Haunted By Her Dragon (The Dragon Guard Series) (12 page)

“We’re
getting close. Andrew’s gotten refueled with black magic since the shit storm
in the woods. There were a few false trails, but they were weak and evaporated
quickly. Luckily, he wasn’t able to hide the little one’s fresh clean scent. We
finally located his path and are closing in,”
Royce
growled, more than a little pissed off.

“I
swear to the Heavens when we catch this son of a bitch, I’m taking him out
where he stands. Fuck the Elders, and fuck the Tribunal. This bastard needs to
die!”
Usually the most quiet and serene of all his
brethren, Devon was
practically screaming through their mind
speak, proving that this shit with Andrew was wearing on all of them. The
stupid douche bag had just gone farther than any of them would have thought
possible by taking a child.

“No
can do, Dev. The little fucker is mine.”
Aidan countered. Lance
hadn’t even known he was there.

“Not
if I find the piece of shit first,”
Aaron seethed. Well
damn
,
almost the whole crew was there.

“How
the hell did you two get here so quickly?”
he asked the
twins. All the shit they had endured for almost a year had hit them the hardest
of all. Andrew
was
their younger brother, blood of their blood. How the
hell
they kept their sanity was beyond him.

“Aar
was at the house looking over some of the information Grace dug up on ‘The
Auctioneer’ when we heard you call Royce. We headed over to see if we could
help find the little girl and kick our brother’s ass,”
Aidan
answered. The fury at the brother he had devoted so much of his life to, caring
for and training, only to have him betray all of them and their way of life,
had to feel like a dagger to the heart.

“The
son of a bitch has gone too far this time. Whoever finds him needs to kill him.
END OF STORY! No one hurts a child, NO ONE!”
Devon was
literally screaming fury.

“Okay
Dev, you’re right, but don’t pop a vessel before we find him.
Woosah
, Bro,
woosah
.”
 Lance
chuckled even though he didn’t feel it, in an effort to calm his brethren; them
going off half-cocked was what Andrew was hoping for.
The dirty little traitor wanted them to make mistakes so that he could keep
spreading his special brand of crazy.

“I
know, Dude, but a child?
Really?
What the fuck? This
shit is making me crazy!”
Devon answered. Lance could hear
him trying to calm down and regain his focus.

“I
know, man, I know. Now we have to find her before his crazy ass loses it all
together. Let me see if I can get the doc to chill and then I will come help
you search,”
he answered, wondering how in the hell
he was going to keep Sam from going with him.

“Do
what you
can,
man, but I can tell you from experience,
you might as well just give in. Your girl is
gonna
win the argument every time,”
Aidan chuckled, and all
the others followed suit.

Before
he could think of a witty comeback, Royce chimed in,
“
Ya
know, Pain in the Ass, I can’t wait to watch your mate kick your ass. She
doesn’t seem like someone who’s
gonna
take your shit
lying down.”
The roar of the laughter was almost more than he could stand.
He knew he deserved everything they were throwing at him, but
damn
, it
stung!

“Yeah,
yeah, yeah, Old Man, yuck it up. Your time’s coming.”

“I’m
sure it is, but I’m not the one going through it now, and I’m not the one that
said he would never have a mate. Sucks to be you, Pain in the Ass,
sucks
to be you.”
If possible, the
laughter from his brethren grew.

“All
right, you assholes, let me see what I can do up here, and I’ll be down when I
can. Find. Sydney.”
He shook his head as their laughter
died down.
“And thanks.”

He
kept the conversation between his brethren in the back of his mind as he closed
his cell phone and turned to locate Sam, not looking forward to the
discussion
he knew was to come.  The room had cleared some while he had been talking
to his Force. The atmosphere in the room was sad and desolate. He looked from
person to person trying to locate the only face that mattered to him. Not
seeing her, he approached her friend, Charlie. “Hey, where’s Sam?”

