For the Memory of Dragons (16 page)

An evil smile crept over Brett’s face as he
read the short message. “Right.” There was a glee in his voice that
sent a shiver of panic down Terra’s spine.

Clicking into her phone, Parker sent a short
text message before shoving it in his pocket. “That should get his
attention.” He turned to Brett. “Grab the girl.”

Fear sent Terra squirming against her bonds
again. There was no way they were going to take her without a
fight.

Reaching out, Brett grabbed for her
shoulders.

Terra twisted away from him.

“Come here, bitch,” Brett growled as he
placed one knee on the bed so he could get a hold on her.

Seeing an opening, Terra swung both legs up
and nailed him in the side as hard as she could. The impact knocked
him off balance but didn’t do any real damage.

Brett growled in anger and pounced on Terra,
pinning her shoulders to the bed.

She squirmed under the larger man, taking
every opportunity she could to drive an elbow or knee into him.
Lights danced behind her eyes as he punched her in the side of the
head, but she still fought him. She would be damned if she went
quietly.

“Stop.” Parker’s voice broke into their
fight.

Brett dropped his body down over Terra’s,
pinning her to the mattress.

Squirming, Terra rolled her head over to
look at Parker. She did not like the look on his face.

“Get off her,” he said. “I have a better
idea.”

Slowly, Brett started to move.

Terra took the opportunity and swung her
head back and straight into his face.

“Shit!” the man cursed and rolled off
her.

An evil smile slipped across Terra’s as he
hit the floor with a bang.

“Fucking bitch!” he cursed again as he sat
up. Blood ran down his face from where Terra’s head had met with
his nose.

Standing up, Brett raised his fist to lay
another blow to Terra, but Parker grabbed his arm before the fist
could fly.

“Wait,” he said. “We still have that stuff
the boss gave us.”

Joy filled Brett’s eyes. “Yeah.” He looked
over his shoulder at his partner. “That shit could kill her.”

“And it would be painful.”

Fear raced through Terra as Brett turned to
look at her. He rubbed the back of his hand through the blood
dripping from his nose, smearing it across his face. “Right…” Brett
nodded and stepped out of the house.

Terra wiggled, trying to loosen her bonds.
The fight had given her some slack, but not enough to make any real
difference.

“It’s all right, there, chicky.” Parker came
over and laid his large hand on Terra’s cheek. “Look on the bright
side—if you live, you’ll have more power than you’ve ever dreamed
of. But, of course, no one’s lived through this yet.”

Terra tried to jerk out from under his hand,
but he pressed her head down into the bedding, holding her in
place.

Parker laughed at her. “Just be a good
little bird, and take your medicine.” He stood up away from her to
let Brett in.

“This might hurt… a lot,” Brett said as he
held out a hypodermic needle.

Terra lashed out, trying to hurt him again,
but he was out of reach this time.

Aiming for her butt, Brett speared her with
the needle. The force at which he threw it jabbed the needle
through her thin clothing and deep into her muscle. A quick push of
the plunger, and the liquid was in her.

“All done.” He said it like she should be
proud of him.

Terra glared at them both as the serum burnt
its way through her. This one was worse than the last time she had
been drugged. She whimpered in pain as it began to take effect.
Closing her eyes, she tried to breathe through the aching, but it
was too much. Her muscles tightened as the pain spread. Unable to
take any more, Terra cried out in agony through the gag as she
thrashed. Opening her eyes, she shot her attackers a death glare.
Once she was free of these bonds, she was going to share this pain
with both of them. That is, if she lived through it.

***

The phone in Alex’s bag pinged, and he
nearly tore the flap off getting into it.

A message from Terra.

His relief turned to horror as he read the
text. “They have her.” His voice revealed the fear eating him.
After all this time of looking, he had finally found a mate that
his dragon wanted, and he had left her unprotected. “I have to go.”
Alex reached up and started to pull his shirt off. He could shift
to his smaller size and fly out without Daniel having to stop.

“Wait!” Daniel reached out and grabbed his
arm. “The men are on their way. Just stay put, and we’ll be there
shortly.”

