Page 2 of Primal Dragon

The cold air slammed against them as they crossed the street, no longer protected by the buildings. It was a gray day with the smell of snow in the air. Aside from a few flurries, Chicago had remained snow-free despite the fact that it was the beginning of December.

“How come you don’t want to find love while you’re trying to save the world?” James asked, throwing away his ice cream garbage as he finished.

Quinn rolled her eyes. “Why do you care? I get you may have to wait a while, but at least you know fate has something in the works for you. If I want to date, it’s online dating or going to bars and trying to weed out the scumbags from the dick pic guys.”

“There are other ways to meet guys.”

She let out a growl. “Just drop it. I’m not interested.”

“I think you’re scared.”

That was James. He knew Quinn inside and out. They’d talked for hours and hung out for years now. He knew her bad habits, her bad history, and her bad heart. She was an open book for James. She’d never had a thing for him, but she wished that she could be his mate. It would be so much easier. The whole devil you knew was easier than waiting for the devil you didn’t.

And men were modeled after the devil. Some were blessed with good looks, others with charm, and some had both. But she’d never met one without skeletons just waiting to jump out of the closet.

An abusive father was a cliché, but it was for a reason. After watching her father pummel her mother just to turn and come after her… getting attached to a man didn’t seem like such a great idea.

She didn’t want to be just like her mother. Sometimes, with all the rage consuming her, she was afraid she was just like her father.

Quinn finished off her delectable cookie dough ice cream and tossed the trash as they passed another receptacle. After the dessert she was feeling the chill of the cold winter day, and a shiver danced along her spine.

“Tell me what’s going on with your undercover vampire work.”

James chuckled and shook his head. “Not a whole lot right now. Stefano is working on something. He’s asking for loyal humans and vampires to meet at the gentlemen’s club in a couple weeks.”

“Vampires are really all men? No women at all?”

“Something like that.”

Quinn tsked, “So sexist. Only to make it worse by actually conducting business in a gentlemen’s club. How 1950’s of you.”

James shrugged. “I told you, you can always try to get hired on as the help. A cocktail waitress or a…”

“Stripper?”

“Exotic dancer, I believe, is the term they prefer.”

“You be the exotic dancer, I’ll be the mysterious vampire brooding the shadows,” she replied. “What do you think Stefano is up to?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. All my contacts have been quiet for a while. It’s like there’s something going on, but no one sent me the memo.”

She gave him a playful shove. “Aw, is the badass vampire feeling left out?”

“Not left out so much as I don’t think anyone knows where I stand, which is good and bad I suppose.” He scuffed his shoe along the sidewalk.

Quinn studied her friend for a moment. “You’re really worried, aren’t you?”

James moved his tongue over his teeth slowly. He always did that when he was thinking hard about something. “I think I fucked up, Q.”

“How so?” Quinn didn’t like James’s tone. She’d never seen him so down and unsure. The man was old and had been around all the blocks several times. He usually walked around with an air of confidence and frankly cockiness that drove her crazy. Mostly because he was always right about stuff.

But today it was like he carried the world on his shoulders.

“I’ve gotta take off for a few days. I’ll keep in touch like I always do.”

Her brow furrowed. “Okay, I don’t like this.” Her imagination was too good at picturing all the horrible ways he could die.

“You never like it.”

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