Page 66 of Second Chance Dragon Chief

Chris just nodded her head, “And my brother.”

“I don’t see why you couldn’t have just told us that,” Dax sighed with frustration. “Maybe we could have done more!”

“You don’t understand,” she said, her eyes opening wider. “They are dangerous. And they have a giant stockpile of it. They have a huge amount, worth millions… but already out west word is getting out that it is deadly. Like really deadly. They can’t move it there, but they can’t afford to lose that money, so they made a plan to come here. Fae Crossing is the hub of the whole south west. They need to unload it all before word gets out that it is a killer. They knew we knew. That’s why they were after us.”

“But how do you know so much?”

“My brother. He worked for them. He’s the one I learned all this from. Unfortunately, he got hooked on the drug early. Before any deaths had occurred. Or any they knew of. When he learned about it, he told me everything, but by then it was too late.” Tears were running down her face now. “He… He’s dead,” she began to sob.

“I’m sorry, Chris,” Bloom was saying as she comforted the woman. “Everything is okay.”

“But it’s not okay. I heard their plans, and I was so angry. I think they know I want to stop them. Of course they do. So we ran.”

It was all coming together. Finally.

“We were already in enough danger. I knew they were already looking for me, but if they thought for a second that I was getting in between them and their money, they would kill me and my daughter without hesitation.”

She looked around the table. “I’m sorry, but that’s why I didn’t say anything. I already lost my brother. I just couldn’t put Kim in any more danger than she was already in. And now I don’t know what we’ll do.”

“We will protect you, Chris. And you, Kim,” Dax said firmly. “But you have to be one hundred percent honest with us from now on, okay?”

“I know, you’re right. I’m sorry. There is one more thing,” Chris confided. “I know they are looking to make a deal. One big deal. I know there was someone here in Fae Crossing or they were going to meet someone here. I think the idea was one big sale to move their whole inventory.”

This got the pack’s attention and they all sat up a little straighter.

“Who? Do you have a name?” Rollo interjected now.

“No. I swear that’s all we know,” she said, turning her palms up to the assembled pack. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I wish I could help more.”

“Jeezuz,” Dax said. His dragon was raging.

But at the same time now he better understood why she had been so secretive.

“Rollo, get on the line with Tim. We may need Mossy Ridge boys over here as well. We need to blanket this town. A few weeks have already passed. We’ll just have to hope they haven’t made a deal yet. Put our men on every corner, and in every major public place if that’s what it takes.”

Rollo replied, “If they had made a deal already, I think we would have heard about it.”

“Maybe, maybe not, but if there’s a chance they haven’t, we need to take action to stop it. Big time,” Dax said, raising his voice. He had had enough of this drug.

“Dax, you are going to terrify the fae. You could end up doing more harm than good,” Bloom said. “You need to think about the bigger picture before you go rushing forward.”

He felt a surge of heat flash over him. His dragon almost breathed fire right then and there.

“Bloom, I have been the alpha on the Tribunal for going on fifteen years. I don’t tell you how to run The Tree. Don’t tell me how to protect this town. God forbid I step on any precious fae toes in my efforts to keep them alive. Please, just let us do our job.”

Doesn’t she understand what we are up against?

CHAPTER19

“Man, he was pissed,” Kim said, as they walked toward the curio shop.

Tell me about it.

She was happy to have a reason to think about something else.

Bloom had been feeling it was time to introduce the women to the witches already, but what they had revealed today sort of sealed the deal. They were becoming more than she could handle anyhow. She had enough on her plate navigating things with Dax. And the witches were going to want to hear the latest updates on what they knew about the drug, she thought, especially as it seemed it was sort of infringing on their domain of magic and spells. She was sure any mention of “third eye” was bound to pique their interest.

Etta and her crew took such things very seriously. Bloom actually got the feeling that if it were up to them, they would be the only ones who could cast spells in Fae Crossing.

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