Speaker 1: Dragon called a slow burned, sexy paranormal romance written by
Carl Lockhart and Cassie Alexander, read for you by Victoria
may Hi. This is Cassie Alexander, and welcome to chapter one.
The car that came to pick Andy up was black
like Damien's, but it wasn't a pagani or being driven
by a dragon. Andy sat in the back of the
uber and looked at her phone with that I'm expected somewhere.
Don't kidnap me pretense that solo women keep up, although
in her case it wasn't entirely true. She'd snuck out
that night after getting a call from her brother, who'd
been missing for three weeks. No one knew where she was,
not even her roommate. She was okay with that, she'd
worried Sammy enough lately. Her driver cleared his throat politely,
glancing back at her in the rear. Nothing personal, he said,
but I do Downtown runs a lot. You either have
too much clothing on for this place or not nearly enough.
He wasn't wrong. The Lynx was a nightclub with a reputation,
which was exactly why Andy was going there. She gave
him a tight smile and hugged herself with Damien's leather jacket.
She was only wearing it because she hadn't had time
to get her own coat cleaned, or so she told herself,
and it had nothing at all to do with the
fact that it still smelled like him. I'm good thanks.
The driver led her off right in front of the building.
Last call was four, and it was about twenty two.
She knew from her old life hustling with Danny that
now would be ripe with opportunity if she were still
interested in playing games, the same kind of stuff that
had gotten her brother into trouble in the first place.
But she had stopped, gone to nursing school and become legitimate.
Her brother, he'd skipped out on his bailbond, then out
on her until about an hour ago with his strange
cell phone call asking for help on a bad connection,
which had brought her here. She bit her lips and
watched the entrance to the club. Well dressed drunken people
stumbled out, casting arms up like the street lights were
too bright for them. But then she saw him, Damien.
She remembered his touch on her skin and the way
he'd her heart flew into her throat and her stomach nodded.
She could handle herself, She could handle this him. This
didn't have to be awkward. In fact, maybe she could.
He turned and it was definitely not Damien. Her heart
fell and her stomach didn't relax, and the weirdness she
was feeling, most assuredly not disappointment. It was exhaustion from
last night's shift was all. It was fatigue from trying
to come to her brother's rescue yet again. She'd vowed
on the steps of the courthouse after realizing she was
stuck with it. Ten thousand dollars bond to be done
with Danny's shit permanently, and yet here she was all
because he'd called her andy bear. How long had it
been since he'd said that when they were sixteen, She
could remember it now, her going off on her first
date and him threatening to hurt the guy if he
hurt her out loud in their living room. When he'd
picked her up. It had been humiliating and making his
andy Bear promise to tell him afterward if anything needed breaking.
It had been fucked up later on that night, after
absolutely nothing had happened, no matter how much she'd wanted
it to. She'd screamed at him to never call her
that again. Because of all that and so much more,
she was tired now, which was surely why she was
taking a moment and watching the back of the man
who was not Damien with a queasy, sinking feeling. Until
the crowd blocked her view. Andy inhaled and shook herself
free of her past. She walked up to the door,
the heels of her low boots clicking the pavement, and
went straight up to the bouncer. Hey is Julian here.
If he is, can you tell him I need to
speak to him. Tell him it's Andy, Danny's sister. The
man was shaped like a gorilla, and his thick brow
rose in disbelief, but then he shrugged and called it
into the walkie on his collar. Someone responded in his ear,
and he reached over to open the door. Right this way, thanks,
she said. Stepping inside, the music was overwhelming, trying to
pound a pulse into the last partiers of the night. Luckily,
the places she'd gone with Danny to play poker and
pool had been quieter, because if she'd hustled here she'd
be deaf. She hovered by the door, arms crossed, trying
to look like she didn't belong so that Julian would
find her more quickly. Hey, a lean man in his
thirties with dark curly hair and brown eyes, appeared in
the thinning crowd with a drink in each hand. His
shirt was sharp and shiny, just like his shoes. Andy
knew he was a promoter, whatever the hell that was,
and that he also sometimes helped Danny sell his boosted
aftermarket car parts. Andy. He shouted, barely audible over the
noise in the club. Good to see you again. Drink,
he offered, pushing one on her. Andy didn't trust him,
and she didn't trust her drink not to be rufied. Thanks,
She pretended to be happy taking it. Anyhow. Can we talk,
of course, he said, gently taking her elbow with his
free hand, directing her around the dance floor to the back.
They went into an office and he closed the door,
which cut out all the trouble, leaving just the base
as it reverberated like a drum in its frame. He
sat down backward in an office chair, letting itsplay his legs,
while she sat down on a short couch that she
was sure had seen its share of effluvia. She held
her hands around her drink, careful not to touch it.
Did you rethink my awesome idea? Andy squinted? Which one was? That?
Julian and Danny were full of ideas, and none of
them were good about diverting some meds from the hospital
to me, He said, making a gimmy, gimmey gesture with
his fingers. She laughed nervously. Yeah, no, I need my license.
One of us has to be straight now to keep
the other out of jail. I heard about that, Julian said,
and tissed. He left you holding the bag pretty much.
Andy gave him a tight grin and got to the point,
do you know where he is? Nope? As good as
Andy was at reading faces, Julian's gave nothing away. If
you did know, would you tell me, she asked, and
he laughed. If I did know, which I don't, I'd
tell him you were concerned and he needed to get
in touch. He patted his own chest. A sister too,
you know, I sympathize. Andy set her drink on the
floor and brought her phone out to show him. Do
you recognize this number? He called me from it and
said things were bad. Julian took the phone and squinted
at it. Not off the top of my head. Hang on,
He set his drink down and pulled his own phone out,
typing in some numbers before double checking hers. Ooh what
she leaned over. He flipped his phone around to show
her the s and his contacts list. It was full
of people's names with charming extra appellations like shiny Jamil,
slutty SARAHI, and stupid fucker Joe. But his finger was
pointing to one in particular with the same number that
matched Andy's. Stay the fuck away, our gento. I take
it that's not really his last name, Andy asked, as
Julian put his phone away. Maybe it is an Italian
I don't know, but if Danny's with him, just give
up why Julian shook his head. I ain't saying. I
don't want to wind you up into making bad choices.
But if Danny's in danger, if he told me so himself,
she passed. He frowned deeply and lifted his cocktail for
a long swig before speaking again. He's a dangerous dude.
Always wears a lot of silver, including guns. You don't
want any of him trust me. How about you just
tell me everything you know and let me be the
judge of that. How about no? Julian rolled his eyes.
I mean, come on, you can't just barge in here
like you own the place and ask for favors. He
slid one foot out and carefully nudged her cocktail closer.
