hell didn’t she go to see them more often? Jorden laughed and that set her temper off.
“What the hell are you doing? Put your clothing back on.”
Kenton moved toward her, and she squirmed. She knew that if he touched her,
even to take her temperature right now, she’d be begging him to take her. When he
reached for her right hand, it wasn’t even an option for her to pull back. Emma watched
mesmerized as he pulled it to within an inch of the tat on his chest. Just over his heart.
~~~
“I don’t want to frighten you. And please, don’t scream. My mom will come in here
with guns blazing.” Emma nodded at him, and Kenton had an almost overwhelming
urge to kiss her. But he gently placed her hand over his heart and felt the heat consume
him.
The dragon took him. It was easier this time, changing from his other self to the
dragon. He also felt as if he had more control over him. Moving closer to her, Kenton
was disappointed when she cowered back from him. He looked at his brother when he
stood up out of the chair he’d sat in and moved toward Emma. Kenton, for the first time
in his life, wanted to tear his brother apart. He stopped moving toward her when he
growled low.
“I won’t touch her.” The dragon seemed to be okay with that, but no less cautious
of the man. “Emma, in all our life, none of us have ever been able to shift before.
Something about the magic not being there to make it work, like Kenton told you. Mom
seems to think that the ring is what completed Kenton. The ring is the heart of the
dragon.”
The ring was…the man in her head, the voice had told her that he held magic. He’d
told her many things, and most of it she thought was the ramblings of herself when she
was alone. But he’d been right on things, a great many things that she would never
have known. Like the fact that the building she was breaking into would help her.
“I don’t want to be here. I’d like to go now if you don’t mind. The ring is yours, of
course, but I can’t stay here.” He moved closer to her and she moved back again. “Can
you please ask him to not come any closer? I’m freaking the fuck out right now.”
Tell her I’m sorry.
Before Jorden could tell Emma what he said, the dragon started
talking. It took him a minute to think he was saying things…the dragon was speaking
to them both.
I am the heart of your dragon. The ring is the beating of my heart, and yours now as well.
Your reward for bringing me here is this; the dragon within this man will forever change your
life and you his.
Emma said again that she wanted to leave
. Should you leave us, we will not
be able to become what we are. The rest of me, all my other parts, need to be together to bring me
out. You must stay with Kenton, this man, for me to be one.
“I can’t. I did what you asked. I brought you here. Now I’d like to go.” The dragon
asked her if she wanted her reward. “No. I don’t want anything. I just want to change
my name and move on so that I can have a life. Get a good paying job, maybe even go
to the movies once. I want to have a life.”
I will give you that and more
. Emma looked at him, and he was surprised to see tears
on her cheeks. Kenton hurt that she did, but he wasn’t sure what he could do about it
right now.
You brought my dragon to life. I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that it had to
be you that did it and none other. And when the other parts come, the rest of the set of jewelry,
those pieces will bring the other dragons out too. All of us.
Emma said nothing, but Kenton had a connection to her now. He could feel her
emotions, her thoughts. He knew her worries and her fears too. Her life up until now
had not been a good one. Even with being the daughter of a very wealthy man, she had
nothing. Less than nothing really.
I can help you with your billings, get you a car that runs. I can even make sure that your
brother never bothers you again. I want to—
“Can you be a person?” He had to smile. The tone of her voice sounded much like
that of his mother when she was trying to make a point, and he was not getting it. “It’s a
little weird talking to you like this. Just be a person and I’ll explain to you again why I
have to get out of here.”
Something that he’d learned the hard way yesterday was to keep his clothing on.
He’d tried shifting in a small area, one where he could change into the clothing that had
been brought to him. But the space was too small and he’d been nearly claustrophobic
before someone managed to help him get out. That was just one of the many things he’d
learned actually. Another one was that he could call out to his brothers. Not his mom
for some reason. Also, and this one both disappointed and made him happy at the same
time, he couldn’t fly. He supposed that was something he’d either learn or it might not
happen at all. Still, he let the dragon go and stood still while Emma stared at him.
“How do I get this ring off?” He told her that he had no idea. “It’s not mine. And I
don’t want it. I was only supposed to bring it here to the owner, which I’m assuming is
you, and I could go on with my life.”
For some unexplainable reason that hurt. He tried to work through why it did when
the dragon spoke. Kenton wasn’t sure that his answer was going to be the one she
wanted either.
You cannot remove the ring. Not ever. It is as much a part of you as young Kenton is now.
He wanted to ask what that meant but Emma was telling him no
. You are what brought
me here, to this point. And for me to be whole, all of me, you will all need to be here when the
other parts of me arrive.
“You didn’t mention that when you said I was to bring you to this person. All you
said was, I was to deliver the ring to someone and then I’d be rewarded. I don’t care if
you reward me, but I want you to hold up your end of the bargain.” Kenton was
hurting. His heart felt as if every word she said was a dagger to his heart. And when
she continued, it was all he could do not to tell her to shut up and let him think. “I had a
life. A shitty one, but I had one. I didn’t want to be this courier any more than I’m sure
that Doctor…I don’t even know who he is, but I’m sure that he never bargained for
some strange woman hanging around so he can be this other thing.”
He is your reward and you his
.
Emma tossed the covers off and started to rise. He’d meant to tell her the extent of
her injuries and what he’d had to do to save her leg. The drainage tubes that had been
put in were ready to be removed now, but he’d not had a chance as yet. She looked at
him.
