Dragon in the Rough (Elders Enterprises Book 1) (11 page)

              Paul swallowed the bite of food he had just put in his mouth and then washed it down with a drink of milk. After setting his glass down, he turned to look at Katie. “It is a history book. This one specifically goes over the types of dragons. There are five types. Green is the earth dragons, they can literally move or build mountains, if enough strong dragons are together.”

              He paused and took another bite. Katie welcomed the moment of silence. The thought of being able to move mountains sounded pretty great in a terrifying way.

              “Then there are the white dragons, they are the wind dragons. Like me, we own the skies. We can fly faster than a speeding bullet if we really push ourselves. The red are the fire dragons. Their name says it all, they can wield and control fire. Then we have the blue dragons. They are the only ones that can swim. And yes, they too can wield and control water.”

              Katie was again grateful for a moment’s pause as they both ate. All the dragons’ powers sounded awesome to Katie. It made her excited to find out what she would be. “Okay, so what are the purple ones?”

              “They are our royalty. They can take on the powers of any of the other dragons.” Paul put his fork and knife down. “But we have not had one of those in centuries.”

              This surprised Katie. It made her wonder why they did not have a royal family. “Why?” she asked.

              “I am not really sure. You see, unlike with humans where they pass their royal line down through blood, dragons are random. No one knows who the next royal will be until they first change.”

              “Oh,” Katie found that interesting. To not know who your true leader was, or if it was even you until that person changed. “I wonder what I will be.” She looked around, not really sure if she wanted to ask the next question, but pushed herself to do it. She was going to find out sooner or later. “So how do we become fully mated?”

              A huge grin appeared on Paul’s face. “Think of it like a human wedding, but instead of regular vows, we stand before a group of Elders and speak an ancient dragon vow.” Paul’s smile wavered. “It is something that we are taught at a very young age.” Katie frowned, she had missed so much growing up outside of the dragons. Paul must have sensed what she was thinking because he added, “But no worries, love, I will write it down for you. So when you are ready to undergo the ceremony, you will be prepared.”

              Katie felt a little better knowing that Paul was going to help her through all of this. But there was still a part of her that wanted to scream. She had gone her whole life not knowing what she truly was, always feeling like there was something major missing in her life. Then to know there were hundreds of others out there just like her? She would search down each and every one of them if need be. But first, she wanted to know why. Why were they being abandoned as babies? And who was behind it all?

              Katie did not have time to say anything more. Her phone started going off in the bedroom. She hopped down off of the stool and raced into the other room, managing to pick it up before the call was sent to voice mail. “Hello?” she said as she brought the thing up to her ear.

              “Hey, Katie, it’s Mark. How are you doing today?” It took Katie a moment to answer. She was trying to figure out why Mark was calling her and not Paul.

              “Oh, hi, Mark. I am doing fine this morning. What can I do for you?” she asked as Paul came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Katie leaned into him. She loved his arms being around her, it made her feel safe and grounded. Her life had basically been flipped upside down, so she took anything that helped her feel like she was not alone.

              “I was looking at the list of names for here in New York last night.” He took a deep breath. “It seems one was dropped off less than a month ago. I am hoping that someone will remember who left the baby there. Would you and Paul like to meet me at the hospital?”

              Katie did not need to ask Paul or even think about the answer. “Yes, send me the address and we will head that way now.” She hung up the phone before Mark could reply. Turning around in Paul’s arms, she explained to him what was going on.

              “Okay, then let’s get to it. I had clothes delivered for you last night while you slept. They are in the closet by the bathroom.” Katie did not let herself be surprised by this. She did not have the time to right now. Spinning on her heel, she went and quickly got dressed.

              By the time she came out of the closet fully dressed, Paul was waiting for her by the bedroom door. She went over and placed her hand in his and walked out of the room. As they stepped onto the elevator, Katie’s phone beeped notifying her that she had a text message.

              “Crap!” Katie blurted out as she read the message.

              “What’s wrong?” Paul asked with a look of concern on his face.

              Katie sighed and looked up at him. “It looks like we will have to take a taxi. The hospital is outside the city.”

              Paul laughed before sobering up when he looked down at Katie. “No worries, love, I have a car we can use.”

              “You do?” Katie asked, amazed. She had never bothered with getting a car. She could get everywhere she needed to be on foot, or the subway. She never really saw a point in spending the money. But now as she thought about it, it might be a good idea to look for one. She had a feeling that she would be doing a lot of traveling in the next few weeks.

              “I sure do. It is in the parking garage for emergencies like this.” He gave Katie a grin that made her wonder what he was not telling her. She thought it was crazy that only after a few days, she was already picking up on things like this from Paul. Things were moving so quickly and it scared her, but she was not about to back down now. She needed Paul.

              Katie followed Paul out of the elevator when the doors opened. They walked three rows back before Paul stopped and just stared at a row of Mustangs. From what Katie could tell, they were all from different years. She picked out slight differences in their bodies. “Which one is yours?” she asked, though she had a feeling that she already knew the answer but needed to hear him say it.

              He looked down as his smile got bigger. “All of them. I have been collecting them since they came out. Think of them as my treasure.”

              Katie took a deep breath. She did not understand why but just looking at the row of cars was a little overwhelming. A statement that Paul was much older than she. After a moment, she was able to clear her head. What did it matter that he was older? She was falling for this man and that was all that mattered now. Clearing her throat, she asked, “So which one are we taking?”

