shift happens 03 - no were to run (23 page)

He waited for a response, but I was still choking on my tears.

“Would it help if I let you zap my ass with that pink fire you have? How about I keep letting you call me names with ass in it. I’ve grown partial to Asscanoe. However, I’ll fry the living hell out of anyone that dares to call me that but you. Dima, please stop crying. I didn’t mean it.”

“You didn’t?” I asked as I peeked at him through splayed fingers.

“Fuck.” He let his head fall back on his shoulders and he groaned at the ceiling. “Yes, I did mean it, but if it upsets you this much we can pretend that I don’t like you at all. Will that work?”

“No, Asscanoe. That won’t work,” I said as a little grin pulled at my still trembling lips.

“Help me out,” he said, removing my hands from my face. “Not real sure how to proceed here.”

“I love you,” I said.

Nicolai looked terrified and I laughed.

“Call me crazy, but I’m just going to ask you exactly what I’m supposed to do,” he said warily.

“You say you love me too.”

“Will that result in a sob-fest again?”

“Those were happy tears,” I told him with a giggle as I wiped away a few stray droplets.

“Sweet Jesus, this is far more complicated than I’d anticipated.”

“Do you want out?” I asked as I scooted closer and smoothed my hand over his wrinkled brow.

“No. I do not want out,” he informed me in the same tone he used to talk to his lieutenants. “However, a comprehensive list of what you mean as opposed to what your words and actions imply would be extremely helpful.”

“I don’t come with an instruction manual.”

He stared at me with a bemused expression for a long moment. “Well, this certainly won’t be boring.”

He was right. Our life together would be anything but boring.

Chapter 20

“The shit has hit the fan. I repeat. The shee-ot has hit the fan,” Junior shouted with glee as he typed on his computer like he was hopped up on a vat of caffeine.

“It’s working?” Nicolai asked as he looked over Junior’s shoulder with a wicked grin on his handsome face.

“Like a goddang dream,” Junior said. “Going faster than I thought. The press is all over it and the King has made a statement that it’s sabotage. Says he knows who did it and he’s going after them. The world thinks he’s right off his rocker.”

“The world is right,” I muttered. “How is it being explained in the press?”

“Basically they’re telling a version of the truth and leaving off the fact that the bastard is over a thousand years old. It’s being reported that every cent he had was gained through blackmail and extortion and then invested through questionably legal means,” Junior explained as he texted on his phone and answered emails on his laptop, while watching several other computer screens at the same time. “We might have doctored the proof just a bit, but no one was gonna buy nine hundred year old cases.”

“You’re multi-tasking skills exceed mine,” Nicolai commented as he gestured for all the lieutenants to be seated.

It was Friday evening and our mission was a Go in a little over twenty-four hours. I was antsy to get started. I wanted it over with and I wanted to have my happy ever after—the very one I never thought I would have.

“The Cows and Vamps will be here tomorrow morning,” Junior said, not looking up from the computer.

Looks were exchanged between the Dragons, but they stayed silent. However, I did not.

“What do you mean the Cows and the Vamps are coming?” I growled. “They’re watching over Daniel. They can’t come here.”

“I asked them to come,” Nicolai said calmly. “Now that everything is about to go down, they’ll be safer here. We have a bunker that goes several stories underground and we’ll be leaving a contingency of Dragons behind for protection.”

“Don’t you think I should have been consulted about this?” I asked in a tone that made everyone in the room duck for cover.

“I did this for you,” Nicolai said not backing down. “I want our child to be safe.”

The
our child
thing secretly thrilled me, but he wasn’t our child. He was mine and I made the decisions for him.

“You will tell them to turn around now,” I said. “You had no right to do this without my permission.”

“It was a group decision,” Seth cut in before I could shoot a fireball at Nicolai and singe the eyebrows off his face. “I had a vision and I’m the one who put the plan into action, not Nicolai.”

“What did you see?” I demanded. “Did you see Daniel being harmed where he is now?”

The thought made me ill.

“No, my visions are mostly positive. I saw you holding Daniel in your arms and kissing him before you went into battle. I took it as a sign that he should be here.”

I took three deep breaths and got a handle on my need to blow up the Command Room. I needed to speak and I needed to be understood.

“Look here’s the deal guys, I’m not used to people making decisions for me or even giving a shit about my welfare, for that matter. While it’s alarmingly nice, you can
never
make a decision about my son without my knowledge again. Are we clear?” My tone was terse and I was holding onto my temper with difficulty, but I was okay with it this time. Next time…

“I told you we should have checked with her,” Lenny said giving Nicolai a look.

“Fine,” Nicolai shouted. “When I knew what was happening, I ordered everyone to stay quiet. I wanted to surprise you.”

“Manual item number one,” I said as I got right up in my Dragon’s face. “Do. Not. Surprise. Me. When. My. Son’s. Life. Is. Involved.”

“Cade, write that down and put it in a file called Understanding Dima,” Nicolai snapped in frustration. “I will never get women,” he muttered.

“Alrightyroo,” Junior said with a relieved whistle. “Now that we got that solved with no bloodshed, you should know that the Cows plan to fight along side you.”

“Why?” Elaina asked. “This is not their battle.”

“With all due respect, I beg to differ,” Junior said as he stopped typing and glanced up at the shocked faces in the room. “The sumbitch who’s soon to be dead is the same peckerhead who ordered the mass destruction of their species. Over ninety-nine percent of their population was taken out because of the Dragon King. They want revenge and trust me, you want them on your side in this battle. However, I’d just like to put it out there that everyone should get a nose plug.”

“Why?” Seth asked as he paled a bit.

