Valentine (The Dragon Kings Book 3) (7 page)

It was that kiss. Her ankle had burned, but she was too caught up in the moment to really give it much thought. Yeah, Val was an amazing kisser. She closed her eyes, and his face appeared in her head. She could almost smell the sea. She opened her eyes and stood up. She couldn’t do this.

She wouldn’t be able to avoid him because Gardiner was too small for that. She hoped he’d honor her wishes. Because seeing him again would be difficult. She couldn’t kiss him. Ever. Then she might fall harder than she already had.

As she put her hand on the rail to head downstairs, she heard the sound of utensils against plates and smelled coffee brewing. Her eyebrow rose when she found her parents leaning over the table.

Mom looked up. “Hey, how’d you sleep?”

Hazel yawned and grabbed a coffee cup out of the cupboard. “Not well.”

Her mom patted her hand. “None of us have.”

“What’s this?” Hazel asked.

“Areas we’ve searched and areas that still need to be scoured.”

Hazel studied the map that was covered with red Xes. “It looks like most of the park has already been searched.”

“We expect the initial search will be over in a few days.”

“Then what?”

Her father frowned. “Then we start over, focus on hot spots, areas where he could live even in these freezing temperatures.”

“This doesn’t make sense though. Rowan never goes outside.”

“You haven’t seen him recently. He’s been going out.”

“Yeah, you don’t go from someone who’s scared to set foot in the great outdoors to someone who will take a hike in the middle of a snowstorm. None of this adds up. Is it okay if I explore some of the other possibilities? I’m not going to be much good out in the woods.”

“You can focus on the town. Maybe he met a girl and refused to leave her house.” Dad grinned, but Hazel’s stomach twisted. This was no time for jokes.

“I’m meeting Aspen in town at eight. Can I borrow one of the cars?”

“Sure. I was going to go with your dad. Why don’t you two meet us at the Tower-Roosevelt Visitor Center at ten. That will give you a couple of hours to brainstorm.”

Hazel nodded and headed for the door. The cold air hit her, and she hurried to the car. She wished her parents would clean out the garage so they could park the cars in there, but it was full of years of accumulated junk.

It wasn’t much warmer in the car. She pulled onto the main road. She’d never seen the park so deserted. Sure, it was winter, but there were still groups of people who came. Snow covered the pines and sparkled in the sunlight. When she drove through a valley, she saw steam rising from the vents. The air smelled of sulfur. She hoped against hope that Rowan had found a spot near one of those and kept warm.

She pulled into the parking lot of the Purple Dragon, her old stomping grounds. She’d never worked there with Aspen, but this was the place where everyone hung out.

Hazel stood on her tiptoes looking over the milling coffee drinkers. She spotted Aspen sitting at a table across the room. She waved, and Aspen wove her way through the crowded room and hugged her.

“Sissy. I missed you.” They held each other a second longer than they would normally. The absence of their other sibling hung heavy in the midst.

“Me too. Though I wish I was here under better circumstances.”

Aspen squeezed her hand. “I know. Are you jetlagged? Do you want to sit?”

“I’m okay. I want to get a coffee first. Mom’s was no good this morning.”

“I’d like to say that’s because of Rowan, but you know Mom’s coffee has never been good.”

They waited in line, and Hazel grinned at the girl across the counter. Ella reached across and gave her a hug.

“Bout time you came home.”

Ella’s hair was now bright pink and clashed horribly with her Orange Crush t-shirt. “I know. How are you?”

“Good. What can I get you?”

“Vanilla latte.”

“You never change, do you?”

Hazel shrugged and smiled.

Ella handed her the latte, and Hazel squeezed between tables to Aspen’s favorite spot near the back of the shop. She sipped at her sweet drink and watched her sister for a second. Aspen had dark lines under her eyes, and her normally slick blonde hair was pulled back into a messy bun. Usually she kept it in braids. Aspen’s eyes flicked around the shop.

“Looking for someone?” Hazel asked.

Aspen met her eyes. “Just Rowan. I look for him everywhere I go.”

“We’ll find him.” Hazel’s stomach clenched, and she took a couple of deep breaths.

“I hope so. I think Mom and Dad are losing hope. But he can’t be dead.”

Aspen gripped her mug, and Hazel reached over and put her hands over Aspen’s.

“He’s not. We have to believe that.”

