Finding the Dragon (Dásreach Council Book 1) (17 page)

“I can’t get that tattoo out of my mind.” Nat broke the silence.

“Me either. I just keep relivin’ the moment I saw it on Malkum’s arm.” Rogue agreed.

Al looked between her friends. Her mind so full of confusing thoughts of Kai, that her friend’s statements were taking a moment to register.

“The two of you say practically nothing since last night and now you’re talking about tattoos? I don’t think I’m in the mood to get a tattoo now gals.” Al said with aggravation.

“Al, you misunderstand. I’m not talking about getting the tattoo, although I dreamed about just that last night. It’s the fact that all night I was having dreams about that tattoo." Nat tried to explain. “And this morning I feel drawn to that damned tattoo shop.”

“What the hell, Nat?”

“Al, don’t. I had the same problem as Nat. All night I kept dreamin’ about the tattoo. About tracin’ it on Malkum’s arm. Nightmares of the attack were there too. Basically, I keep dreamin’ of Malkum. It’s like a huge piece of my insides is missin’ and I want it back.”

“Seriously? I wanted to stay at the house with Kai and find out what was going on, but you two kept saying that we needed to leave, that we needed to distance ourselves from them.”

Nat looked over at Al, “You feel it too, don’t you Al?”

“Feel what? I have no clue what you are talking about. You two are talking in riddles.”

“We’re talkin’ about feelin’ a soul deep connection with those tattoos.” Rogue replied. “When we left Malkum behind at the tattoo shop, I thought for sure he was dead. It felt like my world had ended. I had met the man for a matter of minutes, but I wanted back into that shop. Back to him.”

“Okay, where are the cameras?” Al asked.

“Cameras? What are you talking about?” Nat responded.

“Obviously you two are having some fun with me. So, I want to know where the cameras are so I can wave at them.”

“Al, we’re not joking. I don’t understand it, and frankly I don’t like it. But… well, I simply can’t get that stupid tattoo out of my head.”

“Al, don’t you feel anythin’ about the tattoo you chose and Kai? I saw how you looked at him yesterday. I know you have some type of feelin’s for the man.” Rogue reached out to hold Al’s hand.

Al looked between her friends. She didn’t understand what was going on, but it was seriously pissing her off. This trip had taken a weird turn and she didn’t want anything to do with it. Maybe she should just go home.

“You know what? I’m leaving!” Al stood up, threw a twenty on the table from her wallet and stormed out of the restaurant.

She was fuming, but for the life of her she couldn’t really understand why. She heard her friends yelling from behind her, but she kept walking. Her heart was pounding and her vision was slightly red around the edges from the fury. How could her friends do this? It was their idea to leave the men last night and now they were talking like they wanted to go back. Kai was probably so upset about them taking the truck and leaving that he wouldn't ever want to see her again. She had lost what little chance she had to spend time with him, because once again she had let someone else dictate what the right thing to do was.

She stopped, clenching her fists, “No more. I will make my own decisions and lead my own life."

At that moment Nat and Rogue caught up with her. She looked around and realized that she had turned the wrong way when she had left The Ruby Slipper. They stood in front of a dark alley. The buildings on each side blocking out the light, so she saw only a few feet in before everything turned to shadows.
That’s my life
,
dark and dreary, mired in the shadows of boringness and weakness
, Al thought to herself before turning to look at her friends.

“I’m not doing this anymore. For now on I will make my own decisions. And, first thing I’m doing is going home.”

“Al, don’t.” Rogue pleaded. “I’m sorry…”

“No, Rogue, I’m not letting you talk me out of this. I should have never come on this trip. Things have been strange ever since we left Memphis. The only time I felt like things were good, was when I was with Kai and thanks to the two of you I'm sure he won’t ever want to see me again.” Al ranted.

“Oh, Al.” Nat and Rogue came up and put their arms around her.

