Page 8 of Captured By the Dragon Warrior
Apparently, they’d left the van open because he was climbing into the back by the time I got there. I opened the driver’s door and exhaled in relief when I saw they’d left the keys in the ignition, too. We’d made enough noise already that I saw three people coming around the side of the house to see what was happening. I cranked the key and threw the van into reverse.
Rampon grunted behind me, but I didn’t have time to worry about his comfort. I floored it, hoping our attackerswere smart enough to get out of the way. I heard yelling and— Fuck me, someone shot at us! Instinct had me wanting to return fire, but I concentrated on swinging us into the street, and then hauling ass away from them. The van wasn’t going to win any land-speed records, but without their ride, we should be able to lose them.
I opted for the most direct route north and headed for Route 8, which would connect us over to 77. I was definitely speeding already, but getting pulled over wouldn’t be a bad thing, really. As long as it was far enough away that those assholes couldn’t run over to us. Would they even hesitate to shoot at Rampon in front of a cop? I had no idea at this point.
Rampon gripped the front seat backs and and leaned between them, looking out the window. He was down on his knees and still a bit taller than me sitting there beside him. His fighting fringe was back down and blending into the back of his head and neck, so I assumed he was feeling good about things.
“I’ll try and make this a half-hour drive,” I told him. “Should I aim for anywhere specific, though?”
“Downtown. City Hall.”
I wasn’t totally familiar with downtown Cleveland, but I remembered seeing the Norlons arrive that first time outside city hall. At the next red light, I’d get my phone’s GPS to tell me where I needed to go.
“Hey, do you want to call someone?” I asked, realizing I should’ve asked that last night. “You can use my phone. I’m sorry I didn’t think of that till now.”
I looked at him in the rearview since he filled the mirror and saw him glance at me before looking away again. “No,” he said, and I got the feeling he didn’twant to say more. Curiosity had me wanting to know what was up, but at the same time, I didn’t have a clue what all might be going on with him and his people. Was he on Earth instead of his ship because of the distribution center break-ins? Or something else? It felt like maybe it wasn’t my place to ask.
I let him have his secrets and just kept driving.
CHAPTER 5
RAMPON
Idid not like lying to my mate. Letting him think we needed to escape to Cleveland in order to alert someone to my situation was a lie. If I had stayed in that small room where they had been holding me, my soldiers would have found me. If I had stayed in Quincy’s basement, my soldiers would have found me. And both rescues would have led to me being separated from Quincy.
One sexual encounter was not enough to solidify a mate bond. At least that was my understanding when attempting to secure such with a human. I knew Quincy was attracted to me and trusted me with his body—an excellent start to our relationship. I was already prepared to make him the center of my personal life, but I knew from observation and overheard conversations that humans needed far more courting to come to the same conclusion.
I did not have time to court Quincy. Once we arrived in Cleveland, I could not in good conscience continue to force him on this journey under the pretense of rescuing me. He might not even respond well should I attempt to explain why I had wanted to remain with him for as long as possible.
Watching Quincy defend and protect me was thrilling, though. His commitment to my safety was clear and had me smiling to know it was sincere. My Quincy Boone was a good man. The way he moved, reacted, and planned reminded me of my own training, in fact.
“Have you served in one of Earth’s militaries?” I asked him as we sped down a road that seemed designed for unhindered acceleration.
He spared a glance at me. “Yeah, I was. Am? They kind of reactivated us all when you guys arrived. I don’t have orders or anything, just a vague requirement to be ready. But I’m a Marine with the United States Marine Corps. You know the different countries of Earth, right?”
“Somewhat. This is America.”
“Right. So I serve America against anyone who threatens us.” His mouth quirked and he shrugged.
“Did you lose your leg in battle?” I put my hand on his thigh, running a finger along the edge of where his artificial leg hugged his natural one.
Quincy chuckled and briefly touched the back of my hand. “Most people assume it was a bomb, but I actually got shot three times in my calf, the bone shattered, and then there was an infection. Taking it was… Well, it was the best option to save my life.”
He sounded unhappy but also resigned, like he wished for something better but knew that was unrealistic. I moved my hand away from the edge and curled my fingers around his inner thigh, offering comfort. In the few minutes of silence that passed, I caught scent of his desire and stuck my tongue out to gather more of it. One touch from me and he was aroused. I opened my mouth to ask him to find a place to stop the vehicle, but we were suddenly bumped by another driver.
“Son of a bitch,” Quincy hollered. “Murray stole my goddamn truck!”
I looked around and found three men crammed into the front of a silver vehicle with a fourth man in an open area behind them. These humans were very determined. While I did not want to leave Quincy, I did need to alert the delegation to these abduction efforts. Boupha and Munni would have already explained everything that had happened to us, but they did not know about the humans’ disturbing level of determination to contain me. Other patrols would need that information.
As I watched, the driver of Quincy’s truck swerved toward us. Quincy must have seen the move coming because he quickly slowed our vehicle, letting the truck cut us off instead of hitting us. Horns sounded behind us as Quincy veered us to the other side of the road and took a large curved roadway that connected us to a different route. Looking behind us, I saw the truck follow at the last moment, their tires tearing up grass and leaving several vehicles stopped to avoid hitting them.
“They are following,” I told Quincy.
“Goddamn it,” he growled and accelerated toward a pack of vehicles.
I knew Quincy was driving to avoid capture, but that he reminded me of a fighter pilot in space—where there was very little to run into—had me gulping to keep my breakfast down. The speed was dizzying and it seemed the slightest movement of the wheel had enormous impact on our trajectory. And were we top heavy in this van? More than once it felt as though we might tip over on a turn.
Horns blared all around us as we disrupted the path of other vehicles, the sounds having an angry tone.I could tell Quincy was trying to not to bump anyone else, but twice I heard the screech of metal on metal. Our pursuers also rammed us, and the backend of our van pitch sideways.
