Page 4 of The Dragon's Warlock

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Gideon

Diem made him feel things he hadn’t felt before. That was the main reason he’d never tried to contact her again after she came to the bar. Her long blond hair bounced in its ponytail as they ran down the small passage. He hadn’t used the underground tunnels in years and hoped the door at the end would open. She didn’t question him as he shoved her through the passage. As they raced toward the exit, she laughed.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, watching the sway of her hips. “You know someone might’ve blown up my house, right?” His house in West Virginia didn’t feel like home, but something had kept him from leaving. He was sure the reason he hadn’t escaped to Ireland was that he wanted a certain blond woman.

“I have a nervous tick. When I’m in danger or someone gets hurt, I laugh.” She glanced at him.

He liked the way her brows drew together as she waited for his answer. He was glad she laughed at danger instead of crying. Gideon didn’t do well with tears or emotions. It was easier to keep his feelings bottled up.

At an early age, he’d learned that life wasn’t fair. His mother had been a healer, and she helped everyone in the village. One night, an outsider showed up at the house. He said his wife needed help, and Gideon’s mom rushed to assist, but the outsider killed her. Gideon’s dad went looking for her and never returned. Gideon, who was five at the time, had been alone for days before a neighbor stopped by.

“At the end of the passage, get behind me, and I’ll open the door.” He wasn’t sure if someone would be on the other side.

“My car is in your front yard, along with my purse and phone. What are you expecting us to do?”

“Can you shift?” He wasn’t sure if she could control her dragon, but depending on what they came in contact with, he might need her help.

“Of course.” She rolled her eyes. “But who is after you?”

“You really think someone is after me?”

“Hell yes. It sounded like someone blew up your house. How many people did you piss off?”

“Nobody is after me. I bet a hundred dollars those people are coming for you. Which means you might be close to finding your sister.”

“But how would they know I was here?” Diem let out a huff as they came to a stop in front of the exit.

He hadn’t opened the old stone door in years. The ward he’d put in place years before was still intact. He closed his eyes and chanted the language of his ancestors.

“I’m pretty sure someone put a tracker on your car or in your clothes.” Gideon closed his eyes for a second. “Did the council remove the tracker from your arm?”

She pouted. “After I was cleared, I never went back to the facility to do checkups. Lucy wanted to run tests, and I think she held a grudge against me for kidnapping Nyx. So I never went back to have the chip removed. I forgot about it until you mentioned it.”

“Fuck.”

“So if the people after us are actually after me, your super-secret tunnel did nothing to hide our tracks.”

“No. We might be walking into a trap.”

She leveled a glare at him and placed her hands on her hips. “I was a pilot before learning about this world. Don’t get snappy if I’m not used to running for my life. Like I said earlier, this world needs a Dummies manual.”

“We need to take the tracker out.” He drew out a pocketknife.

“Fuck no. I don’t know where that knife has been, and I want drugs.”

“Do you not understand that they are tracking you? No matter how far we go, they will still come after you.”

She glanced down at his knife. “Maybe going with them is a better option.”

“You’re a dragon. The wound will heal seconds after I cut your skin and pop out the chip.”

She raised a brow. “Will it still hurt?”

He could hear the faint sound of a car pulling close to their exit. “It might, but we need to leave, and when we do, we’re going to have to fight our way to a car.”

“Make it quick before I change my mind.”

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