Chapter Fifteen

Lindsey

I rushed through the ER doors, barely allowing them time to hiss to either side of me before dashing between them. A pair of uniformed cops with a man in a suit and tie stood near a trauma room. Guessing that's where Brody had been taken, I dashed toward them.

"Brody?" I asked, breathless.

The plain clothes cop, his badge clipped to his belt, his gun in a shoulder holster, eyed me up and down. "And you are?"

"His friend," I replied, frantically looking past him, "neighbor. Both. Is he all right?"

"Got his knee tied into knots from what I hear," he replied, holding out his hand. "Detective Skinner. May I ask your name?"

"Lindsey." I relaxed a fraction. His knee. He wasn't shot.

"Ah." He smiled as he shook my hand. "You're someone I need to talk to."

"Why?"

"I'm the ranking detective investigating the fires at his house, and the arson guys told me about you. I'm lookin at Austin Rivers as my prime suspect."

I nodded. "Yeah. He thinks Brody stole ten kilos of fentanyl."

"That's what Brody said. What can you add, Miss Lindsey?"

How about I fired a gun into Brody's floor to stop Austin and his pal from cutting Brody to pieces. And his pal kidnapped me, tried to rape me, and I killed him when I shifted into a dragon. How's that work for you? "I'm not sure I can add anything, Detective."

He pursed his lips. "How'd he get that cut on his face?"

I never was a very good liar. I never had the practice, really. Meeting his gaze fully, I replied, "I don't know. Brody didn't say and I didn't ask."

"I see."

His eyes never wavered from mine. Nor did I avoid his penetrating gaze, for I knew that would certainly reveal my inability to lie with any conviction. He stared at me, and I at him, long enough to make me want to squirm. My dragon kept me still, unmoving and confident.

"You're awfully fond of him, I'm guessing," he said at last. "You're his neighbor?"

I sighed as though the question put me out. "Okay, so we're more than friends. Maybe it's the beginning of something, maybe not."

"Nothing wrong with that," he said. "Relationships have to start somewhere."

"So what happened to Brody?" I asked. "All I got was a call saying he was here, something about a gun."

"From his statement, he says Austin Rivers showed up at his work, threatened him and you. There was a fight. Rivers took off, but not before getting in a swift kick."

"That mother fucker," I muttered, my dragon's anger rising, before thinking I should keep my mouth shut.

"I think Brody said something along the same lines."

"Are you going to catch him?" I snapped. "He's a damn menace."

"We're trying. He's as elusive as the storied butterfly of love."

I blinked. "The what?"

He chuckled. "Before your time. Before mine, too. From an old song. Anyway, you don't seem too worried about Rivers threatening you."

Bring it on, baby. "He's a shit kicking coward. If he comes after me, I'll cut off his balls and feed them to him."

The uniformed cops laughed while Skinner eyed me with both amusement and alarm. "You're awfully little, Miss Lindsey. I suppose you're armed?"

"At home, yes. Not now."

He sighed. "Look, don't be stupid. Call us if something happens. Don't be a hero, don't be a vigilante. Just be vigilant."

I've got a stalker threatening to kill me. Of course, I'm vigilant. "I will."

"I hope to God I don't find Rivers's body in your house."

"I don't want to kill anyone." Damn, I'm becoming a better liar all the time.

"Good."

He made small chitchat until Brody, about thirty minutes later, emerged from the trauma room in a wheelchair. His left knee, bound in a nylon brace, rested on the chair's extended framework. He grinned upon seeing me, made a thumb's up sign as the nurse wheeled him toward us.

"I wonder if I can claim workman's compensation for this," he said. "Injured on the job."

"You work that out with your attorney and your employer," Skinner replied. "So. Have you anything to add to your statement?"

"Like what? I told you everything."

"How'd you get that cut on your face?"

"Razor slipped while I was shaving."

I forced myself to maintain a straight face. Skinner's brows lowered.

"And the one on your arm?"

"I fell on a knife," Brody replied, his gaze never wavering from Skinner's. "I'm a klutz."

"Uh, huh." Skinner fished a card from his pocket. "When you both decide to tell me the truth, give me a call."

Without shaking hands, Skinner gave us both quick nods, then he and the uniformed cops crossed the waiting room to the doors. I rested my hand on Brody's shoulder as the nurse pushed his chair, walking beside him. He grinned up and winked.

"So you're back to having me on your couch."

I rolled my eyes. "Time for you to start paying rent."

"Happy to."

***

Ensconced once again on my couch, his knee resting on pillows, Brody seized my hand. Whether I'd grown used to being grabbed in such a fashion, or my dragon's presence acted as a balm on my former fears, I didn't flinch. Instead, I lifted my brow.

"Manhandling your landlady is so unacceptable."

He pulled me to him. "You're adorable when you're annoyed."

Sitting beside him, I smoothed his hair from his brow. "How's your pain? Is your knee troubling you?"

"Not really. Doc said to keep ice on it, though. Austin almost rearranged my kneecap."

"Almost?"

