Page 23 of Awaken the Dragon
“How do you know of the Odò?” she asked. From what she’d learned, the Western World did not care enough about her lands or her people to know much about them. Hence the reason she was sent to be their savior because the River Tribe didn’t wait for anyone else to fight their battles for them.
“We come from that region,” Steele chimed in. He was sitting one chair away from his brother. “It’s not normal that the daughter of an Odò guard and a captain from the royal army would be allowed to travel alone.”
There was the faintest hint of an African accent in Magnum’s voice and a curious look in his gaze.
“I am not of the royal family.” Shola didn’t like how much these two seemed to know about her. Their joint questioning made her defensive.
“But you’re of the River Tribe and a woman. It’s definitely strange that you’re allowed to travel alone,” Steele said.
Ziva huffed. “Because women certainly cannot do anything on their own.”
“That’s why we were hired,” Magnum intervened. “It’s uncommon, however, for the River Tribe to trust their own with others.”
He was correct. Shola had thought this as well, but when she asked about it, her parents disregarded her concerns.
“It’s also uncommon for a wedding to take place anywhere else but in the village,” Steele added.
They were a tag team, a very lethal and scrumptious-looking team, but she was not phased.
“When was the last time you were in Yorubaland?” Defiance was clear in her tone. They were not the only ones with questions.
Ziva snickered.
And then a hush fell over the room as Theo walked in.
Everything was different this morning. Theo had known it the moment he’d rolled out of bed after a sleepless night. Not only was the beast brushing closer to the surface than it ever had, but the man was also on edge. Both could be blamed on the woman sitting at the table amidst those who served as the closest thing to family he had on this realm.
“And now we are complete,” Ziva announced when he walked in.
Ziva sat back in her chair and stared at him as he came farther into the room. Magnum and Steele sat up straighter, their attention immediately shifting from the conversation they’d been having to waiting on whatever Theo said or instructed them to do. These three, plus Bleu, were key parts of his team. They were the ones he trusted because they were among the only ones left who trusted him.
Water was his drink of preference this morning as Shola’s scent—the heady musk of her body that had stuck with him since they’d stood so close last night—filtered through his nostrils and filled him as completely as any food or drink could. Usually, the man needed sustenance, but this morning the desire to see this woman again was much stronger. The very present huffing of the beast said it hungered for her and nothing else.
When he was seated at the table, Theo looked to Magnum and Steele. “I’ve already sent Aiken back to the hotel to follow up on something we may have missed. We’ll proceed with business as usual and head downtown until tonight’s event.”
“Who’s on for tonight?” Steele asked. “The Owing Center isn’t in the best location.
Theo nodded. He was aware of that because he’d reviewed the paperwork the Odò guard handed him more than a dozen times. That, along with every bit of digital information Bleu had provided on the N’Gara family in Mobo. He knew more about Shola than she’d been willing to tell him, and yet, he was certain he was still missing the biggest part of this puzzle. Nowhere in any of those files was there mention of her or her family being magickal. But he knew—every instinct he possessed knew.
“Everybody’s on the move tonight. We’ll run through the layout when we get to the Tower,” he stated.
“Do you want us to assemble an ah...another team?” Magnum asked.
Theo nodded. Another team would be his human agents. “Yes. They’ll stick to the perimeter.”
He would never willingly send his human employees into a location known for its demonic inhabitants. In his opinion, humans weren’t equipped to go against preternaturals and with that thought, he’d finally decided his hunch that she was magickal was closer to being right than wrong.
“I’ll let Reece know we’ll need more drivers,” Ziva added.
She didn’t like waiting for Theo to give her assignments. Initiative was always forefront on Ziva’s mind because the thought of possibly being left out wasn’t an option.
“You do not need to talk about me and tonight’s dinner as if I am not here. If you are making plans for tonight, I should know what they are,” Shola said.
Theo, gripped his glass tighter as he brought it up to his lips. His gaze moved slowly until it landed on her and settled there. As he swallowed, the cool liquid slid down, barely dousing the fire simmering in the pit of his stomach. This morning her hair was a wild curly mass around her face, her lips coated with gloss, cheeks and forehead highlighted with tribal markings as icy eyes peered directly at him. She was wearing normal clothes, he was sure, but what he saw her in was a sheer white gown, her pert breasts hugged by the material, arms bare but for nine beaded bracelets on her left wrist. The pendant that rested at the hollow of her throat sparkled almost as brightly as her eyes, as if sending its own message for him to see.
“You will stay here with Bleu until it’s time to leave,” he finally managed to say.
He was used to seeing things others did not see. It was part of the magick his beast possessed, so a part of him that could never be totally shaken. But the beast was growing impatient. It wanted. Needed. And the man denied.
