Chapter 26

26

S teel

I sit up in bed. The sheets pool at my hips. I’m on full alert, adrenaline coursing through me. I heard something. I know I did. It’s dark, the middle of the night and all is silent. I hold my breath.

No…it’s not completely quiet. There’s the sound of air being displaced. The sound of… I’m out of bed and running for Jen’s room in the next split second.

The air being displaced is wings flapping. Jen is in trouble. I know for a fact that she isn’t trying to run away. She isn’t going anywhere willingly. Which means that she’s being abducted.

Fuck!

Why did I take the boards down? I shouldn’t have done that. She isn’t a flight risk, but she is precious. She’s a fertile female in her prime. Every hot-blooded, single male on the island will be vying for her. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. The rumors are all around the palace about her being here. They’re all around the island, too.

The door smashes against the wall as I throw it open in my haste to get to her. To save her. The drapes billow through the gaping window. As expected, the bed is rumpled, and there is no sign of Jen. I don’t think; there isn’t any time. Instead, I run and throw myself from the window, shifting as I fall. It happens quickly. Scales rip through my skin. My wings erupt, too. It happens in less than a second, and I am in my dragon form. My eyes scan the area. There are two dragons flying hard. The one in the lead has Jen. She’s silent, which worries me.

I roar, going after them, hoping to alert the guards in the hallway outside the apartment so that they can sound the alarm.

I don’t look back. There isn’t any time. They can’t get away.

Mine!

Save!

Kill!

The sense of urgency coursing through me is insane. I have to work at keeping my dragon calm and, in so doing, keeping a level head.

I redirect my energy and chase after them with all my might, my wings beating the air in a frenzy. The two dragons are swerving and dipping in an attempt to evade me, but I’m quicker and far more determined.

My jaws clamp down on the trailing dragon’s tail, biting deep and causing it to roar in pain. The creature tries to shake me off, but my grip is firm, my teeth sinking in deeper. The lead dragon doesn’t falter; if anything, he flies faster. I need to finish this beast and then get Jen back. I only pray that I don’t injure her in the process. Or worse. I can’t think about that now.

I shake my head and then let the creature go, snapping at his wing. I catch the edge, which crunches between my teeth. The dragon drops; its injury is enough to slow it down but not enough to put it fully out of action. I blow a stream of flame, charring its right side. Again, it isn’t enough to kill, but it will put the male out of commission. The beast howls as it falls, its wings flapping. It’s losing ground fast and won’t be able to catch up.

My eyes are already back on the second dragon. It’s gotten ahead, but not nearly enough. It looks back, realizing that it isn’t going to outrun me. Suddenly, the beast drops like a stone; it looks like it’s thinking of landing below in an attempt to evade me. Perhaps it is also afraid of something happening to the female if there is a scuffle in the air. They obviously want Jen to remain unharmed, which I will use to my advantage. I close my wings and free fall. I push myself to hold on till the very last second before extending my wings and pulling up. It means that I slam into the ground in a tumble. I shift as I roll, finding my feet and leaping up.

The male shifts, too, and then he runs; he still has Jen’s limp form in his arms.

No! Jen! What have they done to her?

The male is sprinting, but with the extra weight, he is no match for me. He turns back to look at me and I recognize his face in an instant. I falter. What the fuck? It’s the last thing I expected. Then again!

The male turns again; his face is filled with fear when he realizes that I am gaining fast.

Yes, motherfucker! I’m coming for you.

I roar, sounding more like my beast, even though I am in human form. It proves too much for the male, who puts her on the ground and then shifts and takes off.

I want to go after him, to bring him down, to beat some answers out of him, but I can’t. Jen is sprawled on the floor. She isn’t moving at all.

“Jen!” I yell as I get to my knees. “Jen!” I try again as I turn her onto her back. I touch her face, saying her name over and over.

She does not respond. She’s deathly pale. Her breathing is shallow. What the hell am I going to do? Who tried to take her? I doubt it was Arctic. It has to be Ice, but I can’t be sure. The more I think it through, the more confused I become. The fact of the matter is that I can’t trust anyone right now. I have to do something, though, because Jen needs help. It can’t wait!

I look down at her prone form. I need somewhere safe for her to recover. I need her to wake up. Please let her wake up! Once that happens, we will need time to think this through. It can’t be anywhere near a royal or the palace. I shift and then take her to the only location I can think of. It isn’t ideal, but what can I do?

Jen

I wake up slowly. It almost feels as if it’s one limb at a time, starting with the tips of my fingers and toes. My brain is the last to come back to me and when the fog lifts, or mostly lifts, I have a splitting headache.

