Dragon's Touch (Book 1 Linty Dragon Series) (16 page)

“This is no longer your home, or Gran’s, it belongs to me, and I refuse to have all and sundry walking around with a key to my house.” I stepped closer, took the key from him and placed it in my pocket. It needed a better place for keeping if I was to prevent him or anyone else from removing the dragons from the cabinet. There was always the off chance the glass would be smashed and the dragons taken, but unless it was a thief, I was sure care would be taken to not damage the dragons or the glass doors.

“What are you doing here?” I asked of them. Aunt Elizabeth hovered in the background, wringing her hands, while her husband hesitated to answer my query.

“Well?” I demanded.

“Like I said, I wanted to study this particular dragon.” Charles pointed to the creature.

“Why that one?” I turned my gaze to it and considered its beauty, value, and provenance.

Enthralled by the animal, Charles said in an awe-filled voice, “I’ve always been fond of this dragon, right from childhood. He’s a beauty, don’t you think?”

I couldn’t fault him for that, especially since I’d felt the same way for the entire collection. But it was Drake who’d always held a special place in my heart, and would forever.

I smiled as I stared at the dragons in their various poses, and then turned to Drake. His eyes were dim, no fire, no smoke, nothing to indicate a reason for alarm. I gawked openly at him and heard him whisper,
“You arrived in time. Fear not, he’d never have taken him.

I gave him a slight nod and asked Elizabeth if she thought I’d go round the bend as they insisted Gran had. Startled, she glanced at Charles and then said, “You must do what you’ve been charged with. You shouldn’t let it ruin your life, or have it take over completely, Linty. It’s unhealthy to allow something to consume you. Essie did so, and no matter how we tried, we couldn’t get her to leave the estate for long. She was fearful interlopers would steal these creatures. She never said why she felt that way, but in the end, I believe it was her undoing.”

“Mr. Smythe said she was of sound mind, you do know that, don’t you?” I glanced at husband and wife, caught the quick glances between them and knew there was more to their story. I was certain Charles had planned to abscond with the dragon. Would one dragon be enough to set him up financially or had he planned to steal one at a time? Did he have buyers for them? What then? He did strike me as a greedy sort. Maybe a look into Charles’s financial status would reveal why he’d be interested in taking the dragons from the estate, or was I drawing unfounded conclusions?

“We stopped by to see if you’ve settled in,” he said with a smile.

Joviality wouldn’t get him far, but I would play along to find out what he was planning.

“You’ve seen that I’ve done so, now you can leave. It’s been a trying day, and I’m exhausted. In the future, you might try calling ahead before you stop by.” I showed them to the door.

Disgruntled, but unable to come up with a reason to linger, Charles and Elizabeth bade me goodbye.

Chapter 12

It was late when I drifted off, only to awaken to the sound of shattered glass. I bolted upright, flung the blankets aside, and grabbed a bat I’d kept from my teen years of playing softball. I had left it in a place of honor ever since returning home from the academy where I’d attended high school and never considered how handy it might become.

With a tight grasp on the handle and clad in lightweight pajamas, I crept down the stairs and tiptoed into the living room. I hadn’t taken time for slippers or a robe, and hadn’t realized I’d step on shards of glass until I did that very thing. Two pieces stabbed into the ball of my right foot. I drew back quickly and squelched sounds of pain.

Footfalls crossed in front of the dragon cabinet. From the pale glow of Drake’s eyes, I saw the form of my intruder. I stood with my back against the wall, felt for the glass, and plucked slivers from my foot. Tossing them away, I took a few steps toward the thief. He must have sensed me because he turned, swung his arm out at the same moment I swung the bat and we connected.

He swore, went to shove me and I swung the bat a second time. When it struck him, I heard a snap. He howled and before I could strike him again, he pushed me hard. I landed on the floor, the bat flew from my hand and the man ran past. I was up and after him in a second. He’d come through a window in the living room and left the same way.

Unbolting the front door, I chased him. He was fast on his feet and left me far behind. Winded and in pain from the injury to my foot, I turned toward the house, cursed out loud, and wished I’d never been called back to Mevie.

