I Like Big Dragons and I Cannot Lie (The I Like Big Dragons Series) (12 page)

I winced, climbing to my feet and surveying the damage.

Dragons did much the same around us, coming to their feet from where they’d gone down.

“So it has a timer,” I surmised.

The building was trashed.

Nothing viable remained.

Bricks were scattered about fifty to a hundred feet in a large arc surrounding the building.

“Boss,” Jose called from behind me.

I blinked, turning my face to Jose.

“Yeah?” I asked.

He pointed to a spot on the ground, and I looked down to see my phone on the stained concrete at my feet, buzzing.

I swooped down, picking it up from ground, and grimacing when I got a look at the cracked screen.

“I keep telling you not to leave it in your front pocket,” Nikolai chastised.

I flipped him off and opened the phone by sliding my thumb against the bottom of the screen, happy to see that it at least still worked mostly.

I winced when I saw that there’d been at least seven missed calls from Blythe.

Remembering what she’d said when I’d gotten hurt by the dragon’s claw ripping into my arm earlier in the week, I hit Go as I called her back.

“Why do you keep getting hurt?” She yelled worriedly.

I smiled. “I’m okay.”

“You’ve hurt your head and your back. And I stabbed a patient with a tongue depressor,” Blythe yelled.

I snorted. “I’m sure your patient will live.”

She hissed, “What happened?”

I closed my eyes, broke down, and told her.

I knew she’d be worried.

Hell,
I
was worried.

If I wanted the same courtesy extended to me, then I’d have to do the same for her when I needed to.

And right now was one of those times.

So I explained the last fifteen minutes.

“Holy shit,” she breathed. “That could’ve been very,
very
bad.”

I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me.

“That it could have,” I agreed solemnly.

“Is Story okay?” She worried.

I looked over to Story and Declan, relieved to see that they were both okay, albeit a little shaken up.

She’s fine,
Declan promised.

I assumed he projected that to the both of us, because in the next moment, Blythe said a very relieved, “Good!”

“Alright, baby. I’ve got to go. We have some things we need to figure out, but I’ll still be there to pick you up after your shift, okay?” I promised.

“Yeah, honey. That’s fine. I’ll see you in a few,” she whispered.

We both stayed silent, waiting for words that neither one of us had said, but both of us felt.

It went on so long that I finally said, “Bye, baby.”

I’d say it eventually, though. I just needed to hear it from her, first.

“What do you want us to do?” Nikolai asked impatiently the moment I disconnected.

I looked at the men surrounding me. At Declan, who was still next to Story.

Murder rippling over the scales of his back and sparking in his eyes.

Nikolai and Perdita watching me with anticipation.

“We go hunting,” I answered threateningly. “Nikolai, go to the parking garage, see what you can find. Jose, you and Sin go to the sanctuary with Story. Watch over her and let us know the minute you get home. Declan, you’re with me.”

“And where are you going?” Nikolai asked.

I smiled.

It wasn’t a pretty smile, either.

It was one filled with promises of death and dismemberment.

“Declan and I are going to go have a chat with Father Joseph,” I smiled.

Declan shivered and watched closely as the others did my bidding.

Story got up into the air without any effort, flying away and disappearing before all our eyes.

Nikolai mounted Perdita’s back and flew out, leaving four men at my back, and Declan at my front.

“Alright, boys,” I called, turning to the men left.

All of them were dragon riders.

I didn’t bring anyone in to work for me that I didn’t trust implicitly.

They worked with me day in and day out, hand in hand with me and my family.

Ford, Alaric, Jean Luc, and Dorian were four of my best men, and I knew they’d take care of the shop for me while I was gone.

None of our properties were ever left unprotected.

Had something happened to the sanctuary, the shop would be the next best thing as a temporary headquarters for the dragons, due to its extensive warding and spells.

Not that they made a fucking difference today, seeing as Story was shot right outside the fucking ward.

“Take care of the place. Get the work done that needs to be done. I’ll be back later,” I told them, then I mounted Declan’s back, and we rode to Father Joseph’s house of worship.