I mean, I require some foreplay first, have a drink
at least. Andy glanced down at the glass, more determined
than ever not to touch it. I don't have time
for this, Julian, Just tell me where he is. What
good would that do? The Cobs aren't going after him,
not for Danny. Andy knew the police, in her tone,
had no love for her brother. Fine, I'll tell a
bounty hunter there's a warrant out for him, right because
you know so many of those types, Julian said, leaning back,
letting his eyes rove up and down her body. She
huddled back into her coat, A priss like you, trying
to figure out where to find him. No way. He
stood and shook his head slowly, making a show of
how much he couldn't help her, and she was acutely
aware of how he was blocking the door. Now, if
you could promise me a vial of fentanel or two
or a sheet of oxy Fuck. No, she almost spit
shit like this was why she'd had to stop playing
games with Danny. Gambling for tuition was one thing, but
now that she had her license, she wasn't ever going
to risk it again. Oh, no offense, Julian said, with
a smirk, waving his hands back and forth and dismissal.
I mean he's only your brother in all, although if
he's on Argento's shit list, that's gonna be past tense
real soon. She stood, trying to take up more space,
and used her best disappointed in everything going on here voice,
the one that sometimes got through to drunkards and psychos
at work. And to think, Danny used to talk so
highly of you. He made you sound like the shit,
like you were his family, not me. Why do you
think he never ratted you out in any of his
dumbass schemes, And now when it would cost you nothing
to be even vaguely helpful, you can't be bothered. Julian
stared at her coldly. He always said you could be
an annoying bitch, you know that. She swallowed, but held
her ground. If Danny didn't want to hear her opinions
on his activities, then he should have kept his goddamned
mouth shut. Fine, Julian hofft, appraising her again. What do
you got? Your phone is old? I don't need that shit,
Andy blinked as he went on. And you're cute, but
a bad lay, I can tell. Does nagging women ever
actually work? Andy asked him. You tell me, he said,
with a leer. You feeling anything? Yeah? No, look other
than drugs, what do you want? She had ten thousand
dollars in an envelope at home right now, courtesy of Damien.
But if she acted like cash was an option, Julian
would shake her down to the last buck. He sucked
on his upper lip, then jerked his chin at her.
That that's a pretty dope leather coat, Andy froze. It's
just a fucking coat, she told herself, just dead animal
skin sewn together to keep someone warm. It's not even yours,
and Damien is not yours he never will be. Besides,
that's what you wanted, remember, all right, she said, sliding
out of Damien's coat, taking everything of hers out of
the pocket and shoving them into her jeans. Julian took
it from her and put it on. It was too
big for him, but that didn't stop him from smoothing
the leather with his hands. When he was done at
praising it, he nodded. Argenta was down by the docks.
He's in the shipping business, which is another reason you
should stay away from him. You cross him, they won't
find your body in the bay. He'll just chip your
dead ass to China. Charming, and you can't be any
more specific. Julian broadly shook his head. Not even if
you brought me, dilauded, and he frowned. Some information was
better than none. But the docks were huge. Even if
her brother was in danger, it wasn't an area she
could tackle solo tonight, but she had to do something.
She wove around Julian off to figure out what that was. Hey,
he shouted as she reached the door. The base outside
had turned impossibly loud, all the better to shake the
last patrons of the night into the street. I look
good in it, no, he asked, She knew by mostly
reading his lips. No, she said, flipping him off with
both hands before walking out. Other club patrons kept her
company on the sidewalk as she waited for her ride.
As much as she wanted to, she didn't keep her
phone out. Just because her two gens old iPhone wasn't
sexy enough for Julian didn't mean there weren't other people
who'd be interested in swiping it, and all the people
stumbling out of the club looked like easy marks to her,
so she waited until she was buckled into the back
of her uber to pull it out and hopped into
her recent category. After Danny had gone missing following the hearing,
she'd texted their uncle Lee, who she knew had both
money and connections. She never pressed to find out from
what or with whom, because her mother had told her
that was rude, but now she wished she had because
Uncle Lee had promised her he'd handle things. But what
had he been doing all this time? And why hadn't
she asked him what was happening sooner? She supposed a
part of her was just tired of dealing with Danny's
shit and had been perfectly happy passing it off. Andy
scrolled through her contacts for the upteenth time, trying to
figure out who else she could call. She stopped at
the name blackwood, and her finger hovered it probably wasn't
even Danmien's real number, but some work number or a burner.
She should just delete it. It'd be better for everyone involved.
Her thumb hovered over the delete button just for a second,
then scrolled past it with a sigh, back down to
Uncle Lee and started typing out a text. Hey Uncle,
I'm sorry, it's late, she lied, But Danny just called
me from a strange number and said he was in
trouble before we got cut off. I know you just
got back to town and the last thing you need is
to clean up another Danny mess. But I don't know
what to do. He said something about the docks and
some guy named our Gentile. She kept lying because she
might as well give him all the information she had. Again,
super sorry, thanks for letting me reschedule last week's dinner.
Look forward to seeing you tonight. Love you, hey, her
driver said, startling her. It was the first thing he'd said.
I'll ride. You're not going to be sick, are you?
He started swerving to the side of the road. Huh no,
why sorry, he just looked sick there for a bit.
He shrugged in the rear view as he pulled them
back into traffic. It's hazard of picking people up from clumps.
Oh hi, this is Cassie Alexander, and welcome to chapter two.
The second Damien's car door opened that evening, Grimalkin appeared
as a seal point Siamese nearby. Grimalkin had been with
him his entire life. All Royalty of the Realms had familiars,
but he still wasn't sure if he knew Grimalkin's true form,
only that it favored cats. So about that cheese, grim
began trotting over to wind around Damien's legs. Can I
place another order? Damien knelt down to knuckle the cat's head.
Grim had been patient for him, and getting cheese delivered
was likely the easiest task on his list of things
to do today. Certainly, what would you like? He asked,
as Grimalkin purred loudly and started to drool. Iw Damien
wiped his hands on his jeans, standing up. I can't
help it, okay, Grimlkin trotted beside him as he made
his way to the mansion. I need one wheel of
homage d'a finois and one entire wheel of aged parmesan,
the good stuff straight from Italy with the crunchy crystals
that they don't usually export. What happened to the last one,
Damien asked, knowing full well Grim's appetites. Don't ask Grimalkin said,
with a whisk of his tail, running inside as Damien
pushed the door open before stopping to look back. The
dog has his Hueman's skin again. It's about fucking time,
Damien's attention surged. It had been a long week since
they discovered a fucking mini portal inside Zach, which Andy
and he had surgically removed from him. If he closed
his eyes, he could almost smell her apple and salt
water scent. Soon, he promised himself, and inside his dragon rumbled.
