Page 65 of Chase Me

“Romani?” She shoved her hands into the pockets of the jacket and came up with nothing but air. They’d stolen her food.

The reality of being homeless in a city like this in a foreign country hit her hard and she started crying.

Dammit.

“You may have heard them referred to as gypsies. They hang around here and a lot of the other touristy areas making their living. Are you okay?”

“No.” She sniffled and tried to wipe at her face, but the sleeve of the jacket fell off, the remaining shreds simply giving away.

The young man looked her up and down, but in a much gentler way than the train conductor or anyone in the station had. “I’m a US Marine, ma’am. I work at the embassy here. Do you need assistance?”

Boy, did she ever.

The marine took her on a tram, paying her fair, and escorted her all the way to embassy row. The city wasgorgeous, with a giant castle on a hill, a river through the center, covered in ornate bridges.

She wished she could have seen it any other way.

Another time, in another life maybe.

She gave her sob story to a woman whom the marine introduced her too at the embassy, giving only enough details to make the story plausible, and leaving out every bit about dragons, and magic, and falling in love.

Before she knew it, the embassy woman was in tears too. Must be that emotional part of her new-found magic she didn’t understand.

They cried together, then the woman got her a meal and some clothes and somehow finagled her onto a military transport back to the US.

She slept the whole way, despite the noise and stares of the military personnel on board with her. When they landed, she didn’t feel any more rested than when they’d taken off.

Someone showed her to a phone and she called Wesley.

“Hey, babe. Where you been?” He was as perky as the day she’d left him.

“It’s a long story. Do you think you could come get me? I left my car at the Ketcher-Fast wedding.”

“Sure. Where are you?”

A four-hour drive away. The Bridezillas of Willingham Weddings were going to have to wait. “Washington DC.”

“Jesus. This better be one hell of a story.”

She’d have to figure out what to actually tell Wes while she waited for him.

“It is.”

One that she wanted to forget as soon as she could.

BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE

He was going to kill her. First, he was going to find her, then he was going to kiss her, then he was going to fuck her three ways to Saturday until she remembered they belonged together, then he was going to kill her.

When Jakob had woken up without Ciara in his arms and found her missing, he’d panicked. But when Ky had helped him track her through the forest and they found evidence of not only her escape from demon dragons, but the scent of a dragon none of them recognized, he’d gone well beyond panic and into weapons of mass destruction mode.

If anything had happened to her, he would tear down the world to get her back or die trying.

They followed the train tracks where Ciara's scent lingered. She wasn't in any of the small towns along the route to Prague. Thankfully, neither was the scent of the unknown dragon.

All Wyverns knew every single dragon in their Wyr. That worried Jakob more than anything else. It was inconceivable to him that there could be a rogue dragon. But if there wasone, he would be very dangerous. It would be too coincidental for him to be in the area around Jakob’s villa without being involved in all of the problems that had reared their ugly heads in the past week. Whoever he was, he wouldn't be able to hide from them for long, and if this rogue had Ciara, he wouldn't be long for this world.

Ky picked up Ciara’s scent again outside the main terminal. He tracked her across the bridge and up the hill to Mala Strana. Prague Castle loomed above them and Jakob swore that when he found Ciara he would take her to the giant hall in the old part of the castle and marry her right.

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