“Oh
hey, Lance. She went to the ladies’ room. She’s really worried about Sydney.”
Her brows furrowed, and she tilted her head to the side like she was thinking.
Then she looked at her watch. “You know, she’s been gone longer than I’d
realized.”

She
turned towards the door, still wearing a befuddled expression. Deciding he
needed to check on his absent mate, he reached out and stopped Charlie’s
progress to the door. She looked over her shoulder, and he could see why she
and Sam were such good friends. They definitely shared strength of will. “Let
me go check on her and see if there’s anything I can do help. Why don’t you
check with the police to see if they have any new information?”

He
watched her inner debate and saw when she resigned to letting him handle the
situation. “Okay,” she said hesitantly, and then reached out and grabbed his
arm, squeezing for emphasis. “But you better take care of her or you’ll have to
deal with me.” She looked directly in his eyes, and he saw with all certainty
that she meant every word she said.

“Yes,
ma’am, you have my word.” Before he could say anymore, she released his arm and
spun on her heels, obviously satisfied with his response.

Without
another thought, he headed out into the hall following the scent of his wayward
mate. As he passed the nurse’s station, he asked if there was a doctor’s lounge
nearby and was told there were
only the
restrooms next to the elevators. He looked towards the end of the hall and
realized that Sam’s scent was heading in the exact opposite direction, towards
the stairs. A bad feeling slithered down his spine as he headed towards the
door, picking up the increasing intensity of Sam’s scent.
Damn her!
He
was immediately pissed with himself. He never should have taken his eyes off of
her.

Racing
down the two flights of stairs using some of his enhanced speed, but not
wanting to draw any attention from all the people searching for Sydney, he
called to the men of his Force,
“Doc snuck out while we were talking. I’m
following her scent, but keep an eye out.”

“Told
you she would get what she wanted one way or another,”
Aidan
chuckled.
“Which exit did she take?”

“Side
exit next to Emergency.
I just came through
the door,”
he
growled, ignoring the dig from
Aidan.

“I’m
closest. I’ll circle around the backside. She already knows me so, if I see
her, she won’t freak out,”
Royce responded.

 Lance
could hear the smile in his voice and thanked the Heavens that he didn’t
comment any farther on the whole ‘mate thing’. He couldn’t resist messing with
the elder Guardsman, even though getting Sam back was his priority.
“And the
Heavens know she’ll be able to see your pretty hair from a mile away.”

“Afraid
she’ll like my pretty hair more than yours, Smartass?”
Royce laughed, and Lance felt the instant jealousy that came from the mating
bond once again. He knew he had nothing to fear from his long-time friend, but
the need to have Sam in his arms and mark her as his damn near brought him to
his knees. As soon they found her, he was going to kiss her silly and then swat
her ass until she couldn’t sit for a week. Just the thought of her luscious
rear end caused his cock to jump in his jeans.
Damn! This mating shit just
did not let up!
To make matters worse, his dragon was right on board,
feeding the erotic images racing through his mind and riding him hard to take
action.

“Whatever,
Grandpa.
I doubt she’s into carrot tops.”

He
missed everything that Royce said as he rounded the corner of the hospital and
looked across the parking lot. There, standing across the street, holding the
little blonde haired beauty while she licked an ice cream cone, was Andrew.
With no other thought but to rescue the little girl and kill the bastard
holding her, he tore across the parking lot, yelling through mind speak to all
that could hear.
“Andrew’s across the street holding Sydney! Get your asses
around here!”

As
he reached the last grassy area before the street, a city bus passed in front
of him. His next look showed Sydney standing alone on the sidewalk still eating
her ice cream cone. He raced across the street, stopping as soon as he stepped
onto the curb, not wanting to scare her. His brethren were shouting directions
to one another through their link as they ran across the crowded parking lot.
Aaron and Aidan had taken off to the right, Royce and Devon to the left in an
effort to track the traitor. He walked slowly towards the child who seemed to
not have a care in the world and was seriously enjoying her ice cream. She
stopped and smiled. “Are you Lance?”