Zack had been a wolf ever since the full moon
that had put him back together after their operation. His
brother Austin said it was a consequence of all the
damage he'd taken while human. He could believe that, seeing
as he and Andy had sibved through all of Zack's
intestines to look for the portal, but that didn't mean
Damien wasn't impatient for answers. It's time to have a conversation,
Damien said, letting some of his dragon's magic carry his
voice through the house. A door slammed, and then a
half dressed man in jeans came racing down the stairs
while fastening his belt without shoes or shirt on. He
was the embodiment of Summer, a golden, well tanned blur
with shaggy bronze hair and ocean blue eyes. He was muscular,
like all wolf shifters, and unusually for a were wolf,
covered in tattoos. Werewolves had such an accelerated healing factor
that ordinary tattoos didn't take, but once the brothers had
decided they wanted them, Damien had researched and arranged for
a particular type of wolf spain to be added to
their ink and flown in a shifter aware tattoo artist
who was willing to take the risk of working on them.
The wolf spain meant that all of their tattoos could
never be healed away, and that they always burned a little,
but the brothers sought the pain a small price to
pay to permanently commemorate the members of their murdered pack.
The urge to do what you could to remember important
people to your life after their passing was something that
Damien understood all too. Well, he's coming too, said Austin,
his shaggy hair and half nakedness making him look more
savage than usual. Where have you been stalking your little nurse,
Dammien growled, as strongly. As Damien had been tempted to
watch Andy for the past week, he wouldn't have to
physically stalk her. He was a magical being from the realms.
He could just watch without her knowledge, through her own
damn mirror. He hadn't, not yet the creature inside him
slithered scales over scales, waking up, But you could it
tempted him in this, as in all things, his dragon
had much less compunction. Damien's jaw clenched as Austin frowned
deeply and went on worried for his brother. Zach didn't
betray us. Whether or not his brother was a traitor,
Austin's pain was genuine. You may have thought he was
doing it for good reasons, Damien granted. But beings from
the realms are experts at twisting words and minds. I'm
sure they wouldn't have gotten him to be treyas outright,
but it's entirely possible they could have convinced him that
he needed to do something terrible to save the people
he loves in the realms. Pain was currency, Damien knew
from watching his human mother try to survive. There, let's
see what he says, Austin said wearily. Yes, I'm sure
he can explain, Damien said, letting his familiar cool impassivity
roll over him again. Perhaps it was his own draconic nature,
or the fact that he'd had to share his body
for most of his life. He could detach when it
was required, see the bigger picture and not let his
emotions ride him. He liked to think he'd gotten very
good at it, until he'd met a certain nurse. There
was another door slammed farther down the upstairs hall, and
soon Zach was on the stairs. I can't explain, Zach announced.
When he reached the bottom. Everything about him seemed more controlled,
more civilized, combed hair, expensive clothing, tighter, subtler movements. With
his black hair and pale skin, he was a cool
winter compared to Austin's heat. And it was why, with
the help of a little magic, he could so successfully
pretend to be the elder Damien Blackwood when it was required.
The dress shirt he'd raised down in was loose, making
the tattoos it exposed appear more threatening in contrast. But
I have some educated guesses. Damien glanced at the half
naked Austin, who looked like a Barbarian enforcer compared to
his brother. Grimalkin sensed the mood, and suddenly the entryway
became a cozy den with a crackling fire and warm
brown leather couches and a large cage in the corner
with a comically large padlock. He had no use for
the dogs and had made his opinion clear to Damien
on many many occasions. Luckily for Damien, nobody else on
earth could understand him him. Damien reprimanded, and the cage disappeared.
He sat down on a couch and Zack took the
one across from him, as Austin paced back and forth
in front of the fire in bare feet, so Damien said,
looking at Zach, do you know what happened to you
in the hospital? I told him. Austin confessed, like literally
two and a half minutes ago, and you were surprised.
Damien didn't take his eyes off of Zack. Fuck yes,
Zack's nimble hands, the hands of a white collar boss,
unlike his brother, were quickly working up the buttons of
his dress shirt. And do you have any idea how
the portal got there, Damien asked, watching the werewolf's pupils
and pulse for any signs of lying. Oh, I didn't
even know that was possible, much less that one was
in me. Zack clutched his abdomen. There was no way
he would have survived so many people mucking about inside
of him if he hadn't been a werewolf. How could
you not know, Damien pressed, as Austin watched him. Damien
was no fool. He knew where Austin's loyalties were. If
he had to act against Zach, he would lose both
of them today. And your father would have killed both
of them already, his dragon said, watching everything through his eyes.
His dragon was right, I am not my father. Now
you are not, His dragon agreed with a dismissive snort.
Zach leaned forward, holding his head in his hands, his
dress shirt so tight across his muscled shoulders it looked
on the verge of tearing. He was the very definition
of a man racked by guilt, or the way that
a man would act by time to come up with
a cover story by making someone else think he was.
Damien hated having to think like that, but couldn't risk
not I didn't want to tell you this, Zach said,
raising his body slowly, looking not at Damien but at
his brother. But a local peck reached out to me
to talk about an increase of hunter activity in the
area hunters. His dragon growled, I know this time. Damien
agreed with his dragon sentiment. Just because most people didn't
know that magic was real didn't mean that everyone didn't,
and some of the people who did know of magic
were unscrupulous. One way to gain magical powers was to
take a piece of a being that had them innately
and incorporate it on yourself, in yourself or in your rituals.
There were almost no fresh water mermaids anymore, that all
been fished to death for their scales. And what was
worse was that once hunters gained magical abilities, it made
it easier for them to find other magical creatures to harvest,
like mermaid scales, allowing humans to breathe underwater, setting up
more mermaid traps, which was why Austin hadn't wanted to
put Zack into a public hospital to begin with, and
why he'd felt compelled to guard his injured brother there personally. Austin, however,
had gone still at the first mention of local pack.
The kind of still all predators knew, which pack, Austin asked,
his voice low and full of danger because he already
knew what the answer would be. Zack took a profoundly
long inhale, during which Austin started shaking his head. It
was probably a good thing that Austin wasn't wearing a shirt,
because he seemed to get larger just standing there. Damien
knew it was theoretically possible for the wolves to shift
on a no moon night if driven to it, although
he'd never seen it happen before, but his desire for
empirical information was outweighed by the fact that if both
of them shifted to fight, he'd have to shift too
to stop them. After the morning he'd had with his dragon,
he did not want to open that cage wide starry sky,
Damien said, seeing what Zack couldn't the name of the
pack that had massacred Zack at Austin's own pack, the
wind Racers in a blood feud decades ago, Zach finally
met his half dressed berserker brother's gaze. Yes, Grimlkin decided
to do Austin a favor and materialize one of his
weapons closer, putting a well loved axe on the end
table beside the couch. Grim Damien chastised. Not now, Grimlkin
moved the axe to a table halfway across the room,
but didn't allow it to vanish entirely. Zack spoke directly
to Damien, ignoring his brother's concerns, focusing on the facts.
