Page 44 of Liar For Hire (For Hire 1)

Declan took a step forward and then stopped, working his jaw. Janessa felt horrible. She’d forgotten he couldn’t fly. He must want to help the woman who had declared she would always be on his side, but he couldn’t.

Declan muttered something beneath his breath, which sounded like, “I have no choice.”

The skin on his face began to shimmer like he was about to shape shift. A deafening roar from the trees drew all of their attention to that direction, and another dragon appeared. He headed straight for the fighting group, scattering them.

“Who’s that?” Janessa wondered.

“The man who was at the bar that night I came to get you.” The change Declan began faded. He nodded approval. “She’ll be okay. He’ll protect her.”

With Declan’s assurance that Roxie would be fine and everyone’s eyes on the sky, Janessa started to think this might be the perfect time to try to get away. She gauged the distance between one of the cars waiting and where she stood. The man who had vacated the vehicle had left it running. If she and Declan could get into it, the most the dragons could do was pursue them in a car chase. They could drive to the nearest crowd of people, and the dragons wouldn’t try to use their abilities for fear of exposing their existence. It was a flimsy plan, since they could move so much faster than a human.

But I’m not going to be a prisoner for anybody, least of all dragons!

She squeezed Declan’s hand, and when he looked down at her, she tilted her head toward the car and widened her eyes.

“Now’s our chance.”

She hoped he could figure out what she meant.

“We’ll fight our way out if we have to—you and me.”

He grinned at her and squeezed her hand. Did that mean he understood? She poised to flee, her muscles coiling tight. Tension snaked along her shoulder blades. Her stomach cramped as a scenario where Patrick killed them for resisting his idiot plan ran through her mind.

She took one step forward, and Declan jerked her backward, crushing her against his side. He pressed his lips to her ear. “It’s okay.”

She wriggled in his hold, but there was no getting away from him. “Declan? Let go.”

He said it again. Her frustration grew. He couldn’t be as scared as Patrick accused him of being, but what else could she think? They had a perfect chance to try to get away, and he didn’t even want to try.

At her protests, he held her closer and actually

escorted her behind Patrick as he ordered them to the cars. Janessa saw the whole world closing in on her. If Declan wouldn’t fight so she could be free, she would live as a the only human prisoner to a race of mystical beasts. And who knew what they would do to her once they established their own town and lived by their own rules. The future appeared very bleak.

Chapter 17

Janessa woke up with sunshine dappling her face, the bed, and the walls around her. She rubbed sleep from her eyes and noticed Declan standing at one of the windows looking out. He wore pants but no shirt, and his feet were bare.

“Declan?” She was still mad at him, but love and desire for this man hadn’t abated one iota.

“Nessa, this cabin is small and rustic, but I promise to build you something bigger and better soon.”

“God, you’re not serious! You actually plan to stay here?”

He turned to face her. “If circumstances were right, would you want to?”

“We’re prisoners, or did you forget that? Oh wait, maybe you’re going to promise your allegiance to that narcissistic maniac. And not to mention the fact that I’m the only human!”

He folded his arms over his chest, smiling at her.

What the heck does he have to be so happy about?

“These are my people. You fell asleep early last night, but you should have seen them, sweetheart. They arrived from every direction and filled the land. I thought they died out mostly. I felt for so long that I was the only one left. No, that’s not true. I hid from them.”

She let a little of her anger go. “I know, but it’s because of your broken heart. Even if they blame you for that, I don’t. No one can know how much pain you’re in when you lose your whole family, and they certainly can’t tell you how to grieve.”

“That’s why I love you. You’ve always had my back.”

She lowered her lashes. “Lord, you sure are freely throwing around the ‘I love you’ thing. Last time I checked, you said you can’t be with me. And your ‘mate’ came to rescue you. Did she show up here too?”

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