Dragonslayer (Twilight of the Gods Book 3) (19 page)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Jacey took another sip of her drink and stared at her reflection in the mirror above the bar. She looked as shitty as she felt. After leaving Christian and Ragnarok behind, she’d pulled into the parking lot of McGuire’s to figure out what to do next. No point in calling anyone now. She’d been dazzled by the dragon and a handsome man into forgetting about the rest of the world, the
real
world that had a right to know about dragons and Norse demigods and interplanetary portals.

She’d been trained as a scientist, and she’d betrayed that by keeping her mouth shut. She’d just wanted to know more, and the people of Ragnarok had seemed willing to teach her things she’d never imagined. Bridges between worlds. Jötnar and magic. She couldn’t call anyone now and tell them about what she’d seen. For one thing, she had no doubt that Aiden had his people cleaning up the mess right now. By the time anyone got here, there would be no dragon. Nothing but a bunch of farmers, a frozen lake and miles of snow-covered farmland. Eventually, the snow would erase even the tracks that anything strange had happened out there. They wouldn’t even need to wait for snow. They’d probably glamour the place and no one would be the wiser.

She sighed. Even if she had evidence in her hand, she wouldn’t make that phone call. Christian was right about one thing—the Æsir wouldn’t be allowed to live in peace if people knew the truth about them. And as angry as she was with him right now, she didn’t really want anything bad to happen to him or anyone in Ragnarok.

The door opened behind her, and she looked up into the mirror, a thread of hope uncurling in her chest. When she saw who it was, she groaned. And here she’d thought her day couldn’t get any worse.

Anna sat down beside her and tossed her bag on the floor. The scowl on her face warned Jacey that this wasn’t going to be a pleasant conversation, and Anna didn’t waste any time coming straight to the point.

“It’s a little early for that, don’t you think?”

It was barely three o’clock, and Jacey had never been much of a drinker. She’d hoped the beer would help settle her nerves but it only made her feel more out of control, not less. Still, she didn’t care much for Anna’s attitude. “It’s been a long day.”

“You took off from the Jensons’ so quickly, I didn’t get a chance to talk to you about what you found.”

She’d taken off because Lois had called to say they were going after the dragon. She supposed she should count herself lucky that Anna hadn’t followed her out to the lake. She cringed. “Do we have to do this now? I’m not working at the moment.”

“I’ve noticed. And that is basically the gist of the story I plan to run in tomorrow’s paper. Would you like to comment?”

“You can’t print that,” Jacey said, horrified. She would lose her job. Mark didn’t like her as it was. This would be all the excuse he’d need to push her out. And since she’d already lost her chance at her dream job in New York, she really needed to hold on to this one.

“I can and I will.” Anna shook her head. “I don’t want to, but if it gets your boss to put extra people on this then it’s exactly what I’m going to do. This isn’t a joke, Jacey.”

“I haven’t been treating it as one.”

Anna looked pointedly at the half-full glass of beer. “It’s not a vacation, either.”

“You think I’d come here for a vacation? I want to get home as much as you apparently want to see me go.”

“This isn’t personal. It’s escalating, and you need to find out what’s going on. Tell me the truth about that video.”

“That video is clearly a hoax.”

Anna shook her head. “Stop. Just stop. You’re lying to me.”

Jacey flinched. There was no way to defend herself. She knew what was going on, but she sure as hell couldn’t tell Anna the truth. She couldn’t even tell her there was nothing to worry about anymore, not without her asking a million questions that Jacey was completely unprepared to answer at the moment.

“Just give me a few more days.”

Anna’s gaze shifted from the glass to her face. She stood. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she shook her head. “I’m sorry. I can’t do that.”

She walked to the door, and Jacey turned back to the bar, dropping her head in her hands. She’d have to stay until she came up with something to close out the case. She’d have to drive back to Ragnarok to ask Christian to help her cover her ass. “Fuck.”

A gust of wind slipped in with the closing door. Icy air hit the back of her neck and sent a shiver chasing down her spine. She still hadn’t warmed up from earlier. The chill seemed to have worked its way into her bones. Someone walked up behind her. She glanced in the mirror and froze. Christian. He must have come in when Anna stormed out. Cold clung to his body and seeped through her sweater when he touched her shoulder before taking the seat that Anna had just vacated.

She turned to look at him, and couldn’t help but flinch a bit at the expression on his face. He looked like a stranger—cool, impossibly handsome, completely in control of himself and everything around him. He must have stopped at home to change into street clothes, to wash off all the blood and run a comb through his hair. He looked as if he’d spent the day in the office, or like he’d just walked off a movie set.

“The roads are getting bad.” His gaze strayed to the half-full drink still sitting on the bar. Droplets of condensation had run down the sides and soaked through the napkin beneath it.

“I’ve only had this one drink.”

“There’s already a tow ban.”

She didn’t answer. She’d seen the weather report too. Which is why she was still in McGuire’s and not on her way to a motel. He touched her arm and leaned in close enough for her to feel his breath on her ear. “Come back to the house.”

“What about Aiden? I told him I’d leave as soon as the job was done.”

“It’s not quite finished yet.”

She hesitated, and he sighed. Not like he was impatient with her, but like he was a breath away from giving up. Christian, who never gave up. She turned to face him.

His blue eyes were as hard and brilliant as dragon scales. “Please, Jace. We need to talk and I don’t want to do it here.”

She accepted Christian’s offer of a ride. Even though she hadn’t finished the beer, she felt off balance and the roads were crappy. The snow flying in the headlights made it look like they were in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. You could barely see the edges of the road.

