Page 38 of Hungry Like A Dragon
Rebecca dropped her backpack onto the floor next to the couch. “It’s okay. I have a paper to write and five chapters to read before class tomorrow. I was planning to pull an all-nighter anyway.”
Noah grabbed Petra’s hoodie from where she’d left it draped over a chair, pressed his hand to her back, and ushered her out the door.
The block on which Dragon Antiques was located was mostly deserted at this time of night, although music poured from nearby bars and restaurants and there were three street performers a couple hundred feet away, playing foot-tapping Zydeco for the few patrons who crossed their path.
“Down here,” Noah said, indicating the alley that ran along the back of the shops. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and headed down the dimly lit brick-paved road. She considered ducking out from under the protection of his arm, but it kind of felt good, so she let it go.
“We’re being watched,” Noah whispered into her ear.
“Gargoyles,” she whispered back, nodding at the stone figures perched at the top of the wrought iron fence to their left. Interesting. Gargoyles and dragons did not tend to hang in the same circles. Witches often used them as sentries, as protectors, though, and as New Orleans had a large population of the magic wielders, it wasn’t unusual to see the creatures hovering about, watching and waiting.
Except they were heading down an alley toward a dragon-owned antiques store, which was a front for a hopping drug-dealing business.
Petra shivered.
“Cold?” Noah asked.
“Nervous.”
He gave her shoulder a squeeze.
When they reached the back of Delilah’s shop, Petra knocked. Delilah herself pulled the door open. “Punctual,” she commented as she stepped to the side and waved them inside.
The space was a large storeroom with steel shelves to one side and a desk and leather chair set up on the other. The floor was plywood, and a round table with four folding chairs sat in the middle of the room. There weren’t any spell books on the table nor a vial that might contain a love spell.
“Have a seat,” Delilah said, indicating the table and chairs. Petra glanced at Noah, who nodded, so she sat with her back to the steel shelves. The door slammed shut as Noah dropped into the chair next to her.
“Wonderful,” their hostess said. She placed her hands on the back of one the empty chairs. “Now, let’s get down to business. Specifically, my business. Which is going to remain my business and only my business in this city. If you want to set up shop in Denver or wherever the hell you’re from, by all means, feel free. But you aren’t touching my recipe or my town. Do you understand?”
Noah ran his hand through his hair. “Actually, we don’t. At least, I don’t. Do you know what she’s talking about, Petra?”
Oh crap. Actually, I think I do.
Delilah chuckled. “I’ve seen every game in the book, cowboy. And I’ve scared off every dragon who’s ever tried to take me down. So you can drop the confused act.”
“No, that’s not it,” Petra said. “We wanted to talk to you about curses—”
“Bullshit,” Delilah snapped. She lifted her hand and waved, like she was beckoning someone. Petra glanced over her shoulder; Carlos stepped out of the shadows, and she scrambled out of her seat. Another dragon moved into view, sidling until he blocked the door leading out to the alley.
Shit, shit, shit.
Noah stood and moved between her and Carlos. Petra was pretty sure Carlos wasn’t the biggest threat in the room, but Noah’s overprotective, alpha tendencies weren’t allowing him to see that. Plus, Noah didn’t know about the dragon’s blood.
“That’s not why we’re here,” Petra said to Delilah.
“What’s not why we’re here?” Noah asked.
Delilah sighed dramatically. “How many times are we going to go through this? Look, I have a date with a hot gargoyle. I don’t have time to play games any longer.”
A dragon dating a gargoyle? That was a new one.
Delilah picked up an iPad on the desk. She tapped the screen a few times then turned it toward Petra. Noah peered over her shoulder.
The images on the device moved around. It looked like someone was taking video with their phone, or maybe this iPad. How long ago had that video been shot?
Because it was of Rebecca and Sadie. And a man who showed up at Petra’s door. A good-looking young man. A dragon, not that Rebecca knew that.
There were at least two of them, because the video started out at the man’s back. Rebecca opened the door, Sadie in her arm, and greeted them with a smile before she eventually invited them into the house. There was no sound, so Petra had no idea what he’d said to convince her to let both of them in.
