Page 16 of Primal Dragon

“Uh, sure.” He felt better about not taking his car. “I’m Rik, by the way.”

“Q.”

Henrik was surprised he wanted someone who talked more. He was hoping to get more information, especially if he was going to paired with a vampire.

Q led the way to his car. It was a non-descript gray sedan. He used his key fob and the car started up and unlocked. Henrik moved to the passenger side door. He slid into it, leaning forward to roll the seat back so is knees weren’t in the dashboard. Not that the seat went back far enough. He’d do better just ripping the seat out and sitting in the backseat with his legs stretching out into the front.

“Sorry. My car is in the shop, they didn’t have any comparable.” Q’s voice was stilted and unnatural. Something wasn’t quite right with him. For a vampire, he seemed especially keen on keeping himself covered and hidden. Most vamps he knew liked to sprawl out their sex appeal and cockiness. Even Cillian liked to strut around.

“No problem, man.”

Their phones dinged one after the other.

“We got the address,” Henrik said.

“Cool. Navigate.” The rhythm of his cadence wasn’t consistent.

“What are you in this for?” Henrik asked as he pulled up the map app to lead them to their destination.

Q glanced over his collar at Henrik. “Same as everyone. Money.”

Henrik shivered. There was something off about this guy. It wasn’t just that he was hiding something from him. Everyone at the club was hiding something, including him. But the mystery of his partner tonight was going to bug him.

“That is why you’re here, right?”

“Something like that,” Henrik muttered.

The rest of the drive was quiet, just the robotic cell phone voice giving directions.

Henrik wasn’t familiar with much of Chicago. He’d been living there for a few months trying to figure out Grey’s secrets, but he hadn’t done a lot of exploring.

The thought of the sexy vet filled his mind as he watched the scenery pass, since his travel partner was a man of few words. Without his heartstone he had no idea if she was his true mate, but he wasn’t sure it mattered. He liked her. He knew spending time with her would only further that feeling. His dragon was sure of it too.

After about forty-five minutes of following directions, they ended up in a residential area. Another chime and a text message waited.

Bossman: Your job is to bring back a young, healthy female from your current location. You have one hour.

“A female?” Q said.

Fuck. This wasn’t good. No way was he going to let this vampire kidnap an unsuspecting female. What was he going to do?

“Pull over.” Henrik needed time to figure out this mess, but time was something he didn’t have.

Q parked the car along the curb on the corner. “Now what?”

“I guess we find a healthy female.” Henrik needed to take Q out. There was no way he was letting this vampire get his hands on an innocent female. He needed help. He needed time to think.

“You mind if I step out and make a quick call?”

Q looked over at him, his face shadowed by his hat and coat collar. “A call? We’re in the middle of a race.”

“I just need to make a call. I promise, it’s not going to delay us.”

Q huffed. “Fine. Go right ahead.”

Henrik got out of the car and pulled out his phone. He called up Syrena. The tourmaline witch was bound to have some kind of card up her sleeve.

“Hey, Rik. How’s it going?”

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