Jorden: The McCade Dragon –Erotic Paranormal Romance (4 page)

Making a stop at the gift shop, she picked out a bag that the dragon suggested, as well as a ball cap for Gavin. Picking up a couple of candy bars, about the only thing she could keep down with all this stress, she made her way to the claim counter. It was silly, she knew, to get him a ball cap to a place neither of them would ever go to again. But she wanted to hold it to her tonight when she went to bed. Jasmine missed Gavin so much she ached with it.

Standing in line with her winning tickets, she asked Dragon how she was traveling from here. Her body was worn out, and she no longer cared if what she was doing was wrong or not. Just getting the gun on the plane with her grannie had been hard enough. For Dragon, making everyone in the line believe that it was a hairdryer and not a handgun had drained him a little too, he’d told her. As soon as the plane was in the air, she’d had to go into hiding again, fearful that even being at the big airport would alert the bad guys to where her family was going.

Her turn in the long line at the cashier was next, and she handed over the tickets to the man behind the glass. He made a comment about her having a good day and she only smiled. Jasmine had done just what Dragon told her to do, filling out the betting sheets with each mark that he said. Not that she had any idea what she was doing, but it must have worked. When the man asked her if she wanted an escort, Jasmine told him no, she was fine, and he asked her for the bag. Not sure what was going on, she handed it over, telling him she had a receipt.

“I can see it there. You’re all right, little lady.”

When he turned his back on her, she panicked a little. But the dragon told her it was fine, he could tell that this man was honest. When he turned back to her, handing her bag back to her through a special door, she took it and nearly fell with the weight. As she walked away, Jasmine tried to think how long she’d been here and what he’d put in the bag. Jasmine asked the dragon if he’d made the cashier give her more than she’d won.

No. I would not cheat the man that way. He would lose his job should he do that. What you have there, it is yours, all of it
. Jasmine asked him how much they’d won.
I do not know money as well as I should. But you have enough. Should you perhaps just go to the dealership now to get a car
?

I don’t know. I have to see what I have here. After figuring that out, I’ll be able to think how best to use it to get to my son
. He told her again it was enough, he was sure.
Yet you don’t know money well. For all I know I could have won a thousand dollars and he paid me all in ones
.

Jasmine went into the bathroom and the first empty stall. Putting the heavy bag on the baby holder behind the door, she unzipped the thing and looked inside. When she saw what was in it, she staggered back. There was a lot more than ones in the bag, and a hell of a lot more than just a thousand dollars. She asked the dragon again how much was in here as she stood up and peered into the bag once more.

As I have said, I do not know money well. But you have one million seventy-one thousand, seven hundred forty-three dollars in there. That will be enough to get you transportation, won’t it?
She nodded, then told him it was more than enough.
Good. I’m very glad. I did have the man think it wasn’t necessary to report your winnings. I think that would bring us more trouble than we need at the moment.

You could be right.
One million seventy-one thousand seven hundred forty-three dollars. It was more money than she’d seen in all her life. And she’d won it at the races.
Was it necessary for me to win this much? And I’m pretty sure that you know that anything over a hundred grand is a lot of money.

I did not want you to have to do without when it came to Gavin and his school after you get back to him.
She felt her tears fall.
You have said to me that you wish you could afford to give him a better education. It is something that he enjoyed very much. I wanted to help you with that. Was it wrong of me?

No. Not for him it’s not. Had it been for, I don’t know, just me, I would have had you give it back or something, but I’ll use this for him. For my son’s education when this is done.
She took out several one hundred dollar bills and some of the smaller denominations and put them in her wallet
. I have to think. I’m going to go out and find a place to eat and think.

Jasmine had to think what she needed to do now. And in what sort of order. Getting to Ohio was first and foremost, but there had to be steps taken to get her there. Clothing for sure, transportation, and she needed to make sure that she was safe while doing it and once she was there. And that she was not followed, to keep Gavin safe.

The first thing she did was go to a Walmart. Clothing. It took her longer than she thought it would to find some cheap clothing. Since she had nothing, she had to basically start from scratch, from the underthings to everything on the outside. Shoes too, as well as a small first aid kit. If she got hurt, she wanted to be able to make it so she’d not bleed to death. By the time she was done, Jasmine was exhausted again. Taking a cab to the nearest hotel wasn’t expensive, but she had to start watching every penny. She couldn’t very well pull open her bag with horses all over the side of it and pull some out whenever she was short.

