IK2 (6 page)

“A client?”

“Don‟t think so. He‟s really cute,” she said with a smile.

Sophie repressed a sigh. Janie was all of twenty and nearly every male under

thirty was “cute” in her eyes. “Does he have a name?”

“Michael.”

This time she did sigh. What in the world was he doing here? After what she did

to him, she wouldn‟t think he‟d ever want to see her again. Probably not too many

women kneed the man. “Show him in,” she said.

Janie giggled and managed to brush against Michael as his broad-shouldered

frame filled the doorway. He gave her a fleeting smile and then looked at Sophie. His

dark eyes held hers instantly with an intensity that made her breath hitch as he crossed the SWORD OF FIRE Cynthia Breeding 23

room toward her. The sunlight streaming in from the French doors caught the deep

auburn streaks in his almost-black hair and she thought she saw a flame- like halo around his head. She gave herself a shake. What would she be seeing next? Faeries floating

around in the air? And why did her thinking go all goofy when Michael was around?

“Please have a seat,” she said quickly before he got any closer to her. “I must say

I‟m surprised to see you after our last encounter.”

He inclined his head as he drew a straight-back chair near to where she sat at her

computer. “That was my fault. I‟m afraid I took advantage of the situation.”

He was apologizing? She was pretty sure she had put him out of commission for

at least twenty- four hours. Most men would be cursing her for that. “Well, I probably could have used an alternative way to stop you.”

A corner of his mouth quirked up in a small smile. “That might not have hurt so

much.” He glanced at the computer screen. “You‟re look ing up dragons?”

She felt her face flush. “It‟s pretty stupid. There‟s been no sighting of anything

unnatural since whatever that was happened.”

“What happened was real. You‟re not stupid to want to know more. Go ahead,”

he said. “Google it.”

Feeling like a fool, Sophie turned back to the computer and clicked on a link.

There was the usual stuff about dragons liking bling, and collecting hordes of shiny

treasures, along with lightning and thunder being the dragon‟s breath and roar,

respectively. Another link talked about their appearance: scales that rotate and overlap, horns, razor-sharp wings and spiked-spines with arrow-point tails. The third link was

more educational.

“It says dragons, like birds, have hollow bones which allows them to fly. They

can dislocate their jaw bone to take in large chunks of food.” Briefly, she thought of

being dinner for the red dragon. “Here‟s something interesting.”

“What‟s that?”

“It says their scales form when iron from their food mixes with a protein called

keratin in their cells.” She looked up at Michael. “Sorry. I get excited about biology.”

“No problem.” Michael moved closer and reached across her, his fingers

brushing her hand as he moved the mouse to another site. That very slight touch left a

pleasant, tingling sensation that spread up her arm and through her body. Sophie was

suddenly aware of his closeness, although he did not touch her. In fact, he settled back in his chair.

“There‟s some more biology for you,” he said.

She forced herself to refocus on the screen and not think about the scent of

heather and woodlands that surrounded him. What in the world was wrong with her?

“This site says dragons live for centuries! Babies are called wyrmlings and are

considered
young
adolescents at age sixty. I‟ll bet the baby-boomer generation would appreciate that!” She peered more closely at the facts. “They aren‟t adults until they‟re five hundred and only middle-aged at a thousand!”

Michael leaned in again, only inches away from her to read over her shoulder.

Her entire body alerted, nerve-endings ready for—what? It was almost as if she were

wrapped in a warm cocoon that pulsated with gentle static. Yet he was not touching her, only his warm breath tickled her ear. She needed to focus on something besides Michael.

Shakily, she began to read on.

SWORD OF FIRE Cynthia Breeding 24

“When the female seeks a mate, she let‟s out a special call and then begins to

glow… She stopped abruptly, her face heating. This was not the direction she needed to take.

“You‟re glowing,” Michael said with a grin.

Before she could decide how to ignore the innuendo, Janie was back at the door,

along with a very annoyed- looking Robert.

“I told him you were busy,” Janie said, but she didn‟t sound too convincing since

she was smiling at him.

He entered the room without preamble, glancing at Michael before staring at

Sophie. “I guess he‟s the reason you haven‟t returned my calls?”

Sophie felt her face flame and wondered if she might just spontaneously combust.

Could things get worse?

“I‟ve been so worried about you,” Robert said.

Michael stood, shifting his weight so he was balanced on both feet. Sophie

recognized it as a defensive move from fencing.

“And you are?” he asked.

Robert regarded him coolly, using his best, impassive attorney face. “I am her

husband.”

“Ex-husband,” Sophie said.

“You know we‟re going to talk about that,” Robert said in the buttery-smooth

voice he used to convince witnesses to talk.

Sophie bit her tongue and tried not to glare at the man. She didn‟t believe in

airing dirty laundry in front of strangers. “I am busy at the moment.”

“Yes. We were involved in a conversation,” Michael said.

Robert appraised him again, this time shifting his weight too and Sophie suddenly

wondered if they were going to resort to squabbling like school boys.

“And who are you?”

“Name‟s Michael McCain.”

“And what do you do?”

“I help a friend run a temp agency and I adjunct at the local college. Why?”

Robert‟s lips curled in a subtle sneer that Sophie had seen him use when he felt he

had the upper hand. She didn‟t like it.

“Gentleman,” she said, standing also. “I really need both of you to leave. I‟ve

got forty animals to feed, a horse that needs exercising, and an elderly lady coming in an hour who may have to put her ancient Shepard down. I need time to prepare myself for

that.”

Michael‟s gaze softened. “I understand. I‟ll get back to you about the research

project.” He turned to Robert. “After you.”

Robert did not move for a moment and Sophie was afraid he was going to

stubbornly insist upon staying and talking. Attorneys were nothing if not persistent. But something in her look must have convinced him this was not the day.

