Page 4 of Lyric

I’d turned my phone back on when I woke. It remained blissfully silent.

Could it be that easy?

My workday went smoothly. I sat at my computer editing emails and reports for my bosses, then sending them where they needed to go.

At lunch, I stayed in and went to the cafeteria with a couple of coworkers.

When I left that night at five, I checked the area carefully, even driving around the block. No Colt. I did the same when I got home. Again, nothing.

Was I finally free?

I checked out my window before I went to bed. No strange cars were parked at the curb. My phone was quiet. I had been about to get a new number. Now, maybe I wouldn’t have to.

Even though it had been a whole day and night since the restraining order had been delivered to Colt, I slept badly. I woke up groggy, wanting to turn over and go back to sleep. I could have taken a sick day, but I knew the work that awaited me. It would just pile up.

I forced myself to get up and shower.

It was a hot day as I drove to work. At the parking lot, I pulled into a space between a van and a truck. My car was little, so I fit just fine. As I opened my door, something pushed it back against me. I glanced up and saw Colt on the other side. I let out a sob and immediately grabbed the seat to pull myself back into my car.

That was when everything went black.

When I woke, I found myself in the passenger seat of a pickup. My head ached. Slowly, I turned and there sat Colt in the driver's seat. I looked out the window and all I saw were trees.

“So, the little omega who thought he could run away from a claim wakes.”

“What's happening?” My words came out slurred.

“You're coming with me. That's what's happening.”

Adrenaline shot through my body. Within seconds, I realized Colt had kidnapped me. My flight instinct rose up. I reached for the door handle.

Colt’s fist flew out, catching me on the side of my head. It knocked me against the window. My vision started to grow dark.

“Don't even try to open that door!” He yelled. “I'm going sixty. You wouldn't survive the jump.”

I pressed my eyelids tightly closed trying to regain my senses. I wasn't about to allow Colt to take me another mile. I grabbed the door handle, then pulled and pushed at the same time.

“Fuck!”

The rest of what Colt said was garbled as the hot wind hit my face. The truck swerved. Gravity seemed to turn upside down. I jammed my finger at my seat belt and by some miracle it came loose. I felt a hand enclose my wrist and heard the shriek of brakes.

Jinnan! Shift! Shift!

My dragon would never shift in an enclosed space or while I was moving. Nor while I was dressed. But this was an emergency. He had to obey.

For a moment, I felt myself falling. Then came the spin and a sound like water rushing over me. It was happening.

Jinnan had heard. This was a matter of life or death, no time to undress and save my clothes.

The shift happened in a tumble and the loud ripping of cloth. One wing scraped the ground hard. My four legs waved in theair. All I could see was a swirl of green and brown and blue. But Jinnan, though small, was strong.

Our feet found ground and pushed. We leaped up into the low branches of leafy summer trees. The branches scraped at our scales and broke off. My head was still spinning from whatever had knocked me out in the first place, along with the punch Colt had just given me.

When I got my bearings, we flew up toward the tops of the trees and, when we were in clear air, stretched our wings to their limit. We were sluggish, though, and every time we tried to gain height we sank.

Behind us, I heard the truck engine stop. A door slammed. Colt's voice roared through the jungle. “You can't out-fly me, little Jinn.” Laughter cackled through the air.

Come on. We've got to go faster.

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