Alyx grimaced. She knew she shouldn't have told Sarah, but she needed her best friend so desperately right now.
“Look, I know you don't believe me,” Alyx said. “And I don't need you to. I'm safe now. I would have called you earlier, but I'm in hiding. And I don't want the dragons to target you because of me.”
“I can come and get you,” Sarah said pleadingly. “Come on, Alyx. You know I'm not scared of dragons. I'll fetch you and get you out of there. We'll drive you straight to the police. Everything will be okay, I promise.”
Alyx wiped at her eyes, taking a deep breath. “You don't know how much I want to see you right now,” she said softly. “I could really need some advice. I met this guy, you see—he saved me. He got me out of there. I think I'm in love with him.”
She knew she was in love with him—but how could she explain the connection between them to Sarah?
She's just going to think that I'm crazy. If the dragons haven't done it already.
“Uh-huh,” Sarah said carefully. “Alyx, is that guy holding you against your will? Just tell me where you are. Please.”
“You don't understand,” Alyx said in frustration. “I thought we had a thing, you know? A real connection—but now he stormed off, and he refused to tell me what's wrong with him, and what if it's like that thing with Eloy all over again? What if something in me scares off men as soon as it gets serious? I know I'm not perfect. I work too much, I love my job too much, I have too many opinions on—on interior decorating and fashion and more nail polishes than a single person needs and—”
“Alyx. You've been kidnapped! Whatever happened to you, it sounds like you've been through a lot. So please, honey, shut up, stop worrying about some guy, and let me help you get out of there.”
Alyx exhaled, smiling sadly at her phone. “I knew you wouldn't understand. Honestly, I'm safe right now. I'd love to meet up—I promise I will, as soon as possible! But the dragon shifters are still after me. I'm not going to involve you in this. You're my best friend! I can't put you in danger.”
“No way,” Sarah said resolutely. “Alyx, if you don't tell me where you are right this instant, I'm going to send out the cavalry.”
Shit.
Wing Island was private—carefully kept out of the public eye, advertising only to shifters.
Alyx didn't think Timothy and Liana would like it at all if the police showed up at their door all of a sudden. Especially when they'd been such good hosts.
“Don't tell anyone, please. I'll tell you where I am. You can come visit me to see that I'm all right.” Timothy and Liana probably wouldn't mind. Liana had told her that her sister often came to visit over the weekend, so obviously exceptions were made for the relatives of a human mate.
Not that Braeden and I are mated yet, she thought morosely. Maybe we'll never be.
“Wing Island,” Alyx said with a sigh. “I'm on Wing Island. It's private. I'm safe here—no one's going to find me. You can't tell anyone. Promise me you won't.”
“I promise,” Sarah said, still sounding incredibly worried. “Don't move, okay? I'll be out there as fast as I can.”
“Oh, I'm not going anywhere,” Alyx promised. “I've had enough of being plucked up by giant claws and getting dragged down a mountain.”
Then she hesitated a moment. “Actually, you know what? Give me a call when you're close, and I'll meet you on the beach. There's a tiny road leading onto the peninsula. I'll meet you there.”
“It'll take a few hours,” Sarah said.
In the background, Alyx could hear the sound of things hastily getting shoved into a bag.
“But I'm coming. Okay?”
“Okay,” Alyx said, filled with gratitude. That was real friendship—driving for hours in the middle of the night because your friend had relationship troubles.
Or had been kidnapped by dragons.
“And Sarah? I'm really fine. But I'm glad you're coming,” she said softly, smiling when she ended the call.
She already felt better. Maybe it would all work out somehow. Getting to talk to Sarah had been the best cure for heartache. It had always been.
It almost felt like her life was back to normal.
***
She'd taken the phone back with her into the bedroom. She'd slept for several hours—she hadn't slept well, because she kept thinking about Braeden's weird reaction. But at least she'd gotten a little sleep when the phone rang again.