Neither of them spoke. She didn’t want to distract him, and he didn’t seem to be in any hurry to talk. Whenever she glanced his way, his gaze was fixed straight ahead and his mouth was tight. She crossed her arms, burying her hands for warmth. When they got to the house, they went in through the garage, and then she was alone with Christian. A man she was furious with and half in love with. And she didn’t know what to do about that.

When she’d stripped out of her winter gear and followed him into the kitchen, he was looking through the fridge. “Something to drink?”

“No.”

“Hungry?”

“I’m fine.” She watched him pull a package of chicken breast out and set it on the counter then reach for the frying pan. “I’m ready for that talk.”

He met her gaze briefly and then continued on with what he was doing. After cuffing back his sleeves, he grabbed a knife from the block. “I was thinking maybe we don’t really need to talk.”

“You came all the way out to McGuire’s to get me.”

“The roads are only going to get worse.” He set the knife aside and pulled a pepper out of a thin plastic bag. “I don’t like that you’re angry with me, but I understand it. I did what I thought I had to do. You saw it. There’s no way that creature could have survived in this world much longer.”

“You didn’t call me to tell me what was happening.”

“You didn’t need to be there.”

He started slicing the pepper, his movements quick and efficient.

“I had a right to be there.”

He stopped for a beat, and then started cutting again. “Maybe.”

“Not maybe. I thought we were a team, and you ditched me the first chance you got. You say you think I can handle myself, but you sure as hell don’t act like you believe it. You might be descended from Norse gods, but we’re not that different. You could have been hurt too.”

“I know that.”

He said it like his being in danger was no big deal, and that only pissed her off more. “What happened to the Vanir warrior?”

“Dead,” he said flatly. “Her neck snapped in the same fall that broke the dragon’s wing. We burned her corpse. She told us Kamis is son of the god Njörðr.”

“God?”

“Kamis is talking to Aiden now. Whatever he was in the past…” He shook his head. “I think Aiden will let him stay. He can’t kill him without risking Raquel and, if nothing else, Kamis proved himself today.”

She tried to wrap her head around that, but couldn’t quite do it. Or maybe it was that the idea didn’t seem as outrageous to her as it might have a few weeks ago. “Do you need to be there?”

“I need to be here.”

She watched Christian chop his way through the pepper, tapping a beat on the board. He slowed down and looked up. “It wasn’t about the dragon.”

“What?”

“When I decided not to call you, it wasn’t because I didn’t think you could handle yourself in a fight. It wasn’t about your abilities, or your judgment or whose job it was to do what. It wasn’t about the dragon or about you. It was me. My judgment is clouded whenever you’re around, and I needed to be there.”

“Are you saying you regret killing the dragon?”

“I’m saying I knew we’d have to kill it and I knew having you there would make it harder to do what needed to be done.”

She shook her head. “You didn’t seem to have a problem.”

“You don’t think so?”

She pressed her lips together and considered him for a moment as he poured oil into the heated pan. She’d never really stopped to think much about him being a warrior or, if she had, it’d seemed kind of sexy. The sword. The armor. His complete confidence in his ability to deal with any threat. Sexy. But what would that do to a person? Killing the dragon hadn’t seemed to bother him, but he was good at hiding his emotions too.

“I don’t agree with the decision,” she said finally. “I think the dragon was already beaten and that was our best chance at capturing the thing, but…” She drew in a deep breath. “But I also believe you did what you thought was best. What the clan thought was best, and eventually I’ll find a way to accept that. I don’t like being pushed out, and you’re still doing that now.”

“I’m not pushing you out.”

“Last night…” She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say. Last night seemed like a million years ago.

“What about last night?”

Setting down his knife, he turned to face her fully. His blue eyes burned into hers, and she had to look down at his chest to find the nerve to continue.

“If you’re worried I’ll demand a repeat performance, you don’t have to be. You made it clear from the beginning that you’re not looking for any kind of relationship. The things you said when we were in bed together…well, I know you didn’t really mean them.”

“Are you calling me a liar?”

Not a liar, just carried away in the moment, as she’d been. “Do you even remember what you said?”

“Every word. Do you want me to repeat them?” His voice was low and intimate, soft as a whisper but with a rough edge. It was the same way he’d spoken to her last night when he’d been buried inside her. When she didn’t answer, he closed the distance between them, stopping when he was a foot away. Close enough to touch, though he didn’t reach for her.

“Won’t you even look at me?”

She forced her gaze up to meet the intense but hurt look in his eyes. He smiled gently. “I told you that you’re beautiful. You can’t doubt the truth of that, can you? Even if you doubted my words, you can’t deny the response of my body. I am attracted to you, Jacey. It would be easier if I wasn’t.”

“You don’t have to do this.”

“I told you I hate the way you run yourself ragged trying to protect everyone around you, even the gods-damned dragon. You don’t consider the risks you’re taking when you think the cause is worthwhile. You’re reckless, but kind.”

“Kind.” That one she believed, because she’d heard it before, but it was pretty lukewarm as far as compliments went.

As if he could read her thoughts, he said, “I think kindness might be the most important thing about a person. My father said it was strength, that kindness was a weakness, but that’s bullshit, don’t you think?”

“Christian…”

He took a step closer. “I told you that last night was the best sex I’d ever had.”

All she could do was stare. Even if she’d doubted the words, she could see the truth plain on his face—hungry, intent and vulnerable with the admission.

When she didn’t say anything, he shook his head. “Don’t look so horrified, Jacey. I’m not confused about where I stand. It doesn’t change anything. I’m still who I am and your plans are bigger than me. Last night was a gift. I didn’t expect it in the first place and I’m accustomed to being…”