“So, who was that man earlier?
How’d you meet him?” Brooklyn asked as we rode down the elevator later that day.

I grimaced.

Brooklyn and I had been best friends for a really long time, so it was odd for me not to tell her something as important as this.

But how did you tell your best friend that you’re mated to a dragon rider? And that I could now set my vagina on fire to wax my hair?

“I met him when he came over to get his brother out of Macy’s apartment. He’s the one that makes her scream so loud,” I informed her.

“The brother, or the man you slept with?” Brooklyn asked in confusion.

I looked at her in outrage.

“The brother! Keifer’s mine!” I
exclaimed in affront.

Brooklyn laughed.

“So you what…saw him and asked him to come jump in your pants?” She asked with a leer.

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“No. Yes. Well, maybe. I’ve only known him a few days,” I finally settled on.

That was okay, wasn’t it?

Then she wouldn’t think I was keeping anything from her because I hadn’t known him long enough, right?

Wrong.

She knew me.

When you start nursing school, you form a bond with your classmates.

A bond that lets the other know which role you’ll take.

Kind of like you spread the ass cheeks while I do the wiping kind of bond.

It was forged out of necessity, and we knew each other better than we knew ourselves.

Which was why she didn’t buy the whole, ‘I’ve only known him for a while’ spiel.

“Blythe,” she sighed tiredly. “If you’re not ready to talk about it yet, then just say that. Don’t lie to me, though.”

The elevator doors opened, and I settled on a little bit of truth.

“He’s a part of The Dragon’s Warriors MC,” I told her hastily as she walked quickly out of the elevator to allow a man in a wheelchair to come in.

I followed behind her as I told her that, and she whirled around.

“Do you know who they are?” she asked suddenly.

My brows furrowed.

“Yeah, why?” I asked.

I’d actually looked up the MC in my spare time today and was surprised that they actually had a website. They also had a riding schedule, a fundraising page for the community, and volunteer events that they’d be attending.

“They’re…they’re dragon riders. Like real ones!” She whispered frantically.

I blinked.

“Yeah,” I said slowly. “So?”

Her eyes widened. “So? Do you know how bad they are?”

I blinked.

“Bad?” I parroted.

She nodded fiercely. “My uncle Joseph goes on and on about how bad they are. How evil they are, and what they do to the world. They’re bad people and the dragons are bad, too.”

I was shaking my head before she’d even finished.

“They’re not bad people,” I denied, my stomach tightening in realization that my best friend didn’t understand. “They’re actually really good. I promise. I wouldn’t be with Keifer if he were bad.”

She worried her lip.

“I only know what my Uncle Joseph tells me, and I do trust your judgment. But please be careful before you get too far in and can’t get yourself back out again,” she whispered.

She was whispering now, because Keifer was on his bike directly in front of us, watching the two of us converse in low whispers.

He didn’t get up and come over, though, and I was thankful he gave me that.

Brooklyn was a good person, but she’d been raised in an Amish commune, of all places.

She’d been shunned after her Rumspringa when she didn’t return to her family and went to school to become a nurse instead. She hadn’t been back since.

Her Uncle Joseph was the only family member to have any contact with her, and that was only because he himself had been shunned, and knew what it felt like.

But it was obvious that her uncle had been feeding her garbage and not being much of a friend in her time of need.

“Do you want to meet him?” I asked quietly.

Brooklyn’s brown eyes widened, and I could swear that she was trembling.

When she didn’t answer, I smiled and took hold of her hand.

“Come on, you’ll love him,” I urged, pulling her the rest of the way to Keifer.

Keifer’s eyes took everything in as we walked towards him, and he smiled once his eyes caught onto my new mating tattoo on my wrists.

Causing him to look down at his own with a small smile on his face before looking back up.

The entire time, I could feel Brooklyn dragging her feet.

Had she really not wanted to do it, though, I knew she would’ve said no. She was good at saying no.

I, on the other hand, wasn’t. Which hinted why I was here with Keifer in the first place, because it was obvious that most sane people wouldn’t have gone with a man they didn’t know who was telling her how to control her powers.

“Hey, baby,” Keifer murmured softly once we were close enough.

