What the hell, woman? Michael tried to yell, but it came out as a garbled, squeaking noise. Waking up to someone stuffing you inside a jacket was not his idea of a good morning.
Carissa shushed him as she pushed him the rest of the way in and zipped up his jacket.
His jacket! What was she doing wearing his jacket? Michael shook his head and crawled around her back in the bulge the oversized coat made around her middle. At least she belted the bottom tight so he wouldn’t fall out.
“Are you ready?”
The muffled voice made Michael freeze. He recognized that voice. Oh, God! The king was here! Now he was really going to be in trouble. But why had Carissa stuffed him down inside his jacket? Carefully, he crawled up the inside of the coat, trying to see out. Pressure stopped his movement. Was she holding him down?
“Isn’t that Michael’s jacket?”
That voice Michael knew well. Daniel! He wiggled to get out. He needed to see Daniel. The pressure increased, holding him away from his goal. What was Carissa thinking? He needed out.
“We’ll need to take that in for evidence.”
This comment from his boss made Michael freeze. He felt Carissa clutch at the jacket protectively. What was going on out there?
“Please, My Lady,” Daniel continued. “It may have leads to his whereabouts. We need to find him as soon as possible.”
Carissa held the pressure on him so he couldn’t move.
“Just leave her be.” The king’s voice came from just above Carissa’s shoulder.
Michael felt his arm press into the leather as he drew Carissa into a protective hold.
“I’m sure she’s having a hard enough time as it is. I’ll get you his damned coat later.”
Michael shivered at the anger in the king’s words. Something was definitely not right.
“But, it might help us find him,” Daniel pressed. “He never goes anywhere without that thing. He’s damn good, and we need every edge we can get if we are going to stop him before he strikes again.”
What?
“Just leave it,” the king growled.
Michael clung to the inside of his jacket as he processed the conversation. What did they think he was doing?
The gentle swaying of Carissa’s body told him they were moving again, but where were they going? Michael hated not being in control. Listening closely, he could hear the high-pitched whine of a helicopter starting up. Carefully, he inched up so he was pressed between his jacket and Carissa’s chest in an attempt to see out. Michael could just see Daniel through Carissa’s fingers. She had raised her hand in an attempt to keep him hidden inside the coat. Daniel looked pissed.
Normally, Daniel was a fairly easygoing individual. Something really bad had to have happened for him to be that angry. Inching back down, Michael tucked himself in against Carissa’s stomach to listen. Maybe he could find out what was going on. The noise from the helicopter made eavesdropping difficult until they were tucked away inside the soundproof interior.
“It’s not something you should be worrying about, My Lady.”
Daniel’s words made Michael freeze again. What had Carissa asked him? God, Michael wished she had a voice. It would make eavesdropping so much easier. The tuft of his tail smacked him on the nose as he fidgeted, waiting to hear more. Chomping down on a few of the tassel-like ends, he worried them with his teeth in an attempt to keep from bolting from the coat and demanding to know what was going on.
Carissa shifted as if she were talking with her hands.
“Truly,” Daniel tried again, “I’m sure you don’t want the details.”
Carissa made a sharp motion that made Michael bite down on his tail a little harder.
“Just tell her.” The king’s voice came from somewhere to Carissa’s right. “You know she won’t stop until you do.”
Michael chuckled at Daniel’s exasperated sigh. Obviously, this was not something he wanted to go into.
“I still can’t believe it was Michael.” Defeat was strong in Daniel’s voice. “And to think, he actually volunteered.”
Michael spit out his tail. There was only one assignment he had volunteered for recently. That was chasing down the persons responsible for the dragon disappearances. No, they couldn’t think he was involved with that… could they?
“As I’m sure you’ve heard, about a year ago, dragon pheromones started showing up in clubs around the country.” Daniel’s voice was heavy. “We originally thought it was a group of dragons looking to make some extra cash, but the stuff was extremely concentrated. So, we started digging. We were able to link several missing dragons to the pheromones being sold. All the dragons had the same M.O.: loners, like Darien. Ones that only ventured out when they had to. It must have been months before we realized dragons were being targeted. I sent out men to check on as many as we could. God, I was amazed at how many were missing. Ten in this area alone.” Daniel let out an angry growl.
“Michael and his partner, Jareth, volunteered to head up the investigation. They were to look for any suspicious activity. A week ago, Jareth sent me a report of everything they had found. Stories and eyewitness testimonies of the missing dragons’ doings.
“There wasn’t much to go on, but several people claimed to have seen Michael with a few of the dragons just before they disappeared.”
Michael squirmed inside the jacket. He wanted to scream. That’s not what they had found!
“He’s also one of the few people with access to the solitary dragons list. I had Jareth looking into Michael’s recent activities. Apparently, Michael made several trips in the last few months, right around the time the dragons disappeared.”
Michael thrashed in anger.
Carissa’s arms came down, squishing Michael into her body, holding him still.
“At that point, Michael hadn’t sent in a report, but he was always one to check his facts carefully and present them in person. I was going to question him when he came in. Everything Jareth found was circumstantial, and I had a hard time believing Michael could be involved with these abductions. I’ve known the man for a damn-long time.” Daniel let out a forlorn sigh before continuing. “Then Michael disappeared, too. Jareth said he went to get some coffee and never came back.
“I wanted to believe that he had a reasonable explanation. Then you disappeared.” The tone of Daniel’s voice got bleaker, if that were even possible. “I spent hours going over the video surveillance from Baron Estivis’ ball. I couldn’t believe it when I saw him come out carrying you.”
Michael squirmed against Carissa’s still form. He wanted to thrash someone. How could they make her believe he was responsible for her abduction? Her heart rate and breathing had gone up drastically. The coat puffed out as she squeezed her arms into the sides of the leather. Michael stretched to see her. Tears streamed from her eyes as she looked down at him. Hurt hung on every part of her beautiful face.
Reaching a clawed foot up to touch the front of her corset, he met her accusing stare. No! Shaking his head, he tried to convince her of his innocence. He had not done what they were claiming. He wanted to boil out of his hiding spot and deny the accusations, but he didn’t have anything to offer as proof. Carissa’s hands over the leather convinced him to remain where he was.
A wave of golden hair hid her face from everyone else as she considered him. She sniffed back tears before raising her head and nodding towards where Daniel must be seated.
God, she had made some decision for him, but what was it?
“Don’t worry, Carissa,” the king tried to calm his sister. “Justice will be quick for him.”