Page 12 of Awaken the Dragon
“Will you be meeting with your husband-to-be today?”
He didn’t have her schedule in front of him and there were definitely more pressing matters at hand, but that question had popped into his mind.
“There are many preparations to be made. Appointments I believe are set for dress fittings and other social events that will lead up to the wedding.”
The answer was given without her looking at him. In fact, she didn’t look at anything in particular as she spoke and her words sounded less than enthusiastic.
“It sounds very formal. You said your family would be here for the wedding, are they coming soon?” Because for some reason he didn’t like the thought of her being here alone.
“They will arrive just before the wedding.”
“And you’re okay with being alone? As I recall weddings normally have lots of people involved in planning and getting the final stages together.”
Theo had never been mated, or married as the humans preferred. He’d never been to any ceremonies of mating or marriage and didn’t ever intend to be present at one. The forever union of a man and woman was not something he aspired to. For one, he was so much more than just a man.
“Are you married?”
Easy answer. “No.”
She looked up at him then. “But you have a girlfriend?”
“I have a job to do.”
“And you must do this job alone. I can understand that.”
Theo had been with many human women during a part of his lifetime. He didn’t think any of them would have had the same reaction that Shola just had to his response. She took another sip and he found himself staring at her lips on the glass again. She caught him staring and set the glass down slowly, their gazes locked.
“You are not like the guards and warriors in Mobo,” she said, her voice just a little softer.
“And you are not like any other client I’ve ever had.”
True statements on both ends. He wondered what it meant.
He wouldn’t find out, not at this moment anyway. Sirens were loud even though they were a distance away. They would get louder as they approached and he had a suspicion they would definitely get closer. On instinct he moved to the table where Shola sat. The sun was shining brightly but a gloominess had settled over him and with it came a more powerful aroma—the acrid scent of blood and death.
“Get inside,” he told Shola. “Now!”
She hesitated only a second before standing. At the same time the first enforcer cars came from both directions, screeching to a halt in front of the hotel. The scent was getting stronger even inside the room and he moved quickly, placing a hand at the small of Shola’s back to hasten her steps. She stopped and so did he as, like last night, that simple touch seemed bigger and more impactful than even the sirens blaring outside. He didn’t have time to examine it because his communicator buzzed.
“Stay inside,” he told her and turned back toward the balcony.
“What’s going on?” he yelled into the communicator the moment he was outside again.
“They found a body. One floor down from where you are. The room was reserved under the name N’Gara. Magnum’s coming in the back right now to get you and the client out of there.”
Theo cursed and watched as more all-black enforcer cars with tinted windows and red flashing lights on top pulled up. Men and women dressed in the red-and-black enforcer uniforms jumped out, running into the building.
“What kind?”
“Human,” Bleu said. “I have more intel. I don’t think you’re gonna like it.”
Theo focused his mind. He could hear the buzz of conversations twelve stories down. A woman’s throat had been ripped out. There was blood all over the room—last night’s stench combined with the one filling his senses now. They suspected some type of animal attack but because they were most likely nonbelievers, were baffled as to what exactly and how the body ended up in the building instead of out on the streets.
“I’ll be there within the hour and I’m bringing her with me.” He disconnected his link to Bleu.
That eerie feeling he’d had upon meeting Shola was back the moment he was again inside and saw her in the center of the room. She was standing with her arms folded over her chest, shaking her head.
“Tell me what is happening and when my new guard will arrive.”