The cheap hotel didn’t ask for any form of identification, for which she was grateful. After getting in her room, Jasmine not only locked the door but moved the dresser in front of it as well. Then Jasmine took a shower. Being clean for the first time in a couple of days felt like heaven, and she lingered in the water for a bit longer than she normally would have, simply because she could.

After she ordered a pizza, terrified that the kid bringing it to her would be toting a gun, she ate it as she laid out what she had. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to get her going. Then she went to the ads in the paper of someone selling a used car.

Did you not want new, my lady? I thought that it would be more reliable for you and Gavin once you were with the McCades.
Jasmine wasn’t going to stay with them and told the dragon again.
But you must. Without you there, I will not be complete.

You’ll just have to wing it then. I have to get my son safe. He’s all I have in the world now, and he has to come first over you and your dragon
. She circled two cars that she thought might do.
Besides, I can’t just go into a dealership and lay down forty grand for a new car and not have someone ask me questions. I wouldn’t even know how to answer them. I’m sure that telling them that a dragon in my head talked to the horses or whatever and asked them to win will go over well. Oh, and what do I tell them when they ask why I needed to buy a car with cash
?
How do you think that will go over when I tell them that I have these pretty earrings that madmen want, and they’ll kill me for them should I stick around here for very long
?

I only looked into the horses’ minds and encouraged them a bit. Nothing more than that.
And you made me promise not to do that again so I cannot help you with the car now.
Jasmine said nothing. It was cheating no matter how anyone looked at it.
You will be home soon. I, for one, am excited to see which young man you awaken the dragon in.

He would be, she supposed. But instead of getting into another argument with him on the McCades, Jasmine went to bed. Tomorrow was going to be another very long day.

But instead of falling asleep like she really needed to, she thought about the turns in her life since she’d gotten the earrings. Why, her mind kept asking her, was it her and not the sixty or so others at that auction? Any one of them could have carried these things to the McCades. Why had she not just given them to the man in the first place when he’d obviously wanted them?

And this man, the one she was supposedly to be paired with, what on earth would that be like should she stay? A nightmare, she knew it. She and men did not get along. Her grannie had told her often enough it was because she’d not found the right one. Well, one mistake was enough, thanks. But she’d gotten Gavin out of that marriage, and that was all she’d ever really needed. Her husband, Kris Tyler, had been a nice enough man, just not for her. Or any woman. Jasmine supposed the damage to her heart had been done because she really had loved him.

Kris hadn’t been a bad man, not really. He had tried to make her happy right up until the honeymoon. But he had married her under false pretenses, and she could never forgive him for that. Had it not been for their wedding night and Gavin coming from that, she would have been just fine in divorcing him and living alone. But the day they left for their honeymoon, while still on the plane to Paris, he told her his reasons for pursuing her so hard.

“I’m gay.” She nodded, then shook her head. “I am. I married you—not that I don’t care for you—but I married you so that I could inherit my mom’s estate. And I will take care of you, I promise. Mom said that without a wife, I couldn’t get anything. I know that sounds like I’m a greedy bastard, but I had to do something. But being married to you, it’s not what I wanted. You’re nice, but not what I need to make me happy. Please, Jasmine, don’t be angry.”

“I’ll be angry if I damned well want to. You don’t love me, yet you married me.” He shook his head no, and said again that he cared for her but he didn’t love her. “Care for me. You care for me? How is that supposed to keep me…? We had sex. You and I had sex last night.”

She realized her voice had gotten louder when he turned red and looked around. Jasmine hadn’t cared. She was going on her honeymoon, to Paris, with a man who didn’t love her and never would. Being angry wasn’t even close to what she was feeling.

“Yes, we did. I knew that I’d have to at least once in a while, but I don’t think I can do that again.” Her heart, already tender from his admission, shattered at his words. “I know I should have said something earlier, but I was afraid that you’d say no.”

“You’re damned right I would have said no. Kris, I love you.” He nodded and leaned back on his seat, saying nothing. “Is there someone else? Another person?”

“Another man. Yes, there is. And he is meeting me in Paris. He and I are going to spend our lives together, but I promise you, we’ll provide for you for as long as you want.” Her honeymoon, her first trip abroad, had been a ruse as well. A nice way for Donald and Kris to have a good time while she.... Jasmine had never been sure what she was supposed to do while they honeymooned. So, just after the plane landed, she was filing for a flight back home and making plans to get her life back to normal.

