Page 72 of Edge of Darkness

“But heisn’ta dragon,” Connie said.

“We’ll just have to make sure he understands that he isn’t a plaything for us to pass the time with. We’ll show him how serious we are.”

Connie pursed his lips, his head tilted as he stared at Hudson. “We’re going to court him.”

“Yes. We are.”

Connie rubbed his hands together. “This should be fun. What should we do first? Shit, how do you even court someone?”

“Really?”

“Courting is such an old-fashioned thing.”

Nonplussed, Hudson stared at Connie. Did… did he just get called old? Again?

“I know! Yeah, time to test my Google-Fu.” Connie threaded his fingers together, popped his knuckles, then pulled out his cell phone. “Okay, here we go…. Huh.”

“What? That was fast. Already found some ideas?”

“Not yet. I accidentally tapped the Google icon and the search bar popped up. I got distracted by this article from the San DeLain Daily News. Give me a minute to read this. It’s about a sudden spike of kidnappings in the area.”

“Gods.” Hudson pulled his cell phone out and started searching too. Within seconds he found the article that Connie was talking about. The human run newspaper was reporting several kidnappings from bars in the panic after their alarm systems were pulled.

“Well, that’s not good. Did you read the article, or do I need to summarize it?” Connie asked.

“No, I found it. The exact same thing happened that night at Raven’s club, only we stopped it,” Hudson said. “The article speculates why it’s happening, but I think we know what’s really behind this.”

“Yeah. Hunters.” Connie tossed his cell phone on the table next to him and scrubbed his hands over his face. “It seems we were mistaken in thinking the cell in San DeLain had been eradicated with Nox’s death.”

“Since we’re questioning Nox’s death, I think it’s safe to say we might have jumped the gun on that too.”

“Fuck, Hudson. Who or what did Axel kill and Kage bury in Greece?” Connie demanded.

“That’s the question, isn’t it? We need to meet with everyone again. Immediately.”

“Wait. Should we not hold off until we hear back from Kage?”

“Dammit.” Hudson stared down at the cell phone in his hand. “No. The sooner I can arrange a meeting the better. If I have new information to add, I’ll send that out in another email.”

Hudson dialed Isadora’s number.

“Good morning to you, dragon king. A very early morning, I might add. Please tell me you’re not calling with bad news.”

“My dear, I sincerely wish I could.”

“Lovely. What have you done now?”

Hudson chuckled. “Why do you always assumeI’vedone something?”

“Because you’re a dragon. So tell me, what seems to be the problem and what can I do for you?”

“Have a seat, Isadora. I have a very interesting story to tell you.”

“Am I going to need coffee?”

“Or something stronger.”

“Lovely.”

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