Light My Fire (22 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Aiden’s boots rang across the gallery’s floor as he hoofed it to Dana’s office. Careening around her desk, he wrenched the drawer open and pawed through the papers, hoping against hope he’d find some record of Tony’s address. A few minutes later, Jace and Emmaline entered the office.

“Anything?” Aiden demanded. They shook their heads and the anchor suspended to his heart hit bottom. He’d known the chances of finding anything were slim. According to Emmaline, Dana had only taken Tony on as her assistant two weeks ago, and to complicate matters more, he worked as an intern. Meaning no luck finding a paycheck stub with an address.

“What’s the deal with this dude anyway?” Jace paced in front of the desk. “Has he developed a twisted obsession with Dana or is he after us?”

“I vote for him being a hunter,” Emmaline said with a decisive nod that made her wince. Patting her bandage, she continued. “That boy had one hell of a fancy rifle and he took out the dragon in the suit from probably several hundred yards away.” She shivered. “It’s a miracle neither Dana nor I got caught in the crossfire.”

The potential of that happening drove a cold spike of fury through Aiden’s stomach. He shoved away from the desk. A shrill ring came from the phone resting near one of the stacks of papers he’d rifled through. They all froze.

Breaking from his stupor, Aiden grabbed for the phone. “Hello?”

“Didn’t have much luck finding my address?”

Aiden gripped the handle of the phone in a vise hold. “If you hurt her, so help me God you’ll pray for me to kill you fast.”

“Will you?”

“What do you think?” Aiden’s tone dripped with silky menace.

“I knew you’d be the perfect opponent.”

“This isn’t a fucking game.”

“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong. It’s the biggest game of all.” Tony chortled like an excited schoolboy. “Let’s see how smart of a player you are. There’s something waiting for you at the Purple Pelican, room 11. Better hurry.”

The line went dead and Aiden slammed the phone into its cradle. “Come on. He gave me an address.”

“You’re shitting me.” Jace rushed to catch up with Aiden. “Why would he just hand it over?”

“Because he’s loony tunes. Or it’s a trap. Either way, I’m checking it out.”

“Me too.”

“Me three.”

Aiden slammed to a halt and looked at Emmaline. “It might be best if you stay here. Who knows what we could be walking into.”

“I don’t care. This is my niece we’re talking about.”

He couldn’t exactly argue with that. He’d do anything when it came to Dana too. They hurried outside and Emmaline locked up the gallery before hopping into the backseat of the Navigator. Aiden tossed his cell phone to Jace. “Call information and find out where the hell the Purple Pelican is located.”

“It’s on Van Dyke, about six miles from here,” Emmaline piped up. “Only reason I know is because their butt-ugly sign sticks out like a sore thumb. Take a right out of the lot.”

Aiden did as told and followed Emmaline’s excellent directions all the way to the Purple Pelican. He glanced at the motel’s enormous sign and agreed with Emmaline’s assessment. The bird on the billboard more resembled a molting buzzard than a pelican.

The motel had the same layout as the fleabag dump he’d visited with Claudia, only it wasn’t quite so seedy. An open parking space waited in front of room 11. Aiden slid the Navigator into the tight spot and killed the engine. “Okay, I don’t think I need to tell anyone to be on guard.” He climbed out and approached the entrance to the room cautiously.

After checking the exterior hardware of the door for booby traps, he shifted his hand into a talon and jimmied the lock. He was practically becoming a pro at it. The door swung open and he stepped inside. Music drifted from the bathroom. Thankful for the carpet masking his footsteps, he crossed to the small room and peeked around the door. Tucker Knoxville was chained to the shower rod.

“
Shit
.” Aiden rushed forward the same instant Jace crowded into the bathroom.

“Is that—?”

“Yeah. Help me rip this bar out of the wall.”

Aiden waited for Jace to grip the other end before giving a hard tug. The rod disengaged with a crack, showering plaster and tile bits onto Tucker’s head. The youngest Knoxville member stirred with a grunt. He pried his eyes open, revealing irises that were dilated and glassy. His mouth slid into a dopey smile. “Hey, dudes.”