“But they said they would kill her if I
didn’t bring them the medallion.” Alex squirmed in Daniel’s grip.
“I have to go.”

“And they will kill you both if you give
them that thing.”

Alex let out a sigh and settled back into
his seat. He’d told Daniel about the necklace and his suspicions.
The fact that they had found Terra at the rest house just proved
they had a spy in their midst. But who could it be? Obviously, it
wasn’t Daniel. He had been with Alex the entire time. They’d told
Brigs to call the team and given them the location of the rest
house, but it would’ve taken time to get someone out there. Even if
they had called the men from his home, it would have taken longer
to get there than the ten or so minutes since they had left the
bar. No, these people had to have already known where he and Terra
had gone. The only answer was the security system alerting the main
office. “Who gets notified when one of the houses is used?” Alex
looked up to Daniel, waiting for an answer.

“A few of the team heads and the on-call
operator,” Daniel answered quietly. It was clear from his
expression that he was coming to the same conclusion as Alex.
“There will be a full inquiry when this is over.”

Anger flared into life in Alex. An
inquiry
? They could be killing his mate as they spoke, and
Daniel’s answer was an
inquiry
. “She’s my
mate!
” Alex
exploded. His hands flapped around as he tried to get Daniel to see
his concern. “I
need
to go!”

Daniel glanced over at him. His jaw was set,
but he drew in a deep breath and shook his head. “Then go, but the
necklace stays here.”

Nodding, Alex pulled off his clothing and
shifted into his lesser form.

Rolling down the window, Daniel slowed so
Alex could get out.

It was a tight squeeze, but Alex shoved
himself out of the window and was on wing before he could hit the
ground. He glanced back as Daniel stepped on the accelerator and
hurtled the pickup down the road.

Tuning his mind to his task, Alex raced up
and over the tops of the trees. He might get there faster if he
stopped and shifted to his grand form, but that would take
time—time his dragon would not allow him. He would just have to
push himself as hard as he could and pray that it was enough.

***

He should have taken the time and switched
to his larger form. He had made the trip in his small form, but he
had pushed himself harder than he had ever done before. His wings
ached, and his breath came in ragged pants that ended in small
puffs of smoke, but the end of his journey was in sight. He topped
the trees surrounding the clearing and screeched out a roar that
echoed across the field. There was a white sedan parked on the
grass outside the cabin. Two men were manhandling Terra towards the
open trunk.
Two targets. A heavyset black guy and a scrawny,
white guy.
Alex picked the smaller of the two and rocketed
straight for the man’s face.

Screaming in terror, the man batted at the
ball of hell that had been unleashed in his face.

Alex snapped and bit at anything he could
get his teeth near as he raked the man’s front with his claws. They
went down in a heap of scales and flailing arms. Alex would have
roasted the man if he hadn’t fallen so close to where Terra had
collapsed.

“Stop it, or she’s dead!” the second man
yelled.

Alex gave his victim one last chomp before
turning to glare at the man holding Terra up by the head.

“Get off him, or I will break her neck right
now!” he threatened, turning her head sharply to the side.

With a quiver of wings, Alex backed up until
he stood on the ground on the other side of the downed man.

“Brett?” the man holding Terra called.

Alex glanced down at the fallen man. He
wasn’t about to get up. Ever. A few of those bites had hit the man
in the throat, and he was pretty sure at least one had crushed
something important. Licking the blood from his muzzle, Alex turned
his attention back up to the man holding Terra hostage. Now, if
Alex could just get a clean shot at him, he would be the next man
down.

“Shit,” the man cursed when he realized his
friend wasn’t going to get back up. He turned his attention to
Alex. “Where’s the necklace?”

So, they
were
after the
necklace.
“I don’t have it!” Alex growled at him. His tail
swished back and forth in agitation. Just let the guy loosen his
grip on Terra—only one moment would give him the chance he needed
to spring.

“Shift!” the man yelled at him.

Alex quivered in anticipation, waiting for
the moment to strike.

“Shift, or she dies!”

