Page 62 of Dragon Detective

This could mean nothing or . . .

I hunkered low in my seat, hiding myself from view, and continued listening.

“Of course the price will be good,” he snarled. “Why do you keep harping on this? I’ll give her what she paid for it, and you’ll give me ten percent once the deal is done. Or would you like toback out now? I don’t need to keep harassing her if you’re on the fence about this.”

Who was he talking to and who did he mean by “her”?

“Why do you keep doubting me?” he barked. “I promise. I have ways of making things happen.” He growled and huffed. “Let’s just say I’ll bring extra insurance in case Hannah’s not willing to sell.”

Hannah.

He was talking about my mate, my love,mywoman.

I slid up in the seat enough to look out the bottom part of my window.

Grant held up a big hunting knife and swiped it through the air. “I’m headed there now. I’ll call you in ten minutes or so, once the deal is done.”

He put his knife down on the seat next to him and started his vehicle, driving it out onto Main Street.

Fuck. He was going tomakeHannah sell the B&B to him? Not on my watch.

I started my truck and was ready to roar across town until a cry rang out behind me.

“Help. Help! Oh, my gosh. Someone please help!”

In my rearview window, I spied an elderly basilisk woman lying on the ground.

I couldn’t leave her there alone, but I had to reach Hannah. My need was a frantic storm raging through me.

Getting out of my truck, I raced over to the woman, determined to get her help and find someone to stay with her quickly.

If I didn’t get to Hannah right away, Grant was going to thrust his knife into her face and force her to sell the B&B.

Chapter 30

Hannah

Ifinished priming the walls of a bedroom and went downstairs to the basement to wash out my roller and pan. Max followed me, slinking around the perimeter of the basement while I worked at the big sink. He was particularly fascinated by the smells near the door to the wine cellar. Seeing no harm in letting him explore farther, I unlocked the door and cracked it open. He scooted into the dark room, and I placed a brick in the opening to keep it from sliding shut while he was inside.

“Have fun,” I said as I returned to finish at the sink.

A dull thud echoed overhead, and my heart shuddered until I remembered that Detective Carter assured me Victor Drake would not come near my property again. Out on bail, Victor was acting quite contrite and was focusing on his hearing and no longer paying attention to me.

So what was the sound?

“Justin?” I whispered. The lights dimmed before blazing above me once more. Oh, no. Not this again. “The entire building has fairly new wiring,” I snarled, turning off the water andstriding over to the panel. Everything looked normal inside, and I stared at the ceiling lights for a long time.

They remained even and lit.

With a huff, I finished and went upstairs, where I walked through each floor with a screwdriver in hand as an improvised weapon. I peeked into each bedroom, bathroom, and closet, but found nothing unusual. Grumbling, I returned downstairs and put my screwdriver away.

Max had finished his adventures in the cellar, and I went back to the basement and locked the door to the small room again. I fed him and took things out of the refrigerator to get started on the meal I would cook for Reylor and me. I adored lasagna, and I had a feeling he’d enjoy my special recipe.

After a quick shower and change of clothes, I returned to the kitchen.

While the water was coming to a boil for the noodles, I sauteed the ground turkey and added spices, tomatoes, onions, and my secret ingredient, two tablespoons of a rich, dark balsamic vinegar. I moved the sauce to the back burner to simmer on low and made the cheese filling.

I was dumping the noodles out of the water and into the colander when Max pawed at his cat door to go outside.

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