Several of their pack mates were tracked, captured, and ritually dismembered,
which means that hunters are officially back in town. The
hunters moved in packs, slowly following their prey. Intelligent magical
creatures would run from them and set up elsewhere with
new identities, new life, even if the cost of fleeing
hunters was overlapping packs and territory disputes like the one
that had pitted Starry Sky against the wind Racers generations ago,
Creatures that weren't smart enough or thought that they couldn't
fight might get taken down, and when an area was
hunted out or the remaining creatures were too strong, the
Hunters would move on until the next time they came through.
Damien had been careful to hide his presence from the
Hunters the last time they'd hit town ten years ago,
which isn't to say that his dragon wouldn't have gleefully
killed them. But he was busy enough guarding Earth from
unearthly rifts. He didn't need to worry about earthly interest
in his dragon's hide. So he'd done what any other
irritated billionaire in his situation might have. He paid a
lot of mercenaries, a lot of money through shell organizations
to run them down mercilessly. That was when he'd first
hired Zach and Austin, and he'd kept them in his
employ ever since. Damien stared into the dense fire. If
the Hunters knew this town was inhospitable to them, why
had they come back? And whose word do you have
on that one of theirs, Austin pressed his brother, the
potential for violence between them crackling just like the fire
behind them. You said you saw a hunter at the hospital,
Damien reminded him, still considering, no, I was worried i'd
seen a hunter. I saw a short, bald guy with
a lot of tattoos who didn't belong there. Maybe he
was just there to take a picture of Zach for
the papers. I told the hospital to make him a
no info but I also told you taking him there
was a horrible idea. Shit like this is why Austin's
anger exploded with a snarl as he caught the nearest
side table and up ended it, and Grimalkin disappeared it
in mid air before it could land. Everyone knows whose
family owns this place, and we had five EMTs and
paramedics in here. Who you fucking told about it? Tiger attack,
Blaming Zach's bizarre injuries on a quickly transformed Grim had
not been Damien's finest moment, but it had worked in
a pinch, and Mills had been able to get him
a wildlife permit retroactively. No, Austin went on, shaking his
head strongly. The fact that a lurker chose that moment
to rise out of my brother could have been totally coincidental.
One of their own was murdered by hunters, Austin, Zach said,
his tone imminently reasonable. I saw the photos of what
was left of him, Damien felt his dragons Talon's flex
from somewhere deep inside, as though the beast were cracking
its knuckles. It was always looking for a fight. Even
if that's true, and I doubt it so well, Hi,
this is Cassie Alexander, and welcome to chapter three. Care
Austin's movements were as savage as he looked. I hope
the hunters take all of them before we kill them.
Fuck the truth, Austin, Zach protested, the very picture of reason. Enough,
Damien said, calmly, the kind of controlled calm that sounded dangerous.
He turned toward his friend. How did the portal mirror
get in you? Zach put one hand to the back
of his neck and rubbed it before speaking, Well, she she,
Austin snarled, dragging his hand across his face. Of course,
your dick got you into this mess. You've gotta be
fucking kidding me. Damien covered a snicker with a cough. She.
Zach went on with the same amount of emphasis, while
making a studious effort to not look at Austin smelled
amazing and truthful. The pain was real, the panic was too.
Damien stroked his chin, and so how exactly did the
portal wind up inside of you? Zach looked any which way,
but at the two of them. Oh god, it was
a sex thing, Austin said, dragging his hand across his face,
the muscles of his thick arms rippling, as if the
wolf inside him were fighting to escape. I didn't know
at the time, Zach protested with a grunt. We were
both being athletic, and you fucked her and she asked
for it rough, Austin muttered, and she somehow tagged you.
Oh my god, you are such an easy fucking mark.
Zach growled. Look, and why didn't you tell anyone? Immediately?
Damien interrupted, because of this right here, he gestured at Austin.
They decimated our entire pack. Austin's eyes went wide with disbelief.
It was a generation ago. Our mother killed herself, killing
everyone who had that blood on their hands. We signed
the truce, you and I and the others together so
that wouldn't happen again. Isn't that enough? Zach stared down
his brother, cool as the professional killer he was, Austin's
nostrils flared. If a member of Starry's Guy asked me
for help, I would only listen to them long enough
to kill them, which is precisely why they didn't ask you.
Zach turned toward Damien. Not everyone has to pay for
the sins of their past, least of all people who
weren't even alive back then. And when were you going
to tell us about the hunters? Damien pressed, Your dick
almost got you killed twice over, not to mention, caused
a shit ton of very hard to cover damage. I
was going to tell you, at least, maybe not him.
Zach crawled a lip at his brother. I just didn't
know I was going to get bitten by an unearthly
creature the size of a fucking bus later that night.
Maybe you got bitten because you weren't fighting your best,
because you were tagged by magical pussy. Austin growled. She
needed help, Zach growled right back at him. And I
would go back in time and fucking do it again
if I got the chance, do her again? You mean,
Austin sniped, then turned to Damien. Can you fucking believe this? Oh? Wait,
I forgot who I'm asking. Austin went on his temper,
letting his mouth run. Not another word, Damien said curtly.
Austin had scented Andy on him when he came home
alone during last weekend's full moon. But Damien never would
have met Andy to begin with, had Zack's injuries not
been so severe that he'd had to hire a private
nurse to watch the werewolf when his crew went out.
The both of you pathetic, Austin muttered, say that again.
Damien challenged him the wolf, and Austin flared up. Damien
could almost see it rise in him, like the flicker
of a flame, but it was just is quickly tamped
back down. I'm sorry, brother, Austin said, only to Damien,
his brother in arms. Though not by blood. At least,
your pussy was human pussy and couldn't have possibly been
sent from the realms or hunters against us. She's innocent,
Zach said, gruffly. I'd swear it with my blood. Yeah. Well,
we've all seen quite a lot of your blood recently.
Damien pinched the bridge of his nose. Now that they
had eradicated all of Damien's doubts that Zach's collateral damage
was in any way intentional, he needed more information. Grim
called Jamison. Grimalkin blinked slowly, and Damien knew his tech
Master was being summoned. Jamison had sent him a cryptic
text earlier that evening regarding predicting a gait. It was
one of their many long term goals, the capability to
predict the rifts that happened when assorted realms collided with Earth,
allowing unearthly creatures to come through the tears. If they
ever managed to do it accurately, long term, Damian might
finally know what it was like to have a weekend,
or a vacation or a mate. His dragon grumbled, it
was true. One of the things holding him back from
chasing after Andy endlessly like they belonged together, because, no
matter her recent opinion on the matter, they did. He
felt it in his soul was the knowledge that rifts
were unpredictable, as it was his job to close them,
he might be putting her in harm's way. But if
Jamison had good news for him now, if his science
was reliable, Damien could spend today filling his car full
of dresses and arrive at Andy's apartment the moment she
woke up, to make her try on each and every
one of them for him, until he couldn't control himself
any longer. He'd made the mistake of being an asshole
to her once, yes, but he had both the will
and means to make it up to her. Zach got
up to join Austin in his pace. Grimmelkin expanded the
size of the room to accommodate both of them, and
Damien tore his thoughts away from Andy, refocusing on the men.
