Chapter Twelve

Brody

"Lindsey!"

There was no mistaking the swirl of black hair as she spun around. Her pale, round features floated ghostlike in the dimness. Her slender frame outlined against the outside lights was clearly her. She made no move to defend herself, never lifted her arms even as I raised the letter opener high.

I checked my headlong rush, dropped the silly weapon, heard it strike the floor with a ping. "Lindsey, oh, God."

She said nothing as I enfolded her into my arms. She didn't fight me, either, but slid her arms around my neck. Slowly, as though needing to feel her way. Her face buried in my chest, I thought I heard a soft, choked off sob. I wanted to hold her all night, never let her go.

Keeping her with me, I edged toward the switch and flipped the light on. Lindsey, dirty, disheveled, nearly black circles under her eyes, peered up at me. I cupped her pale cheeks and kissed her lightly, briefly.

"Thank God you got away," I muttered thickly, my bristled cheek against hers. "He gave me two days to find who stole his shit. Two days. I didn't know if I could find the thief in time."

Still, Lindsey said nothing. I caressed her hair, swiping it back from her face. Confused, worried, I stepped back and looked at her. And saw the damage done to her wrists.

"Holy God," I whispered, lifting her hands to take a closer look at her torn and bloody wrists. Black with dried blood, her skin peeled away, I saw the rope threads buried deep in her flesh. "Oh, Lindsey."

"He was going to rape me," she murmured, her voice listless, devoid of all emotion.

"Where is he now?" I demanded, my anger surging. "Lindsey, where is he?"

"Dead."

"Good. Okay, good. I think you're in shock –"

"No."

"No? I don't know if you're any judge – nor am I for that matter –"

"Did you do this to me?"

Stunned by the question, I blinked. "What?"

"Did you steal Rivers's dope? Are you a dealer?"

"God, no." My breath left my chest, thus forcing me to speak in a whisper. "Lindsey, I swear to you, I never stole his shit. I'd never deal in that."

At her continually blank expression, I dropped to my knee, my hands gently holding hers. As though I proposed marriage, I gazed up at her. "Lindsey, I can't prove it now, but I will. I didn't steal from him. I'm not a dealer. Rivers will die for what he's done to you. I swear it."

"Did you murder your wife?"

"Where the fuck did that come from?" My anger rose again, and I stood. "Where in the name of God did you get that idea?"

Lindsey's shoulders slumped. She leaned into me, her arms, her badly torn and bloody arms, crept around my waist. I held her tightly, forcing calm into my voice, shunting my anger to the side.

"Look," I murmured against her hair, "it seems we have a lot to talk about. First things first. Let's go to the bathroom so I can care for you. Okay?"

Lindsey nodded against my chest. "Okay."

I steered her into her own bathroom and gently pushed her onto her toilet seat. "Where do you keep medical shit?" I asked, opening cupboards. "Bandages, iodine maybe."

"In that drawer. Brody."

I paused in my search, looking at her over my shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Something – happened – tonight." She swallowed hard, and I thought she'd begin to weep. "I have to tell you. It's terrible."

"That you killed that guy?" I barked a laugh. "That's not terrible. It's a credit to you, save the justice system the cost of keeping him in prison."

"It's how I killed him."

"Why does that matter?"

"Come here. Please. Hold – hold my hand."

I knelt beside her, taking her hands in mine again. "It's okay, baby," I murmured. "You can tell me anything."

"I – I –" she choked, shut her eyes. "I'm not – human."

I blinked. "What?"

"I was so scared. He was – on me. Going to rape me. I changed. I don't know how it happened. I became a beast."

The light of understanding flooded me. I couldn't conceal my grin. With her eyes closed, Lindsey didn't see it. She continued, her voice now hurried, panic seeping into her as she spoke.

"I was so big, I busted the house to pieces." Lindsey sobbed openly. "I had wings and a tail. God, I'm evil. I'm so evil , Brody. You can't understand – how can you even look at me –"

I pulled her into my arms, letting her weep into my shoulder. "You're not evil, baby. Far from it."

"I am, I'm a terrible creature –"

"You're a dragon."

As though a faucet had shut off, Lindsey ceased weeping. She lifted her wet face from my shoulder to stare into my eyes. I grinned, cupping her cheek. "You're a dragon, Lindsey. Half human, half dragon. You can shift between your forms at will."

"A – a –"

I started to shift, controlling it, showing her only the beginning of my change, my muzzle, my teeth. Lindsey instantly recoiled, her mouth dropping open. I stopped the shift, returning to my human form.

"See?" I smiled. "I'm a dragon, too."

"That's impossible ."

"Nope, sorry. It's not just possible, it is. Dragon shifters have been on this earth since time began. Look, let me deal with your wounds. You can tell me exactly what happened."

Though she shut her teeth at the agony I forced on her by cleaning her ragged flesh, Lindsey told me everything. The Taser. Waking up in a dilapidated house. Her rapist, Greg, tormenting her by leaving her to lie, tied to the cot, dreading the rape to follow.

"I just changed," she murmured. "I didn't intend for it."

"Your dragon busted forth to protect you," I said, wrapping her wrists in gauze. "What happened to him?"

"Falling bricks caved in his head."