I rang the local constable to report the break-in and was assured he’d arrive shortly. Then I gave Vaughn a call. He answered instantly and said he’d be right over. I waited for the two men to show up and nursed my foot in the interim. I glanced about and saw broken glass splayed across the floor. Luckily, I hadn’t been injured more seriously.

Lights flashed and cars rolled to a stop outside the front door. Both men, followed by another officer charged up the steps and into the foyer. Vaughn stood back, his face a mask of something. Whatever his thoughts were, they couldn’t have been good. 

“Miss Dragon?” The constable enquired.

I nodded and wiped blood that continued to flow from the wounds. Vaughn stared, came to my side and said, “Let me have a look at that.” I lifted the foot to him and he took over from there.

All this was taken in by the constable and his fellow officer. He asked, “Did you see who broke in?”

“I didn’t get a look at him, it was too dark. I was kind of shadow boxing, if you will.” I pointed to the bat that lay on the floor in the corner.

The constable glanced back, saw the bat and said with a smirk, “Not boxing, exactly, but near enough. Tell me what happened.”

My explanation was brief, not much to tell, actually, and the constable took stock of the room and nodded toward the window. “You’ll need to get that fixed.”

“Indeed.” Duh, did I look stupid?

“Has this happened before, Miss? Have you any idea of who might want to break in, or why?”

“I’ve only been here a short time and it’s been quiet. No problems, just people stopping by to offer condolences,” I lied. No sense in giving him a chance to doubt my sanity by telling him I’d been visited by gaunt folks, that reminded me of the walking dead, who tried to take the dragons off my hands, and the watcher in the woods would sound paranoid, for sure. It sounded unbelievable, even to me. I caught Cullen’s quick glance and winced when he secured the bandage to my foot.

“It’s been said there are those who would like to acquire your dragons, lass. Is that what this is about?”

“I have no idea. When you catch the intruder, you might ask him that very question.” Okay, so I was being bitchy, so what? He’d stated the obvious. The perpetrator wanted the dragons, or one particular dragon. I wasn’t sure which case it was, but one thing was certain, he’d been about to steal from me. I glanced at Drake and then at his fellow creatures. I could feel my eyes narrow and the anger that lay just beneath the surface at the thought of being robbed was difficult to control. Was this experience a portent of what my future held? The alarm installation couldn’t happen fast enough for my liking.

The constable walked around the room, checked this and that, then turned to me and said, “You might want to have an alarm system installed. We could have it sound at the station if you like.”

I explained an Aberdeen company would be in next week and that I’d be happy to have them wire it to the police department. Constable Wakely smiled, said they’d check with the local hospital to see if someone was treated for any injuries and then took his leave. He, and his assistant, who’d made notes of my explanation, walked toward the door. Wakely looked back and said he’d let me know if they found out who the intruder was.

I frowned as he left, and shook my head with a sigh. “That was pretty useless. I did better at protecting myself with the bat than he could have done with an army of officers,” I remarked as the police car disappeared from view. “I think I might have broken the man’s arm. I heard a snap when the bat connected as he swung his arm toward me. Thank goodness he didn’t hit me first.”

A chuckle from Cullen brought a laugh from me. My adrenalin had receded and I was shaking, but calmer than I had been.

“You played softball at the academy, and were MVP, right? I’d forgotten you were athletic in high school. Not so much in college, though, were you? More bookish by that point.” Cullen chuckled again.

Perplexed by his knowledge of my school years, I said, “You’ve done your research on me, haven’t you? I’m quite adept at research, too, Cullen.”

His laughter rang out, I stared at him and then rose to get a dustpan and brush to clear away the debris that littered the floor. Gently, he pushed me back onto the sofa, said he’d do the clean up and left me on my own.

I favored the injured foot and limped over to the dragons. I whispered to Drake, “We must be better prepared for intruders. It’s important to protect you all. Any suggestions?”

The glow in his eyes reminded me of banked coals in a campfire.
“Find the book, your problems will be solved.”

The book, the book, is that all he could say? “What else, other than the book would you recommend?”