He dismounted his bike, a different one than before, and stood up to his full height.

I felt Brooklyn tense, and her feet start to drag even more, but she made it to him and stopped slightly to the left of my right shoulder.

“Hey, Keifer,” I whispered happily.

Keifer’s eyes smiled down at me, and then moved to Brooklyn before going back to me.

One brow was raised in question, and shrugged. “I wanted you to meet Brooklyn Abernathy, my best friend in the entire world. Brooklyn, this is Keifer Vassago.”

Brooklyn’s mouth dropped open, and I had to smother the urge to laugh.

Yeah, if you’re not getting it by now, Vassago was a huge name around Dallas, and hell, even in the entire Northern Hemisphere.

“Nice to meet you, Brooklyn Abernathy,” Keifer nodded formally.

Brooklyn gave him a small smile. “Nice to meet you too, Mr. Vassago.”

Keifer grinned, “Call me Keifer.”

Brooklyn swallowed. “Call me Brooklyn.”

“Brooklyn wanted to meet the man that I disappeared off the face of the Earth for,” I teased.

Brooklyn denied it, but I could tell it was only halfhearted. She really did want to meet Keifer.

She was protective over the few friends that she had, having known what it felt like to lose those she called hers.

“That would be me,” Keifer rumbled. “I’m sorry to have caused you undue worry. I’ll be sure to have Blythe call you, have I a need to kidnap her again.”

Brooklyn burst out laughing, and I knew Keifer had broken through.

I winked at him before pulling Brooklyn into my arms.

“I’ll see you tomorrow for the big test!” I called with false cheer.

Tomorrow was the final test of our entire nursing career before finals, and from what we’d heard, it was also the hardest.

Brooklyn was a fucking beast, though, and usually had no problem learning the material.

I, on the other hand, didn’t absorb it as easily as she did, and I was always forcing myself to sit down and study when I really,
really
didn’t want to.

“Make sure you make some notecards. And you need to make sure to bring your clinical notes for her to sign off on. Okay?” Brooklyn whispered into my shoulder.

I patted her back. “Yes, Mom.”

Brooklyn punched me in the leg before she sighed. “See you tomorrow. It was nice to meet you, Keifer. Make sure she studies.”

Brooklyn left, and Keifer wrapped his arm around me as he watched her go.

“You got a good friend, there,” Keifer promised with assurance. “I could tell she didn’t want to come over here, but I knew she’d do it for you. Take care of her. She’s sad.”

I blinked and turned into his arms. “How do you know she’s sad?”

He gestured to her as she walked away. “The way she walks. She feels sad when she talks. I don’t know. I just know.”

I blinked, and shook my head. “She’s Amish… well she was Amish. Hell, I don’t know what that is anymore. When she came of age, she went out on her Rumspringa—when all Amish youth go out to get some life experiences—except she didn’t want to go back after it was all said and done, and she lost her family. I think she’s upset about not being able to see her little sister most of all.”

Keifer made a sound of agreement. “Nobody deserves to lose their family, Drakina.”

I blinked. “Drakina?”

Keifer nodded and turned to mount his bike before answering.

“Drakina is what dragons call their mates. Seems fitting, doesn’t it?” He asked with a smile.

I nodded in understanding.

“Yeah, I guess it does,” I handed him my bag.

He stowed it in the saddle bags, and offered me his hands.

“Hop on, Drakina,” he ordered with a wink.

I smiled, took his hand, and ‘hopped on.’

He started the bike up and yelled over his shoulder. “I have a few people I’d like you to meet!”

I leaned forward and gave him a kiss on his shoulder since it was the only thing I could reach.

“Sounds good, Dragon,” I teased.

His eyes were alight with humor as he looked at me over his shoulder.

“Seems fitting, too,” he murmured before he roared out of the parking lot.

95% of the time when I’m smiling, it’s over something I said, not over something you said.

-Blythe to Brooklyn

Blythe

We arrived at an enormous warehouse off the Old East Side twenty minutes later.

Instead of stopping at the front door, like I’d assumed he was going to do, someone opened the massive front door a crack, and Keifer rode straight in.