Page 18 of Captured By the Dragon Warrior
Quincy grinned widely, his eyes crinkling. “Then let’s do that.”
With a meeting scheduledfor the following afternoon with Detective Brudnicki, I arranged for transportation down to Earth that would deposit us as close to Quincy’s home as possible. That meant landing in the swath of pavement beside the nearest distribution center. It was considered Norlon property and the hope was that it would disturb the humans the least by landing there.
Our arrival didn’t go unnoticed, of course. Passing vehicles slowed or outright stopped so their passengers could gawk. Pedestrians stood and took out their devices to record us. I walked out, on alert, and Quincy raised his hand to wave at everyone. I couldn’t help smilingat his antics.
“I should’ve asked someone to find out if we made the news,” Quincy said as we began walking to his street by way of sidewalks instead of cutting through yards this time. “See if there’s anything ongoing about us.”
“I imagine there is some, given your driving skills.”
He snorted a laugh and shoved at my arm. “I was evading capture, thank you very much. Oh, but that reminds me. Where the fuck is my truck?” He cringed exaggeratedly. “There could be some trouble there.”
“In what way? Coogan and his ilk stole it.”
“Right, but we stole his van first. Somebody’s van anyway.”
I shrugged, unconcerned. “Given all that they did beforehand, there is a case to be made in our favor.”
“Oh, yeah! Like self-defense and escaping capture.” He waved it all away. “We’ll be fine.”
We walked onward, and I found myself anticipating which way to go to reach his home. I hadn’t been there long, but I could scent that it was his even with him beside me. He would probably think it disgusting that the smell of him permeated the air at such a distance, but I found it comforting to follow my nose to where he lived.
Quincy looked up at me and squinted. “What’s with all the tongue flicking?”
I eyed him as we waited for traffic to stop so we could cross a street.
“What?” he asked.
“I know which way to go.”
He looked around. “But this isn’t how we got there last time. How can you—” His squinting became more of a glare. “Are yousmellingwhere my house is?”
I smiled. “Yes.”
“Dude. Ew.” He stomped off across the street.
I was right.
None of his neighbors seemed to be home when we arrived at his house, so there was no one around to question what had happened days ago or why we had returned. Why I had returned, to be specific. As I followed him to the main door this time instead of the underground one, I had to wonder if he had people to tell about me.
“Do you have family, Quincy?”
“Nah, it’s just me.” He unlocked the door and led the way inside. “I mean, I have cousins and such, but we’re not close. They’d come running if I won the lottery, but that’s about the only reason.” He looked up and me and winked. “While I think mating you is like winning the lottery, I don’t think they will.”
I wasn’t certain what a lottery was in this context, but assumed his words held a compliment for me somewhere. “I’m sorry you don’t have more concerned people.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “It’s fine. I’ve got some friends I could update, but you said I can get my phone hooked into the comms on the ship whenever I want to call anyone. It’s cool. Do you have family?”
“I do. There were seven in my clutch, and I have four parents.”
“Clutch?”
“My mother laid seven eggs, including mine. While she had other clutches, I consider those my immediate siblings.” I watched closely for his reaction, knowing humans were birthed more like other Norlons, without eggs.
Quincy’s mouth popped open, rounding like his eyes.
“I also have four parents because Cero females often mate with multiple males.”
A barking sort of laugh jumped out of him. He covered his mouth and giggled. “Holy crap, that’s incredible!Seriously, I had no idea, but it’s so fucking cool. How little was baby Rampon after he hatched?”