I laughed. "Too quick, baby. Too quick. He should have suffered more."

"So I found a way to change back." Lindsey caught my gaze. "I had no idea what I was. I took his truck, got lost trying to find my way back home."

"Where's his truck now?"

"Outside."

"We'll deal with it tomorrow. Can you find your way back? When the cops find him, and they will, his vehicle needs to be there."

"I think so."

"They won't know a dragon is involved, but maybe they'll think the house just collapsed."

"Brody, I need to explain –"

"Not right now you don't." I pinned the gauze, admiring my handiwork. "You're coming with me to get some food into you. Carbs, wine, water. Come on."

I helped her to stand. Lindsey immediately put her arms around me again, holding me, maybe needing me. I hoped she did for I wanted to be needed. When she lifted her face, I smiled and kissed her. My hands on her firm waist, I rubbed her nose with mine.

"Into the kitchen."

Lindsey drank glass after glass of water before finally sitting at the table. "You're right. I needed that."

I eyed the chocolate cake in a container. "How about we eat that for our late dinner? With milk. Got milk, yes?"

"Yeah."

I sliced big chunks of the cake onto plates, fetched forks, poured milk into glasses. Sitting across from her, I dug into my piece, and shoved it into my mouth. I was hungry. "Damn, that's good. Where'd you get it?"

"Neighbor lady."

Lindsey ate her own, slowly, perhaps because her wrists hurt like hell. Still, some color returned to her cheeks, and she even managed a small smile. She drank her milk to the dregs, asked me for more.

"You got it."

I poured for us both, added more cake to our plates. "We might finish that tonight."

"She's the one who told me. About you."

"Who?"

"Shirley Gibbons. I think she lives a few houses down. She came to warn me that you dealt in drugs." Lindsey half smiled, then looked away. "She said the fires at your house are from a gang war."

I scoffed. "What makes her think that?"

"She says people are always coming and going from your place." Lindsey swallowed a piece of cake. "And she said you killed your wife."

I hesitated, drinking a few gulps from my glass, wondering how to say what I needed to say. "My wife was murdered. But not by me."

Lindsey stared into my eyes. "I'm so sorry, Brody."

"So what makes her think I did it?"

"Mrs. Jenson, who told the cops about the black car, says she has a newspaper clipping. Your photo. That you escaped the law."

"No wonder you thought evil of me," I murmured. "Her killing was in the news. Her killer did escape and hasn't been caught. Me, I think he's in China or someplace like that. Will never be found."

"Who did it? Who murdered her?"

Now I cut my eyes from hers. "My brother."

"Oh my God." Lindsey moaned.

"I'll tell you the entire sordid story," I said. "Not tonight. It's late, and you've had a terrible trauma. It won't be easy for me to talk about." I smiled sourly. "It was bad."

"His picture was in the news," Lindsey murmured. "Not yours."

"We do look alike to some degree."

Lindsey finished her cake, then pushed her plate aside. "I can't eat anymore."

"Go sit in the other room," I told her gently. "I'll tidy up and join you in a few."

"Okay."

She walked unsteadily from the kitchen. I continued to sit, staring at my hands, wondering what to do next. I'd never planned to keep any secrets from Lindsey, nor did I expect that I'd be forced to share my dark past with her so soon. Or at all. If we hadn't been forced into such close proximity via the machinations of Austin, she might never have known.

The fucking gossiping neighbors just had to get involved. Damn them.

After cleaning up, I poured wine for us both. Taking the glasses into the TV room, I handed one to Lindsey. Sitting close beside her, I slid my free arm around her shoulders. She offered me a half-smile, which I returned.

"I'm sorry I brought up the past."

"It would have happened, anyway."

We sipped our wine in comfortable silence. I broke it by saying, "Okay, so you're a dragon. You need to learn what being a dragon is all about."

"Like what?"

"Breathing fire."

Jolted, Lindsey almost spilled her wine. "I can what?"

"Breathe fire, silly child. You can fly."

In clipped tones, I told her about my fight with Austin, and how he forced me to not kill him by holding Lindsey hostage.

"I had him," I said softly. "I dared not kill him. Not until I got you back. I was frantic, here in your house, trying to find who stole my jacket. If I found the thief, I found his dope. Or so I believed."

"He's a dragon, too."

"Yep. When he finds his guy dead, he may come to realize you're a dragon as well."

Her blue eyes darkened as her mouth tightened. "Let him try. You're going to teach me everything there is to know. To fly. To fight. To breathe fire."

I chuckled, enclosing her under my arm, pulling her in close. "Starting tomorrow night. We don't let ourselves be seen by humans if we can avoid it."

"I can see in the dark."

"Sure can. We'll take the truck back, then start your lessons. If that place is remote enough, we can fly and flame without anyone seeing us."

Lindsey awkwardly sipped from her glass, not meeting my eyes. "Don't leave me," she whispered. "I don't want to be alone. Please stay with me tonight."

I kissed her brow. "You know it. I'll stay with you as long as you need me."

That's how I ended up sharing her bed, yet without making love to her. I held her in my arms, her warm breath light against my chest, listening to her sleepy sighs, felt her faint stirrings.

I didn't sleep at all.