Dragon's Curse (Harlequin Nocturne) (14 page)

Chapter 13

A
riel pulled into a parking spot and turned
off the engine. Cam had been right about the smaller vehicles being easier to
handle on the twists and curves in the road.

Thankfully, she’d remembered to triple-check for her cell phone
before leaving the apartment and once again after getting in the Jeep. This time
she wouldn’t have to search for a phone or head back to the bar to call
Renalde.

Instead, she’d found a small, secluded park at the far end of
town, away from the shops and tourists. The only other person here—a
fisherman—had just removed his vest and was loading his gear into the back of
his truck. While waiting for him to leave, she sat on the top of a picnic table
watching the river rush past.

Her dreams last night had been so real, so vivid. Somehow she’d
been flying—and not with the assistance of an airplane, but by herself, under
the power of her own…wings.

Dreaming of dragons was nothing new; she’d regularly done so as
a child. But rarely had she dreamed about actually
being
a dragon. And never had she done so as an adult until last
night.

What bothered her wasn’t so much the dream. No, what bothered
her was the wishing it could be so.

She was obviously more stressed than she’d first thought. She
needed to finish this business with Renalde, collect Carl and get the hell out
of here before she completely lost her ability to reason.

But getting the hell out of here would mean leaving Cam. Why
did that idea fill her heart with an empty sadness?

Cam
—she couldn’t help wondering,
where had he disappeared to last night? After leaving so abruptly upon seeing
something in the grimoire, he’d returned. She remembered falling back to sleep
in his arms. But when the alarm went off this morning, she’d been alone.

Except for the grimoire. It had still been on the desk, busy
filling in its pages for the day.

It was too bad he hadn’t taken the damn thing with him. Between
the magical pages and the grimoire’s lousy timing, it couldn’t have picked a
better moment to destroy by making its appearance to Cam last night.

There was nothing like savoring the aftermath of great,
mind-blowing sex, only to have the book essentially scream its existence from
across the room. She’d had her fill of the thing. As far as she was concerned,
its complete disappearance wouldn’t prove upsetting in the least.

The sound of the fisherman driving off interrupted her musing.
She glanced at her watch. There were a few minutes left before she had to
contact Renalde. Since her search of the Lair had still proven unsuccessful, she
dreaded making the call.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t tried, she had. Over and over she’d
scoured nearly every nook and cranny. The only places left were the desks and
cabinets in the Drakes’ offices.

Ariel had no clue how she was going to accomplish that feat,
but she knew there’d be no getting around it. The biggest trick would be not
getting caught.

After once again checking to make certain she was alone, Ariel
pulled out her cell to call Renalde.

“So, Ms. Johnson…”
His voice was in
her head before she could finishing punching in the number. “Are you ready to
make an exchange?”

She gripped the edge of the picnic table, knowing her answer
wouldn’t be well received. “Not yet. I’m still—”

“Silence.” He cut her off, then declared, “It’s time you focus
your search back at Mirabilus.”

“I can’t.” She was not returning to that place. Here at the
Lair there existed only hints of dragons—paintings, statues and the like. But at
Mirabilus, they were more than inanimate objects—they were real.

“Yes, you will.”

Ariel closed her watering eyes, cringing at the rage echoing in
her mind. Before she could explain how hard she’d been trying to find what he
wanted, and her plans to invade the Drakes’ offices, Renalde bellowed, “It’s
time you start paying for your failure, my dear. Perhaps you need a little
lesson to teach you how to do what you’re told.”

She nearly fell off the picnic table from the force of his
departure.
Pay for her failure? A little lesson?
“No. Please, don’t hurt Carl.”

Brief flashes of growing up with her brother—Christmases,
birthdays, summers at their grandparents’ lake cottage—ripped through her
mind.

She’d always thought that one day their children would grow up
in much the same manner—cousins creating their own memories together.

“Trust me, Ms. Johnson, you’ll be far more cooperative after
today.”

His swift reentry made her head spin. Sick to her stomach with
fear and worry, Ariel stumbled toward the Jeep. What was she going to do? If
Renalde killed Carl how would she live with herself?