“I think we’re all feeling a bit off kilter. None of us travel much on our own and everything that has been happening seems like something off of TV. I mean how many people are involved in a shootout?” Nat said.

“Please Al, let’s just go back to the hotel and…”

At that moment several men in black grabbed the women, cutting off Rogue’s words, and began to drag all of them into the dark alley.
Oh, Shit!
Al thought,
Not again!
The fury that had started to abate came back a hundred times more explosive and she started kicking and twisting in the arms of her captor. She bit down on his hand, trying to get it off long enough to scream for help. She hoped that they would be able to draw the attention of someone before it was too late. The man cursed, but didn’t release her mouth. She bit down again, harder, he jerked back his hand but as she was about to scream, he was gone. She froze. This seemed familiar. She turned around and came face to face with seven foot of very pissed off male. Al looked at Kai and then glanced around searching for Nat and Rogue. They were a few feet further into the alley. Malkum was holding Rogue by the shoulders as he demanded something of her. Nat was across from her being held into place by a tall blond man that Al hadn’t seen before. One of the men that had grabbed them was out cold at Nat’s feet.

“Alvena.” Kai seethed. “Look at me, Alvena.”

Al turned to Kai and looked into his brilliant blue eyes. They almost seemed to glow in the darkened alley.

“Are you hurt, lass?”

“Um…” Al was at a loss for words. Her mind couldn’t seem to reach her tongue.

“Answer me!” Kai growled at her. His voice sounded deeper and a bit rougher. “Are you hurt, lass?”

Al shook herself, the events of the last few days running through her head. She thought back to the attack in the cemetery, it was very much like this one. The men were all dressed in black just like the men who had tried to mug them.

“This wasn’t a random attack. Neither was the one at the cemetery, was it?” She asked. “The attack at the tattoo shop was these same men, wasn’t it? Why are they after us?”

“Alvena, I swear to god, if you do not answer my feckin’ question this instant…I’m…I’m…I’m going to bend you over my knee and spank that delectable arse of yours.” Kai practically bellowed.

“Hey! Don’t you dare yell at me, Kai Darrow. I’ve been attacked multiple times, have some weird connection to your damned tattoo, and can't sleep without dreaming about you! Nowhere in there does it say that you are my parent or that you own me. Don’t be making threats to me. You are going to fucking give me some fucking answers. Now!” Al yelled back at him.

Kai stared her down for a moment, “I’m going to take that as a no, you’re not hurt. As for your answers, we’ll talk back at the plantation. You lasses will be going back there with us.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you Neanderthals!” Nat screamed from her position in the alley. “Get your damn hands off of me.”

“You better stay still love; you might start something you don’t want to finish.” The blond man said to her.

Al heard several moans from the men in black that were apparently coming around. Kai took out his phone, a call connecting immediately, “Come get them. I want answers Dar.” He then looked at Al.

“Alvena, these men are after you and your friends. You are lucky that Malkum was able to find you when he did.” All three women sucked in shocked breaths.

She stopped a moment and really looked at the man in front of her. He stood there, his fists clenched and deep breaths expanding his chest. She looked into deep eyes of blue filled with fear, not anger.

“Please come back to the plantation where we can work to keep you safe.” Kai touched her cheek. “I promise, we’ll talk there.”

He held out his hand to her, once again, letting her make the choice. Al could tell that Kai was struggling, she wasn’t sure if it was to keep from following through with the spanking he had threatened or to throw her over his shoulder and carry her out of the alley. Either way, she thought she might like it. However, Al really wanted some answers, so she put her hand in Kai’s and let him lead her to the black F150 that was parked in front of The Ruby Slipper. Al glanced back and saw both Nat and Rogue coming with the other two men.

Kai helped her into the truck. She turned in the seat and watched her friends as they were helped into the back seat, each with a huge male between them and the door. It looked like a tight fit, but Nat sat ramrod straight and looked straight ahead. Rogue sat with a confused look on her face. Al turned back around in her seat and clicked her seatbelt closed around her. She watched out the window as the streets changed from the city, to the interstate, and then to the gravel road in the bayou.