Kenton moved to her slowly…he didn’t want her to jump off the bed and tear up
the work he’d done on her leg. Also, he didn’t want her to be hurt for any reason, so
carefully, he made his way to her as if she were a terrified child.
“You had a serious infection and I had to drain off the pus or you’d die. I cleaned
the wound several times, but it had gone much too long for me to be able to just leave it
that way. Do you understand?” Nodding when she did, he moved slowly in her
direction. If she stood now, Kenton wasn’t sure he was close enough to catch her when
she fell. Because there was no doubt that she would. Her leg wasn’t strong enough just
yet. “Had you had care right away, you would have been healed by now. But with the
burns and the dirt that got embedded in your leg and in your weakened condition, I
had to do something drastic.”
“There are hoses in my leg.” He nodded and lifted her injured leg up and laid it
back on the pillow. “Will they have to stay there forever?”
“No. I can take them out today. I’d like to wait another day or two, but if you will
rest and stay off your leg, I can do it now. But if the infection returns, I’ll have to put
them in again.” He pulled the sheet over her body and watched her closely. “You’re on
antibiotics as well. Strong doses that did wonders for your fever and the other ailments
you got from the blast. And your ribs, I can see that you’re breathing better and are
healing nicely as well. All except for your leg, you’re almost as good as new.”
“My father was there, I suppose. I mean, I didn’t see him at all, but he was killed
there, I guess. The dragon told me.”
Kenton knew that her father was dead. It was all over the papers. Also her brother’s
hospital stay was reported on almost daily too.
“You were worried that someone would come for you. I don’t know who that is,
but no one seems to know you were there. I mean, they’re narrowing it down, but few
knew that Gentry had a daughter. Much less that she worked in the building with him.”
She nodded and laid her head back against the pillow. Jorden left them then, and
Kenton sat on the side of her bed to talk to her, reason with her if that was what it took
to keep her there. “Once they find out you were there and a survivor, you’re going to be
hunted more than you are now. People are going to want answers.”
“So do I.” Kenton nodded. He could still feel everything about her, and when she
turned to him, he wondered if she could feel his as well. “Yes. I can feel everything
about you. And read your mind. I don’t care for it overly much. You have a lot of sick
bastards in your practice in the event you didn’t know that.”
“I do. Some aren’t so bad; others I could do without. But I’m not here to judge, only
to help.” She nodded and told him he was full of shit. “Yeah, my mom says something
like that as well to me. McCade, by the way. My last name is McCade.”
She didn’t say anything, and he wondered if she was going to leave it. He then left
her to go and get his mom. She had said that she’d come by when Emma woke up, and
so instead of going for her, he reached out to her and told her that Emma was awake.
She asked him if she was all right.
I believe so. Overwhelmed, but then so am I
. Emma looked at him again.
I think she can
hear us talking. I’m not sure.
“I can.” Emma turned away from him then, and he wanted to pull her into his
arms. “Tell your mother if she wants to talk to me, that’s fine. I’m not sure what I can
tell her, but it’s fine if she wants to come here.”
“She wants to ask you about the ring and the dragon. My mom believed in him
first, by the way. Well, her whole life I guess. My grandda, her father, told us about him
and the riches that were ours our entire life.” Emma nodded but didn’t look at him
again. “Her name is Aisha McCade. You can call her by her first name, but not Mrs.
McCade. She doesn’t care for that overly much for some reason. She’s one of the
sweetest, most fearsome people you’ll meet.”
“Because I didn’t care for my mother-in-law. Her son much either, but I won’t even
go into how much didn’t care for the man. Except to say that he gave me six wonderful
boys to raise.” Kenton stood up when his mom entered the room. “Hello son. Been
spreading lies about me, have you? I am neither sweet nor fearsome. I can be stern
when necessary, but I’m never sweet. Kenton, you may leave us now.”
He wasn’t sure that was a good idea. Emma was upset and he wasn’t sure what her
temper was like. Would she lash out at his mother? Would she try and hurt her? When
he realized they were both staring at him, he felt his face heat up and he moved toward
the door. But he went back and kissed his mom on the check, then did the same to
Emma. He wasn’t sure why he’d done it, but as he made his way out of the building
and into the yard, he was glad that he had.
Dalton was talking to Grady when he entered the yard. It didn’t look like
something he needed to be involved in so he sat on the rocker on the wrap around
porch with Lewis. He asked him what was going on.
“Grady is under the impression that he is something of a whiz when it comes to
computers. Dalton is telling him that not only is what he’s doing criminal, but it could
get him some jail time. I think the discussion has gotten a little heated now that Dalton
told him that he was going to arrest him the first time he hears anything about someone
hacking into the police computer system again.” Kenton asked if Dalton thought it was
Grady. “Oh, it was him. He even admitted to it. Said that they have an antiquated
system that is begging to be broken into. I think perhaps Dalton took offense to that. Or
that could just be me.”
Lewis, of all his brothers, was the most laid back, easy going person he knew. Little
seemed to ruffle his feathers. He had rarely got into trouble when he was in school, and
was usually the one that calmed things down between all of them when there was
about to be bloodshed. Like he was pretty sure was going to happen between Dalton
and Grady.
The scuffle broke out just as their mom came out of the clinic. She looked upset but