Page 24 of Stryker

“What was his name?”

She laughed. “Do you think introductions were made before he threatened my life or after he shot at me? He’d have killed me, you know, if Stryker hadn’t stepped in and saved my life like a dragon shield. So I’ll never fucking betray him;I owe him my life. And unlike you, I have honor.”

He stepped back. His eyes left her to focus on me. “This isn’t over.”

With that, he shifted and disappeared. A moment later, the air pressure returned to normal and I pulled her into a hug. She melted in my arms.

13

Kat

Stryker wasn’t supposed to have saved me.

I pulled out of his grasp and stared up at him, anger and fear turning to liquid in my eyes. I swear I’d cried more these last few days than I had in my whole life prior and I was getting sick of it. Really sick of it. Once all of this was over, I wouldn’t cry again unless it was something really bad.

But stronger than the hurt and anger was that deep feeling of hurt. Without another word, I turned and walked toward the cabin. I needed to examine everything and sort it all out. My heavy heart ached in my chest.

“Kat!”

I didn’t turn around. I just walked up the steps into the house. Let him follow if he wanted. I’d talk to him, but first I needed to eat something. My hands trembled terribly and talking with the other dragon had pulled something out of me.

I had a feeling I’d figured out his talent. Maybe I was wrong, but I was fairly certain he had some ability to act as a human—erm,dragon—lie detector. I’d given him the wrong name, he called me out. With an unfortunate choice of words, the same words the thugs used on me, but I didn’t feel the two things were related at all.

But he knew when I’d lied to him. He also knew when I told the truth. Mr. Big Scary Dragon wasn’t as good at hiding things as he thought. Every time I lied, he had that same look in his eyes, that same narrowing. Every time I told the truth, his face had relaxed a bit. It was a tiny change, but one I could see. And I think the questions mattered, he couldn’t just tell me to tell him everything I knew.

Still, answering him left me feeling like I’d been working in a hundred-and twenty-degree weather digging ditches. I trembled and felt more exhausted than I’d been in a long damn time. My stomach grumbled and I moved toward the kitchen, imagining some fluffy, perfect scrambled eggs.

The front door closed, and I knew I was no longer alone. My whole body stiffened.

“Are you okay?” he asked, putting his hands on my shoulders.

My heart ached. “I’m fine.” I shrugged his hands off my shoulders. I wasn’t mad. I was hurt. He hadn’t been entirely honest with me. If I’d have known he was in danger because he chose to help me, I’d never have agreed to it.

I opened the fridge and got out the carton of eggs. My hands shook so hard I almost dropped them, and he quickly grabbed them from me. His fingertips brushed mine and he set the eggs aside before pulling me close.

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

I shook my head, refusing to look him in the face. I couldn’t. I couldn’t look him in the eyes and take responsibility for the danger he’d put himself in because of me. “He didn’t hurt me. Did you only protect me because I was in the right place at the right time?”

His Adam’s apple slid up, then down as he swallowed hard. “Yes.”

“You were looking for someone else?” I’d known as much, but I needed him to clarify.

“Yes.”

“I’m grateful.” I pulled away and got out a frying pan. He quickly pulled it out of my hands.

“How would you like your eggs?” he asked, giving the pan a quick spin by the handle before planting it on the stove.

“Scrambled?”

He gave me a devilish grin. “I make the best scrambled eggs you’ve ever had.”

I sighed. I didn’t understand myself. Didn’t understand why I still felt hurt. Of course his protecting me had been an afterthought. I knew that. So why did it sting?

I watched him crack the eggs with one hand and plop them into the pan.

“Aren’t you going to whip them up in a bowl first?”

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