Page 15 of Tempt the Dragon
“Then we showed up—my coworker and I. Things quickly got out of hand and we never saw Duncan.” Something Aiken was still bent out of shape about.
“Did he do that bat thing and fly away?” Riya asked, but she nodded as if she already knew the answer. “He does that when he’s cornered. If your coworker is built like you andlooks like you, I would’ve opted to stay if I were him. But you really can’t blame him for not liking the hot-blooded type.”
“We need to find him as soon as possible.” That was an understatement and Aiken felt as if he’d said those words a million times today.
They’d gone from one place to another, not only warning the other species leaders, but also asking them to share any informationthey may have about Duncan or what he was doing with the Royal Blood. Highlighting the danger this alliance would bring for all preternaturals, not only in Burgess, but across all realms, to each of them had been imperative. Riya wasn’t a preternatural, so Aiken was curious to know what her connection to them was.
“Whatever he’s planning is big,” Riya told them. “I know because he paid offall his debts, like either he’d hit the lottery or he was about to die and wanted to go with a clean slate. That’s why he ended up here.”
“He owed you money?” For what? The inside of this place was only about two steps above the crappy outside. Riya didn’t look like she had a lot of money to do home improvements, let alone giving it to someone like Duncan.
“Eighty-five thousand. I boughthim a car, clothes and paid the lease for two years at some lodge or something in Africa.” Riya shrugged. “It took him longer than expected, but he finally paid me back two weeks ago, with interest.”
“I only asked you where I could find him before. But does he have a place here? Where’s he staying in Burgess?” Mel had dropped her hands into her lap and only glanced in Riya’s direction as away of waiting for her response.
“I didn’t ask him that. He pulled up in a fancy silver car, with a driver. Waltzed in, turning his nose up at my place, and dropped the bag of money on the table. We exchanged banal chitchat for about ten minutes, then he left. I haven’t seen him since then.”
“Where’d he get the money?” He was certain Riya would’ve asked him that. After waiting so longto be repaid, curiosity about the why and how now, would have won out over her act of not giving a damn about Duncan.
She blinked and long curly black lashes kept his focus on her eyes. “He said he had a new business venture.”
“That means he’s here on business.” The killing kind of business the Royal Blood was focused on.
“I suspect so.”
Mel huffed impatiently. She never likedthe question-and-answer part of the plan. “But you don’t know with who or where we can find the place this business is located?”
Riya glanced at her. “No. The only reason I knew about the townhouse was because he answered a call while he was here and I heard him confirm the date and time.”
“He’s not a born vampire, is he?” Aiken asked.
Riya lifted a hand to her face. Her fingers trembledslightly as she touched the scar, moving over the still bumpy skin with a haunted look in her eyes as if she were recalling something horrific. “It happened so fast, for the first few days afterward I thought it was all a bad dream. But when I saw him again, after believing him dead, the memories came rushing back.”
Many scenarios played in his mind at her words, his beast having several differentreactions to them. “What happened?”
“We were leaving our parents’ house in Florida. It was Thanksgiving night and we’d just had a huge meal and spent time with family we didn’t see often. Our mood was happy, if tired, and we were ready to get to our hotel rooms and crash for the night. Our parents lived in a retirement community, so their place was too small for all of us to stay there.” Riyahadn’t brought herself a cup of hot chocolate but didn’t hesitate to reach across the table and grab the one she’d delivered to him. Holding the mug with both hands, she brought it to her lips and took a couple of slow sips.
Aiken waited patiently, acutely aware that Mel had stiffened beside him. Riya was talking about family, something that would always be a sore subject for Mel.
Settingthe mug down, Riya lifted two fingers, wiping them over her lips. “They came out of nowhere. One minute we were driving down the highway and the next the car was shaking. They’d jumped on the roof and then the hood, using their fists to crash through the windshield. Duncan was driving and he swerved off the road. I didn’t even have time to scream. The doors were ripped away and we were pulledfrom the car. I can still smell the blood. After the attack we were left there to die. I don’t know how long I stared over at Duncan, watching the blood leak from his neck.”
“But they didn’t change you.” The question was clear in Mel’s tone as she made the statement. “You’re not a vampire.”
“I’m not.” Riya shrugged. “Guess I wasn’t their type.”
“You survived when they could’ve killedyou,” Mel continued before he could speak.
“They never even bit me. Instead, I was pummeled and dragged. The scar is from a blade that caused some type of infection that kept me hospitalized for seven weeks. That’s when I saw Duncan again. He came to my hospital room one night.”
“Duncan was bit and changed. You were only maimed.” It took a few seconds for Aiken to realizeonlywasn’t agreat word to use. But in retrospect wasn’t it better to have a scar than to be turned into a killer?
“My brother was changed in more ways than I could’ve ever imagined. He left soon after I was released from the hospital. I resigned from my job because, while I hadn’t been changed into a vampire, there was something different about me. Something primal and uncontrollable lives inside me andwhen it’s unleashed...”
“You don’t have to explain,” Mel interrupted. “We understand and we’re sorry that happened to you.”
He hadn’t said so, but Aiken agreed. “Do you know where Duncan went when he left?”
Riya shook her head. “Not at first. But about six months after the attack he showed up here and was acting very strange. That’s when I saw him change into a bat. Freaked me thehell out, even though I’d already seen him with fangs and golden eyes.” She took a deep breath like maybe that would make this story easier to tell. “He said something about a medical program he needed money for. I told him he could stay with me, that we could live with the effects of that night together, but he was adamant he had to go to this place so they could heal him. I had to get the moneyfrom the bank, but he couldn’t wait, told me to send it to a missionary camp in Africa, a place where they could heal what happened to him because of the bite. I didn’t mind using my retirement money, if it meant saving my brother from being one of them.”
