The redhead straightens, sensing danger. His eyes flare red.
I hold up my hands. No sense going up armed against a dragon. Not when he can transform and breathe fire. “I just want to talk,” I say in English and repeat the phrase in French.
The redhead wheels from the wall, turning to run in the opposite direction.
Deke falls from the roof of the club, cutting off his escape. Now the target is pinned between me and Deke, with Channing standing guard at the mouth of the alley.
There’s a shout and a flare of heat behind me. I duck. A ball of fire blazes over my head, barely missing Deke. He ducks to tackle the redhead.
Channing drags a second dark-haired dragon shifter into the alley. I help hold him down and cuff him. The dragon struggles. Sparks fly from his fingers, but the second the silver cuffs are on him the flames snuff out. Nothing but smoke.
“No more fireballs, asshole.” Channing shoves the dark-haired shifter’s shoulder.
“Fucking dogs,” the shifter on the pavement says. His accent is more English than French. We pull him to his feet. He has the same pale, freckled face as his brother.
“There’s two of them,” Channing says.
“Gemini dragons.” I turn. Deke has the redhead by the collar, both of them looking towards the first dragon shifter’s brother. The redhead isn’t resisting now that we have his brother. It’s a standoff.
“You British?” Channing asks.
“Fuck no,” both the brothers say. Mentally I name the red-head Castor and his brother, Pollux.
Pollux sneers., “We’re Welsh.”
“Enough.” I wave a hand. “Stand down. Channing, uncuff him.”
Channing obeys without a word. I spread my hands. “We come in peace. We just want to talk.”
“About what?” Smoke streams from Castor’s nostrils, even though his cigarette is long gone.
“About Gabriel Dieter.”
Pollux, now free from the silver cuffs, chafes the red marks on his wrists and curses. “We don’t fuck with him.”
“We just need intel,” I say.
“Nah, man,” Pollux says, going to stand by his red-haired brother, “We stay out of his way.”
Deke speaks up. “You're not strong enough to stand against him, are you?”
Castor sniffs. “He's old, man, real old.”
“Dark ages old,” adds Pollux.
“You know how old creatures can get,” Castor says. His voice twines with his brother’s.
“Nothing to live for. Nothing to do but play their mind games.”
“Like leeches,” I say.
“Right,” Castor snaps his finger and another flame dances over his finger tip. “They’re bored.”
“Bored,” I echo.
“Yeah,” Pollux turns up the collar of his coat. “They like their games. Dieter's enjoyed putting one over on you.”
“The thing is, he’s taken someone from us. The best friend of my mate. She was under our protection.”
The twins fall silent.
“You don’t know me, and I don’t know you,” I say. “But this woman doesn’t deserve to be in Dieter’s clutches.”
The dragons exchange puzzled looks. “But she’s his mate,” they say at the same time.
Shit. I was afraid of this.
“He may think that…”
“No, no, man. He was asleep for fucking centuries. He came awake because of her. He’s been shaking this world down, searching all over.”
“Fuck me,” Channing mutters exactly what I’m thinking.
I want to rub my forehead. Fucking dragon smoke giving me a headache. “All we want is to get her back. Make sure she’s safe. She doesn’t know about our world.”
“By now, she does,” Pollux mutters.
“All right then,” I say. “But it should be her choice.”
“You going against the dragon?” Now Castor looks interested. “You better bring reinforcements.”
“We can get them.”
The twins blink.
“No one goes against Dieter,” Pollux says.
Castor still looks intrigued. “We're supposed to warn him if you come. But you know what? I don't think we will.”
The twins exchange a grin. One is a mirror image of the other. “If he’s bored, let’s change up the game.”
“You help us, we owe you one,” I say.
“Nah, man, you’re cool.” Castor waves my offer away. He pulls out another cigarette and puts it to his lips before lighting it with his finger tips. “Dieter’s been on top too long. Feel free to take him down.”
Ten minutes later, Deke, Channing, and I walk out of the alley, leaving the Gemini dragons smoking–literally–in the alley.
I pull out my com. “Colonel, did you get that?”
Colonel Johnson’s voice crackles on the other end of the line. “Lance sent me the feed. I heard everything.”
“Silver works on dragons. We have confirmation. And now we have Dieter’s address. A castle in Romania,” Channing reports.
“Good work, boys,” Johnson rasps.
“If we’re going to do this, we need to bring the whole fucking calvary,” I say.
“The cavalry is ready and waiting on your orders,” Johnson says.
“Let’s do it.” I turn to Channing and Deke. “Operation Dragonfall is about to begin.”
Gabriel
I sweep around the ballroom floor with Tabitha in my arms. Nothing has ever felt so right. So perfect.
The villagers are as enthralled by her as I am, and she’s the perfect hostess even though she doesn’t speak Romanian. Her warmth and genuine presence come through her smiles and warm handshakes.