Page 87 of The Dragon's Mate

Bren looked up from his computer. Jeremywas leaning against the cubicle wall, a pita wrap in one hand and a bottle ofwater in the other.

“What’s up?”

“There’s a hot chick at the front desk lookingfor you.”

“Thanks. I’ll be right there.” He turnedback to his computer screen.

“She’s seriously hot,” Jeremy said. “Tits likeyou wouldn’t believe and these,” he waved the pita in the air, “crazy lookingeyes. They’re like gold coloured with blue flecks.”

Bren stood up so abruptly that he nearly knockedJeremy’s waving pita out of his hand. What was Kaida doing here? Even thoughhe’d just seen her this morning, part of him was thrilled to see her again. Theother part was deeply uneasy. Kaida avoided humans and shifters as much as possible.To have her show up at the precinct couldn’t be good news.

As Jeremy walked away, Bren hurried pastthe maze of cubicles and out to the front desk. The reception area of theprecinct was full of people. Rodrigues the admitting clerk looked both deeplyannoyed and exhausted as he dealt with a man who was shouting indignantly abouta parking ticket.

Kaida was standing near the door. He hadan idea she was trying to blend in but with her height, the blue streaks in herhair and her – his palms went a little sweaty – incredibly striking looks, blendingin was a pipe dream. Bren scooted past a woman in a wheelchair and a manholding a wailing toddler.

“Kaida, hey. How are you?”

“Good.”

She didn’t look good. She looked pale andsick to her stomach.

“Are you feeling all right?” he asked.

“Fine. I’m sorry to come by without textingfirst.”

“It’s not a problem,” he said.

She crossed her arms over her torso beforestudying the wailing toddler. “Is there somewhere private we can talk?”

“Sure. Follow me.” He led her out of the receptionarea and past the maze of cubicles to one of the interview rooms. “Have aseat.”

She sat down, her foot tapping the floor andher fingers pulling compulsively at the bottom of her leather jacket. He satnext to her and took her hand, stopping the frantic motion.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” he said.

She met his gaze and for the first time hecould see how truly upset she was. His stomach tightened and the hair on the backof his neck stood up. Not just upset – she looked afraid.

“Kaida? What is it?”

“You have to leave,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

She pulled her hand out of his and reachedinto the inside pocket of her jacket. He stared mutely at the passport and envelopeshe held out to him. “What is this?”

She pressed them into his hands, and heflipped open the passport, shock making his body go still as he stared at hispicture. He studied the name and the information next to it before looking upat her. “Richard Simpson? Why are you giving me a passport with my pictureand the name Richard Simpson? Where did you even get my picture?”

“There’s a birth certificate, a social securitynumber and a driver’s license for Richard Simpson, as well as fifty thousand dollarsin that envelope. It’s enough to get you away from here and start a new life.There’s also a piece of paper with a phone number on it. Buy a burner phone,okay? When you have a bank account set up, use the burner phone to text thatnumber with the bank account number. Another fifty grand will be deposited intothe account. Once you’ve done that, burn the piece of paper, destroy thephone, and -”

“Kaida, whoa, stop.” He set the passportand the envelope on the table and took her hands. “Take a deep breath and tellme what the hell is going on.”

“You have to leave the country, Bren. I’msorry, but you need to leave and start a new life.”

His mouth dropped open and he sucked in agulp of air. “Are you kidding me right now?”

She shook her head, her hands tightening aroundhis. They were almost uncomfortably warm, but he didn’t let go. A thin tendrilof smoke drifted from her left nostril as she stared at him. “I’m not. Youhave to leave.”

“A new life. With these?” He stared at thepassport and envelope. “How the hell did you get these?”

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