in some kind of cage to study him. We have to get him away from here.”
“Don’t worry about bud. He’s holding his own outside and making those thugs regret their life choices.”
The plastic tie fell from my wrists and I pulled my arms forward as I stood to rub the sore spot. “He’s in danger. Malone’s got his goons armed with sleeping gas.”
“Those cannisters they tried throwing?” Maddox chuckled. “Yeah, between the blizzard conditions blowing the shit away and Abaddon using them as target practice, that ain’t working out so well for them.”
As if to prove that point, shouting erupted, followed by a drawn-out, gurgling shriek.
My brows raised. “Guess Malone wasn’t exaggerating when he said Abaddon was killing his goons.”
“Bud is pissed. His text to me was: Since you’re not here to do your job, I shall have to go myself to save Pip from her evil employer and his minions.”
For some reason that made me chuckle. “Sounds like my Little Fella. Although, I’m not sure I approve of his murderous retaliation.”
“You’d prefer they captured him?”
“No, but let’s see if we can wrangle him and get out of here before he does something we can’t hide.”
As we exited the office together, I noticed the front door caved in by Maddox’s truck, the engine sputtering, the front wheels still spinning. Swirling through the gaps, snow entered the house, bringing a chill.
I uttered a low whistle. “Damn, that’s going to take some work to buff out.”
“Just a little,” Maddox quipped. “Shall we go give bud a hand?”
The sudden brightness as flames jetted made me think that going out the front door might not be the best idea.
I thought of the layout, the ranch-style home offering many exits, but we had to be careful.
Malone and his goons were out there hunting my Little Fella.
I wouldn’t want to get darted—or roasted—by accident.
“Let’s try popping out via the French doors in the living room so we can figure out what’s going on instead of diving right into the action.
” I dragged Maddox left into a room that could have fit my trailer several times over.
It held a few leather couches, the biggest television available to buy, and an eclectic display of art on the walls that had me pausing suddenly as I really looked at it.
“What’s wrong?” Maddox asked.
“It was in front of me the entire time.” I pointed. “Leo’s obsession with dragons.”
Previously I’d assumed the many paintings displaying fantastical landscapes were just because Leo thought them cool, but I realized now that each and every one displayed a dragon of some sort, whether as a tiny speck in the sky or wrapped around a pile of treasure.
Add in his admission that his dinosaur bones were in actuality dragon ones, and I couldn’t believe I’d never realized Leo’s fixation.
Then again, even if I had noticed I’d have played it off because dragons weren’t supposed to exist.
Opening the French doors let in a blast of cold air and snow that had my teeth chattering. I still had on my jacket, albeit unzipped, and my boots, but hadn’t worn a hat or gloves on the ride over so my hands immediately got cold.
The dark and blustery storm made it impossible to see much. The artic whistle of the wind was eerie, especially when you added the shouted, “Where is it? I lost it?” immediately followed by a shrieked, “Oh fuck! Argh….” The tapering scream came from the same direction as the sudden orange glow.
Another goon turned to charcoal.
I probably should have felt some kind of chagrin.
After all, these people hadn’t signed on with Leo to die.
However, what else could my dragon do? Let himself be captured?
Any animal threatened would fight back. And humans were no different.
I know I would totally love to give Leo a bitch slap or two or three.
As for Malone… if I ran into him again, I might find out if I had it in me to kill.
“What should we do?” Maddox asked.
I cupped my hands to my mouth. “Abaddon, where are you?” I called for my Little Fella, wanting him to know I’d escaped.
No reply.
“Hey bud, I’m with Pip. Can you hear us?” Maddox added his voice.
The pair of us took turns calling for the dragon. We were noticed, just not by who we wanted.
A guy in bulky snow gear that included some kind of apocalypse mask appeared suddenly in front of us and aimed his tranquilizing gun at us. “Well, well. If you ain’t the chick that’s been hiding the dragon. Hands up, both of you,” the guy barked.
“You don’t want to hurt us,” Maddox stated, lifting his hands. “You’ve seen how the dragon reacts to threats.”
“Yeah, but I’ve also seen how he dotes on this bitch.
He won’t dare roast me if I’m holding on to you.
” The guy lunged for me, and Maddox stepped forward to intercept, his fist flashing out and hitting the fellow in the jaw.
Given the goon stood slightly larger than my boyfriend, it didn’t knock him down, but Maddox was just getting started.
The boys traded blows as I stood there shivering. Turns out I should have been more aware of my surroundings because I never heard the person who snuck up behind me and wrapped an arm around my throat.
I got dragged against another dude who shouted, “I’ve got your girlfriend. Stand down or I will snap her neck.”
Maddox slowly stood and straddled the guy he’d pummeled to the ground and scowled. “Let her go and walk away.”
“Like fuck. Farris had the right idea. I saw in the videos how much that lizard likes the woman. She’s my ticket out of here.”
“You want to leave, then go. But I’d strongly suggest you do so without Pip if you’d like to live to see tomorrow.”
“I’ll let her go once I’m clear of the dragon.” The guy tightened the arm around my neck enough I could barely breathe.
It should be noted, I’d been in this situation before and almost died.
Again, one of my bad choices in boyfriends.
The last time, I’d stomped on his instep before elbowing him in the gut.
This fellow, while smaller than my ex, wore some heavy-duty winter boots and a thick parka, making that method of escape less than feasible.
But after the choking incident with my ex, I’d taken some self-defense classes and had specifically asked the instructor how to deal with this situation if it ever happened again.
It had been a few years, but I still remembered the steps.
I parted my feet and bent my knees slightly.
I already had a grip on his choking arm and I kept it firm as I abruptly leaned forward.
The rapid movement set the thug slightly off balance and as I felt his weight on my back, I flipped him, breaking his hold on me.
The goon hit the ground and before he could recover, something swooped from the snowy sky and spat a hot stream of fire. The brightness of the blast had me blinking. Disbelief had me gaping. Shock kept me silent as I watched my first body burn alive.
Damn.
The heavy weight that settled on my shoulder helped snap me back to the moment.
“Abaddon,” I exclaimed happily.
“Hello, Pip. I’m here to rescue you,” my Little Fella announced.
“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” I asked.
“Bah. The enemy is much too slow and stupid for someone of my greatness. Today’s warriors are not of the same caliber as those who hunted my ancestors.”
He must be fine for his arrogance remained intact.
“Good to see you, bud,” Maddox stated.
“About time you showed,” my dragon replied. “Now, duck.”
Rather than ask why, Maddox swiftly crouched and more flame jetted from Abaddon, this time striking the goon who’d been about to strike Maddox from behind.
Hard to feel bad for the idiot who saw what happened to his buddy and still thought, Hey, let me do something stupid that will get me killed.
The warmth of the two roasting bodies plus Abaddon did much to ease the chill of my body, however, sticking around didn’t seem like a good idea. Who knew how many more of Malone’s thugs lurked or what evil tricks the doctor might attempt next.
“Time we blew this joint. I know where Leo keeps the keys to his cars and stuff. Let’s grab a set and run while we can.”
That seemed like the best course of action, but wouldn’t you know it, my dragon disagreed.