Blinded by tears and the murky fog of terror, she rooted
through her purse, trying to find the keys.

“Stop.” A strong hand closed over her wrist.

The warmth of Cam’s familiar touch, just the sound of his
steady voice, chased away her ability to reason. Ariel turned toward him,
seeking something stable and solid—something reassuring to hold on to—and then
buried her face against his shoulder.

Cam stared over Ariel’s head at the trees fencing the picnic
area. She’d turned to him for something he couldn’t afford to offer—comfort.

Yes, she was terrified. Her fear seeped into him with a
bone-chilling cold that nearly knocked him off his feet.

And yes, she was in danger. He’d felt the foreboding menace at
the same moment he’d breathed in her scent.

Cam chased away the brief urge to tighten his arms around her
to draw her close. She’d put herself in this position.

Still, no matter how much he denied it, there was a part of him
that longed to drag her deeper into his embrace and willingly give her whatever
she needed. Quelling that part of him was essential. Because giving in would
eventually bring about her death.

Careful not to promise anything, Cam said, “Ariel, I can help,
but you have to tell me what’s going on.”

She shook her head. He should have expected her silent
response. Why had he hoped for more this time?

Cam grasped her shoulders and moved her aside. “Give me the
keys and get in. I’ll drive.”

She dropped the keys onto his outstretched hand and circled to
the other side of the Jeep. Ariel paused, a frown marring her brow as she
scanned the park. “What about your car?”

“It’s in town. Harold can bring me back later.” Years of
practice lent a ring of truth to his lie.

Cam ignored the vibration of the phone holstered on his belt.
He slid behind the wheel and started the Jeep.

Again, the phone vibrated. And once again, he ignored it.
Whatever it was could wait until he got back to the Lair.

Silence loomed heavy between them as he drove through town.
Finally, more to break the deafening quiet than anything else, he asked, “Are
you hungry?”

Ariel shook her head, keeping her gaze trained out the side
window.

“Well, I am.”

“Can we just go back to the Lair?”

He ignored her question. “It’s a nice day for a drive. You
haven’t been into the national park yet.”

“Please.” She took a shuddering breath. “Please, I just want to
go back.”

Cam relented at the underlying tone of desperation in her plea,
and at the next traffic light turned onto the side road that would take them up
the mountain.

She apparently had something important she needed to do back at
the Lair. It didn’t require a genius to realize it most likely had something to
do with her phone call.

Sirens behind him caught his attention. He pulled over to let
the police and emergency vehicles fly by him.

When they didn’t turn into the complex of condos, he cursed.
Either there was an accident ahead, or they’d been called to the Lair.

His phone once again vibrated. Instead of answering it, he hit
the gas pedal, cursing.

Ariel gasped as they lunged ahead. She grabbed the safety
handle above her head, praying Cameron didn’t roll the Jeep in his attempt to
keep up with the police and ambulance.

Renalde had said she would start paying for what he called her
failures. Had he spared Carl only to harm someone at the Lair instead?

It would make a twisted sort of sense for him to have done so.
If he murdered her brother right off, what would he use to force her to continue
her search?

The Jeep careened around a curve on two wheels. Ariel shouted,
“Slow down!”

When Cam ignored her, she closed her eyes against the blur of
trees and rocks as they passed by at a dizzying pace.

Finally, just when she was certain they were going to fly off
the road, Cam slowed down enough to pull into the Lair. Ariel’s breath escaped
with a whoosh. She bailed out of the Jeep, thankful not to have died in a
horrific, fiery tumble down the side of the mountain.

“What happened?”

The strained tone of Cam’s question to his aunt drew Ariel’s
attention from the paramedics gathered around Harold. She followed Cam, trying
not to shudder at the hate and rage in Danielle Drake’s eyes. How could the
woman dislike anyone that much?

“It’s
her
fault.” Danielle pointed
at Ariel. “
She
caused this.”

Cam edged in front of Ariel, putting himself between the women.
“What happened?”

