Page 72 of The Accidental Dragon Baby

“We’re not doing anything,” Telos said, casually tucking his phone into Mav’s pocket.

“Are we all clear on the mission details?” Duke asked, looking around.

All of them nodded; even Ivo in his basket, although no one noticed him but Ace.

“Good. Let’s move out,” Duke said.

Uriel scowled at Bruiser and stepped away. Bruiser scowled back, his face pinched as though he was holding back on some choice words.

Raptor elbowed Duke as they left the hotel suite. “Sometime soon, Duke, you need to get laid.”

“I don’t havetimeto get laid,” Duke muttered.

“Make time for it.”

“Yeah,youtry holding four jobs at the same time.”

Crush shook his head. “You don’t need the money, Dukes.”

“Everyone needs my help. I can’t let them down.”

If Ace remembered right, Duke was a CEO, a firefighter, a foster parent, and an animal shelter volunteer, all at the same time. No one knew how he managed it without falling flat on his face.

“What you need, is a life assistant,” Raptor said with an eyebrow waggle. “Someone you can unload onto. Or into. Possibly both.”

“And violate every HR law in existence?” Duke retorted, sliding into the driver’s seat of a rental car.

“As long as you’re not fucking your assistant while firefighting, honestly, I don’t think we care.” Ace said and paused. “Actually, I would like to see that in action.”

“Can two people fit into the same firefighting suit?” Raptor asked.

“If they’re small enough,” Bruiser said. He worked full-time as a firefighter.

Duke rolled his eyes.

Ace rode shotgun in the passenger seat. Uriel had stayed behind at the hotel, leaving Bruiser to ride with Raptor and Crush.

“I would sing the date night song again,” Raptor said. “But I’m not on a date.”

“We are,” Telos and Mav said from a third rental car. Telos began to sing, “Date night, date night!”

“Sure, rub it in our faces,” Crush grumbled.

“I guess we’re kind of on a date, too,” Ace whispered to Ivo, nudging a finger into Ivo’s basket to stroke his fur. Ivo clasped Ace’s fingertip with his little paws. “I’ll keep you safe.”

Ivo nipped his finger, careful to do it without breaking skin.

The poaching ring HQ was tucked away in a Wyoming pine forest, accessible only by a dirt road leading off from the highway. Telos had scouted it earlier that week with Mav; it was Mav who led the way into the forest now, signaling for them to park three miles away from the hideout.

“Final comms check,” Duke said.

They confirmed that their wires were on the same channel. Then the shifters stripped and shifted; Ivo’s leather basket stretched to fit snugly around Ace’s dragon neck.

To no one’s surprise, Telos shifted into a large pterodactyl. Duke remained in his clothes since he was a demon, hitching a ride on Telos’ leg. Crush stripped but stayed in his human shape to ride on Mav’s dragon leg. Ace, Raptor, and Bruiser took off into the air.

“Thanks for the ride,” Duke said to Telos.

Telos preened. “See, pterodactyls are awesome.”

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