Growling deep in his chest, Alex shifted
back to his human form. He glared up from the ground where he was
kneeling. “I don’t have it.” He lifted his hand up and scrubbed the
back of it across his mouth, wiping the blood from his face.

The man’s eyes widened in what Alex
suspected was fear. “Where is it?” The man squeezed Terra’s throat,
making her face go red.

“It’s in my bag,” Alex growled. “I left it
at The Dragon’s Wing when I got your message.”

This was obviously not the answer the man
had wanted. The look that crossed his face was pained.

They both held their positions, waiting for
the other to move. The man’s hand on Terra’s throat was the only
thing keeping Alex from killing her attacker. A twitch from Terra’s
body drew Alex’s attention down.

The man took advantage of the momentary lack
of attention and threw Terra at Alex.

Alex scrambled to catch her as the man
turned and ran to the car. All thought of chasing him left Alex’s
mind when that twitch turned into a spasm. He held her as she
started to convulse. Forcing the side of his hand into her clenched
teeth, he held her as a seizure racked her body. Had her attacker
cut off the blood long enough to injure her? Or was this a side
effect of the pheromones they had pumped into her system?

Clutching her to him, he protected Terra
from the grass and dirt the car’s tires slung out as her attacker
escaped. Alex looked up and committed the plates to memory. He
would hunt that man down and kill him as soon as he was sure Terra
was okay.
No one hurts
Mine!
and gets away with
it!

The pain from Terra’s clenched teeth eased,
pulling his attention back down to the woman in his arms. The
seizure was subsiding. He pulled his hand from her mouth and wiped
the foam and blood away. With shaky fingers, Alex searched for a
pulse in the side of her neck. It was there, but it was faster than
it should have been. He pulled her farther into his lap as she
started to shiver. Where the hell were Daniel and the SWAT team? He
needed a medic here
now
!

The sound of squealing tires and crunching
metal made Alex look down the road. The car was out of sight, but
something had definitely happened to it. The sounds of gunfire rang
through the woods.
Two. Three. Five. Someone was getting serious
out there.
There were only a few people he could think of who
would have a firefight out in the middle of these woods. Alex
debated with himself. He should probably go and see who’d won, but
that would mean he would have to put Terra down.

Mine!
His instincts would not allow
him to leave her unprotected again.

The seconds ticked by as he watched the road
leading into the clearing. Movement drove a growl from him, and he
pulled Terra closer to his body. No one was going to hurt his mate
again.
Mine!
After a few seconds, he recognized Daniel
coming towards him. Alex relaxed his grip, but only marginally.

Daniel held his shoulder as he jogged
towards them. His shirtsleeve was soaked with blood. “Alex?” he
called as he got closer. “Is she okay?”

Alex shook his head as he sat in the grass
holding her.

Daniel’s eyes ran over them both. “Is any of
that blood hers?”

“No,” Alex answered. His hands moved over
her back, spreading more of the drying blood on her clothing.

Daniel glanced at the dead man sprawled on
the grass. “Is any of it yours?” he asked.

Alex shook his head again. “No.”

Nodding, Daniel turned and went to the
house. He punched a few buttons on the security panel before
turning back to Alex. “An ambulance is on the way.”

Alex nodded but didn’t look up. He was
worried about how still Terra was in his arms. What if that seizure
had caused some type of brain damage? He rolled her so she was
facing up. She was completely limp in his arms. Carefully, he
lifted her eyelid so he could check her. Her eyes responded to the
light, but instead of the pupils being round, they were slitted
like a cat's.
Or a dragon's.
Alex looked up at Daniel. He
was staring down at them.

“We will figure this out,” Daniel
promised.

Turning away from his friend, Alex let
Terra’s eyelid go and held her to him.
What had those monsters
done to her?

Someone was going to pay dearly for this as
soon as he found out who was responsible. Alex sat in a well-worn
hospital chair. Clutched in his fingers, he held Terra’s limp hand.
A machine near her head marked every beat of her heart, while a
thin plastic tube dripped fluids into her veins. Three days he had
sat there without food or sleep, waiting for some change in her
condition, painfully aware of everyone who came into the room to
check on her. Waiting for something to give him hope that she would
be okay.