Dragons' Bond (8 page)

When Trudy had left, promising to e-mail a quotation through that evening, Mallory turned to Angus, her forehead creased with worry lines. “The directors aren’t going to agree to a huge expense, are they? No one has broken in here, and Mr. Tanner wasn’t concerned about the security, so I expect they’ll pay for new locks for all the doors, but they aren’t going to want to install a full security system, or add extra railings to the roof, or anything like that.”

He couldn’t resist pulling her into his arms and kissing the worry lines then smoothing her forehead with his fingers, willing her stress to go away.

“Mr. Tanner didn’t need the income from the museum. He was independently wealthy and old and tired. The new directors do want to get the museum up and running profitably. However, they likely don’t want their assets stolen, and once the museum becomes better known, and some of the artworks start going out to other exhibitions, word will get around in art circles that The Magic Dragon Museum has some very valuable pieces. That, in turn, will make it a target for art thieves, so if you explain all that to them, it’s sound business sense to get the museum’s security upgraded now before the bad guys find out how easy it would be to rob it.”

Mallory nodded, sighed, and agreed. “Yes, I can see all that. But I suspect it’s going to cost a lot of money, and they aren’t going to be happy about it, assuming they agree.”

“Um, Mallory. Mark, William, and I aren’t exactly poor. One of the advantages of having lived longer than the average human is the ability to wait for long-term financial growth opportunities. I know we went shopping in a chain store, but that’s because we want to look ordinary and fit in with the crowd, not because we can’t afford nicer clothes. If the directors won’t pay for the upgrades the museum needs, we’ll pay for it. For a start, your safety is incredibly important to us. But also, this is our home. It’s only fair we contribute to the costs.”

Mallory sighed again. “Well, let’s just hope they agree. That’ll solve all our problems. I’m glad I didn’t know how weak the security was those first three months. I was so happy here alone. Although, I was always wary of having the downstairs lights on at night.” She shrugged. “I must get to work. What are you planning to do?”

“We decided to read all the papers much more carefully, looking for clues about potential shape-shifters.”

“Oh yes, that’s right.”

“I’ll prepare some lunch for you at one o’clock, okay?”

“Thanks. See you then.”

Angus watched as Mallory ran down the stairs. Yes, he was supposed to be reading the papers in the trunk again, but what she’d just said had raised the hairs on the back of his neck. She’d always been very careful never to leave lights on downstairs after dark. Something had definitely worried her about that, and it wasn’t good. He needed to visit that electronics store Mark had found and buy one of those gadgets that detected electronic bugs so they could check the whole museum carefully, and also he needed a good set of binoculars. Come nighttime, he planned to find out just who could see into their windows and from which buildings.

* * * *

For the first time ever, Mallory couldn’t settle down to work. She polished the table on which she’d placed the palm-sized stone dragons. She looked at first one statue, then another, but none of them was calling her to work on them. She wandered over to the windows and stared out, wondering who lived in the tall buildings in the next block or if they were businesses and offices. She looked at her watch, wishing it was lunchtime, yet she wasn’t hungry. She’d eaten better in the last twenty-four hours than she had in the previous month.

Get a grip, woman.
She turned and wandered into the rear storeroom. It wasn’t exactly a storeroom, although that was how she was using it, storing all her cleaning gear here. It had a desk pushed against the side wall under a small, high window. There was a filing cabinet beside the desk, and she’d already been through it, looking for paperwork she needed. The first two dragons she’d been unable to identify were sitting on the desk, and she thought they were looking at her rather reproachfully.

Now, of course, they’d been joined by the four oak dragons. Even though she’d found their provenances, she hadn’t brought them back out into the second room in case they were spies for Teivel.

Gently, she stroked one of the first dragons. He was a handsome fellow, his wings opened wide, and carved very intricately in limestone, with the colors running through him in a very attractive manner.

“I’m sorry I’ve neglected you. I’ll have another look for your paperwork now.”

Mallory pulled out the chair and settled herself in it, opening the middle drawer of the filing cabinet, and grabbed a sheaf of wrinkled old papers. Time passed as Mallory read, sorted, and filed, finally coming across an old, torn, dirty sheet of paper that explained so much to her.

She sat back in the chair, holding her find to her chest, and nodded. She was about to speak to the dragons then forced her mouth closed. Crevan, Daegan, Graegor, and Penllyn were here, too. She pulled the pair of dragons across the desk so they were right in front of her. Up until now, she hadn’t even realized one of them was a female. She was made of limestone too, but her colorings were more yellowy, whereas the lines on the male were more amber and bronze.

“I’ll be back after lunch. Hopefully I can work more on you this afternoon,” she promised the female. She wasn’t willing to risk saying anymore, but Mallory wanted her to know she cared.

Mallory ran up the stairs to her apartment, wondering what Angus had provided for lunch. She smiled. Lunch was simply an excuse. She just wanted to tell him, tell all of them, about the paper she’d found.

A thick slice of crusty bread was waiting in her place at the table, and as she arrived, Angus served a bowl of delicious-smelling soup and carried it to her. “Yum. Pumpkin soup,” she said. Then she laughed as he brought the serving bowl of soup over for himself.

“Your bowls are too small,” he rationalized, cutting himself two thick slices of bread.

She inhaled the rich, spicy fragrance of the soup then ate. So much for not being hungry. She seemed to do nothing but eat around these men. Maybe it was all the sexy exercise she was getting lately.