We need to have a little talk with whoever you
slept with, innocent or not. She's our only lead to
figuring out what the fuck is going on here. If
it's from the realms, we've got to nip it in
the bud. Assorted realms weren't just populated by chaotic monsters
looking to wreak havoc on Earth. Damien had left behind
his kingdom, his family, and his father's throne. Not everyone
was happy about that, and if she has information regarding
the return of hunters, I want to know that too.
A door that didn't exist prior appeared in the room's
far wall, and Jamison walked through it, dressed casually in
flip flops, ratty jeans that let the black of his
skin show through, and a super Mario tank top that
framed both his metallic shoulder and cyborg arm d about
that text. Wait, Zach, Zack, Jamison's face showed a lated
surprise at seeing Zach in human form again. I was
starting to get worried about you, Zach granned back at Jamison.
At least someone's happy. I'm alive. These guys giving you problems.
You just let me know if you need me to
go all terminator, Jamison said, giving Zack a thumbs up
with his metal hand. Nah, Zach said, clapping him on
the back. Can't keep a good wolf down or his dick,
Austin added, rolling his eyes. Jamison looked between the two
of them and then laughed. I get the feeling there's
more to this story. But first things first, where's my sample?
He held out his hand expectantly, where Zack looked at
it blankly. What he asked? My sample? Jamison asked, looking
around at the rest of them. You know the silver
thing you told me about, he went on, turning toward Damien.
Oh fuck me, Damien cursed. After Andy had told him
she didn't want to see him again, despite both of
them clearly having had the best sex of their lives.
He'd come home pissed and may or may not have
explained things thoroughly to Jamison while with him fighting his
dragon down so it didn't rip the roof off his
castle and fly back to her. It's not here. You
didn't like spit it out when you woke up, Jamison asked,
then leaned forward. Should I have scanned you when you
were a wolf? Austin said, you'd be okay. God fucking
damn it. Damien kept cursing as the burden of realization
sank in. No, I put it in my coat pocket,
the same coat he'd gone and given to Andy. He
wasn't even near her, and he was putting her in
danger again. He pulled out his cellphone and sent her
a fast text, I need my coat back. There was
no response, not that there would be immediately, but knowing
that didn't stop him from staring at his phone for
a moment too long, hoping he'd be proven wrong. When
he wasn't. He shoved his phone back into his pocket
and looked back at the men I'll get it from
her later now about the rifts, Jamison winced about that.
Everything in Jamison's bearing turned apologetic as he began to
speak quickly. We predicted the gate within five miles accuracy,
which is a new record. But it didn't work. I
thought you said you sealed it. Damien frowned, remembering the
text Jamison had sent. I know I got ahead of myself.
The gate we thought we sealed reopened. It might have
been just a matter of using enough juice. Maybe we
underestimated it, and it takes more power to steal a
rift that hasn't been opened yet. But then another one
opened nearby that my algorithms didn't predict. So maybe if
you keep one closed, the power surges somewhere else nearby,
and some octos started pushing through. Don't worry, though, Max
and Mills went to handle them. Damien's phone beat with
the text alert Andy. He ignored Jamison as he went on,
pulling his phone back out again. No, and whatever cool
he had possessed earlier was not enough. Damien pulled in
on himself like a collapsing star, and Jamison's words were
drowned out by the static of blood in his ears.
No isn't just my name. It was one of the
last things Andy'd said to him, because he'd hurt her.
He'd done it intentionally when he'd been trying to save
her from himself, but that was no excuse. Without thinking,
Damien whirled, picked up the couch that none of them
were sitting on, and hurled it into the fireplace. Grimalkin,
perhaps knowing what he needed, chose not to disappear it,
instead letting the thing shatter and catch a flame. Whoa man,
Jamison said, jumping back. Max and Mills are fine. They
already radioed in. Damien turned and saw the three other
men gawking at him. He was in no mind to
explain the last conversation he'd had with Andy to them,
least of all when her walking away from him was
his own. Damn fault. I hated that couch, said Damian. Hi,
this is Cassie Alexander, and welcome to chapter four. Sleep
did not restore Andy as a night shift nurse. She
considered herself a connoisseur of sleep, a sleep somoyer. She
knew precisely the right drugs to take, the right temperature
to keep her room, the right weight of blinds and blindfolds,
all the better to help her rest. But for the
past week, everything in her dreams had been betraying her.
She kept running down long hallways, chased by something she
couldn't understand, and that was bad enough, but worse than that,
she was painfully alone in her dreams. There was no
one coming to save her, only more nightmares hunting her down.
She got a glimpse of the thing chasing her once.
It looked like a skinless dog, all glistening muscles and
white bone. It was huge, like Damien's wolf friends had been,
only her skinless dream one seemed endlessly cruel. Her dream
self was smart enough to realize that there was no
true way she could ever outrun it, that it had
to be just fucking with her. But it wouldn't stop,
and she was still too scared to turn around. She
woke up before her alarm at six pm, gasping for air.
All of her penguin covered cotton sheets kicked to the floor.
It this wasn't like her. She sat up in bed,
panting like she'd run a marathon. What the hell is wrong?
Andy looked at herself in the narrow, full length mirror
balanced against her wall. All the bruises from her wild
night with Damien had faded, which was good. She did
not want to explain anything remotely like that to her uncle.
But there was still the slightly darker welt beneath her
left breast, from where a monster is unearthed flea blood
had burned her, and she thought that it might scar
between that and the bruises she had on the inside.
She shook her head. It wasn't every day you were
almost killed repeatedly, witnessed the utter destruction and then magical
renewal of your workplace, and had the best sex of
your life before having to dump the dragon responsible for
it all before he could dump you again. What it
was was whiplash, and maybe all of her crazy dreams
were like an emotional concussion. She got out of bed
and stumbled into the bathroom. Maybe she should try to
take some time off and be nicer to herself. After all,
as a nurse, she could make a very convincing sick call,
and then she could try and relax and eat too
much ice cream watching Netflix with Sammy. But she was
too used to working nights, and Sammy had a day
at the garage, which meant that come three am, she'd
be alone again, just like she was every day or
night rather, and just like she was in her dreams
Andy frowned and turned the shower on. Andy talked herself
through the rest of her mourning and everyone else's evening time,
until she emerged from her room looking like someone who
you might entrust with your loved ones well being on
a night shift, as long as you didn't know that
they thought that dragons were real because they'd seen one
hot date. Sammy teased from her position on the couch.
Her red curls were spraying every which way, and she
was kicked back with a bag of chips watching yet
another true crime documentary. Andy'd had to tell her some
of what had happened to her last week, minus the
monsters and bloodshed. Sammy had been faintly horrified that they'd
had sex inside of a pegani, and when she'd told
Andy how expensive a car it was, Andy'd been horrified too.
