Chapter 21

Nervously, Kira glanced out of the window of Eula’s diner for about the twelfth time in the last three minutes.

They’re not here yet. What if they’re not coming?

“Don’t worry – they’ll be here,” Caleb said, reaching over and taking her hand in his, as if he’d read her mind. “I’m sure of it.”

Kira laughed, but even she could hear how shaky it sounded. “I wish I could say I felt that confident,” she admitted. “I called the number Heit gave me the first time he made his insulting offer, but I just got someone saying they were his PA. They said they’d pass on to him that I wanted a meeting, but…”

“Then there’s not a lot else we can do,” Caleb said. “We have the will – that’s all we need. It’d be better to get this cleared up now, but if Heit won’t play ball, then we can still do things the hard way, if we have to.”

Biting her lip, Kira nodded. She really couldn’t express how little she wanted to do things the hard way. It’d be expensive, take up most of her time, and she genuinely wasn’t sure how court cases even worked. Would a judge have to decide in their favor? And if that was the case, was there a chance that things wouldn’t go their way? Not to mention the money –

“They’re here.”

Caleb’s low, sure voice cut through the whirl of her thoughts. Kira jerked her head up just as a huge, black car glided into one of the parking spaces outside Eula’s diner.

Kira swallowed heavily. She hadn’t told Heit’s PA exactly why she wanted to see him – she figured that was just a recipe for a no-show on his part. With his arrogance, however, she was pretty sure he’d come to his own conclusions about what she might have to say to him, and one look at the smirk on his face as he got out of his enormous car was enough to tell her she’d been right.

“Ah, Ranger Dearborn,” Heit said as he entered the diner, oozing charm and smoothness. It made Kira want to grind her teeth to pieces. “So nice to see you again. And your… friend.”

Heit raised a brow at Caleb, who, Kira noticed, tightened his jaw a little but otherwise remained completely calm.

“Good to see you too,” she managed to get out, through her own clenched jaw. How was it that this guy could make her go insane in less than a minute? But she supposed the combination of misplaced confidence and sleaze would do that.

“So,” Heit said as he slid into a chair across from them, after one of his lackeys had made a great show of wiping down the seat and table with a little towelette. “I take it then you’ve come to your senses and had a change of heart about my very generous offer.”

“Yeah, you could say that,” Kira said, unable to stop her lip from twisting. “Or you could say that I have an offer to make to you.”

Heit cocked his head, the smug gleam never leaving his eye. “Well, that is interesting. But then, I suppose I can’t fault anyone for playing hardball. What is it then, Ranger Dearborn? More money? Or something else I might be able to do for you? Name it – I promise to give it fair consideration.”

“No.” Kira shook her head. “Neither. My offer is that you leave town, and stop trying to buy the parklands. They’re held in trust, and you know it.”

Heit shook his head, a small laugh bursting from his lips. “This again? Look – I think things have been made pretty clear to you. No one’s seen the will that places that land in trust for years. And the county has ruled that without that, it’s up for grabs. I’m sorry that progress offends you so much, Ranger Dearborn, but the fact of the matter is that without that will, there’s absolutely nothing you can do.”

“Well. It’s funny you should say that,” Caleb said, as he put the envelope containing a copy of The Last Will and Testament of Mason George Thomas Girdwood II – the original remained firmly in his inside jacket pocket – down on the table, before sliding it over to where Heit sat.

Heit looked down at it suspiciously. “What’s this?”

“Why don’t you open it and find out?” Kira asked him. She managed to keep her voice steady, but she could feel her heart beating wildly. This, she supposed, was the moment of truth – the moment when they’d find out if they had to do this the easy way, or the hard way.

Pursing his lips and furrowing his brow, Heit picked up the envelope with the tips of his fingers, as if he was trying to avoid touching it as much as possible. He only removed the very edge of the paper – enough for him to read the header – before he stuffed it back down in the envelope again, looking at Caleb and Kira with blazing eyes.

“Where did you get this?” he hissed.

“I found it,” Caleb said evenly. “Seems like there was an original copy after all. I just had to know where to look.”

Heit stared at him, his lip pulled back in a sneer. For the first time, Kira thought, he seemed to be actually paying attention to Caleb. His eyes flickered over him, his scowl growing deeper.

“This thing you have here,” he said, waving his hand dismissively at the envelope on the table. “This is just a photocopy. You expect me to believe you haven’t just had this made up?”

“No,” Caleb told him, with a shake of his head. “We’re not prepared to let you get your hands on the original. But you can look at it if you like – I know a dragon of your power will be able to tell it’s real without touching it.”

Heit narrowed his eyes, pressing his lips together. But it was clear he didn’t have much choice. “All right then – show me this so-called will.”

Carefully, Caleb pulled the will from his pocket, unfolding it and holding it a safe distance from Heit. It was still clearly readable, however, despite the delicacy of the paper and the slightly faded ink. And Kira could tell he knew it was real – one glance at it was enough to make him suck in a quick, angry breath, his eyes blazing. A snarl curled his lip. She’d never seen anyone look more angry in her life.

