Page 19 of Beyond the Darkness

“I’ve brought two crew—one will work on the bedroom and bathroom area, and the other will work on the underground chamber for Connie’s hoard.” Turning, Kayden waved at his crews. “I’ll be right back, guys.”

Mika bowed, then walked back toward the vehicles.

Kit frowned at Hudson. “Does that mean they’ll also have access to yours? How’s that going to go?”

“Very carefully,” Kayden volunteered. “Very, very carefully. We’re basically going to build a hallway in Hudson’s hoard, then add a chamber for Connie’s.”

“Um…” Kit glanced at Hudson.

“Exactly,” Kayden added. “We all know how territorial dragons are, especially when it comes to their hoards, but the hallway is a necessity. Hudson and I have discussed this in depth.”

“We have, yes. It simply isn’t feasible for me to empty out my hoard. But my dragon isn’t a fan of having someone in there, which is why Torres and Nelson will stand guard while the hallway is being built. Hopefully, it will be done today.”

“It shouldn’t take that long, considering what we’re framing. After we finish the underground chamber for Connie, we’ll finish the entrance. Connie will be able to access his hoard through that hallway without entering Hudson’s,” Kayden said.

“And you’re okay with that?” Kit asked.

“As much as I can be. My dragon wants to give this to Connie, so that overrides his instinctual rejection of the plan. It will also help that I’m not here and seeing it happen.”

“He isn’t joking,” Connie added.

“And if he’s not done by today, then what?” Kit asked.

“We’ll be making another trip to San DeLain,” Hudson joked. Although everybody listening knew Hudson wasn’t joking. There was no way he could stay there and watch strangers invade his hoard, even though it really wasn’t an invasion. But then again, it kind of was.

Hudson showed Kayden the easiest way to access his private quarters, then did another walk-through with Kayden. They reviewed what had been planned, then Hudson texted Torres and Nelson to come to his quarters.

Once they arrived and Kayden and his crew filed in, Hudson introduced the two members of his inner circle to Kayden. His dragons would keep an eye on Kayden’s crew, although Hudson wasn’t overly worried about theft.

For one thing, the majority of Kayden’s crew were paranormals themselves and were fully aware of who Hudson was and what he was capable of. There were a few humans on the crew, but they also smelled of paranormals.

And now that they were here to do the work, Hudson had scented every last one of them. If they were stupid enough to steal from him, there was nowhere they could hide that he wouldn’t find them, not to mention the ties he had with other powerful paranormal leaders.

After they finished meeting everyone, Hudson and his mates left.

THE DRIVE to San DeLain was insane like normal, but they made decent time considering it was a Saturday. Hudson tried to give his business to paranormal-owned shops, but there were still some places they visited that were human-owned.

As they walked into the first store on their list, a human-owned bedding boutique, Hudson immediately regretted his decision.

The salesclerk behind the counter, a young woman with perfectly styled hair and an air of superiority, glanced at Kit, giving him a once-over. She raised an eyebrow in disapproval at how he was dressed before turning her attention back to her phone.

Connie tensed beside him, and Hudson quickly placed a hand on his shoulder, silently urging him to stay calm. There wasn’t a pool nearby, unfortunately, to toss Connie in if he started losing control.

Hudson was getting ready to usher his mates back out the door when calamity struck.

“Can I help you people find something?” she asked, tone dripping with sarcasm.

Hudson gritted his teeth and forced a polite smile. “We’re shopping for custom-made Egyptian sheets.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, you won’t find anything like that here.” She gave Kit another pointed look before turning back to her phone.

“Girlfriend, you have no idea the mistake you just made,” Kit said.

“Right,” she huffed.

Connie opened his mouth, but Kit grabbed both Hudson’s and Connie’s hands and dragged them out of the shop.

“That bitch!” Connie seethed as they stepped back onto the busy sidewalk.

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