Of course Kris’s mom had found out, and had cut him out of the will and her life. Kris had stayed with Jasmine then…he’d had nowhere else to go. Even Donald, his longtime lover, had left him in pursuit of a man with money and a home that didn’t have a wife and kid in it. Apparently when Kris promised to take care of her, Donald had thought that they’d be living in the big house, with her someplace else.

Mrs. Tyler had made her life a living hell when it was obvious that Gavin was Kris’s son. She wanted her grandson to raise as her own, because to her Kris was dead. Beth went to great lengths, even trying to claim that Jasmine was a poor mother and that her grandson deserved more. And when Jasmine refused to give him up to her, Beth had gone out of her way to ruin her. And nearly had. She’d lost her house, her car, and could no longer afford Gavin’s daycare while she worked. Because no matter what job she had, Beth would fuck it up for her. Finally, she’d had to move in with her grannie and help her with the bills while she watched Gavin during her shifts. And when Beth died, after seven long years of abuse to her and Kris, she filed for divorce. As far as she was concerned there was no more reason for her to be married to Kris. His mom hadn’t changed her mind and it needed to be over.

Jasmine had hurt for Kris; he was just a man, trying to be loved, and his mom had fucked that up for him. Not that Donald might have been the right man, but no matter who he found, she’d ruin it for him. Elizabeth Tyler was a mean, selfish bitch, and Jasmine had hated her with a passion. When she’d passed away, Jasmine had actually done a little jig. Of course it had been in her room where no one could see her. She wasn’t that heartless.

Then a short week after the decree had come through that she was no longer married to him, Kris had been found dead, a note of why he couldn’t live any longer beside him, along with a letter to Gavin. Whatever had been in the letter to his son, Jasmine had no idea. But Gavin read it, and as far as she knew, he still had it. It was between just the two of them.

Life after that had never taken an uphill turn. No matter what she tried or did, everything seemed to be one major failure after another. Until she started flipping things on the Internet and going to auctions. They’d been starting to be able to put a little away. Then she found the earrings.

Chapter 3

Jorden looked around his new studio. He’d been moving in for over a month now, and was finally as finished as he could be. The five story building had seemed too much when he’d gotten started, but now he liked the way it was set up, and the fact that he had more room than he’d hoped for. He grinned at Gavin when he came out of the storage room with dirt and dust on his face. He’d been helping him every day since he’d been with him.

“You been mopping up the floor with your head? You have more dust on you than I think I have on the floor to the pottery room.” The kid had been a tremendous help over the last few days. Not just in getting things settled in here, but he had staved off the loneliness of living in his own home. “I’ve been thinking that we should go and have dinner in town tonight. How about pizza or burgers?”

“Pizza sounds really good, but are you going to order that wimpy kind? Because if you are, then we might as well have burgers.” Jorden grinned wider. The kid had a taste for hot and spicy, even more so than his brother, Grady. “Oh wait, you told Kenton that we’d go by there and see him after we were done here.”

“I already spoke to him, and since Emma is working on the charity thing with my mom, we men are going to get together.” Gavin still got nervous around his brothers. He hadn’t figured out why yet, but he knew that he preferred them one at a time. “We can just go to my house after picking something up if you want.”

“I’m going to miss you guys.” It was the second time today that he’d said something like that. The first time was when he’d offered to pay him for working with him. Gavin had said that the money would come in handy when he was gone. Then this.

“Are you going somewhere that I don’t know about? I mean, from what I’ve heard from Dragon, your mom should be here within the next few days. Are you taking off before she gets here?” Gavin said no but didn’t elaborate. “Gavin, what’s this about? The other day Emma said that you were upset about something, and when I asked you, you told me it was all right. It’s not all right. We’re friends. What’s up?”

“When my mom gets here, one of you are going to take her as your mate, right? I had to ask around to figure out what that meant, but I’m guessing she’ll be like a wife to one of you.” Jorden nodded, not sure where this was going. “Then there is me. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I guess.... What about me, Jorden? What if one of you guys take her and decide that I’m not your kid and tell her that I have to go? She might do it if she is happy, don’t you think? I mean…I don’t know what I’ll do, but I sure am going to miss you guys.”

Jorden was shocked. Did the kid actually think that they’d just…? A lot of things came to mind that had been going on in that moment. It wasn’t that he was afraid of his brothers, he was trying his best to distance himself from them. He didn’t want to spend time with his mom for the same reasons. There was the way that he’d never unpacked. No matter how many times Jorden had told him it was fine to use the big dressers and closet in his room, Gavin would put his things back in the shopping bag as if he was ready to go all the time. Jorden asked him to have a seat.