And while Sammy didn't understand exactly why Andy wouldn't keep
seeing a billionaire who drove one more enthused about the
car than the man, of course she he was always
Team Andy, no matter what what, no, oh no. Andy
spread her hands down the relatively nice blouse she'd put
on for dinner tonight. It wasn't the dress her uncle
had sent her to wear, but that dress had gone
home in Damien's car, which was just as well. She
was absolutely sure there'd be no saving the silk after
everything they'd done. Just my uncle. As she said it,
the door to the apartment rang and her stomach fluttered.
Sammy bounced for the door before she could move, frozen
to the spot, and she was both relieved and disappointed
to see the man in a driver's livery standing outside.
Definitely not anyone else who might want to take her
somewhere in a fancy car. She followed the much shorter,
much rounder, and very much more human man downstairs and
let him open the door up to his car for
her before sliding inside. It felt strange to be driven
somewhere again without an app involved. She was sure her
uncle's current accommodations would be nice. She'd never known him
to scrimp on himself, but she couldn't help but feel
the same hackles rise as she'd felt being driven by Damien.
Who got to live like this, who just sent people
cars and dresses? And why? She wanted to believe that
her uncle was motivated by love and Lord knew he'd
supported her and Danny enough in all sorts of ways
through her childhood, but he was like a bad cat.
He never came when you called him, so Andy had
gotten used to not calling, but thinking of calls. Her
phone beated. She pulled it out as the driver swept
onto the highway, and she saw Damien's last name flash
on the screen. Her traitor's heart skipped a beat, and
she thought about asking the driver to go somewhere else,
entirely to a castle where a dragon lived. When she
opened her phone and the message came through, I need
my coat back, Andy blinked. Of course, he'd just messaged
her a demand, and not even a hey, or how
is it going? Or a yo. Damien could buy a
hundred million coats if he wanted them, so why on
earth would he need this specific one he'd given her,
and that she'd then bartered to Julian. She frowned at
the phone as her stomach churned. She had the familiar
feeling that she'd done something wrong, but because she couldn't
put her finger on precisely what it had been, she
swallowed her anxiety down and concentrated on being pissed at Damien.
Warm Enough, Miss, the driver asked, looking back in the
rear view mirror, smiling at her with a gap toothed grin.
Andy sank back into the car, gripping onto the phone. Yeah, thanks,
I'm fine, she said. She turned the phone over and
stared at his message. He didn't deserve a response, but
she was going to give him one. She typed back
a single word. No. Andy frowned deeply at the phone.
Why was every man in her life an asshole? She
was smart enough to know about lowest common denominators, but
she'd never gotten to pick her relatives, so that part,
at least wasn't her fault. But Damien had been a mistake.
Such a mistake, and his rude text to her only
proved it. Andy bit her lips and looked outside. He'd
looked so so anguished when she'd left him, like she
was truly hurting him a dragon, And she'd spent this
intervening week feeling bad about that. Because if there was
something going on in her life that she possibly could
feel bad about, her subconscious was on it, going after
her with an internal microphone shouting remember that time when
at the least opportune moments. Now, though, after his text,
Andy glanced down at her phone again, why had she
even bothered? He clearly hadn't been worried about her in
the least. Hi, this is Cassie Alexander, and welcome to
chapter five. Damien walked Jamison work while feeling his phone
burn a hole in his pocket. Could she not just
listen to him for once? Why was she always so
goddamned obstinate? Because of you, his dragon said, accusingly. He
was currently on his dragon's shit list since he'd been
the one in charge of chasing Andy off. He'd had
his worst week with the beast inside him yet, and
any opportunity his dragon had found to hurt him, he
had done so. If he thought his dragon was pissed
off about bringing him to Earth and leaving the realms,
it turned out that was nothing compared to making the
dragon leave the woman it thought was their destiny. It
was for her own good at the time, he reminded
himself and his dragon. His dragon made a dismissive rumbling
sound to tell him what he thought of. That got it,
Jamison said, pointing with his human hand at a string
of cor on his screen, saving Damien from additional internal arguments.
The only information he'd had to work with was the
phone number the girl had given Zach. It had been
a burner, of course, and Zach had paid for their
food and hotel that night, so there was nothing else
to go on. Jamison had figured out which store the
burner came from, and while it hadn't had a security
camera indoors, the liquor store next door that she'd visited,
Tobias Soda had. Once Zach confirmed the woman's face, it
had just been a matter of letting Jamison's machines around
them commune with assorted databases, searching for other locations where
she'd been. This is the place she's been spotted near
the most. Jamison went on, making his computer replace the
numbers with a map Starview apartments. Starve you huh, starry
Sky Starview ironic now, Austin stated, twisting to glare at
his brother. Zach growled in response. Boys Damien tisked the
stills of the woman on the screen, entering and exiting
the apartment from thirty different angles. She was blonde and slight,
the kind of woman you could knock over with a
stiff breeze. Maybe Zach was right, and someone had put
her up to tagging him because she didn't appear a
Machiavelian in the least, I'm cross referencing. Hold tight. Jamison
stared off into the distance. His metal hand was detached
and his wrist was plugged into the machine via a socket.
Damien wasn't rightly sure how everything with Jamison worked, even
though he'd funded it personally. The screen began to fill
with assordid driver's license photos and leasing paperwork. Damien leaned
forward to watch the man in action. Have I mentioned lately?
I'm glad you're on our side. Have cyborg arm. We'll
travel the digital highway, Jamison said, grinning, bringing up three
final photos, then dissolving two away so that only one
was left. That's her right, zach Jack pushed his brother
out of the way, inspecting the screen for far longer
than it should have taken. Yes, he whispered, Kitch Johnson,
Apartment three C. Jamison pronounced, pooah. Austin shouted, clapping Damien's arm.
When do we ride? Damien took his hand off his phone,
where it had been lightly resting the entire time. Now,
he said, we ride, now, grab guns, get ready. Austin whooped,
See you at the tour bus in fifteen He shouted,
and ran for the door while Zack clenched his jaw.
I want you to drive and be our eyes Jamison
until Max to be ready to ride cleanup crew, Damien said, standing.
She told me her name was Stilla, Zach said to himself.
Damian put a sympathetic hand briefly on Zach's arm before
walking out. Going to meet this ware woman was good,
Damien supposed, because it stopped him from going to Andy's
hospital and wrestling his coat off of her. That did
assume that she was wearing it, though, and hadn't what
thrown it away, consigned it frozen it in carbonite, He snorted,
and stalked back to his bedroom so he could change clothes.
