Chapter 61

Exam Room, Rogue Rider Mansion, Beverly Hills, California, United States

Gen hadn't been asleep for more than a minute when the door to the room burst open. It wasn't that she'd been there long, as much as it had only taken seconds for her to fall asleep. It felt like as soon as Amanda locked her back into the exam room of the Rogue Rider Mansion, Gen had slumped onto the table, falling asleep immediately due to exhaustion.

This worked in her favor when Dwayne Stone barged into the room, looking madder than hell, and thinking that he'd uncovered some big conspiracy. He seemed surprised when Gen lazily brought her head up to look at him, drool dried on her chin.

"Huh?" she said, like she'd awoken in a strange dream.

"What are you doing in here?" he bellowed, the vein protruding on his forehead, signaling his anger.

She blinked, trying to clear away the sleep seeking to steal her away for the night. "I'm sorry, sir. Wasn't I supposed to stay here until you came back? Did I do something wrong?"

He narrowed his beady eyes at her. "But you… There was a dragon… Someone stopped…" Dwayne paused. Pulled in a breath through flared nostrils. Shook his head. "So you've been here the whole night?" He definitely looked confused, like questioning his own experiences all of a sudden.

She held up her completed test. "Here's my answers. I hope I passed."

He yanked it from her hand, glaring at her. "You probably didn't. And if you were here, then what did I see…"

"See where, sir?" she asked, blinking at him in confusion. "Are you seeing things?"

"Apparently nightmares," he murmured, looking at the door, like checking the locks for accuracy. "I just don't get it. You were in here the whole night?"

"Yeah, and I'm starving and my back hurts from being hunched over." She stood and was grateful that Amanda had thought to use a cleaning spell on her clothes before locking her back in the exam room. They had thought of everything.

"Wait," Dwayne growled, pointing at her face. "What's that on your cheek?"

Gen covered her face with her hand, the soreness registering. She remembered now where she'd been assaulted by the sniper. There would be the making of a bruise there. Gen faked a laugh, shaking her head. "Do I have one of those silly marks from when you've been lying hard on your pillow the wrong way? What did my father call them? Pillow assaults?" She rubbed at her cheek, almost flinching from the soreness, but masking it behind a giggle. "I guess I was lying on my forearm for ages."

"Yeah, I guess," he muttered, standing back from the door, but not seeming entirely convinced.

"Well, I'm off to eat and sleep," Gen said, sliding by him. "I hope I passed my exam."

"I bet you didn't," he said bitterly. Gen didn't know if it was because he thought he'd been thwarted by her, having seen a glimpse of something resembling her and Emperor in the streets of Los Angeles or because he was in on the bank heist. Either way, she was going to figure it out. She'd discover if Dwayne Stone was simply an idiot, at the wrong place at the wrong time or if he was truly a corrupt rider, taking advantage of his rule, like the Commissioner of Los Angeles and the now incarcerated Chief of Police, Barry Fer.