Despite herself, Kira felt a little fear stirring in her stomach – even if he was in his human form now, she couldn’t forget that he was really a dragon.

Finally, Heit dragged his eyes up from the will in Caleb’s hands to his face, his cheeks twitching in rage.

“There’s something different about you,” Heit spat after a moment. “What did you do? You don’t feel like you did before. And how exactly did you find this? I was told –”

He cut himself off abruptly, before he could say anything else even more incriminating. Kira frowned – she supposed it was pretty obvious just who had told Heit what, but right now, she knew she had to stay focused.

Caleb returned Heit’s stare levelly. “It’s none of your business,” he said after a moment. “The only thing you have to worry about is the fact that we found the will that designates all that land in Girdwood Forest that you’re so keen to get your hands on as protected. And don’t try to argue the will is forged – you know it’s not.”

Heit’s blazing eyes traveled back and forth between Caleb and Kira again, and just for a moment Kira thought she saw a heated flash of red within them. She shivered. Caleb’s eyes when he’d been in his dragon form had been a warm, soft gold color – nothing like the blood red she’d seen in Heit’s eyes just now.

“Are you trying to tell me that this is what you plan on using to challenge me?” Heit asked, voice rasping with anger. “This… this piece of paper – as if this can stand between a dragon and what it wants –”

“Heit, you know as well as I do that the Dragon Council says that the conditions of operating a legitimate business in the human world include respecting human laws,” Caleb shot back, his voice soft but dangerous. “Maybe if you think this is just a piece of paper, we can see what they have to say about the matter. I think they may take a different view. You know the rules as well as I do, Heit, and you know the consequences for any dragon who doesn’t want to abide by them.”

Heit’s lip curled viciously. “You’d do that? You’d sell out your own dragon brethren for the sake of a human?”

Caleb nodded, his eyes never leaving Heit’s face. “I would. Especially in a case like this, when I’m not sure my dragon brethren, as you put it, haven’t had something to do with trying to make sure this will was never found in the first place – things like arson and bribery aren’t exactly looked upon with a friendly eye, are they?”

Kira sucked in a quick breath as she glanced across at Caleb. So far, what they suspected about what had happened to the records building and the reason why the clerk at the records office had been so incredibly unhelpful had remained unspoken between them – but she could sense that Heit wasn’t going to give up without a fight. She didn’t know what this Dragon Council was, but the words sounded heavy in Caleb’s mouth – and the effect they had on Heit was immediate and palpable.

“You don’t need to jump straight to that,” he snapped, still sounding furious, but now Kira could see an edge of nervousness entering his manner. His eyes moved around shiftily, and he swallowed. “Who said anything about getting the Dragon Council involved? I was merely saying that –”

“You were merely saying what?” Caleb asked, voice calm. “That you intend to respect this will? That I don’t need to go sniffing around for any evidence that you’ve been playing any less than fair?”

Heit’s face twisted. He looked at the will with hatred in his eyes, and Kira had to wonder if he could breathe fire even in his human form. In the end, she had to conclude that he couldn’t, otherwise he almost certainly would be setting it on fire right about now.

As if he’d had the same thought, Caleb reached across the table, drawing the copy of the will back toward himself, before tucking it safely away inside his jacket pocket with the original.

“So – the way I see it is, you have two options. You can draw this thing out pointlessly, and make yourself look like a fool when we win a court case against you, which may also involve some information you may not like getting spread around,” Caleb said evenly. “Or, you can let this go now. Cut your losses and accept that you’re beaten. It’s not just the human court you’ll have to worry about if you don’t back off now.”

Kira felt her stomach fill with warmth as Caleb spoke. She knew this was serious, this was the moment when she’d find out if this was finally all over, but she just couldn’t help it. Caleb’s determination to help her – to help the forest and town she loved so much – was so clear in his voice that she couldn’t help but be flooded with love for him all over again. He’d done just what he said he would: he’d made her problems his, and then he’d done everything he could to help her solve them.

And together, there’s nothing we can’t do. Even against a dragon.

It was clear that Heit wasn’t willing to roll over that easily though – he was still looking between them, his eyes flashing dangerously, his mind clearly searching for something he could say that would get him out of this.

“If it’s money you want –” he finally broke out with, only for Kira to cut him off with a firm shake of her head.

“It isn’t. We already told you what we want.”

“But now that you mention it,” Caleb said, looking thoughtful, “Girdwood Springs Forest could use a little donation for some maintenance and upkeep costs. I mean, a generous donor never went astray, did they?”

Kira glanced at him, mildly surprised. They hadn’t talked about this, but she wasn’t about to interrupt him, especially since what he said was completely true. The parklands didn’t exactly get a huge amount of funding, and there were a million things she could do with a bit of extra money.