He didn't need a tactical suit like Zach and Austin
would likely put on, but he probably ought to wear
black for the occasion. He closed his door and had
his clothes half off when he heard a knock. Boss
asked a feminine voice from the other side. Millicent aka Mills,
his resident witch and secretary. Hang on, he said, and
finished changing as quickly as possible. Come in. Mills was
mid forties with salt and pepper brunette hair. She'd never
cut according to her coven's principles, it would wind down
to the floor and then some if she didn't keep
it up in an ornate bun. She had devoted her
life to her magical arts, and Damien reaped the rewards
of her vast knowledge due to the fact that they
respected one another and her curse. When Millicent was sixteen,
an older and more powerful rival for her boyfriend blessed
her so that she could never tell a lie, as
lies were the grease of human society. It behooved her
to run with a slightly less than human crowd. Need
back up, she asked, knowing full well what his all
black outfit meant. Grimalkin instantly appeared to wind around her
ankles and yowl at Damien. Don't you dare take her?
If all of you go and leave us behind, we
order secret cheeseburgers. Damien bit back a smile. Depends on
why you're visiting, he addressed her, not his cheese obsessed cat.
What's up? I think I finally found the dress you
were after. She held up two photos, One of them
was Andy in a gorgeous black silk dress, snapped by
paparazzi when they left a restaurant last week, and the
other was clearly that same dress on a model on
a runway. Damien knew which oho oh he preferred, reaching
out to take it from her. Andy's face was partially
hidden by her coat's collar, but you could still see
the blue streak colored through her black hair as it
swung around her, and her beautiful dough brown eyes slightly
widened in surprise. For the first time in his life.
He was glad to have been stalked by a photographer,
and he wished that he had more and better pictures
of her. He'd bought these from the man through a
third party at an exorbitant rate, but at least this
way all of them stayed out of circulation and were
just for him. So Mills began stalling, like she sometimes
did before she had to tell someone bad news because
she couldn't help it. You want me to buy one
for her, Damien's eyes narrowed, yes in her size, and
have it sent to her immediately. He cleared his throat,
pen and paper, grim Please. Grimalkin paused in his ankle
wind to point his tail, and Damien followed it to
the bar where Cat had materialized his request for him,
send her this with the dress, leader, Damien said, as
he signed a slip of paper to send with the
dress to Andy. Not from your uncle d and brought
it back over to present to Mills, who'd started typing
on her smart watch. So it's very, very expensive, she said.
She glanced at the note, not from your uncle. Long story.
Damien half expected her to cry. If she was forced
to be utterly honest with everyone, it would be unfair
to not expect the same in return, And money is
no object when it comes to Andy. She held her
wrist out to him. Even this much, the dress was
already in a shopping cart online, and its price was
a number with many many zeros, Damien grunted. Of course,
Andy was worth all his wealth ten times over. Only
no wonder, Andy assumed he'd gotten that dress for her
rather than her uncle at that price. Mills, why didn't
your background check mention she had an uncle, because she doesn't, Damien.
There's no one in her life who could have bought
this for her. But she didn't buy this for herself,
he said, pointing at her watch. Mills frowned at the screen,
taking her time before she spoke again, and then to
only say, agreed, he knew what it meant when she
was quiet. What are you thinking that your girlfriend is
poor and that this is kature, she said, holding up
the runway photo. It just came out in Italy last month.
It's exclusive as hell and painfully hard to acquire, even
before the price tag. So either it's a truly exceptional
knockoff or Andy's uncle, she said, making air quotes around
the word has both funds and connections. Damien felt truly wounded,
a rarity for him. She's not my girlfriend, you asked, remember,
Mills said, before grimacing, she was a little or you
wanted her to be. I'm sorry, you know I can
sometimes read your aura when you're feeling human. Damien closed
his eyes and ignored her. Who would be close enough
to Andy to send her that dress, but then choose
to let her live in Debt in an apartment with
a roommate worried about a degenerate brother. It wasn't his
business anymore, but anyhow, Mills said, I'll see that the
transaction goes through smoothly, and I'll mail it to her
with your note right away. Good, thank you, Damien said,
his mind whirling, grim sat down on his haunches and
looked up at Mills cheese burgers. Grim asked her forlornly,
even though she couldn't understand him. She leaned over to
pick him up and cradle him so she could rub
his belly, and Damien snorted in the realms that kind
of behavior would be unbecoming. Earth was rubbing off on Grim.
Other than that, will you be needing me? She asked, No,
stay home, relax for once, order yourself some dinner. Damien said, Oh,
we were already going to do that, weren't we, mister Grimsley,
Mills said, while bouncing Grim, who was purring loudly enough
that Damien could hear. He looked at the photo of
Andy she'd left with him as she started for the door.
He'd gone through these photos this past week, again and again,
searching for something. He didn't know what, though, until just
this moment, he wanted a sign that Andy would be
coming back to him. Damien jogged for the door and
leaned out to shout after her, Mills, Damie, and if
you ruined cheeseburger night for me, I swear, Grim growled clearly. Yes.
Boss Mills paused and asked, oblivious to Grim's concerns. He
stared at the photo a moment more. Something didn't add up.
It wasn't like he and Andy had had a chance
to discuss their families. But run another background check on Andy.
He called down to her right away, Mills said, then
started down the stairs team on his five and counting.
Austin yelled from below her in the entryway, not even
bothering died the excitement in his voice. Damien enjoined Austin
at the bottom of the stairs. The wear shifter had
put on all of his tactical gear, not because he
needed any of it, but because he enjoyed it. Damien
suspected it reminded him of his time in the military.
Zach came down at exactly fourteen minutes and fifty nine seconds,
dressed in street clothes. He wasn't even wearing black. Austin
looked between the two of them, What am I running
this mission alone? I'm sorry? Did I need something more
than being able to turn into a fire breathing dragon.
Damien said fine and allowed, then glared pointedly at his brother.
But what's this, he asked, looking Zach up and down.
Were you planning on asking her out on another date.
We don't always have to kill everything all the time,
brother Zach said, in a clipped tone. Uh, yeah, we do.
It's why we're here and what we are good at,
Austin said, then looked over to Damien. This is your fault,
all the diplomacy bullshit you've been teaching him. Damien snorted
and considered Zach's current state. The man hadn't even brought
a gun, although they could outfit a small swat team
with the contents of their SUV the tour bus if
they had to, You agree this needs doing. Yes. If
he didn't, they would leave the wolf at home. Yes,
and I'm going, Zach said, with a tone that broached
no disagreement. To fight her with what your dress belt?
