I flicked my tail and rose slowly toward the surface. The feel of the cold seawater slithering over my scales was sensual, making me want to wriggle in sheer pleasure. I loved my sea form, and part of me wanted to remain like this for a while. But if that boat did belong to the scientists, they might very well have the short-range receiver with them. Which meant I had two choices—destroy the boat and kill those on board, or escape.
I flipped over onto my back and swam slowly toward the vibrations of the boat. Even if they did have the tracker, I was deep enough that they wouldn’t see me. But I would see them.
The hull of the boat came into sight. I swam underneath it, then angled away until I could see who was on board. The boat was a luxurious one, so didn’t belong to Marsten’s men. Unless they’d commandeered it. Inside it were two men. One of the men held what looked to be a cell phone, but when he swung around in my direction, I realized it had to be the receiver.
I spun around and headed under the boat again. The man with the receiver was shouting for the driver to turn, which meant I was left with little option. I couldn’t let them follow me again.
I snapped my tail and dove deep, gathering speed. When the ocean was little more than a dark blur roaring past, I flipped around and headed back up, swimming straight at the underbelly of the boat. At the last possible moment, I twisted, hitting the hull with my back, sending it flipping up and over. As those aboard fell into the sea, I located the man with the tracker and swam toward him. He spun and saw me, and frantically began to swim away. As if he could ever beat me in the water. I caught him in an instant, and snapped with my teeth, grabbing the receiver out of his hand and tasting blood in the process. Nausea rose, but I ignored it, crunching down on the device before spitting out the remains.
Then I turned and swam away. I couldn’t kill them. I might regret it later, but right now, I had enough blood on my hands. Besides, Marsten’s men weren’t the real problem—they were just paid employees, doing what they were told. Even the dragons in his employ wouldn’t present such a problem once Marsten and the scientists at Drumnadrochit were taken care of.
That had to be my first priority. Leaving a trail of bodies behind me held no appeal, especially when Marsten and his investors had more than enough funds to easily replace those bodies.
I headed for the shore. The sea bottom eventually began to rise and sunlight played through the water, filling my world with pretty shades of blue and green.
As I rose back through the twilight layers and reached the surface levels, I shifted shape once again. In human form, I swam the last few hundred yards, then strode out of the water.
It was just beginning to rain, and there was hardly anyone on the beach. Certainly no one seemed to have noticed that a shot had been fired or a man had gone missing. My plastic bag and clothes were still sitting where I’d left them and, from this distance, didn’t appear to have been disturbed. Of course, that didn’t mean nothing had been taken. I stripped off my T-shirt and slung it over my shoulder to hide the bullet wound the sea had only half healed, then in my panties and bra, walked up the beach toward my clothes.
Once I’d grabbed my bag, I did a quick check for the phone, credit card, and cash. They were all still there, and relief slithered through me. Some days, luck was just on your side.
I quickly dressed, using a dry shirt as a towel, then finger-combed my hair and headed off the beach. I dug the phone out of the bag, checked that Trae hadn’t called, then shoved it in my pocket. The cash and credit card quickly followed.
So what did I do next?
Go find a restaurant and wait for Trae’s call?
Fact was, I no longer needed to break into the old lady’s house, and I no longer needed the security codes.
I could go find my dad, and give him the message from my mom. Give him the hope that she would find him, and that there was no need to haunt the twilight zone between this world and the next.
I bit my lip, letting my gaze roam across the street and the cars parked nearby, searching for a familiar car. But neither the scientists’ red car nor Trae’s gray one was anywhere nearby.
Part of me wanted to see Trae’s car. Wanted to see Trae. Not just because I missed him already, but because being alone brought back all the old doubts. Doubts about my strength. Doubts about my ability to do the task I’d set myself.
Truth was, the only time I’d ever really been alone was those first few weeks before my capture. After that, there’d always been scientists, and later other dragons, about. Still, it wasn’t until Egan joined me that I’d ceased to feel so alone. It was stupid, I know, but Egan’s presence had always given me some hope that I could beat them. That together we could do this and win. I’d spent most of my adult life being poked and prodded, having my blood and flesh extracted and examined, and it was only with Egan that I’d found the strength to fight. It was a strength that had eventually freed us.
I didn’t know if I could do this alone.
Didn’t know if I wanted to do it alone.
But even as that thought crossed my mind, a vision rose. Egan running. Stumbling. The blood, splattered across the crystal walls of his home. Its warm stickiness as it slid down my skin. Him dropping to the ground as his life flooded across the gray stones of the home he’d thought so safe.
And then Egan’s face became Trae’s, Egan’s blood Trae’s . . .
A sob caught in my throat and suddenly tears were filling my eyes, blurring my vision. I stumbled, and flung out a hand, using the wall of a nearby shop to steady myself.
No, I thought. No.
Egan’s death was enough. I couldn’t handle Trae dying as well. Which meant I had to let him go—at least until being around me no longer spelled death.
And while I very much suspected it wasn’t going to be easy to lose my thief, I had to at least try.
Because I had a bad feeling that if Trae got hurt or killed, it would hurt me in ways I couldn’t even begin to understand.
Chapter Ten
I’d barely made my decision to leave when the cell phone rang. My heart leapt somewhere to the vicinity of my throat, and for several seconds I thought about ignoring it. It was stupid to answer it, stupid to give him advance warning of my intentions. I knew all that.
And yet part of me ached to hear his voice. To hear the timbre of it resonate through my body one more time, warming me as much as his clever hands.
I blew out a breath, then dragged the phone out of my pocket.
“Hello?”
“Destiny? Where are you?”
My gaze went to the sea. I could hear it calling me, telling me not to be long. I closed my eyes, and lied. “I don’t exactly know.”
He paused. Somewhere close behind him, a woman ordered a coffee. Cups clinked. Voices murmured, a general hum that spoke of a smallish crowd. He had to be in a café somewhere. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means I don’t need to visit that house anymore.”
“Why not?” His voice was sharp, filled with the threat of anger.
“I had a nice chat with one of the men in the red car. Apparently, they no longer use key codes, but rather handprint scans.”
“He could have been lying—”
“He wasn’t.”
Again he paused. “And the man?”
“Still swimming deep, as far as I know.”
“Destiny—”
“No,” I cut in, ignoring the deepening anger in his voice. Ignoring the shiver that was part fear, part desire. “Sorry, Trae, but I’m not willing to let you pay the price that Egan did. They still have the means to find me, and enough is enough.”
“I won’t let—”
“I’m going to get my mother,” I cut in again. “I’m sorry, Trae. Sorry I can’t help you.”