Tropical Lion's Legacy (Shifting Sands Resort 9)

Darla pinched him and said, “Ouch!” as she hurt herself as well.

“So, you’re the King of the Jungle.” Neal smirked as Bastian dug into his first aid kit.

“Don’t they realize that lions don’t eve

n usually live in the jungle?” Tony asked drolly.

“King of the Savannah doesn’t have quite the same ring,” Bastian observed thoughtfully, unwinding a roll of cloth.

“Besides,” Alice pointed out, “this lion lives in a jungle.”

At one time, not so long ago, Graham could have imagined nothing worse than facing the staff with the truth of his past. Now, he gave a gruff laugh that turned to a hiss of pain as Bastian tied off the binding around his chest. Alice’s hand in his tightened.

“You’re going to have some good bruises,” Bastian observed, his look suggesting that he guessed some of the other, less-obvious injuries Graham had taken. “Hope that Beehag’s drug wears off soon, because shifting will do more for you than I can.”

Tex had been guarding the van, and he greeted them with a grizzly growl from the darkness. Everyone dressed swiftly and piled in.

The Jeep still had the keys in it, to Alice’s comic relief. “Can you imagine what Scarlet would have done to me if I’d lost her keys?” she said, clutching her chest dramatically.

Scarlet.

Graham knew what he had to do.

Chapter 37

The journey back to the resort was much slower than Alice’s breakneck drive had been, and the mood was lighter. Most of the staff packed back into the groaning van.

Alice, Graham, Breck, and Darla took the Jeep.

Graham gritted his teeth at every bump and pretended he wasn’t hurting, but Alice knew better. She let Breck drive on the way back, content to curl in the back seat next to Graham, trying not to fall into him at the tight curves.

Scarlet was standing at the entrance of the resort, arms crossed, when they pulled in at last. She was frowning, to no one’s surprise, but she refrained from quizzing them as they tumbled out of the vehicles and gave her the story in piecemeal bits and vivid, rambling description.

She frowned at a new bullet hole in the van, but to Alice’s surprise, did not scold them for damage to resort property when she could have.

“That’ll buff right out,” Travis assured her with a grin.

Graham hung back, letting the others enthusiastically tell the tale of rescue and revenge with all the details they knew, and Alice stood with him. She felt like her bear was beginning to wake in her head and thought that she’d be able to shift soon. Her bond with Graham was a whisper in the back of her head and she was desperately relieved to feel it again.

“I’ll have the Civil Guard collect the trespassers in the morning,” Scarlet said dryly as the storytelling devolved into more and more colorful accounts of heroism. “I am sure you are all hungry and tired.”

The others all tramped for the buffet and their mates and their beds, leaving Scarlet, Graham, and Alice alone in the courtyard.

“I trust you concluded your business?” Scarlet asked pointedly, not prying for details.

Graham grunted and shrugged one shoulder, then added, “It shouldn’t be a problem again.”

“I’m glad to have you back in one piece,” she said mildly, with a glance at Alice. “Please don’t let me keep you from food and rest.”

Alice handed the Jeep keys back to her self-consciously. “Thank you,” she said awkwardly. “For trusting me.”

Scarlet only smiled her cool, distant smile, and accepted them without comment.

Alice and Graham, hand in hand, walked through the courtyard and stood at the top of the resort looking down over it for a long moment.

At night, it was subdued, but no less magic, a haven of soft light in the darkness. Alice understood why Graham loved this place.

“Graham,” she started to say.