The police officer interviewing Harold glanced toward Cam.

Danielle whispered, “She tried to kill Harold.”

“Nonsense. Ariel was with me.”

“You’d say anything to protect her.”

Cam refrained from rolling his eyes at his aunt’s certainty.
“She doesn’t need protecting.” He grasped Dani’s elbow and escorted her away
from the curious police, then once again asked, “What happened?”

With her glare riveted on Ariel, she explained, “Harold was on
a ladder fixing one of her rose trellises when it exploded beneath him.”

Cam frowned at the impossible explanation. “Ladders don’t
explode.”

Danielle shrugged. “Not exactly exploded, more like just fell
apart while he was on it.”

Searching for a logical explanation, Cam offered, “Maybe it was
old.”

His aunt disagreed. “We don’t have any old equipment here.”

“Then it was defective.”

“More like it was cursed.”

Ariel peered around him, her eyes wide. “Cursed?”

“Don’t play innocent with me, Ms. Johnson. You might fool my
nephew, but my vision isn’t clouded with lust. I see you for what you are.”

“And that would be…what?”

Before Dani could answer Ariel’s half-serious question, he
asked, “Is Harold injured?”

He needed to draw his aunt’s attention away from Ariel. The
last thing he wanted was a catfight in front of the town police. Dani couldn’t
be trusted not to resort to magic when she felt provoked. And for whatever
reason, Ariel provoked his aunt just by breathing.

“He says no, but the paramedics insisted on checking him
out.”

Cam nodded toward Harold. “Why don’t you go make certain. And
if he isn’t injured, help him convince the authorities that he’s fine, and
nothing out of the ordinary happened.”

“You want me to get rid of the witnesses.”

The censure evident in Danielle’s voice let Cam know she wasn’t
pleased with the idea. He didn’t care. She wasn’t going to get the chance to get
rid of Ariel like this, not before he found out what she was up to. “Yes. That’s
the idea.”

Her disapproval of the idea showed plainly on her face. But to
his relief, Danielle stomped off toward Harold and the paramedics.

Cam watched as his aunt engaged Harold and the authorities in a
conversation. Her animated gestures and show of concern captured the officers’
attention, giving him the chance to inspect the area around the trellises.

He didn’t sense any magic whatsoever, not even on the broken
pieces of the ladder. However, he did pick up an unfamiliar scent. Breathing
deeply, he identified it as belonging to a human.

Cam glanced toward Dani, Harold and the others. Certain they
were focused on their own conversation, he followed the scent toward the rear of
the Lair.

“What are you looking for?”

He raised a hand, silently asking Ariel to be quiet, and
paused.

Without saying another word, she closed the distance between
them, coming up against his back. Even though she couldn’t have realized it,
she’d instinctively sought his protection.

Her reaction dragged a rumbling growl of approval from his
beast. Cam gritted his teeth. No matter what the dragon thought, or felt, this
woman could not become its…his…their mate.

Somehow he was going to have to convince the beast of that
before this interest went too far and they put Ariel’s life in danger.

Cam followed the scent toward the woods. He stopped at the edge
of the tree line, unwilling to let Ariel follow him into the forest.

He turned to her, suggesting, “Why don’t you—” The insistent
vibration of his phone interrupted him.

Cam pulled it from his holster, flipping it open as he did so.
“What, Sean?”

While waiting for his brother to answer, Cam noticed the
emergency vehicles leaving the Lair. Dani and Harold must have been able to
convince the authorities that nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

“I’ve called for the chopper. You need to get ready to leave
for Mirabilus.”

Even through the phone, Cam could hear the concern in his
younger brother’s voice. “Why? Is something wrong?”

“It’s Brightworthe.”

An icy fist slammed into his stomach. He turned to stare at
Ariel, asking Sean, “What about him?”

“He’s dead.”

Ariel took a step away from Cam. From the look on his face it
was obvious that something was seriously wrong. He flipped his phone closed and
just stared at her.

When he opened his mouth, the sound of a helicopter clearing
the trees drowned out anything he might have said.