“First of all, I don’t think that any of my brothers, Kenton included, would tell you that you had to go. They all love you.” Gavin said nothing. Jorden sometimes forgot that he was only ten for all his smarts, and had been through a great deal in the last few months. “Secondly, I think my mom would take you as her own son over one of us if it ever came to that. Not that it would, but she loves you so much.”

“She told me I was nicer to her than you boys are. I don’t think she’s taken a good look at you guys lately. I’m a boy, you guys are big men. And not a one of you would do a thing to upset her. I think you’re all afraid of her, aren’t you?” Jorden nodded and laughed. “I like Mrs. McCade. And she has this pretty great house too. I know you lived there and all, but did you know that she can sing all kinds of old music? And she has a turntable with all these amazing albums that she lets me listen to. She’s about the coolest lady I’ve ever met.”

“You should tell her that. She’d love it. And I do know about the albums. Anytime that we’re all together for holidays or whatever, she puts it out on the back deck and we all listen to it. Over and over and over.” Gavin laughed. “No one is going to ask you to leave. There is not one person here that wouldn’t do just about anything for you. Emma said that you’ve helped her with her garden, and she’s using the herbs now when she is cooking. Mom told me that you fixed her computer when none of us could. Not to mention, the way you’ve got me all organized here, I’m going to be working again a lot sooner than I thought I’d be when I started this.”

“But that wasn’t that much. What if one of your brothers or even you want their own kid? What will they do with me?”

Jorden wanted to tell him that wouldn’t happen, but he pulled the kid into his arms instead. “You can come and stay with me. Forever if you want. But really, I don’t even think that is a possibility. Even Lewis, who is the baby of this family, said that he could not wait for you to call him Uncle, or even Dad should it come to that.” Gavin said he had already asked him if he would. “See? They love you as much as I do.”

Gavin looked up at him, and Jorden could see that he really wanted to trust him. To believe what he was saying was true. But he was cautious, something he’d learned the boy was very good at. He supposed it had a lot to do with his own father, someone that had been out of his life more than in. Nor did he think that his father had understood the boy. Jorden just listened to him, had a blast with the kid, and decided that he’d love a kid just like him someday. Gavin’s own father, Kris Tyler, had missed a lot being the man that he was.

Jorden had done a background check on not just Gavin’s mom, but the entire family. Gavin’s father hadn’t been a good dad to him. And his grandma, his dad’s mother, a woman that should have been shot long ago as far as Jorden could see, was a mean, manipulative woman who had cut off her only son in favor of wanting someone normal. To her, Kris Tyler being a homosexual had made him unworthy of her love or money. It was really too bad that she couldn’t see that for him to be what he was, was normal for him. Sad, but Jorden thought there were a great many people in the world like her, and would be forever. Idiots who didn’t understand that you couldn’t help who you loved or who loved you.

I just heard from Dragon; Jasmine has been in an accident.
Jorden didn’t say anything to Gavin, but asked Kenton if she was all right.
Yes. A little beat up, but for the most part, doing well. Emma and I are going to go and pick her up. She’s about an hour from here. Do you want to come along with Gavin? Might do her some good to see him.

I’d love to, but I’ll find out what Gavin wants to do. I think he’s a lot like his mom when it comes to having people tell him what he’s going to be doing instead of asking him what he might want.
Kenton laughed.
Come on by the studio, and I’ll have an answer by the time you get here. Any details that I can tell him?

No. Not that we have much. She’s hurt but not critically. The car she was driving was hit from the side, and lucky for her there was a cop close by or there is no telling what they might have done to her when they got out of their SUV.
He said he might have more questions than he had answers for, and Kenton told him he had a little too.
Also, you might prepare him. She’s pretty rattled, Dragon said.

Jorden said he would handle it. Pulling the boy from him, he looked into his eyes. He was almost afraid to tell him that his mom had been hurt, but he also knew that he deserved to know it all. He was a good kid, smart, and if he only got part of what had happened, his mind would put in things that wasn’t there. So he told him that Kenton was coming to get them and why.

“Is she going to die?” Jorden told him what Kenton had said. “But it was someone trying to kill her, right? They’re after her still.”