“He’s higher than a kite.”

“Probably the only way Tony could keep him from shifting.” Aiden kneeled in front of Tucker. “Your sister’s been worried sick about you, kid. Think we should call her?”

Despite being drugged out of his mind, Tucker still managed to look horrified. “Aw, man. You really know how to kill a buzz.”

Aiden stepped out of the line of Claudia’s warpath. Jace sidled beside him and cocked an eyebrow. “Maybe it would’ve been more merciful if we didn’t sober Tucker up first.”

“Have you been napping under high-voltage lines again?” Claudia grabbed her brother by the scruff of his neck and hauled him off the bed. “What were you
thinking
going along with Kinnit’s blackmail?”

“Duh, obviously I didn’t if I’ve been locked up here all this time.”

Claudia tweaked Tucker’s ear until he yelped. “You know what I mean, smartass. If you’d come to me in the beginning, I could have helped you.”

“Yeah, right.”

Aiden decided to intervene before Claudia made good on the threat of a good ass kicking that sizzled in her eyes. “Tucker, what can you tell us about Tony? How did you end up in this hotel room with him?”

“For starters, this is
my
hotel room. The asshole jumped me two weeks ago when I was about to leave for breakfast. He chained me to the shower and pumped me for everything I knew about you.”

“
Me?
”

“Yeah, the dude is obsessed with you. Kept spouting weird shit about hunting the top alpha and becoming the master slayer. Apparently he’s been tracking you for a while.”

“Son of a bitch.” Aiden shot a glance toward the foot of the bed, where Jace stood. “Guess that validates our theory about the hunters keeping some kind of database about us. Still, it doesn’t explain Tony’s elaborate ruse regarding Dana.” Unless…

“What are you thinking?”

He mulled the idea around in his head before presenting it to Jace. “What if he knew I’d be coming here to collect Dana?”

Jace’s eyebrows shot upward. “That’d mean he knew about the contract and Dana being the sacrifice. How the hell is that possible?”

“I don’t know.” Aiden rubbed his forehead wearily. “Maybe I’m way out in left field with that theory.” Still, there wasn’t exactly any alternative explanation that made better sense.

Before he could ponder it further, Emmaline came rushing into the room, talking on her cell phone. He did a double take when he realized it was
his
cell phone. Who the hell was she speaking to on his phone?

“Hold on, he’s right here.” Emmaline cupped her palm over the receiver. “It’s your mother. I thought it might be Tony—or God willing, Dana.”

Aiden relieved Emmaline of the phone. “Hi. You’ve landed, huh? Yeah, Emmaline’s a real peach. Oh, she caught you up to speed?” Was that good or bad? “You and Dad are heading over here now?” Bad. Definitely bad. “I don’t think that’s—” He gritted his teeth when the line went dead.

Tossing the phone onto the mattress, he tunneled his fingers through his hair and tried to calm the beast inside him. When that didn’t work, he started ransacking the room, looking for any clues that could give him insight into Tony’s twisted mind. Scrounging under the bed, he uncovered a couple of books dealing with dragon lore. A glossy piece of paper bookmarked one of the pages. He pulled it out and unfolded it. From what he could make of it, it appeared to be an ad for some kind of live role-play event that’d taken place back in May. He placed the ad back inside the book and continued with his search. Beneath the other side of the bed he discovered a box loaded with video-gaming equipment and assorted games. As he’d expected, a good portion of the games featured dragons. A few alien battles and military-type games had been thrown in the mix too.

Aiden stared at the collection in the box, his mind retracing to Tucker’s statement about Tony’s obsession over hunting the top alpha. Tony had even called him the perfect opponent. “He has no intention of putting a bullet in me from a distance like he did Morgan. He wants to fight me.”

The rest of the room remained silent. Aiden glanced up to find everyone staring at him.