Austin pressed, You don't have to shoot everything when you
can use your words, Zach said. She is a person,
not and unearthly. Would you listen to that, Austin asked Damien,
as though he'd already chosen aside. It's like he doesn't
want us to have any fun at all, he said,
before bursting out the front door to trot down the
front brick stairs toward the garage. Fun Zach mouthed at Damien,
assuming Damien had his back, making air quotes around the
word with an eye roll before following his brother. Damien
walked out right after them. Of course, they both assumed
he'd taken their side. It wasn't hard for him to
seem impartial. He had no skin in their personal argument,
and he was only interested in interrogating the girl. But
beyond that, he knew that they were both wrong. He
knew from personal experience that words could be weapons strong
enough to pierce through dragon scale. Hi, this is Cassie Alexander,
and welcome to chapters. The city scenery outside her window thinned,
and Andy realized they were going to a newly gentrifying
part of town, Crystal Cove. For a long time, no
one had wanted to be anywhere near the water. The
nearby port's business was too noxious and loud. But then
rich people remembered. They liked ocean views again, and they
were slowly knocking down all the multi unit housing that
blocked them until the beaches could be rebuilt. It made
sense that her uncle was renting here. It fit him.
Her uncle Lee was, to the best of her knowledge,
a kind of dilettante. He was always out on adventures
doing business, missing milestones and birthdays, including her mother's funeral,
but he'd paid for the whole thing, sight unseen in
the intervening three years. Since then, they had occasionally texted,
both making plans when he was in town, only to
take turns breaking them. It was as if without the
weight of her mother's good and tensions, there was nothing
left to draw them near. Andy would rather get overtime
on all the major holidays. She wasn't half as good
a cook, and Uncle Lee mostly had his own life besides,
which made last weekend's surprise dinner invitation completely unexpected. She'd
known he was in town again, it was why she'd
asked him for help with Danny, but she'd have never
guessed he'd send some Nordic goddess secretary over to collect
her without so much as a warning. The driver pulled
down a residential street where the houses got grander and
farther apart, until there was just one left. Before you
hit the water side. There stood a giant white stucco
monstrosity with heavy black wooden doors and palm trees that
had clearly just been planted out front, and she was
fairly sure they'd freeze to death this winter, Oh, Uncle
Andy sighed, No one could ever accuse Uncle Lee of
having taste. She got out of the car before the
driver could get to her door, and at the end
of a coulinated entryway, the house's door opened and her
Uncle Lee burst out Andrea. He shouted at her the
second he saw her. Her first thought was that he
looked the same dark skin, dark hair, well trimmed short
beard that met his equally well trimmed mustache. She realized
that for her entire life he'd seemed practically ageless. Uncle Lee,
Andy shouted back, grinning at him helplessly, just like she
had when she was a little girl. Three years had
been too long. Why had she been so stubborn? Maybe
because she knew seeing him would remind her of her mother.
The absence of her mother hit her like a knife
in the heart and twisted hard. It's so good to
see you, she said, and meant it, even though it
hurt you too, child, he said, returning the same bittersweet
smile she was likely giving him, before clapping her shoulders
and shaking her gently. He still smelled like the same
tobacco smoke he always did, and all the time she'd
known him, he'd never once changed his brand. My favorite
niece in the flesh, only niece, and he teased, slipping
off her shoes and placing them on the special shelf
by the door. Even if I had twenty nieces, you
would still be my favorite, her uncle said, then looped
his arm in hers to pull her inside his house.
I made Elsa get you a very nice dress. To
apologize about that, Andy began slowly. As they walked into
a dark wood hallway. Her uncle snorted, don't worry. I
know how you law twins are stubborn to the nth degree. Stubborn.
She protested, lightly, I prefer opinionated, Uncle Lee laughed, well,
my opinion is that your opinion is wrong. But regardless,
we've managed to rebook, and here you are, at very
long last. He kept her face in his hands, and
look at you, the very image of brains and beauty
in the flesh. Andy felt herself flushing. Uncle, She began,
and then took in the strange room behind him, where
several small creatures were taxidermied into exciting dioramas. Are you
still hunting? She asked, with concern. God, the one time
Danny and she had gotten to stay at uncle's unsupervised
when they were kids. Was the day after Halloween. She'd
seen creepy glass eyes in her nightmares. For weeks, she'd
assumed he'd just rented Adam's family style houses. It wasn't
until she was a grown up that she realized all
of these things, the lynxes chasing after rabbits, who were
in turn being chased by small bears, were all his,
and he moved them around with him. Of course, what
else is a true man of leisure supposed to do
in his spare time? Her uncle huffed, looking a little offended,
like she'd just insulted his manhood, because in a way
she had. Her mother's way of fitting into the US
had been to fall for the fairy tale of Cinderella, stuff,
true love and all that, whereas her uncle's way of
fitting in had been to become a macho every man,
a man's man, but classy, which was why he was
wearing a red silk smoking jacket now and had a pipe.
Just like he'd walked out of the nineteen fifties hell,
he still had elephant feet waste baskets like that wasn't
the most horrific thing. What he pressed her, she inhaled,
ready to try to explain things, then just gave up.
She only saw him once in a blue moon. She
definitely wasn't going to change him, and Danny still needed
his help besides nothing, she said, brightly, Wedn's dinner soon.
He smiled at her indulgently. I can't wait for you
to taste it. My chef has two Michelin stars, he bragged.
Andy made sure to seem appropriately odd for her uncle sake.
Wow does he yell a lot like that one guy
on TV? Her uncle laughed, not at me, he doesn't.
Two rooms later, one of which had a shoal of
piranha on display across one wall. Just how many people
did he pay to dust here? She tried to broach
the subject of Danny's disappearance. You got my text right.
He hadn't responded to it, but that wasn't unusual for him.
Her uncle nodded deeply. Yes, your brother has always been
a troubled boy, hasn't He don't worry. I have some
people looking into things he'll turn up. Did you maybe
talk to a private investigator? I have many people helping
who have a variety of resources to tap into, he replied,
which she knew meant no. Come and eat dinner with
my friend, and afterwards we will discuss my favorite nephew, Daniel.
Your friend. Andy had to resist digging in her heels,
even more so as Uncle Lee paused to look at her,
embodying the very image of innocence himself. Yes, I'm very friendly.
In fact, this one time in Africa, he began and
launched into a story specifically to distract her. Andy shook
her head and gave in to the Uncle Lee experience.
If he just listened to me, Uncle Lee was intoning.
He was discussing some business deal gone momentarily awry, but
only in the broadest strokes, so she had no real
idea what it was about, because the important part of
the story wasn't the facts, only that uncles should be
listened to. He swung them into the dining room, where
his goddamned polar bear was on display, looming over a
seemingly much smaller man, David, Her uncle said, waving at
the man grandly, you're here. The interloper stood politely as
they entered the room. He was at least as tall
as Damien. It was just that the polar bear was giant.
The bear was the thing Andy remembered her uncle having
the longest, and she knew there was a secret spot
on the back of its base where she'd spent an
idle afternoon carving her name on it with a fork.
When she was eight, she'd chowed Danny, who'd totally ratted
her out to uncle, And after that Andy Bear was born.
If only it would come to life now and eat
the undeniably handsome man who stood in front of it.
What game was her uncle playing