I groan, clutching my head.

“Oh, thank fuck!” Steel growls. He grabs me and pulls me into his chest.

I instantly feel a little bit better. I groan softly, one of my hands pressing against his skin. I breathe in his scent. There’s a smoky edge to it that he gets after a shift.

“I was so worried about you,” Steel says into my hair. “For a while there, I wasn’t sure you would come back. It’s been hours.”

“What happened?” I croak. My memory is a little hazy; the fog is slow to lift. “I was asleep and then…I felt a sting. I opened my eyes and saw… No, that can’t be right. It was very dark. I… um…” I’m wracking my brain. “Did I have a bad dream?” I’m frowning hard. I slowly blink, groaning again.

Why does my head hurt so much? Did I fall?

Steel pulls back, and I take in my surroundings. “Where am I?” I try to sit up, but it feels like my skull might split in two.

“Lie down,” Steel says. “Easy,” he adds as I settle back against soft pillows.

I’m in a bedroom I’ve never seen before. It’s sparse but comfortable. I feel slightly better when I do as Steel says and lie back down. There is a water stain on the ceiling. The paint is peeling a little from the wall on the one side.

“I’m confused. You need to tell me what’s going on. I get the feeling we’re no longer in the palace.”

How is that possible? I wish my head would clear enough for me to think straight.

“I’m pretty sure that you were drugged. Two males took you from your bedroom last night.”

“How? What…what happened? Wait a minute, was one of them…?” I frown, my head still hurting. “It can’t be,” I whisper.

“One of them was Rex.”

I gasp. “It was dark, but I recognized him. Then everything went black. I felt a sting…did they inject me with something?” It would explain how I blacked out and would explain my throbbing head right now.

“Yes, there is a mark on the side of your arm. That’s why they were able to be so quiet. They almost got away with it.” There is a growl in Steel’s voice. He bristles, looking pissed off.

“I left the window open. I’m an idiot. I’m so sorry. It wasn’t your fault,” I try to reassure him.

“It was my fault, Jen. I’m the idiot. I wanted to show you that I trusted you, but I should have left the boards in place. A big window is always a safety risk. I struggled to fall asleep last night, and when I finally did, I must have dropped like a rock.” He rubs the back of his head. His eyes are blazing with frustration and anger. He also looks guilty, which makes me feel bad.

“Stop beating yourself up. You stopped them. You saved me yet again. At least, you must have, or I wouldn’t be here.” I look around, still not sure of where we are exactly.

“I almost lost you.” He cups my jaw for a second before letting me go. The air suddenly feels a little charged. The bedroom feels small. We look each other in the eye for a few long moments.

“What happened? How did you get me back?”

Steel goes through the events blow by blow.

“He just left me?” I ask, shock taking hold of me. I frown.

Steel nods. “Rex knew I was going to catch him, so he dumped you and made his escape. One thing I can say is that he didn’t want you hurt. He seemed to be protecting you. His reason for leaving was to save his own ass, though. It should never have happened in the first damned place.”

“Why would Rex abduct me?” My voice is soft. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I know the male has a hard-on for you. Maybe he—”

“No.” I start to shake my head, but it hurts. I wince. “He’s a good guy, Steel. He wouldn’t take me unless…unless…” I chew on my lip, trying to come up with a better reason. With something else, anything else.

“Unless he was ordered to take you,” Steel finishes my thought.

“Do you think the general ordered my abduction? Surely not?” I narrow my eyes. “Why would he do that? I’m still meeting candidates. We told Frost I’m fully on board. I’m all in. It doesn’t make any sense.”

He shrugs. “I think that things have changed now that Arctic has taken a special interest in you. I don’t think he has the free rein he had before. Maybe he’s worried the whole thing is going to blow up. If I know the general, he will have made a couple of promises he now has to make good on. Or it could be someone else who’s responsible; the duke maybe, or any of the other candidates who took a keen interest in you. They’re all males of power and influence. They all have the means.”

“Rex is one of the guards. That tells me it’s probably the general.”

“Rex could have been bought off. He could be working for Arctic or Frost or even the lieutenant. We haven’t mentioned him, but he is part of the equation.”

“I suppose so. This is insane. What happens now? Where are we?”

“We’re at—”

The door cracks open, and a man puts his head around the jamb. “Hello…sorry to intrude.” He doesn’t look sorry at all. He looks excited. His eyes are shining, and there’s a big smile on his face. He pushes open the door, standing in the opening. He is dressed in a full suit sans the tie. The top three buttons of his dress shirt are open.

