Page 35 of Claim the Dragon
Where the hell was he?
“My name’s Ravyn Walsh and I really don’t know how I got here.What did you call this, the Office?I know we’re not in downtown Burgess because nothing downtown looks like this.”
“We’re still in Burgess,” Shola told her.“Just about an hour outside the city limits.You can rest here.Grab a shower, lie down.Dinner’s not ready yet, but you’re welcome to join us, or you can take your meal up here in your room if you’d like.”
She was shaking her head before Shola could finish the sentence.“This isn’t my room.I’m not staying here.”
“How do you think you’re getting back home?Not the same way you arrived, that’s for sure.”Ziva moved to the side of Shola, standing with her legs partially spread as if she were ready to leap the moment someone—namely Ravyn—took a lunge toward her.
That told her Shola had some type of authority here.And that, along with her husband, they were both probably in control.
“Look, I can get a rideshare back to the city.Nobody has to take me anywhere,” she said and tried not to think of the fact that it wasn’t somebody that had brought her here, but rather something.Would these two think she was a raving lunatic if she said that?
“Nonsense.You’ll stay here tonight and we’ll figure out how you’re going to get home in the morning.I’ll get you something to slip into, you go ahead and take a long hot shower.It’ll relax you.”Shola was persistently nice.That could get annoying pretty quick.
“I don’t want to relax.I want to leave.Can you show me to the front door of this place?”Ravyn asked, because staying here just wasn’t an option.
“I sure can,” Ziva quipped and nodded toward the bedroom door.
“Stop it, Ziva.Maybe you should talk to Steele first and then you can decide whether or not you’ll be staying,” Shola offered.“But it might still be a good idea to get that hot shower, because Steele might be a while.”
“Why?Where is he?Are you holding him in a room and forcing him to clean up, as well?”The first time Shola had offered her a shower, Ravyn had looked down at her clothes to see if the travel to this mysterious place had gotten her dirty or something.Other than the light dust from those things—things she could explain no better than this place—she looked fine.
“He’s got some questions to answer and I’m gonna leave because I wouldn’t miss this moment for the world,” Ziva said and headed toward the door.
Shola didn’t move, but she did extend a hand toward Ravyn.When Ravyn failed to immediately move to accept her hand, Shola touched her shoulder instead.The touch was warm and Ravyn stopped wringing her hands, an act she hadn’t realized she was doing until just now.
“I didn’t see him.How’d he get here?Did those things bring us here?”
“What things?”Shola asked.
“The ones...”Ravyn blinked and shook her head.She’d decided these women were going to think she was a raging nutcase, because that’s what Ravyn thought about the people she’d seen usually at the clubs or on the streets around the clubs that talked of vampires, witches and something they called demonics walking the earth.“I mean, the people who showed up when we were at his hotel room.”
“Steele has a hotel room?”Ziva asked.“Damn, this is getting good.”
Ziva opened the door and waited.Shola let her hand slide down Ravyn’s arm until she clasped her hand.
“Take the shower.When you come out clothes will be on the bed.Put them on and wait here.Steele will come to you with dinner.”
“But I don’t wan—”
With her free hand, Shola lifted one finger to touch her lips.“Shhhhh.Everything will be fine.”
Shola released her hand then and turned to walk out the door with Ziva.When the door closed, a lock clicked into place and Ravyn cursed.
“What the hell have you gotten yourself into this time?”she asked with a weary sigh.
The room was silent when Steele walked in.He’d almost changed his mind about coming down, especially since Ziva had sent him a message on his communicator telling him which room Ravyn was in.All he had to do was walk through the many passageways that would look to anyone else like a maze, get to her room and take her back to her home.She had to be going stir-crazy in that room, wondering where she was and trying to figure out a way she could break out.Ravyn wasn’t the type of woman that would do well in forced captivity, not that he knew many who would.
“Have a seat,” Theo said when Steele only stood behind the chair he normally took in the conference room.“And start from the beginning.”
“I was there the night Ravyn stole the dagger,” he said before taking his seat.“I should’ve realized it that night, but I was distrac—I missed it.By the time I figured out it was cursed by the Egyptians, I went to try and get it from her, but she was already trying to sell it.Then you called me back here for that meeting and I found out that Daron Robles was the man she stole the dagger from.”
“Shit!”Aiken cursed.He was dressed in a black shirt that looked like it might be silk and a shiny pink tie.
“She stole a cursed dagger from our client?”Reese said before giving a low whistle that annoyed the hell out of Steele.
“Beforehe was our client,” he corrected.
