Page 34 of The Dragon's Surprise
Ashley chimed in again. “I’ve tapped my trustworthy contacts inside ADDA and the human police, and according to them, they think it’s some sort of dragon-shifter trading and deportationoutpost. Rich humans come to buy the ones they want, and the rest get drugged and dropped outside of the country.”
He clenched his fingers into a fist. “Then why haven’t your people shut it down?”
“Because a human named Duncan Parrish owns the property and denies any illegal activity. And since he has a lot of money, he’s buying off people left and right.”
The door opened, and Axel and Rio walked in. Both nodded greetings at Ashley and Wes before Rio said, “Thanks to David Lee on StoneRiver, we know Duncan Parrish is out of the country on a business trip. Since we have permission to retrieve our clan members, we’re going to leave as soon as everyone is ready.”
Normally, Kyle would linger on Rio referring to Lexi and Ethan as clan members. It was what he wanted, after all. However, finding his female and son was more important. Kyle said, “I can put together a medical team and be ready in fifteen minutes.”
Ashley spoke up. “You all need to be careful. Not that I don’t think you’re capable—you are. But Parrish is sort of my nemesis, and extremely powerful. Once you do this, he’ll go after you, too.”
“I don’t care,” he blurted.
Then Kyle realized this wasn’t just him facing a new danger. He glanced at Rio, Axel, and Daniel in turn. Rio nodded. “We feel the same way. I’ve known about Parrish for a while now, and I don’t like how much power he’s collecting with money and favors. At some point, he’ll piss off enough people and dragon-shifters that his influence will crumble. If we can help that along, I’m all for it.”
Axel added, “Even if it means hell later on, I can’t ignore the innocents about to be fucking sold off. We’ll rescue your female and son, and the others, too. Parrish can go to hell.”
Daniel shrugged. “Jenny would never forgive me for abandoning any child, let alone one she adores already. She knew when she mated me that it could be dangerous. Besides, we all help each other here, Kyle. And whether you’ve realized that we’ve had your back this whole time or not, you do.”
His dragon said softly,I told you we should’ve interacted with the clan sooner. They are our friends.
Kyle replied to the males. “Thank you.”
Rio lightly slapped his arm. “No thanks needed. Now, go gather your team while I talk with Ashley and Wes. We’ll all meet in the main landing area in twenty minutes.”
And so Kyle left, doing his best to focus on assembling his medical team and bringing the right supplies. Dr. Carmen Alvaro also said she’d prep everything, just in case they needed to operate.
Maybe before Lexi and Ethan, he might’ve balked at asking for help. However, knowing there might be someone else who could save his future family lifted some of the weight off his shoulders. Not much, given he was worried to death about what could still happen. However, Lexi and his dragon had been right all along—he needed to stop isolating himself so much from the clan.
His dragon spoke up.She is ours. And not just because she was on my side.
I agree, dragon. She is our future. Her and Ethan.
And Kyle couldn’t wait to claim her officially. The female was not only good for him, he loved her. The time might’ve been short, but just thinking of life without her was unbearable.
And so Kyle headed toward the main landing area, more determined than ever to bring back his female and his son so he could start the future he’d never known he wanted.
Chapter Twelve
Lexi woke up with a groan. Her head pounded, her wrists hurt, and it was extremely hot.
She struggled to remember what had happened. Because after knocking on the door of where Patrick was staying, there was a black hole of nothingness.
Ethan.She had been looking for Ethan.
Blinking her eyes open, she scanned the room. But her stomach dropped when she noticed she was alone.
Get a grip, Lexi. You can’t escape and look for the boy if you freak out. Ethan needs you. So calm the hell down.
After a few deep breaths to tamp down her encroaching panic, Lexi was able to focus on her surroundings.
Light filtered through boards nailed over the window. The walls were bare and dirty, and the floor was covered in warped wooden planks that had definitely seen better days.
A low, unintelligible rumble filtered through either the walls or the window, which piqued her interest. However, Lexi struggled to stand with her head pounding and her limbs not wanting to work properly.
Once she was finally upright, she leaned against the wall to keep from falling and took deep breaths until her dizzinessfaded. Even though the room was extremely warm, the fuzziness in her head was no doubt from some kind of drug.
Just imagining that Ethan might’ve also been drugged gave her the strength to wobble across the room, to the window, using the wall for support. She finally reached it, and Lexi peered through the boards, but the windowpane was extremely dirty. She did her best to wipe away the dirt with her fingers and managed to clean just enough to see cars parking and people exiting them before heading toward some point in the distance.