“If he wants to fight you, why doesn’t he just get it over with? Why all this stupid monkeying around?” Emmaline’s voice broke and she plopped onto the foot of the bed.

Aiden strode to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “We’ll figure out where he’s taken Dana and we’ll get her back. You have my sworn word.”

Emmaline snuck a finger under her glasses and whisked away a tear. Sniffing, she peered up at him. “I know it isn’t very Christian of me, but could you maybe hurt Tony just a teensy bit?”

Aiden’s mouth stretched into a smile of feral promise. “I think I can accommodate that.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Dana warily eyed the big hairy spider spinning its web in the far left corner of the shack. “Listen, Charlotte, you and me will have no problems as long as you stay right where you’re at.” Repositioning her rear end on the beanbag, she waggled her arms, trying to ease the chafing in her wrists and bring circulation back into her limbs. She’d been sitting here for who knew how many hours. Things were going numb. Her butt in particular.

Still, being manacled in a creepy shack gave her plenty opportunity for some soul searching. Emmaline was right—normal was way overrated. Did she really want to spend the rest of her days with some dull guy who didn’t make her heart sing every time he walked into a room? Aiden made her feel alive. Special. Cherished. Her stomach cramped whenever she thought of never seeing him again. She had been protecting her heart all this time from what it needed to feel complete.

Aiden.

Soon as she escaped crazy-ass Tony, she was going to tell Aiden she loved him. No more running and no more fighting.

The scrape of metal jerked her from her musings and she shifted her focus to the door just as Tony stepped inside.

“Did you miss me while I was gone?”

She didn’t waste her energy reacting to his taunt. Instead she remained silent while he pulled up a lawn chair and sprawled in the seat. Too bad he didn’t place the chair a little farther back. It would have been nice if the spider fell on his head.

Tony dug into one of the pockets on the leg of his cargo pants. He pulled out an object that reminded her of the handheld game player that Wheezer occasionally snuck into work. The opening jingle of bombs exploding verified her suspicions. “You’re not an art student at all, are you?”

He continued playing with the toy, his thumbs a blur of motion. “Nope.”

“Aiden guessed that the vandal was a hunter. Is that what you are? A hunter?”

“Yep.”

His monosyllabic answers were starting to bug the hell out of her. “Damn it, would you put that down?”

“Hold on. I’m about to kill this ugly mofo.” The sounds of heralding trumpets trilled from the device and Tony pumped his fist in the air and roared. “I. Am. Victorious.”

She gaped at him.
No. You’re the jelly in a nutcase sandwich
. She decided to keep that assessment to herself for the time being.

Tony returned the game to his pocket and leaned forward. “What else has Aiden said about me?”

“Uh…nothing.”

Disappointment streaked across his face. “Really?”

“Believe it or not, you barely came up in conversation.” It took every ounce of willpower she possessed not to roll her eyes. “Why do I get this feeling that you’re more interested in Aiden than you are with me?” She cocked her head to the side. “Are you sure you’re not gay?”

“Shit, I don’t want to have sex with him. I want to kill him.”

She’d deduced as much but hearing it straight from his mouth still made her sick to her stomach. “He has just as much a right to life as you do.”
More, you twisted cretin
. “Being a dragon doesn’t make him evil or allow you to hunt him like an animal.”

Judging from Tony’s smirking expression, she didn’t manage to put the tiniest chink in his conscience. “In the game of life, there’s the hunter and the prey. There are few creatures on Earth with the capability of annihilating the hunter. That’s pretty damn exciting, don’t you think?”

The zealous glee shimmering in his eyes made her shiver. “Fine, you want to kill him. Why all this then?” She jerked her chin to indicate their surroundings. “You’ve had over a week to make your move. Maybe the fact that you haven’t is your common sense telling you that you’re way over your head.” Though she doubted he possessed any actual sense, she prayed her words might at least make him pause and rethink his insane plan.

He steepled his fingers and planted his chin on their tips. “True, I could have killed him a long time ago. Way longer than you realize. But his quick death would have been trivial compared to the big picture, so I’ve bided my time all these years.”