I got no answer and heard a light cough behind me. I swung around, lost my balance and knocked over the stand, catching Drake as he fell. We landed with an
oomph
and I cradled the dragon in my arms. A humor-filled look and raised brows were Cullen’s response to what had happened.

He reached out a hand to haul me and the dragon off the floor. “Let me help you up. You should have stayed put.” He would have taken Drake from me had I allowed it, instead he set the stand upright. I placed Drake in his rightful spot and hobbled over to the sofa.

The glass cleaned up, the broom and dustpan put away, Cullen returned to the living room and sat beside me. “I’ll stay the night, but your alarm system must be installed immediately. If not, I’ll move in for the week and take care of those who dare enter without invitation.”

Good grief, the last thing I needed was Cullen on my last nerve every minute of every day for a week. I’d be a dithering idiot by then or one of us would be in danger of being killed by the other. I didn’t care to be ordered around, nor instructed as to what I should and shouldn’t do, let alone have him, as confident as he was in his abilities, handle whatever situation might arise. On my own for so long, it irked me to have such a person a constant presence, even if I did find him handsome and sexy.

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll sleep down here from now until the alarm system is set up.”

“You should have protection, Linty,” he insisted.

“Not necessary, I can handle myself, thank you,” I remarked.

“Yes, I can see that. You made quick work of the intruder tonight, but who’s to say if he’ll return with reinforcements the next time?”

“Bring them, I welcome it.”

“You can’t be serious?”

“I am,” I said with an even stare into his doubtful eyes.

“You’re being unreasonable, or is it my charm that has you worried? You might succumb to that without wanting to.” Cullen smiled.

The challenge in his voice was unmistakable. Wide-eyed and laughing, I gave him a slanted look. “Really? Oh, yeah, wait a minute. You’ve been so freaking charming that I could spit.”

His laughter rang out and I grinned at him.

“Point taken. I’ve done nothing but try to boss you around since you arrived. Sorry about that. I’m used to having my orders followed, not challenged.”

“Get used to it. I take no orders, but I do consider well-meant advice. “

“What security company is doing the installation? Maybe I can move things along for you.”

I mentioned the name. He gave a nod, and we both fell silent for a while until I related the issue I’d had with Charles and Elizabeth. “Imagine, he had planned to take the dragon and leave.”

“Do you know that for certain?”

“I entered the room, he stood at that case,” I pointed to it, “with the gold and red dragon clutched in his hands. What would you think?”

He ignored the question by asking another. “What was his explanation?”

“He said he wanted to study it. Yeah, right. That might have been after he’d left the house with it. When I looked the case over, I noticed he’d moved another dragon forward so I wouldn’t see it was missing.”

I got a nod and another question which strained my nerves.

“Did he willingly put it back or did you threaten him?”

“I did not threaten him,” I remarked haughtily. “I merely told him to put it back and not to touch the dragons again.”

“Hmm, was he alone or was Elizabeth with him?” His eyes held a keen glint and I wanted to know what was on his mind.

“Before I tell you, what do you think of his actions? Why would he choose that particular dragon?”

“A buyer is seeking that one, and maybe another, I’m not sure which other, though. It’s gossip, so I don’t accept it as truth, you understand.”

“Elizabeth hovered about wringing her hands. I think she was nervous about him snatching a dragon in the first place. She said I shouldn’t have to worry about the dragons and this estate. I didn’t care what she said at that point, and asked them both to leave.”

“Did they?”

“When I opened the front door, Charles knew he’d lost his advantage and they couldn’t get out fast enough. You see, I had gone walking and had locked the doors, so was dumbfounded to find them in the house.”

“Locked is safer than unlocked, but as we now know, even that won’t keep thieves away. Could it have been Charles who broke in?”

I gave a hoot of laughter. When I’d stopped laughing, I said, “Uncle Charles couldn’t have fit through the window or run that fast without having a coronary.”

Pensive, Cullen said, “I take it that you mean a heart attack?”

I nodded. “I’m sure his cholesterol is at an all-time high. Good grief, have you seen that man eat?”