Shocked
that she was so calm, and even more so, that she knew his name, he stopped a
few feet from her and squatted so that they were closer to the same height. He
had been around enough of the young
vibrias
at
the lair to know that his size could be intimidating; not that Sydney seemed
scared in the slightest. Examining her with all of his enhanced senses, he was
relieved to see that no harm had come to her. It was small consolation, but at
least Andrew had not slipped so far into insanity that he would harm a child.
The traitor had obviously used the child to send some kind of twisted message,
and Lance would figure it out, but he needed to make sure he wasn’t missing
anything and that Sydney was really all right before deciphering the actions of
a mad man.  As he continued to check the child for injuries both
physically and emotionally, he could see why Sam was so fond of the child. She
was a mini version of the vibrant woman herself. The intelligence in her eyes
shone bright, and she had a strength not often seen in someone so young. He
found no fear at all after having been kidnapped and then left on the side of
the road. “Yes, I am. Are you Sydney?”

Blonde
curls bounced in every direction as she nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
She took another lick of her ice cream just before it dripped on her hand. “Do
you know Dr. Sam?”

“Yes,
I do.”

“Do
you know Andrew?”

Her
question concerning the traitor caused his muscles to tense. He worked hard to
keep the tension from his face and voice. Sydney was definitely perceptive
enough to pick up any change in his demeanor, and he needed her to tell him
everything she knew. “Yes, I do. Do you?”

She
thought for a second while she took another lick of her cone. When she
answered, he could feel her confusion, but still no fear, “Well, not really. He
said he was a friend of Dr. Sam and that she said it was okay for me to go with
him to get a treat. Then he brought me out here, and we walked around for a few
minutes.” She looked around and then frowned. “He’s kind of weird.” No sooner
had the words left her mouth than her eyes grew big and round, she gasped, and
smacked her hand over her mouth. The child let her head fall forward and then
looked up at him through her thick dark lashes. “Sorry. It’s not nice to say
bad things about people. Please don’t tell Miss Crutchfield.”

He
bit the insides of his cheeks to keep from smiling, “Your secret’s safe with
me.” He winked to secure their pact, and in the next breath, she once again
held her head high and smiled a sweet smile that only came from one so young.

“Thanks!
You’re pretty cool.”

“Thank
you, Miss Sydney. You’re pretty cool yourself.” The child blushed, and for the
first time in his very long life, he wondered what it would feel like to have a
child of his own. Shaking his head in the hopes of restoring his sanity, he
decided it was time to get the child back into the hospital and see what she
could tell him about her abductor.

“It’s
a little chilly to be standing out here in just a robe and slippers, Miss
Sydney.
Whatcha
say I pick you up, and we head back
over to the hospital and see if we can find Dr. Sam?”

“Okay,
Lance.” She took the few steps that separated them, and without any hesitation,
took her one free hand and wrapped it around his neck as he lifted her. Once
again, he pictured himself with children of his own, little girls with big blue
eyes and long, dark, curly hair creating as much trouble as possible. 

He
carried Sydney across the street as she slurped the last of the ice cream from
her cone and frowned. “What’s the matter? Don’t like the cone?”

She
scrunched up her button nose and shook her head, “Nope. I only like the ice
cream.”

He
chuckled and headed to the large trash can sitting next to a bench on one of
the grassy sections in the parking lot. As he leaned over to let Sydney drop
her empty squishy cone into the receptacle, the unmistakable scent of jasmine
and honeysuckle wafted under his nose. He turned just in time to see Sam
barreling towards them. Stray strands of her unruly mane had escaped from her
braid and were blowing in every direction. Her dark brown eyes were wide and
cheeks bright red with exertion. She jumped the few inches onto the grass and
launched in their direction, grabbing both of them in a huge bear hug, careful
of Sydney’s incision.