“Sis, it doesn’t look good. And I think it’s my fault he’s missing.” Aspen’s shoulders fell, and she wouldn’t meet Hazel’s eyes.

Hazel leaned back and took another drink and savored the slight burn. “What makes you think that?”

“Rowan and I had been spending a lot of time together. We always hung out at Sid’s house. In fact, when the dragon started eating people regularly, Mom threatened to send us to live with you, and we moved in with Sid instead. His brother and ex-girlfriend live with him.”

Hazel tried to wrap her head around the whole thing. It sounded like a bad episode of
Jersey Shore
. Too many people living in one house that shouldn’t be. Hazel pursed her lips. “That sounds complex.”

Aspen snorted. “You have no idea. Anyway, Sid’s ex, Skye, and Rowan became pretty close. The night he disappeared Sid had a family emergency. We all went to help out and forgot Rowan was sleeping in the other room. When he woke up, he would’ve found the house empty. He was probably out looking for us.”

“Why didn’t he just call?” Hazel asked.

“Yeah, he might have. But I lost my phone. I had to get a new one two days ago. Sid didn’t have any missed calls though. We were out of range for most of the night.”

Hazel pinched the bridge of her nose and thought. This didn’t make sense. “What on earth were you doing?”

“Can’t tell you that, sorry. Sid’s family is pretty secretive and complicated. I’m part of it, or I wouldn’t know.”

“You can’t just say things like that and not tell me what’s going on? Is his family involved in Rowan’s disappearance?”

“Oh no. Of course not. But I really can’t tell you. They’re very wealthy and like to keep a fairly low profile. There are things you can’t know yet, but I’m not doing anything illegal.” Aspen met Hazel’s eyes, so she knew Aspen was telling the truth. She couldn’t wrap her head around yet another mystery. Whatever they were involved with sounded complex.

“You said Rowan was close with Skye. Do you think she knows where he went?” Aspen said Sid’s family wasn’t part of why Rowan went missing, but Hazel wasn’t convinced.

Aspen shrugged. “We can’t find Skye either.”

Hazel sat up straighter. How could Aspen say that without realizing the implications? “Hello, that means they’re probably together.”

Aspen laughed. “No, it doesn’t. Skye was planning on going to see her parents. No one can get in touch with her, but it’s not that unusual with Sid’s family’s circle. They’ve got people out looking for Skye to see if she knows anything. But that’s highly unlikely. She was with us the night Rowan went missing.”

Hazel wasn’t buying it. She knew her brother, and in spite of everyone saying he was doing better, she knew people didn’t change overnight. If Skye was missing, then Rowan was probably with her. Hazel opened her mouth to ask another question just as Aspen waved to someone behind her.

A young man with blonde dreads pulled a chair over from another table, flipped it around, and sat down, resting his arms on the back of the chair.

He held his hand out before his eyes met hers. “I’m Theo. Nice to finally meet Aspen’s elusive sister.”

Hazel’s mouth had dropped open. She never thought she’d see that face again. It was not a face she wanted to see.

“Teddy,” she whispered. Butterflies erupted in her stomach, and she had no idea how to react. Her breath came in rapid bursts, and she focused on slowing them to drive away the panic attack. They didn’t happen very often, but that face could definitely trigger one.

His smile slipped when his face registered recognition. “Hazel, I never thought I’d see you again.”

She didn’t know what to say. But Teddy moved before she could think. He reached for Hazel, and without warning, his lips were on hers, driving the beginnings of her panic attack away. It was like she was on the airplane again, and when she closed her eyes, she saw Val’s face. She returned the kiss eagerly, but then anger built in her chest. This was not Val. This bastard broke her heart. She pulled away and slapped him across the face. Her hand stung, but she very nearly raised it to do it again. She wanted him to feel the pain he put her through.

People around them froze and stared. Teddy held his hand to his face, his eyes revealing hurt. She didn’t care. He’d hurt her worse. She stuck her face in his.

“Where have you been? Why did you leave? You think it’s okay to leave a girl the way you left me? Never mind. You’re despicable. I never want to see your face again.”

Hazel backed away. She was surprised by her emotional reaction to him. It had been three and a half years since she’d seen him, and she thought she’d pretty much gotten over him. Sure, she’d imagined plenty what she’d like to do to him if she saw him again. Running him over with her car was one. But she was happy with her life now, so why did she care?