“Dima, you wanna clue them in or should I?” Junior asked, snickering like a middle school boy.

“Well,” I hedged trying to figure out a way to explain the Cow’s methods without using the word fart in a sentence. “They, um…emit lethal explosions that are, um… pungent.”

“Oh for God’s sake,” Junior laughed and shook his head. “She means they blow deadly butt farts.”

“I’m sorry. What?” Elaina asked with a scrunched nose and an appalled expression.

“They can singe the hair off your head and blind you with their bottoms.” I winced and threw my hands in the air. “Junior’s correct. They fart and it’s the most horrendous thing I’ve ever seen.”

“You mean smelled,” Junior added, helping me out.

“Yes, smelled. As long as you’re upwind or next to them it’s tolerable, but if you’re in the line of fire, you’re dead.”

“Is this a joke?” Nicolai asked as he gaped open-mouthed at me and Junior.

“No, it’s not,” I said.

There was about five minutes of silence while the Dragons mulled this new stinky twist over.

“I’ve heard of this,” Lenny said trying not to laugh and failing miserably. “At this point I say we accept their generous offer and let them help avenge their race.”

“Seriously?” Nicolai asked with a grimace.

“Yes, I agree with Lenny. They’re lovely people and they deserve to be there as much as we do.” I finished my piece and took a seat. My stomach was flipping with excitement at the thought of seeing Daniel and I began counting the minutes until tomorrow morning.

“I agree as well,” Elaina said. “The King’s tyranny has been devastating to our race, but we’re still here. The Cows are not. I will fight along side them proudly.”

“Make sure you stay beside and not in front of,” Junior recommended in total seriousness as he went back to his computers.

“Will do,” Elaina said.

“As you know,” Nicolai said, staring at the maps I’d provided of my father’s compound. “We have no intel on the inside. We do have spies surrounding the area, but we’ve been banking on the fact that he’ll stay there. That could prove to be our downfall.”

The silence was loaded as everyone considered this possible clusterfuck of a wrinkle.

“The press is tracking his every move at this point,” I said, speaking my thoughts aloud as they formed in my head. “If he moves it will be publicized and we’ll just be ready to abort mission one and move on mission two.”

Nicolai nodded. “It’s the best we can do. We’ve never had such a brilliant opening until now. We’ll make it work no matter where we have to go.”

“It has to stay covert so the humans don’t figure anything out that could harm them or reveal us,” Seth added.

“Agreed,” Nicolai said with a curt nod. “We want as few casualties as possible. I don’t want the humans even remotely involved, but if it comes down to getting the King or losing him—we get him. Clear?”

“The King—for lack of a better word—will be at the compound. He won’t leave his hoard behind,” Lenny said with more anger than I’d seen in the brief time I’d known him.

“Um, news flash here, guys,” Junior said, glancing up from the computer in alarm. “I’m destroying his hoard as we speak.”

“You’re destroying
part
of his hoard,” Lenny corrected him. “You’re bringing down a very public and important part of his hoard that will throw his army and loyalists into chaos, but a Dragon always keeps the most valuable part of his hoard very close.”

“You know what his hoard is?” I asked, unable to imagine what other horrible thing my father had done to have something more valuable than the billions of ill-gotten dollars in his hoard.

“I have my suspicions,” Lenny said tightly.

“And that’s all we’re going to get?” I was so frustrated with my
grandfather’s
cryptic ways. But Lenny only would let you know what he wanted you to know when he was ready to share it.

“Is there anything I can do to destroy the rest of his hoard?” Junior asked. “I have a lot of great minds at my disposal right now.”

“No,” Lenny said. “The false king has already done much to harm this section of his hoard.”

“Do we need to search out this treasure and destroy it when we’re in the compound?” I asked wanting to make sure if my father somehow escaped us, we could completely decimate everything of value to him.

Lenny stared at me for a bizarrely long beat and then shook his head. “No. I’ll be keeping this part of the hoard if it still exists.”

“Fine,” Nicolai said. “You deserve to have whatever you want from that bastard after being tortured in his dungeon for hundreds of years. I will personally help you find this treasure and kill anyone who tries to take it from you.”

“I’m in too,” Maria vowed. “I will kill the fucking shit out of anyone who messes with you, Great-Grandpa.”

God, I really had to have a talk with her about her language. She was a hot mess of profanity.

“Thank you, child,” Lenny said as he stood and kissed Maria on the head. “You do your father and mother proud.”

Maria bowed her head and was silent. Hell, we all were.

“We must sleep,” Elaina said, breaking the silence. “We have much to accomplish in the next twenty-four hours and rest is imperative.”

With nods, handshakes and hugs we parted.

“You’re coming with me,” Nicolai said with a gleam of childlike excitement in his eyes.

“Am I?” I asked as I squinted at him and tried not to smile.

“Yep, you are.”

He drove me nuts and made me feel loved.

I’d follow him to the ends of the earth.

Chapter 21

“Close your eyes,” Nicolai said, barely able to contain himself as he led me into his quarters.

Having the deadliest Dragon alive behave like an excited child on Christmas morning was a little disconcerting, but I was going with it.

“Okay…open,” he said.

I opened my eyes and my hand flew to my mouth. My ever-present tears of late filled my eyes and I gasped with joy. This was impossible. How did he do this?

“Please tell me those are happy tears,” Nicolai pleaded as he backed away in fear of the unknown mood swings of the female Dragon named Dima.

I nodded and gave him a watery smile as I slowly walked around the main living area touching all the colorful treasures. It was filled with toys—trains and trucks and coloring books and so much more I couldn’t even take it all in. It looked liked ten toy stores had exploded in his suite. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.