“What do you mean by th—” Heit began to snarl, before Caleb held up a hand.

“I’m just saying, given what we both know really happened to the records office, it’d be a small price to pay for some recompense, wouldn’t it?” He cocked his head. “I’m only saying this because no one got hurt in that fire. So if… well, someone were to make a generous donation, then I think it wouldn’t necessarily need to go any further. But if not… well, who knows what evidence might turn up. If I can find a will in that massive records office, I’m pretty sure I could find a bunch of other stuff too. What do you think about that?”

Kira bit the inside of her lip. She wondered if Caleb’s threat of this Dragon Council thing would be enough to make Heit part with a significant chunk of change to keep him from voicing any suspicions to them.

She had her answer soon enough: Heit stared open-mouthed at Caleb for what seemed like a long moment, his eyes filled with rage – but then his shoulders slumped, his lips twisting into a petulant pout.

“Fine,” he muttered. “Fine. If I have to give up on this, then at least no one will be able to say the Heit Clan doesn’t withdraw gracefully.”

Kira had to raise her eyebrows at that – after everything Heit had done, he thought he was behaving gracefully?!

“My people will make contact with the relevant authorities,” Heit continued sulkily after a moment or two. “You’ll get your donation, and you won’t hear anything more from me about buying the parklands.” His eyes glimmered a little as he raised them. “But know that that will is the only thing standing between me and them. If that ever goes missing –”

“I really don’t think you should sour our happy agreement with threats,” Caleb said cheerfully. “After all, we’re all friends now, aren’t we?”

Heit’s pout deepened. “Don’t push things, Caleb Tanner,” he muttered. “I’ve agreed to your terms – there’s no need for anything else.”

Kira couldn’t help but smile a little at the sullen tone of Heit’s voice. He’d always been such a sleazy, cocky asshole whenever he’d spoken to her – she couldn’t help but be a little amused at him being taken down a peg or two.

“Well, I’ll wait for the phone call from your people, then,” she said. “We don’t get many donations, so I’ll definitely be looking out for it. Thank you again for your generosity.”

“I said don’t push it,” Heit snapped back – but then, somewhat to Kira’s relief, he began to stand. “I can’t stand these little country towns,” he grumbled as he straightened out his already impeccable suit. “There’s always got to be something. People just don’t appreciate progress in places like these.”

With that, he turned huffily on his heel and began striding toward the door of the diner, trailed by his two somewhat stricken-looking lackeys. Clearly, they weren’t used to the sight of their boss failing to get exactly what he wanted, and weren’t sure what to make of it. Kira watched as, as soon as they were outside, Heit began berating the pair of them while they ducked their heads and looked contrite about whatever misdemeanor it was that they were supposed to have committed.

As Heit finally got into his oversized car, Kira let out a breath she hadn’t realized until that moment she’d been holding. It wasn’t until the car began to pull away that she felt she could really relax.

We won.

“Is it really over?” she asked, the words slipping out of her mouth before she could stop them. Could she really bring herself to believe that Heit wouldn’t be back?

“I sure hope so,” Caleb said, watching as Heit’s car disappeared down the street. “But I think Heit had been sufficiently scared off by the threat of the Dragon Council. He definitely doesn’t want to run up against them – that would not be a good look for his family. Especially since the head of the Dragon Council right now is his father – Arthur Heit.”

“Oh.” Kira blinked. “Is that… bad?”

“For Heit, it would be,” Caleb explained. “People take the Dragon Council very seriously, and being head of it is a job that’s not for the faint-hearted. If the other members of the council thought Arthur Heit was showing any favoritism to his son, well… let’s just say it probably wouldn’t go well for him.”

Kira shivered a little at Caleb’s tone. “I thought you said dragons were pretty civilized these days!”

“Oh, I don’t mean he’d get hurt or killed or anything like that!” Caleb said quickly, holding up his hands. “I just mean he’d have to pay a hefty fine – forfeit some of his hoard, or something like that. But to a dragon, that’s definitely something to avoid. Parting from your hoard, even a little bit of it, is something most dragons will go to any lengths to avoid.”

“One day you’re going to have to explain all of this to me, really slowly, using only short sentences,” Kira sighed. “All this talk of Dragon Councils and hoards and forfeits and punishments – it’s enough to make my head spin.”

“I can understand that,” Caleb laughed – the same deep, rich sound as always, which never failed to send a shiver of desire straight through her. “I feel like I have so much to tell you – about the dragon world in general, about me, about my family. But I think we have one thing we need to take care of first.”

“And what’s that?” Kira asked.

“Our victory feast.” Caleb grinned. “I don’t know about you, but I could eat about… fifty chili dogs, with all the trimmings. And let’s not forget fries, onion rings, pickles…”

Kira burst out laughing. “No – you’re completely right. I think a minimum of fifty chili dogs is what we need right now.”

“Well then, ma’am – let me go put in your order.” Caleb, his eyes dancing, stood up to do just that.