“You can come in,” Steel says. “This is my manager, Roscoe. He agreed to put us up for a while.”

“Your…um…manager at The Pit?” I lift my brows. “Where you used to work?”

“Where he still works,” Roscoe corrects as he walks into the room. “It is lovely to meet you, Jennifer.” He leans in, his hand extended; there is a thick gold bracelet on his wrist. We shake hands.

Roscoe’s hair is a thick, glossy black that is more rugged and overgrown than most of the men on this island like to keep it. He has vivid green eyes that glint with intelligence. His smile is easy and broad; it lights up his whole face. This man is a charmer. That much is for sure. He keeps my hand in his, not letting me pull away.

“You are the first human I have ever met, and I have to say, I’m intrigued.” He kisses the back of my hand, holding his lips to my skin for several seconds while holding eye contact.

“What is it with all the hand-kissing lately?” Steel grumbles. When I look at him, he is smiling…well, sort of smiling.

“Better a kiss than a bite.” Roscoe chuckles. “It is good to see you awake. We were worried about you. How are you feeling?”

“Other than a headache, I think I’m fine.” I haven’t fully taken stock yet. I’m still in shock.

“That is good. I will see if I can get my hands on some Tylenol to help with the head.”

“Thanks.”

“Of course, of course. You are both my guests. The apartment should be comfortable enough. I had Dash stock the fridge and the pantry for you to ensure that you feel comfortable here. I supplied you both with some basic clothing and toiletries. Although I must confess, you’re smaller than I thought you would be, my dear. I will need to find a couple of items that are more suitable.”

I smile. “It’s not a problem. I’ll get by. Thanks for helping us,” I tell him.

“Thanks, Roscoe,” Steel says. “I appreciate it.”

“Think nothing of it. Stay as long as you need.”

“We won’t stay for more than a couple of days. Information about us being here might leak into the wrong hands. I’ll make another plan.”

“No!” Roscoe barks, shaking his head. “That won’t happen. Not on my watch. You should know by now that my staff are loyal to a fault, or they become worm fodder. Make sure that you are not seen by outsiders. Otherwise, you are quite safe.” He takes my hand and kisses it again. “It is lovely to meet you, my dear. I hope that you join us for dinner in the VIP box.” He looks over at Steel. “As you know, the box has one-way glass. I think your lady friend will enjoy an evening out after being trapped in an apartment for so long with your sorry ass.” He chuckles.

“Thank you for the invite, but I’m not sure I’ll be up to it.” I make a face because a night doing something other than watching Netflix sounds amazing.

“I’ll get you some painkillers, and you will be just fine. You have the rest of the day to recover.”

“We’ll see.” Steel is frowning hard.

“I will leave you to rest. It is an open offer. There are fights every night of the week and twice on Sundays, and tomorrow happens to be a Sunday.” He laughs as he leaves.

“Fights? The Pit? What is it that you do exactly?” I’m pretty sure I can guess.

He sighs. “I fight for money.” He shrugs. “That’s it.” He shakes his head. “Nothing special or fancy.”

“Except that your manager just put you up in this apartment instead of turning us away, which means you’re good, probably really good at it.” My head still hurts, but the throbbing has become somewhat bearable.

“I get by.”

I think he’s being modest, but I don’t push it. “Why didn’t you tell me? It isn’t such a big deal.” I give a one-shouldered shrug that makes my head feel worse. Note to self: No moving if I can help it.

“We weren’t going to have chitchats, remember? There are things I don’t know about you. Like why were you having those nightmares? What’s wrong with your mom? Your favorite color? I know you’re into shit movies, but what is your favorite song? There are loads of things I don’t know, but we aren’t doing that…unless you’ve changed your mind.”

“Everything has changed, but I haven’t changed my mind about the important stuff.” I start to semi-panic about the future. “What now, Steel?” I’m trying to hold it together. “What are we going to do? What am I going to do? I got you into this. This isn’t what you signed up for.” A single tear tracks down my cheek.

“No crying.” He uses his thumb to rub it away.

“I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. This isn’t your fault.”

“You don’t deserve to be caught up in this,” I say in a rush, another tear falling, which I swipe away.

“It was my decision. I agreed to take this assignment.”

“Under false pretenses. The general lied to you. I’m not even sure what he said to you exactly, only that most of it was bullshit.”

“It doesn’t matter.” He shrugs his massive shoulders. “I agreed to the parts that matter, and now I feel responsible for you.”

“You’re not, though. You know that, right?”

“I am, Jen, and I will see this through. I insist.”