*

Hours later, Al found herself laying in an abnormally large bed on the second floor of the plantation house. The bed was comfortable and even bigger than her king size at home. It must be a special made one for Kai. At just under seven feet tall, his feet would hang off of most mattresses. She hadn’t realized it was his room when he had escorted her in earlier; he hadn’t said a word about it either, just given her a t-shirt to wear to sleep in and left. He had gotten called away before she could ask any of the million questions running through her mind.

She could not sleep, between the unanswered questions and her worry for her friends. She wondered what was happening with Rogue and Nat; they had been taken to their own rooms when they had all arrived. When Al started to protest about them being split up, Nat shook her head no and went into the room Kai had shown her to and closed the door. Rogue had shrugged her shoulders and walked into her own. They had never gotten the answers that she had demanded and Kai had said he would give her.

Al’s mind continued to race. She tossed and turned, every movement wafting Kai’s smoky sweet tobacco smell around her. It was coming from the t-shirt he had given her, as well as, the pillow under her cheek. The smell lured her into thoughts of the man and reminded her of her dream that seemed to have happened so long ago.
Damn him for giving her his bed to sleep in
.
There is no way I’m getting any sleep here.

She tossed a bit more, her body demanding a relief that wouldn’t be granted by sleep. All she wanted was for Kai to be in this huge bed with her. To feel his arms around her, to have his hands on her body, that was all that entered her restless mind. Since relief wouldn’t be coming soon, Al got out of the bed. She searched the drawers of the dresser along one of the walls. Pulling out drawers that contained various items of clothing: socks, underwear – her fingers hovered over the contents of that drawer, before she slammed it shut – shirts, shorts, and pants. She pulled out a pair of fleece pants, planning to wear them to the kitchen where she hoped to find some tea or hot chocolate that she could make. However, when she unfolded them and held them up to her, they were huge. There was no way she was going to be able to walk in them. She glanced down at herself. The t-shirt covered the naughty bits, but she felt exposed with nothing else on. She opened the drawer that had held shirts. She took out a long sleeved flannel and pulled it on. It fell a bit longer than the t-shirt.
Well, this will have to do.

Al wasn’t sure if they were prisoners here or what, so she quietly opened the door to the hallway, which she found empty. She stopped and listened, the only noise a few creaks and groans from the settling of the old house. When no one yelled or came at her, she turned and headed for the stairs.

At the bottom she turned down the hallway for the kitchen, but was distracted by the moonlight glinting through the windows in the sitting room. Wandering into the room, Al stopped at a huge picture window on the far wall. She sucked in a breath at the beauty of the moonlight flooding the trees and glinting off the bayou surrounding them. It was gorgeous.

Al jumped as a floorboard creaked behind her. She jerked around to find Kai standing in the doorway to the room. She couldn’t make out his expression, the moonlight barely reaching him from the window. They stood there for a few minutes, just looking at each other in the moonlight. A wind picked up outside making the house groan, as if it were barely holding on to its place in the world. Al decided to go back to her room and began to move to leave. Kai held up his hand to stop her and took a step forward, but stopped before moving too far. He looked at her, took a deep breath, and nodded his head like he had come to a decision. Kai moved once again, heading for Al by the window. He stopped a hair’s breadth away from her, his breath harsh on her face. She looked up into his blue eyes. She felt like she was drowning, and looked away to find some equilibrium, her eyes falling on Kai’s arm.

“Can I see your tattoo again?” Al asked and before she could stop herself, she continued. “I’d still really like to have one like it. I’m not sure why, but the dragon just calls to me.”

Kai turned his arm towards her and began to push up his sleeve, when Al stopped his hand and pushed it up on her own. She felt Kai shiver under her fingertips. Her eyes were on his arm, her fingers tracing the black lines of the design.