A man in a suit with a bandage covering the lower part of his jaw strutted toward me with an angry look in his eyes. “Ms. Smith?”
“Yeah.” No point in denying it. “Who are you? What’s going on? What happened to my home?”
Rather than answer my questions he replied with one of his own. “Where is the dragon?”
At the word dragon I turned to ice as it confirmed why these people invaded my property, but in awesome news… They didn’t have my Little Fella.
“Excuse me, did you say dragon?” I snickered.
“This is no laughing matter, Ms. Smith. We know you are in possession of a recently hatched dragon. We need to locate it immediately for the safety of everyone.”
“Dude, I don’t know what you’re smoking but you really should share. Dragons aren’t real.” I could lie like a pro.
The man’s lips pinched. “Lying isn’t in your best interests, Ms. Smith. You might have looked upon it as a cute pet, however, I assure you dragons are highly intelligent and also incredibly dangerous creatures. It is imperative we contain it before it has a chance to grow and threaten the human population.”
“Sorry, bud, can’t help you, but I do wish you luck in finding your imaginary dragon.” I doubted blowing him off and denying everything would accomplish much, but I had to try.
“The shell of the beast was found in the remains of your firepit, indicating it hatched. Drone surveillance picked up its heat signature inside your home, and before you deny that as well, I’m going to add their presence is quite distinctive from other mammals.”
“Dude, I don’t know who you are or what you think you saw, but I’m telling you right now, there was no dragon in my trailer. Sounds to me like you spotted the raccoon that’s been living under it for years.”
“Don’t lie. We found it hidden under your floor,” the man huffed.
“Did you just admit to going inside my place without a warrant? Smells like an unlawful entry lawsuit to me.” A lame comeback but I’d watched enough police procedurals that it slipped out naturally.
“No warrant is needed when a national threat requires securing.”
“Pretty sure that’s not true,” I tartly replied.
The man turned even ruddier, the red bright in contrast to his white bandage. “You need to start cooperating. Harboring a protected species is a crime.”
I snorted. “How can something that doesn’t exist be a protected species?”
“I’m done arguing with you. Perhaps you’ll be more forthcoming in an interrogation room.” The man signaled and some dudes in black fatigues approached, hands on their holsters.
Well, shit. Guess I was about to be arrested.
Only… “Hold on a second. Who are you? Where is your badge giving you this so-called authority to act like a dick on my land?”
“My name isn’t important.”
“Hell, yeah, it is because I’m going to need it when I file a grievance for harassment.”
“You’re assuming you’ll be released and allowed to talk.” The man offered me a tight smile. “But that’s not how things work with our agency. No one will even know we’ve taken you into custody.”
My blood went from running cold to solid ice. “You can’t do that. I have rights.”
“Your rights don’t mean shit to the people I work for.” The man jerked his head and snapped, “Take her into custody.”
The man turned from me and his goons went to grab me when a new player entered the fiasco.
Maddox.
He spun into my driveaway in a cloud of dust and emerged from his truck, holding his phone outstretched. “Excuse me, what’s going on here?” he asked as he strode in my direction.
The prick in the suit barked, “This is official business. Return to your vehicle and depart immediately.”
“I don’t think so, seeing as how you’re trying to put hands on my girlfriend.”