Chapter 6
six
One hundred and seventy-five hot wings, five pounds of French fries, ten milkshakes, and twelve orders of onion rings later, we had a plan.
Liam, despite being my buddy lately, had put his foot down as maguri.
He told me that if I chose to risk myself, I had that right, but Rían was forbidden to come along.
Seamus volunteered to stand in for Rían, which wasn’t a bad trade, and he also nixed the idea of adding Sloane to the team.
The rest of the team had experience running ops as a tight-knit unit.
He reasoned we had a better chance of success if we stuck with what worked until after Sloane finished her training.
Sloane and I weren’t thrilled with the plan, but we couldn’t argue with Seamus’s logic.
“Meet here at dusk.” Rían leaned forward on the couch next to me. “Standard tactical gear should do.”
“Aye.” Seamus rapped his knuckles on the table. “Team One will be a scouting party to test the accuracy of Ana’s bond to Sartori. Should we find him on our first sweep, Team One will withdraw and Team Two will initiate alpha containment protocol. Our goal is to capture him alive.”
Left unsaid was that with an alpha as volatile as Sartori, that might not be possible.
He also refrained from reminding us Team Two would be packing silver bullets, blades, and nets.
That was standard protocol when taking down a rabid shifter.
Or a rogue alpha. Often there wasn’t much of a dividing line between the two.
With the loss of his empire, and me, I wasn’t sure what state of mind Carmichael was in.
“We should take a nap.” Sloane, who had been sitting between my legs, using my thighs like arms on her personal throne, stretched her hands high over her head. “There’s no telling how late you’ll be out.”
“You’re not going, so you don’t need sleep. You’re just saying that because you’re heading toward a food coma after eating your weight in chicken wings.” Liam scoffed, a bare foot of space separating them. “You think Ana can rest with this hanging over her head?”
“He’s right.” I knocked Sloane’s arms down before she smacked me in the face. “Sleep is off the table.”
“Then let’s go for a walk.” Rían took my hand, hauling me onto my feet. “Sound good?”
“Sounds amazing.” I hesitated before he dragged me away. “Thanks, everyone.”
Anticipation buzzed through the room, but it was the anxiety spawned by an upcoming mission and no longer aimed at me.
If I was successful, I might bridge the gap between the clan’s fears and the niche I hoped to carve out for myself as an equal partner for Rían who wouldn’t hesitate to get my hands dirty to protect those I loved and those within the clan I would soon join.
Out on the sidewalk, I drew in a cleansing breath, noting the position of the sun.
“Hard to believe our strategy session lasted for so long.” I threaded my fingers through his, smiling when his grip tightened, reassuring me he welcomed my touch. For as long as I lived, I would never take his casual acceptance for granted. “I was scared for a minute it was going to be a bust.”
“You’ve made a big impression on Seamus.
That’s the first step toward acceptance among the enforcers.
They respect and admire him. He’s trained most of them, so they listen to what he says.
To have him throwing his support behind you in front of the others shows them your actions have cemented his loyalty.
” Pride danced around his mouth. “Securing Liam’s support doesn’t hurt either. ”
“We’re getting along better than I expected,” I admitted, willing to give him credit where credit was due. “He only cares about protecting you, the same as the rest of the clan. I won’t hold that against any of them.” I couldn’t stop my smile. “I’m rather fond of giraffes these days myself.”
“I would prefer if no one else in the clan heard you refer to me like that.”
“Liam and Fayne already know,” I comforted him, snorting. “How much worse can the rest be?”
“That is…” he dredged up a sigh, “…sadly true.”
“I need to leave a spare key under the mat at GSG.” I shoved down the excitement bubbling up in me. “Clary wants to get started first thing in the morning, and it sounds like I’ll be in the field or just getting in around her start time.”
“The muralist, right?”
“Yes.” I froze as an idea struck me. “Would you mind handing it off to her?”
During the Brentwood lockdown, I didn’t mind as much knowing so many people had access to GSG, but it was a source of anxiety leaving one of the four keys cut to fit the new locks where anyone could find it if they used their shifter senses to retrace my steps.
And I had no doubt there were eyes on GSG too.
The bomber and the poisoner, if they were different people, would monitor it until they completed their tasks. As much as I hoped they were one and the same, we couldn’t afford to make assumptions with so many enemies at our borders.
