Page 40 of Saving the Last Heir
Not only had it caught me stealing this fabric, but it most likely had a night-vision mode that would have given it a full view of my transformation. Video evidence of dragons. My kind had managed to keep it from happening for the last hundred years since cameras started to become ubiquitous. Our camouflage worked on the naked eye, but openly shifting on camera? Not so much. You could rewind footage, pause it, enhance it. And our camouflage only kicked in once we were in our winged dragon form.
That was a problem I’d have to figure out once I got out of this fucking room. Ignoring the camera, I inched the door open and peered out. The guard stood at the far end of the main room, facing the electronics workshop, but he was looking down at his phone, swiping and scrolling aimlessly. He was facing away from me,andthe office. There was no time to hesitate, he could finish whatever he was doing any second.
Move!I screamed at myself. My dragon snarled at me to get going.
Stepping out, I dropped into a low crouch and pulled the door shut behind me, keeping the knob turned so it wouldn’tsnapinto place. When it was fully shut, I slowly released the knob, all while keeping my eyes on the guard, heart in my throat, stomach churning bile and acid as the adrenaline of this entire mission sent manic signals through my body.
Door secured, I crept toward the office in order to stay soundless. The security guy yawned, then looked like he was going to turn in my direction. Freezing in place, I clutched the fabric, knuckles turning white, eyes widening in terror, but instead of turning, he raised his arms above his head, stretched, farted, then walked all the way into the electronics workshop.
Wrinkling my nose in disgust, I hurried back to the office. When I stepped inside, I leaned against the wall and took two deep, steadying breaths. My body was shaking, but there was a bit of elation in what I felt. In a few seconds, I’d be back outside with what I needed.
Now that I was in the home stretch, the nagging worry about the damned camera came back to me. How many others were in the building that I hadn’t seen? No way there was only that single one. Shit, there may have even been one on the roof catching me swooping down like some avenging angel. My camouflage worked well, but I would still be obvious.
Outside, the steadythud-thumpof boots told me the guard was again patrolling. Time was up. The owner could come back at any time.
One minute, I thought.You’ve got one minute to look, after that? You’re fucked, but there’s nothing for it. At least your sister will be safe.
With the flatulent guard outside, my search was confined to the office, so that’s what I did. Leaning the fabric on the wall below the window, I searched the place as silently as I could. Within minutes, I hit paydirt. Under the desk, bolted to the wood above the computer tower, a single box had ten wires running into it. Ten older-style coaxial cables. Exactly what I’d imagine security cameras would use. This had to be an external hard drive. Ilet out a shuddering sigh of relief that this Dusty guy hadn’t upgraded his security system to cloud computing. Every image from tonight was stored on that damn box.
I grabbed it and pulled until the tiny half-inch screws popped free of the fiberboard wood the desk was made of. The next ninety seconds of unscrewing the cables was maddening, but I stayed as focused as I could until all ten were free. As I worked, I wondered where the hell the owner was. On the desk, right at eye level, a leather wallet sat beside a set of car keys. There was no way the dude had gone home. Was hestilltalking to Shyanne? She’d assumed she would only be able to stall him with a fake offer to sell her shop for ten minutes, fifteen max. It had to have been over twenty-five minutes since I got her text.
As I unscrewed the last cable, a kernel of worry took seed in my mind. What if something had happened? What if the guy had tried something? He could have gotten angry when he realized Shyanne had no intentions of selling her shop. He could have hurt her.
The very idea sent a volcanic wave of rage through me, and I had to clamp my tongue to the roof of my mouth to stop a growl from erupting from my throat. My dragon was equally pissed about the possibility. There was only one way to find out what happened: I had to get the hell outside.
The fabric would be missed the next day, then not long after that, they’d realize their camera footage was gone. There was no way they wouldn’t know they’d been robbed, so there was no reason to be too careful in my exit.
Rather than jumping to the window, I pulled a chair over, still staying as quiet as possible, and straining my ears to listen for the guard. Once the chair was in place, I climbed up, and pushedthe tube of suede through, and then tossed the hard drive outside. Glancing back one last time to see that I’d not been spotted, I climbed up, and shoved my way back outside.
When my boots struck the pavement, I wanted to roar at the sky in victory, but I settled for a quick fist pump and hiss of elation. Shifting, I grabbed the upholstery with one claw and the hard drive with the other, and took off into the sky. It wasn’t until I was three hundred feet in the air that I finally felt free. Swooping low over the river, I released the hard drive, then arched back toward the building. Rather than perching atop a skyscraper, I chose an apartment building a couple blocks away. Once I landed, I sat down on my knees and put the roll aside. I pulled my phone out, and tapped a quick message.
It’s done. I’m out.
My initial worry about her taking so long came roaring back, so I fired off another text.
Are you okay?
I gazed toward the garage, wondering what was happening. Could that asshole have figured out something was off and hurt her? The very thought sent my dragon into a frenzy. A few minutes ticked by, and there was still no response.
Heart thudding with fear, I stepped up onto the ledge, readying myself to jump into space and swoop down to check on her. If that prick laid a single finger on her, I’d?—
I flinched as my phone buzzed. Dragging it from my pocket, I sighed with relief as I read the message.
Shyanne:Great. I’m heading out now. No problems. Just pissed I had to deal with this dickhead.
Shaking with relief, I stepped back off the ledge and sagged down, falling on my back. I put a hand to my chest as I stared up into the starry sky. The adrenaline was fading, and I was drained and exhausted, but happy and relieved. My moment of respite only lasted around ten seconds before I rose. Grabbing the roll, I leaped off the roof, shifting in mid-air. I flew hard and fast back to the cabin to get the car. From what I could tell, this was all gonna work out fine.
At least I hoped it would.
9
SHYANNE
“Okay, okay,okay.” Dusty gave me a placating smile, like a benevolent father giving in to his bratty daughter’s request. “I’ll bring the offer up to eight-sixty-five,andI’ll throw in a discounted audio system upgrade for your employees.” He lifted an eyebrow. “Atenpercent discount, mind you. On top of those stipulations, I’ll also tack on a dinner. You and me, a couple glasses of wine, some soft music? It’s a great way to celebrate a sale.”
For the dozenth time, I made a mental note to take a shower when I got home. Dusty had always been a flirt. From the moment he stepped into my shop a year ago and offered to buy it, he’d done more flirting than haggling. The guy couldn’t take a hint.
Carlo said Dusty employed theshotguntheory of flirting and dating. He used the exact same plays on dozens of women, hoping that one of them would fall for it. Aim in a general area and pull the trigger. The blast radius was big enough that if you pulled the trigger enough times, you’d eventuallyhaveto hit something.