A couple of chairs fell behind her, and Hazel turned to look. Ella headed straight for Teddy, murder in her eyes. Without warning she punched him right in the nose.

Teddy’s head snapped back and blood burst from his nose. Aspen was up out of her seat and pulled Ella away.

“Get the hell out of my shop,” Ella yelled at Teddy as Aspen struggled with her.

Hazel handed Teddy a couple of napkins. She almost laughed at the absurdity.

“I take it you and Ella are dating.”

He pushed the napkins to his nose. “Not anymore, I’m guessing. Sorry. It’s just that I think about you all the time. I couldn’t help myself.”

“Right. That’s why you left me.” Hazel laughed derisively. He was pathetic. Seriously, what had she seen in him? At least she knew she didn’t have any feelings for him anymore. Hell, when he was kissing her, she thought he was Val.

Teddy shook his head. “That was a long time ago.”

Before he could say anything else, Aspen came back and handed him more napkins. “You really should go.”

Teddy had his head still tilted back, and his voice came out sounding clouded. “Sid said he’s going to drop Val off and come back to get you. You need to be ready in a half hour. He wants to do the southern part of the park again.”

Val? Why was he talking about Val? Could this get any weirder?

Aspen put her hand on Teddy’s bicep. “Go take care of your nose. I’ll see you later.”

He walked away, and Aspen collapsed in her chair.

“Never a dull moment. So that’s Teddy?”

Hazel nodded, still in shock. Her emotions couldn’t take any more. Between Rowan missing, Val and her feelings for him, and Teddy showing up out of nowhere, she didn’t know how to handle all of it. In Hawaii, she’d safely tucked her emotions away and focused on fun.

“How do you know Teddy?” Hazel, asked needing answers to this. Was Teddy connected to Val? That would be too much.

“He’s Sid’s brother.”

Hazel rolled her eyes. “Also did he say something about Val?”

Aspen nodded. “Yep. Val’s Sid’s cousin. Told me he met you on the airplane.”

Hazel put her head in her hands and tried to think.

“So you’re telling me that Teddy is Sid’s brother and Val is Sid’s cousin? This is messed up.”

Aspen took a sip of her mocha and gave Hazel a grin. “No kidding. Val wants to see you again though. Do you want to do dinner with us tonight?”

Hazel focused on the problem at hand. “We need to find Rowan, not worry about my love life. Besides, things with Val were too real. I don’t want to see him again.”

“I thought you’d say that. He’s a nice guy though. He’d be good for you.”

Hazel shrugged. “Maybe, but I can’t worry about that now. Will you help me search around town? See if we can find stuff Mom and Dad missed?”

Aspen shook her head. “Nope, I go with Sid. We cover more ground that way. Do things outside of the scope of the government’s search.”

“You can’t go out alone. That’s dangerous.”

Aspen leaned forward, her eyes narrowed. “Everything about this is dangerous. I’m actually safer than most people. But I can’t take you with me. Sid and Theo are usually with me. I expect Val will join us as well.”

“Why can’t I come with?”

“Because we cover massive amounts of ground.” Aspen looked away from her. “I can’t tell you how. It’s a secret.”

“We don’t have secrets.”

Aspen snorted. “Yeah, we do, Sis. I can’t tell you about this, but trust me. I can cover more ground without you. You’ll be better off searching with Mom and Dad.”

“You’re not making sense.” Hazel creased her eyebrows.

“I expect a lot of things don’t make sense. Like why Rowan was out in the woods anyway. Like Teddy being here. Like that marking on your ankle.”

Hazel gasped. “How do you know about that?”

“Because I have one too. Come over tonight, and we’ll explain some things. Well, I can explain everything except the mark. No one knows why they are showing up. But I can help you understand the rest. For now though, we need to focus on Rowan. I have to go.”

No flipping way. Aspen had one too? Hazel felt a sense of relief. At least she wasn’t crazy. Aspen stood, and Hazel grabbed her arm. “You can’t just leave. You need to explain.”

Aspen shook her head. “Sorry, I need to go find Rowan. Come to dinner. Seriously. The boys can answer questions that I can’t. Gotta run. Love you, Sis. See you tonight.”

Aspen stood and slipped between the tables before Hazel could argue. But Hazel wasn’t letting her get away. As she was about to stand up, another person sat in the seat Aspen just vacated. It was the third to last person she wanted to see.