But after several mouthfuls, she pulled the sheet of paper from her jeans pocket and said, “Read that. It explains so many things.”

“Hmmff?” Angus looked at her.

“Just read it.”

At first Angus’s spoon moved smoothly up and down from his bowl to his mouth as he read. Then it stopped midway as he concentrated on the paper. “Tanner had a daughter.”

“Who fell in love with a shape-shifting dragon.”

“So he established this museum as a home for her and a hobby for himself forty years ago. And everything worked perfectly until someone discovered his secret.”

“I’m betting that someone was Teivel, or a person who told Teivel,” interjected Mallory.

“But where is his daughter now? Why didn’t she come forward when he died? Is she in hiding, or too scared, or what?”

“She’s a limestone dragon sitting on the desk in the back storeroom with her husband. You didn’t tell me humans could become dragons. And I’m betting she can’t shift back, because Teivel or someone is blocking her from making the change.”

“Those damn oak dragons! Were they near her?” Angus dropped his spoon and stared at Mallory.

“Yes, they were. And they are now, too, since I moved them out into the back storeroom when I couldn’t find their provenance. But there would have been a couple days between when I put Tanner’s daughter and her husband out there and when I moved the oak dragons out there. I wonder why she didn’t shift then.”

“We can ask her. After lunch, bring her up to your office. Tell her you’re going to do her paperwork, so Crevan and his cohorts don’t get suspicious. Hopefully, when she’s that far away from them, she can shift and tell us what’s going on.”

“You’re assuming she’s the victim here. What if she’s on Teivel’s side and tells him about you?”

“You’re a smart woman. I hadn’t thought of that, but of course parents argue with their children all the time. But why after forty years?”

“I think I need to keep going through that filing cabinet this afternoon to see if there’s anything more about her. If everything seems genuine, I’ll bring her up this evening. Well, her and her husband. I guess I need to keep them together.”

“In that case, wait until almost dark before you bring them, so Mark and William will be here as well for backup in case the two of them
are
working for Teivel.”

“Good plan. You three need to tell me about humans becoming dragons, too.”

“All right. I’m not avoiding the issue. I just think all three of us need to be present for that conversation.”

“Tonight,” she said firmly.

Angus nodded.

* * * *

Mallory found some interesting papers in the filing cabinet, but nothing more about Tanner’s daughter. In the end, she decided to take only the female upstairs. For a start, they were reasonably heavy, and carrying two of them up four flights of stairs wouldn’t have been a lot of fun. But more importantly, she felt if they were both on the bad team, at least she’d halved the danger to herself and the men.

She waited until dusk was deepening then tidied up the desk, filing the papers she’d been looking at neatly except for a couple she wanted to take upstairs. Then she picked up the female and said, “I hope to start your paperwork tonight, so let’s take you into my office.”

As always, she checked all the windows and doors, looking forward to when the new security system would be installed and she’d feel truly safe. Trudy’s quotation for the work was likely sitting in her inbox already. She wanted to see that, soon, too. And presumably Angus would have prepared another meal. She sure could get used to having men who cook around the apartment. Although she’d likely get fat. But then, if they stayed around, the sex would be mighty fine exercise, so it’d all work out.

Mallory shivered with lust. It was hard to believe she wanted them so much when she hardly knew them. But of course, she’d been talking to them for three months, before they came to life, so in a way, she was used to having them around.

Mallory didn’t hear any noises behind her, but instinctively she knew William and Mark were following her up the stairs.
I guess being naked and barefoot does make for silence. No shoe noises or swish of fabric as you walk
.
But they’d better put some clothes on before we see if this statue comes to life. I don’t want another woman looking at my men’s cocks!

Mallory went straight into her office and put the statue on her desk, wiggling her shoulders and shaking her arms. It
had
been heavy to carry up so many stairs. Angus appeared instantly, two pairs of jeans in his hands, one of which he passed to each of the other two men, who were, indeed, right behind her. She smiled at him. “Thank you for that. I really don’t want other people seeing you three naked.”

“Yeah, I guessed you’d be a tad possessive about our equipment. And speaking of equipment, I’ve checked the apartment and the roof garden, and there’re no electronic bugs up here. We’ll check the rest of the museum later tonight just to be sure.”

“Oh, thank you. Trudy did mention something about that. I can’t wait to see how much it’s going to cost to do everything she wants.” Mallory slid into the chair at her desk, the three men gathered behind her, and she turned the statue to face everyone.

“Jaydeline Tanner, it’s time for you to transform to your human shape and tell us what’s going on,” she said firmly.

The statue wavered and shimmered for long moments. Mallory realized she was holding her breath and let it out slowly, and then with a pop, the dragon on her desk was a woman whose long legs were hunched against her body.

Angus’s arm reached past Mallory, holding a man’s baggy T-shirt. Jaydeline slipped it over her head and stood up, the shirt almost reaching her knees.

“Thanks, Angus. Hi, William, Mark. And please call me Jay. I’ve always hated the name Jaydeline.”

“Have we met before? I don’t recall you,” said Mark.

“I know all the shape-shifters. There’s so few of us, just you three, the four Celtic men, and Sinclair and me. But Dad was very keen for no one ever to know about me. And wisely so as it turned out. I’d like to know who’s been blocking the portal all these years.”

“Isn’t it Crevan and his gang?” asked William.

“Everyone knows Celtic oak controls portals, but who is controlling them? Graegor and Sinclair were really good friends, so it has to be someone who has a hold over one or more of them,” Jay said tersely.