              Paul leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. “That, my dear, is up to you.”

              Katie smiled. She did not think she would ever get use to all of this. Turning slowly, she started making her way down the row, looking at each car that she passed. It was not until the end that one really caught her eye. It looked to be a newer model. It was purple with white racing stripes going down its center. She turned and walked around it, admiring each curve. She was in love. It was feminine yet masculine. She had no doubt that it could get the job done and have fun while doing it. Once she was back at the hood, she pointed to it. “This one, please.” She even threw in a few bats of her eyelashes to get the job done.

              Paul laughed. “Woman, you are going to be the death of me.” He walked over and opened the passenger side door for her. As Katie climbed in and sat down, she melted into the leather. If heaven was a car, it would be this one.

              Paul was quick about getting the keys and coming back. As Katie buckled up her seatbelt, he was climbing into the driver’s seat. The car started up as soon as he pushed the start button. “So, why this one?” he asked.

              Katie thought about it for a few moments as Paul pulled out of the parking spot and headed for the garage exit. “It just kind of called to me. Plus, my favorite color is purple.”

              “Well, it is a good choice. This will be the first time that I have taken her out. I only just got her right before I went into hiding.” Katie liked the idea that no other woman had been in this seat before. It made her feel special.

              “Ahhhh, speaking of you hiding, where have you been staying?” She had to know, it was in her nature to ask questions. Plus, he had stayed off the radar for so long, she wanted to know how he had done it.

              Katie looked over to see that same grin on Paul’s face that he had in the elevator. Suddenly, she was not sure she wanted to know the answer. “Are you sure you want to know the answer to that?”

              “Yes.” Truth was that even if she did not like the answer, Katie did want to know.

              “I had the apartment right under yours.” Paul wiped the amused look off of his face when he glanced over at Katie. This whole time he had been so close to her and she had no idea!

              “You mean to tell me that this whole time that I was searching for your ass, you were literally right under me?” She could not believe it. How had she not known? Was he the reason that she felt like someone was watching her? Katie guessed that was most likely reason.

              “It was a good place to be. I like being under you.” He winked at Katie. She smacked his arm then laughed as he rubbed the tender spot. She could not stay made at him. In reality, it was probably the best place to hide. She would have never thought to look so close to her.

              It did not take them long to get to the hospital. They spent the time talking, or more like Katie asking a lot of questions about the dragon race. She had so much to learn and was eager to get started. When the car came to a stop in a parking space, Katie sighed. She was enjoying just talking, but now it was time to get serious. There was work to be done. She opened the door and stepped out, a cool wind whipping through her hair, chilling her. A storm was moving in quickly. Katie hoped that it would hold off until they were done talking to everyone inside.

              Paul walked over and wrapped his arms around Katie. She leaned in, savoring the moment. It helped chase away the cold but the impending doom settled like a knot in Katie’s chest. She pulled out of Paul’s embrace and grabbed his hand. They walked silently toward the entrance of the hospital. As they reached the sliding glass doors, Mark walked up to them.

              “How are you two love birds this morning?” he asked with a huge grin on his face that made him look so much like Paul, it freaked Katie out a little bit.

              “We are doing good great,” Katie said, returning his smile. She could not believe that only a few days ago she was scared shitless of Mark, but now she stood here shooting the shit with him like it was nothing. Was she ever going to get use to this?

              “Any news on when you are going to make me an uncle?” he asked in a teasing tone that made Katie smile.

              “Mark,” Paul growled. “Can you stop pushing? Katie and I will decide when we are ready to take that leap. Until then, stop asking.”

              Mark looked amused as they walked through the front doors. “But if I do not ask, how will I know that it is happening?” Katie laughed. Paul might find his brother annoying but Katie liked the fact that he kept things light when everything else seemed so stressful. It was a nice contrast and evened everything out. Mark and Paul were like yin and yang.

              Paul seemed to blow off his brother’s remarks and instead asked, “So who do we need to talk to?”

              Mark was suddenly serious. No more smile, it was all business now. “We need to talk to the nurses up in the third floor nursery. The baby stayed there for two weeks before being moved to a foster home. Someone up there should know something.”

              Without another word, they all turned and walked up the three flights of stairs. Katie was glad that they did not take the elevator. She was already starting to feel a little trapped. She hated being in a hospital and usually avoided them, but now she really had no choice but to be here. She swallowed the lump in her throat and pushed forward.

              On the third floor landing, Katie stopped for a moment to calm herself before she opened the door and walked through. It was quiet. One family sat over in the corner of the waiting room, to Katie they looked as if they were waiting to hear about a new family member. It took Katie back the conversation she and Paul had the day before. He had looked so happy recalling finding out about his sister. She would give anything to be able to see that smile again. Maybe when everything settled down, they would decide to have kids. Katie shook her head at the thought. She wanted to spend time with Paul before she had to worry about a baby. The thought was nice, but she just wanted to wait awhile first.

              Looking around, Katie’s eyes came to a stop on a pair of double doors. There was a sign taped to the front of it stating that they needed to ring the bell for assistance. Katie figured that this was to keep strangers from wandering around all the infants and gave the parents a little piece of security knowing that someone could not just walk in and steal a baby.