Page 269 of Outlaws of Tulsa

Dragon being…Chase.

Sure, he’s still Dragon in all his tattooed, scary biker glory, but around his family, something inside him blooms. He blossoms into this guy who smiles at his mother—and not in that creepy “I’m gonna carve your heart out of your chest while it still beats” kind of way. His smile is filled with love. Again, I’m left wondering who he would have become had Night Giant not ripped him from his perfect world and shredded the innocent boy.

I thought he’d be guarded, but his mother has some way of pulling the truth out of him. And the truth flows like a never-ending flood. He tells them everything.

The ugliness of his captivity.

His escape.

Terror of being found.

How he became Dragon, Koyn and the Royal Bastards, his criminal life.

The second run-in with Night Giant, what he was forced to do—with Stormy and what he almost did to me. Lots of graphic torture highlights over his decade career as a lawless biker. Whatever else he can chatter on about like it’s normal chitchat, but it’s really fucking insane.

Dragon’s mouth just continues to expel this verbal vomit while everyone sits listening around him with a mixture of horror and shock. He eventually brings them to more recent events and his eyes land on me. The smile is back, sending curls of warmth swirling in my belly.

“Dragon,” I murmur, hoping he’ll end his verbal shit-show.

Kai snorts out a derisive laugh. “Dude. I can’t call you Dragon. It’s so lame.”

Dragon flips him off, but humor dances in his eyes. “Screw off.”

“Seriously, stop talking,” I warn, giving Dragon my meanest glare. “They don’t need those details.”

Benjamin smothers a laugh. Owen and Lindsay share a secret glance that I wish I could interpret. I shift in my seat, eager to get the hell out of here before Dragon starts blabbing about how wild our fuckfests get.

“Baby Prospect doesn’t want you all knowing how he whimpers—”

“That’s enough,” Lindsay huffs, saving me from her son’s torture. “We get the idea. You’re in love. Now, what brought you back to us after all this time? Mitch?”

You’re in love.

I nearly scoff at her offhanded comment. We’re not in love. I can barely tolerate him. We’re absolutely fantastic in bed together, but that’s it. Boyfriends, I guess. As much as two bikers can call themselves that.

Dragon sobers up, scrubbing a tattooed hand over his face. “I spoke to Night Giant.” He frowns, shooting me a pained expression. “Then I spoke to Mitch.”

“But he’s hiking. He and Taylor probably camped out,” Lindsay says, her voice quaky despite her hard expression meant to convince everyone around her that he’s safe.

It’s just a hope.

Mitch isn’t safe. He’s in the clutches of a monster.

“You know that’s not true,” I say softly. “He’s missing and you know it. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have invited me in to try to pull answers out of me.”

Tears fill her eyes, but she blinks them back and swallows hard. “This can’t happen again. It can’t.”

But it did.

Itishappening again.

“We’re looking for him, Mom,” Dragon assures her. “Koyn is the smartest man on the planet. Trust me. If anyone can get information on this bastard, it’s him. We’ll find Mitch and then I’ll make sure Night Giant pays foreverything.”

Violence ripples from him like heat from the sun.

“I’d like to meet this Koyn fella,” Owen grunts. “See who’s been fathering my son in my absence. Sounds like he’s a bad influence if you ask me.”

Dragon winks at me, making my blood run hot. “Nah, Koyn can’t control me. The only bad influence is BP. Right, Baby Prospect?”

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