“Yes. For whatever reason that we can’t get from the dragon, people want to stop her from coming here. Money could be a part of it. We know that there are groups trying to get all the pieces together before we do, but he said he knows very little.” Gavin nodded and asked if they were going there now. “Yes. I can go if you want me to, but—”

The hug was unexpected but powerful. Jorden hugged him back, feeling it all over his body and well into his heart. Gavin cried for five minutes, long enough for Kenton to come in the room then leave, giving him the privacy that the boy needed. When he seemed to have some control over his emotions, he told Jorden he was very sorry.

“There is no reason to be sorry, Gavin. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to my mom. And with the fact that you’ve had all this other shit going on too, it’s no wonder that you have a moment or two of pain.” Gavin asked him if he’d go too. “Yes. If you want. I would never assume anything.”

“She might be mouthy. I know I told you that before, but when she’s hurting, she has no filter.” He asked him how often she got hurt. “Not too much. But once when she was helping one of her clients move a pie safe in her house, Mom told her that she had it. But the lady wanted to help. Mom said that she felt she needed to, to be not thought of as old. Anyway, she shoved when Mom was too close, and she smashed her hand all up in the doorframe. Mrs. Dunlap, she sure did get red in the face when Mom started cursing. And she can do that like it’s her job.”

They were both laughing as they made their way out of the building. As he locked up, Jorden thought of the woman that he’d come to admire without meeting her. He wondered which of his brothers she’d be mated to, and was somewhat jealous. She might be a lot of fun to be with.

~~~

Jasmine tried her best not to scream when the nurse, a little bit of a girl, tried to stitch up her arm. Christ, were the meds never going to kick in? When the curtain was thrown back, Jasmine just knew it was the bad guys again and tensed up. But the cop standing there wasn’t much better. The prick had been talking to her like she was nothing but a hooker on the run for the last hour. Every time he opened his mouth, she wanted to shove something into it, like her fist.

“We got some more questions for you.” Jasmine just looked at the nurse and willed her not to leave her alone with the man. “You ready to tell me what I want to know, or are you gonna try that crap again about not knowing anything?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She was glad now that she’d put all her money in the locker she’d rented at the bus station. She was pretty sure that Joe Blow here, whatever his name really was, would have had a shit fit if he’d found it. A million in cash without any means of showing where it came from would have just made his day, she thought.

Dragon had told her she was close to the McCades’ home, and that within the hour she would be there. Jasmine had decided that putting the money somewhere she could grab it and go would be better than having to explain to the family why she had it. Also, if they tried any shit, she was going to need it to run. With her son.

“You said you didn’t know the vehicle that hit you. But when we searched the car after he took off, there were several pictures of you in the glove box.” That terrified her more than she could think around. “Some kid too. You know him?”

He handed her two plastic bags, evidence bags it said on them, and she looked at the one of her first. It was taken recently, when she’d been at the grocery store getting snacks for the road. The other one, of Gavin, was older, by a couple of years. She handed them back to the man and said she didn’t know why they’d have those.

“I think I’ve wasted enough time on you, Jasmine. That is your name, isn’t it? Where is he? Where is Gavin?” That question startled her and she jerked her arm just as the nurse was sticking her again. Looking at the cop, Jasmine had a feeling that she was not going to make it out of here alive. And when the drug started oozing through her head, she watched as the man pulled out a gun and shot the nurse with it. “Less people that I have to share my ill-gotten gains with.” The laughter after he spoke seemed to vibrate in her head.

Things started moving at different speeds after that. The bullet seemed to leave the gun at a super slow speed when he aimed at her and fired. Then she could hardly see the gun at all, the way it moved fast like a dark blur. Voices were louder too, like they were shouting at her right at her ear, but she couldn’t make the words out as they were slurred.

The curtain surrounding her and the cop was torn from the hooks slowly, one at a time, and the sound of it was like a pop, pop, pop noise. A movement of colors, blues and golds, took her breath away. Not sure what it was, she reached out to touch it, only to find herself on the floor looking up at the bottom of the bed. The dead nurse stared at her from her position beside her. The blood from her head seeping out around her looked surreal, like Jasmine was watching a movie. Looking up when she heard her name, she thought it was Gavin but couldn’t make her mouth work to ask him what he was doing there.

“Jasmine, can you hear me?” She tore her eyes from her son and looked at the big man beside her. The movement made her sick, so she closed her eyes. “You have to stay awake for me, Jasmine. Did they give you anything? For pain or something?”

“Needle, whatever was in it made me sick.” She turned her head and felt herself being lifted up when she got sick. Twice she threw up and had to close her eyes again. “I don’t know what it was. But I think it might be trying to kill me.”