"It's just stretched tendons and ligaments. You're not concerned about how he threatened to kill you?"

"Should I be?" I smiled, tracing his sutures with my fingers. "He tried once. Look what happened."

"Don't get overconfident, baby," Brody said. "Your dragon is giving you confidence, sure, but a bullet in the back will kill you both."

I took in a deep breath. "It's not just my dragon, Brody. I'm growing tougher. I'm not scared like I used to be. His bullet can kill me, us, true. But mine, or yours, can kill him just as easily."

"That's true enough." Brody's gaze searched my eyes. "You've changed. In a good way, don't get me wrong. Just remember, he's still out there, might be watching the house right now."

I leaned forward to kiss him. "Time to get ourselves a Rottweiler."

Standing, I went to the window to have a look outside. Only a few kids rode their bikes up and down the street, staying well within the block. A pair of women watched from a porch, surely gossiping about the neighborhood and what occurred within it. I saw no black sedans, no cars that weren't normally there.

"I'll get your ice."

After packing his knee with the ice, I left him to watch television while I tried to get some work completed in my office. I'm so far behind because of Austin's shit. I wish he'd just fly to New York and start a new drug business there.

I managed some work on the short story, then gave it up when my brain ran out of ideas. Brody's ice pack had turned to slush, and no strange cars sat parked on the street. The women and kids were gone, however. I sat in my recliner with a heavy sigh.

"I'm so sick of being stalked," I complained, then realized what I'd just said.

Brody's eyes widened. "Can't say that I blame you. So who's your stalker? Outside of you know who."

"I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about it."

"I'm ready to listen when you are."

I studied my fingernails, wanting to tell him, wanting to leave it alone. The words tumbled from my mouth before I halted them. "My husband was abusive," I said softly, not looking at him. "You may have guessed that."

"Pretty much."

"I loved him, in my way. Hoped he'd change." I laughed quietly. "He promised to change. He never did."

"From what I've heard, that's not how abusers work."

"Nope. They don't change. I wanted to leave him. He said he'd kill me if I did. He'd track me down and murder me."

"Is that who's stalking you?" Brody's dragon spoke with his voice. "Your husband? Now ex, I hope?"

"No." I couldn't look at him. "He's dead. He killed himself."

"Fuck."

I sucked in a deep breath. "His sister swore that his death was my fault. She's determined to kill me." I smiled. "She says she's found me."

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph." Brody exhaled sharply. "Bitch. Let her try. She's fully human, eh?"

"Shit if I know," I barked, half laughing. "I didn't know I was a dragon. How can I know if his family is? If he was?"

"Have you seen her?"

I shook my head. "I watch. Don't sleep. I've got guns hidden all over this place. If she comes for me, I'm ready."

"Come here." Brody extended his hand. "You need some loving."

"You can't do shit with one leg."

"I can hug you. Get your cute ass here right now."

Heaven knows I needed his loving. I lay on the couch beside him, a tight fit, his arms enclosing me. He kissed my neck, his breath warm on my skin. His powerful presence, his love, his strength, sent the past where it belonged. In the past. Love didn't have to come with a price tag. It didn't arrive with conditions.

"He said he loved me, that's why he hit me."

"Hush," Brody murmured, his lips nibbling my shoulder. "He's dead so I can't kill him. Time for you to move on, get past him, her. Both. I'll protect you with teeth and claws and flames. She wants you, she goes through me."

‘What can kill us? Dragons, I mean?"

"Another dragon."

"That's it?"

"A nuclear warhead, but not many of them lying around for anyone to shoot at us."

"No shit?"

"No shit."

"We're bullet proof?"

"And fireproof."

I closed my eyes, thinking of going dragon when she arrived to kill me, her puny efforts thwarted by my flames, my dragon scales. "My luck, she'll never show up." I pouted. "I'll never squish her under my claws."

Brody's bubbling laughter vibrated in his chest. "Aren't you a fierce thing."

"Yep."

I breathed in deeply. "But we dragons aren't killers as legends say? We don't hoard gold?"

"Nope. If humans knew of us, they'd declare war." Brody kissed my neck. "With today's technology, they could wipe us out. But we've always, down through history, wanted to live alongside humans without conflict. We prefer peace, aren't driven by greed as humans are. We're powerful, so we don't crave power. We're family oriented, only want kids, a decent life."

I pondered what he'd said. Did I want power? Not really. Sure, I could take it, force humans to do what I wanted them to do. Frighten them into subservience. That notion didn't interest me, however. Kids, family, well, that notion did appeal to my soul. A strong mate, the love of my life, my babies with him. I wanted kids with my husband. He didn't want any, forbade me to get pregnant.

"Kids," I breathed. "I'd always wanted them."

Brody's arm tightened around my waist. "Me, too."

"Are we fated to be together, Brody?"

"I believe it."

"Maybe I do, too."

The sound of my front door opening had me lunging from his arms, the couch, reaching for the gun stashed away in the coffee table's drawer. Spinning, I aimed at the figure who stepped into my sights, ready and willing to pull the trigger.