“What does seeing it through even mean anymore?” My voice is hitched, and my throat is clogged. “Arctic said that if anything more went wrong, I would need to be on the next flight home. This would constitute things going wrong and big time. This is a huge mess.” I chew my lip. “I want nothing more than to see my family again, but I’m not going to be able to look after them. I need for this to still happen. They need the money.”

“Slow down. We’ll take this one step at a time. I’m going to go and meet with Arctic to see if I can find out what is going on.”

“How? Do you have an appointment? You don’t, do you? You can’t exactly call and then waltz into his offices.”

“You let me worry about that. I was second-in-command to the general. Jakes took over from me when I…um…when I left. That means that I was in charge of the royal guard. I have inside knowledge. I know all the weak entry points to the palace. I’ll get in. More importantly, I know Arctic’s movements. His schedule. I doubt it would have changed too much in the last four years.” A flash of doubt clouds his eyes for a second. “I’ll figure it out. Only thing is, I will have to leave you for a while.” His eyes fill with concern.

My heart starts to race. My hands turn sweaty.

“You will be safe with Roscoe, I swear.”

“Okay, I trust you, so I will trust him if you say he is aboveboard.”

Steel chokes out a laugh. “He is nowhere near aboveboard, but I do trust him.”

“That makes no sense.” I smile. It’s fleeting. “Arctic is going to make me go back to the Mainland. I know he is.”

“We don’t know that yet,” he sighs, “but I’m starting to think that it wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

I shake my head. “No, you can’t be serious. It won’t work, I—”

“We’ll make it work.” He takes my hand, squeezes, and lets go. “I did some thinking while you were out of it. You should go and be with your family. You shouldn’t have to marry some asshole for money just to be able to take care of them.”

“I have to. I don’t have a choice. You don’t understand—”

“I’ll send you the money you need. It won’t be millions, but—”

“No way.” I shake my head. “That’s a hard no! I won’t let you. I’m not taking your—”

“Roscoe and I were talking earlier, and it looks like I have a couple of big fights coming up. I should make some good money—”

“You can stop right there.” I sit up, wincing. “I’m not taking your money, and that’s the end of that.”

“Jen, hear me out. I’m good at what I do. I’ve only ever lost one fight, and that particular loss was an accident. Roscoe has said that I can stay here for as long as I need. He is setting up a whole bunch of fights. His revenue went down while I was gone. I’ve negotiated better rates for myself. I can afford to help you. We can exchange numbers…stay in touch. I would expect you to go back to college to get your degree. You said you had to quit in order to take care of your mother. Now’s your chance to do all of the things you said you wanted to do, college included. You will eventually be able to pay me back. I’ll even add interest if it will make you feel better.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“It is! Get a degree. Get a decent job, and then you won’t need me anymore.”

I will. I’ll need you.

My throat is too clogged up to speak right away. I clear it, trying hard to stop more tears from falling.

“I’ll find a way to see Arctic. I’ll fill him in on the situation and let him know you want to go back on the flight on Monday.”

I start to shake my head when there is another knock on the door.

We both look over there just as Roscoe walks in. He is frowning.

“What is it?” Steel gets up. He’s on high alert.

Roscoe shakes his head. “It’s pretty bad; you might want to sit back down for this.”

“Just spit it out.” Steel folds his arms across his chest, which is bare. Otherwise, he’s wearing a pair of faded jeans that fit him like a glove.

“Word just out on the street is that you killed one of the guards and that you kidnapped the human.”

“What?” Steel says. “Come again? I killed a guard?” He shakes his head. “That’s fucking bullshit. I did not kill that male. I messed him up so that he wouldn’t be able to give chase. He was alive when I went after Rex. I purposely didn’t kill him, even though my dragon was out for blood.”

“That male Rex was pretty beat up. He says he tried to stop you and failed. That you attacked him like a crazed animal.”

“That’s also a bald-faced fucking lie,” Steel growls. Every muscle pops. His jaw tightens. “He took Jen. I got Jen back from him, but he was fine. I didn’t touch so much as a hair on his head. I was too worried about Jen to go after him like I should have. I wish I had beaten his ass. But I told you all of this already.”

“And I believe you,” Roscoe says. “It doesn’t change what’s being said about you. It also doesn’t mean that there isn’t a bounty on your head…and a hefty sum, at that. Everyone and their goat are looking for you right now. No stone is being left unturned.” He looks at me. “Everyone is looking for you as well. There is a huge reward for your safe return.”

“Fuck!” Steel curses. “What now? What are you going to do? Are you turning us in?”

My blood runs cold.