She frowned. “Big picture?”

“Yep. You see, my pops and yours used to hunt together back in the day.”

Surprise shot through her at his declaration and he laughed.

“The hunting community is more tightly knit than you know. Anyways, it didn’t take much for my old man to get loose-lipped after a beer or two, and one day he told me all about that contract hanging over your head. It was a damn shame both our pops died before getting the chance to do anything about your situation. I, on the other hand, don’t intend to let the opportunity pass.”

A sense of uneasiness settled in the pit of her stomach. “What do you mean?”

“War. Between the hunters and the dragons. The way it’s supposed to be.
Meant
to be.” Tony’s dark pupils gleamed with an unholy fire. “And Aiden coming here to collect a sacrifice—
you
—is the perfect catalyst.”

She frowned. “Why would the hunters go to war over me? It’s not like Aiden is planning to serve me flame-broiled over rice with a side of string beans.”

“They don’t know that. And I plan to make your death look real convincing, right after I kill Aiden and Jace.”

Tony lifted from his chair and strode toward her. She recoiled from him as far as the shackle would allow. His grin demented, he hunkered to his knees and wound a strand of her hair around his index finger. “You’ll be my first human kill. Wonder if I’ll like it as much as the others?”

A polite rap on the door preceded Maggie Fortune’s graceful entrance into the hotel room. His mother’s dynamic presence garnered the typical awe and respect from everyone gathered around the bed. Even Claudia lost a fraction of her bad-ass swagger as Maggie made her rounds. After giving Emmaline’s hand a comforting squeeze, Maggie approached Aiden. He dutifully bussed her cheek. She pulled back and peered into his eyes, her own widening. “You’ve found your mate.”

Aiden grunted. “Now how the devil could you tell that from me kissing you?”

“I’m your mother. We know these things. So is it the human?”

He didn’t even entertain the option of lying. “Yes.”

“The council won’t be pleased.”

“I know.”

Maggie’s expression softened. “Speaking as your mother, I’m delighted.”

Her answer stunned him. “You are? But you’ve always hinted at me marrying and carrying on the bloodline.”

She sighed. “I admit the idea appealed to me. But it’s your happiness that’s at stake. Nothing can replace the love of two people who are meant for each other. Speaking of which, here comes your father now.”

Aiden turned as Liam strode into the room. After delivering his own somber greetings to everyone, Liam joined Aiden and Maggie. His face heavily lined with fatigue and worry, he clapped Aiden on the shoulder. “Have you any word on Dana?”

“No. And Tony hasn’t made any further contact since this afternoon.” The familiar helpless rage welled inside Aiden. Stalking to the nearby window, he stared out the grimy pane at the approaching dusk. He could just make out the ghostly imprint of the Talon moon as it played peek-a-boo behind the wispy tail of a cloud. The beast within stirred at the moon’s seductive call, feeding Aiden’s hunger to hunt down his enemy and rip him to shreds.

Tony wanted a fight. By God, he was going to get one.

“What do we know about this Tony fellow?” Maggie questioned.

Claudia snorted. “Besides the fact he’s several fries short of a Happy Meal? Not much.”

“We know that he’s got a major obsession with gaming,” Jace offered. “And he sees Aiden as the ultimate opponent.”

“Yeah, like in Quest of the Dragon Knight. The goofball’s probably got a huge boner imagining a death match in the ring of doom or whatever the shit they call it.” Tucker’s snicker turned into a yelp when Claudia boxed his ears. “What the hell was that for?”

“Watch your language. There’re ladies in the room.”

Aiden tuned out the bickering between the Knoxville siblings as Tucker’s words echoed in his head. Shoving away from the door, he raced to the box of gaming equipment. His heart thumping with adrenaline, he rifled through the games until he found the one in question. He flipped it over and stared at the images inside the caption box near the bottom. Grim exhilaration fired his insides. “I know where the bastard is.”