“No problem.” He patted his pocket, where he kept his key ring. “She can borrow mine.”
“Thanks.” A flash of heat in the center of my chest had my hand lifting, my fingers searching out my single dragon scale through the fabric of my shirt. “You’re a lifesaver.”
As we walked on, we came upon an SUV with its trunk open, and Rían slowed to eyeball the vehicle.
“Guess someone was in a hurry.” He scanned the street, but no one was out except us.
“We should shut it, in case they forgot. Crime is low in Brentwood, but I wouldn’t feel right leaving it like this.
Someone could break in.” He threw out a hand, stopping me from following him. “I’ll be right back.”
For some reason, my mind overlayed Mindy sprinting toward her car onto the scene before me, and my gut twisted. The heat in my chest grew more persistent the farther he got from me, until my feet propelled me forward in a jerking gait that jittered through my knees.
Flames ignited across my skin in a whoosh that stole my breath and turned me into a human torch.
Damn it. I still had no control. I was a danger to myself and others until I got a handle on my powers.
“Don’t,” I gasped out, reaching toward him. “Get away.”
“Ana?” Rían pivoted toward me, his voice dipping. “What’s…?”
“Get away from the vehicle.” I swept my arm in an arc. “Stand back.”
Rían approached me, open palms facing out, a pinch in his brow offering me comfort amid my confusion.
“It’s okay.” His voice lowered to a soothing register. “I’m right here.”
“Get behind me,” I slurred, a drugging sensation swimming through my veins. “Now.”
“Okay.” He put up no further resistance. “I’ll do as you say.”
Seconds before he reached the relative shelter of my back, a burst of sound blew out my eardrums. Warmth trickled down my neck.
Blood. The SUV smoldered before me. Pieces that should have struck me bounced off before touching me.
Us. A tongue of flames licked the ground near my feet, twitching like a cat’s tail before it lunged after a mouse.
No.
Not a cat.
A dragon.
And that…
…was my tail.
Awareness chipped holes into my shock as enforcers rushed around me, blocking off the street.
I wasn’t sure how long I had been standing there, but my shoes had melted into the pavement, and the pain in my chest had finally winked out. Probably burnout. I was an expert in that department.
Worse, I wasn’t sure what I had done. Had I hallucinated the tail? I had stood between Rían and a bomb, and neither of us had a scratch. I couldn’t make sense of it. That I held on to my consciousness with firm hands ought to make me proud. Instead, it twisted the scene before me into surreality.
“Ana.”
That voice. I knew it. Knew them. Even with the slow healing trauma to my eardrums.
“Sloane,” I mumbled, my lips splitting.
“Let me see her.” A snarl rent the air. “Get your hands off me.”
“The pavement has melted.” Liam addressed her as he would a child. “You run out there now, and you’ll become the first exhibit in Brentwood’s own La Brea Tar Pits.”
“Rían is out there.”
“Rían is a dragon.”
Rían. Rían. Rían.
Clarity snapped into place with an audible click that brought the scene into sharp focus.
“Are you back with us?” Rían spoke from behind me. “Take your time, okay?”
“I don’t…” A fine sheet of fire crackled across my skin. “What’s wrong with me?”
“Your dragon just saved both our lives.”
“I shifted?” I stared at my hands, ruby flames gleaming, and blanched. “Am I naked?”
And if so, could I please join Sloane in sinking into the tar pits?
“No.” His warmth encased my spine as he stepped closer. “You didn’t fully manifest.”
“Oh.” I swallowed to wet my parched throat. “Am I broken?”
“You’re a miracle.” He slowly linked his arms around my waist. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Or this.”
This meaning the gold flames sliding over my skin like shadows cast through the canopy of a tree as you walked under it, the magic allowing him to touch me without harm though the asphalt still bubbled as it cooled under my feet.
Along with the pain, the intense heat had faded until I felt like I could breathe again.
“I filmed it,” Sloane called out. “Not that I was stalking you during your romantic stroll or anything.”
Ignoring Sloane for now, I asked him, “Will Fayne know what this means?”
“I hope so.” He drew my back flush with his chest. “She’ll be here any minute.”
“Good.” I let my head fall against his shoulder. “That’s good.”
As soon as my eyes closed, a wave of exhaustion swept through me, carrying me far, far away.