He moved toward the door. “I‟ll be getting back to you too,” he said.

* * * *

In her relief that there had not been a dragon sighting, Sophie almost forgot her

appointment with Toby Clark until Janie announced him on Wednesday morning.

“Thank you for seeing me,” he said after she‟d invited him to sit down.

SWORD OF FIRE Cynthia Breeding 25

“I‟m still not sure why you would want to do a human interest story on me,”

Sophie replied. “Especially since nothing has happened since that one time.” She

pointed toward the windows. “There‟s only one or two media types lingering out there.”

“As I mentioned, I‟m new at this. I think the fact that you are a vet—used to

caring for animals—and this dragon appeared at your doorstep is an interesting angle.”

Toby shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out something wrapped in tissue. “I saw

this and thought you might like it.”

She unwrapped the tissue and held up a keychain with a crystal-eyed dragon

dangling from it. “Thank you,” she said.

Toby blushed to the roots of his fair hair. “I hope I didn‟t offend you. I thought

you might think it funny.” He looked very earnest. “You will use it, won‟t you?”

Sophie looked at the small dragon again. “It is rather cute.” She sensed that he

was waiting, like a small boy hoping to please her. She picked up the keys to the office that were lying on the desk and clipped the ring to it. “There. All set to go. You were sweet to think of it.”

His blush deepened and then he coughed and brought out his notepad. “I know

you‟re busy, so I‟ll just get started,” he said.

They spent about fifteen minutes discussing how Sophie had decided to become a

vet and how important having a no-kill animal shelter was. As she watched him leave,

she thought about how very different he was from the other reporters she‟d had to deal

with. He seemed to lack the aggression and persistence that most of them had, but who

was she to fault him for that?

“Good luck,” she said to his retreating back.

* * * *

“Any problems today?” Michael asked Stephanie, Sara‟s middle-aged assistant,

late that afternoon as he checked into the agency.

“None. We had thirty temps working, including a new guy with the cutest smile.

Too bad I‟m not twenty years younger,” she said with a wink

“What‟s his name?” Michael asked, “and what does he do? Did you run

background?”

She looked slightly miffed. “Of course. No criminal record. The name is Troy

Sutton and he has a degree in Ancient History. Apparently it‟s almost as useless as

yours. I sent him to the library since they‟re needing someone to help catalo g what is going digital.”

“He knows computers?”

“Seems to. The head librarian didn‟t have any complaints when I talked to her

earlier.”

“Good. Maybe he can help out here.” Michael glanced over the neatly stacked

folders of their clients. “I may have to leave for a few weeks as soon as the semester is over.”

“No problem.” She gave him a quick smile. “I‟ve managed this office for three

years. Going on vacation?”

“Not quite. A…friend of mine and I need to retrieve something for Mr. Smith.”

She frowned at that. “Sara was working for him when she disappeared.”

“Sara hasn‟t exactly disappeared,” Michael said. “She‟s safe-guarding a very

valuable object in a secluded location.”

SWORD OF FIRE Cynthia Breeding 26

“She hasn‟t called or anything,” Stephanie replied.

He knew she was worried about Sara. He was too, but he had to trust that Nimue

knew what she was talking about, even if she was a fickle faerie. But how to explain to Stephanie?

“You know cell phone transmissions can be picked up pretty easily,” Michael

answered. “So she can‟t call.”

She looked dubious, but didn‟t say anything. Michael retreated to the small office

behind the main desk and closed the door. He needed to make sure he hadn‟t missed

anything that Sara might have left behind concerning Balor. The bastard kept himself

incognito, just like he did when he was running the money- laundering scheme that kept

terroristic organizations supplied with cash. To the outside world, Baylor operated a very successful brokerage in London. To the few who really knew what he was, the “inside”

money was all dirty, taken from the drug cartels of Mexico and South America as well as

the opium business in Afghanistan.

Michael wished he didn‟t need to drag Sophie into this. It was dangerous enough

work for him and he‟d had centuries to hone his warlock skills. Sophie was completely

unaware of her magical power from what he could tell which meant she didn‟t know how

to use it either.

Thoughts of Sophie made him wonder about the ex-husband. The man was

arrogant, but he clearly thought he was going to be a part of her life again. Did she

harbor feelings for him? Or was he the jerk who had hurt her? She had made no

comment, one way or the other.

Something that felt dangerously close to a knife pierced his gut. The idea of

another man‟s hands roaming over Sophie‟s naked flesh, kneading her breasts,

teasing her nipples to hard nubs with his tongue, and then spreading her legs while he

mounted her made Michael want to smash a fist into the guy‟s face. His aura expanded,

flickering shards of dark red and black. He took a deep breath, pulling the negative

energy back in and neutralizing it with a spell. Balor fed off those kind of emotions—

would feel them across space— if Michael let his anger loose he would endanger

everyone around him.

Michael finished searching the small office with no luck. He shut off the lights

and went into the lobby. Dusk was already falling and Stephanie had gone home.

He had just switched on the ignition in his car when something red flashed across

the sky. This time he didn‟t need the police scanner to tell him what it was. Putting the car in drive, the tires squealed as he headed for Sophie‟s clinic.

* * * *

Sophie arched her back, stretching tired muscles, as she closed the door to the

kennel area. All the animals had been fed and had fresh water. Most were already curled up and snoozing contently. It had been a long day, but knowing that these dogs and cats, at least, would be comfortable and safe made the work worth it.

She‟d even managed to take Augustin for a good ride. It was odd how she could

relate to the horse, almost as if he understood everything she said. He‟d even nickered and tossed his head when she tried to explain how crazy her world had become.