Page 48 of Fire Dragon
Liam could hear the drains at work, but it would be awhile before the pool emptied.
Looking back at Logan, he could see his good friend was bruised and bleeding. Liam’s back hurt as well as his ribs. He could feel warm blood seeping from the cut that had flayed him along his spine.
Yet, something about the battle in a vat of ice water had finally cleared his head. When Logan fell on the stairs, Liam went to him and offered a hand up.
Logan took it.
When Logan stood opposite him waiting for the door to open, Liam huffed a sigh. “Apologies,” Liam said through chattering teeth.
“Same here. When did I become such a woman, interfering in your love life?”
Liam laughed and slung his arm around Logan’s shoulders. “I’ve been an ass, especially about Emma.”
“I won’t say another word.”
The door opened and a welcome rush of warm air made his breath catch.
“About time.” Santos waved them forward. “Let’s get you warmed up then we’re back to training.”
~ ~ ~
“I still think it’s about your folks.” Jane sat on a stool in the corner of Emma’s large walk-in closet. She slowly filed her nails, inspecting them often. She’d refused to help Emma hunt for a specific locket she’d somehow misplaced.
Emma tore through the storage on the north wall. She went from one box, to the next, to a small chest of drawers, to a woven satchel, to several metal containers on the floor near her shoes. She pulled the contents out, tossing them this way then that.
The faster Emma went, the slower she swore Jane moved her nail file.
She was about ready to grab the implement from Jane, snap it in two and throw it at her.
Of course, her bad mood wasn’t Jane’s fault. She’d been in a state all day trying to figure out how to apologize to Liam. That, and Logan had said something to her as they were leaving the club that still made her mad, but she didn’t want to think about that.
She opened the bottom drawer of her dresser. She could only use the thumb and forefinger of her right hand because she clutched something in her palm, a small notepad or something. But her left hand could toss things from the various drawers left and right.
“What are you looking for again?”
Emma stood upright. “The locket that held the photos of my parents. I’ve had it with me all my life. They gave it to me when I was born which was eighty-three years ago so now you know how old I am.” She was pissed.
“You don’t look a day over twenty-five.” Which was true. Dusane inhabitants lived long lives and stayed youthful until pretty much they kicked the bucket.
Jane switched hands and continued her slow progress on her nails.
Emma planted her fists on her hips and glared at her friend. “You’re pissing me off.”
Jane just looked at her then continued filing. “By the way, what’s in your hand? There’s a chain attached. Is it a necklace? Maybe, a locket? Um, maybe the one you’re looking for?” She drawled the last bit.
Emma lifted her right hand and opened it.
There it was. A wave of relief flowed through her then irritation as she glanced at her friend. “How long have you known?”
Jane shrugged but didn’t meet her gaze. “I don’t know. I suspected. Yet, somehow it seemed more important that you keep hunting like some kind of wild animal.”
Emma looked around. “What a mess.”
Jane only chuckled. She then slid off the stool and put her file in her pocket. She moved to stand directly in front of Emma. “So, show me the photos.”
Emma released a heavy sigh. “It’s just my mom and dad. Mom said it was taken the day she learned she was pregnant.” She found the tiny latch and popped the locket open.
There they were, the parents she’d lost when she was sixteen so many decades ago. “How odd that the pain still feels so fresh.”
