'Til Dragons Do Us Part (Never Deal with Dragons) (7 page)

Amanda cut a glance in my direction and I ran a quick eye down my scribbled list. “Your gown is ready for final fitting, as are the bridesmaid dresses. We really need to get you and your bridesmaids into the shop as soon as possible, so we’ll have the time we need to make any adjustments to the fit. Tuxedos too.”

“The girls and I had plans to come by tomorrow evening for the fittings, and the last of the men are scheduled to be back stateside by the end of the week. They should be able to come by then. Will that work?”

Amanda’s mouth tightened, and I knew she wasn’t happy about delaying the tuxedo fittings any longer, but she swallowed her complaint and nodded. “That will have to do. But if any of the men are available sooner, that would be a big help to all of us.” She signaled for me to continue.

“Ah...and April wants to meet with you once more on the cake, and we have an updated list of officiants asking to meet with you before you make a formal announcement on who will be leading the service.”

“Lord Relobu has volunteered to serve as officiant. DRACIM will supply a translator for all non-dragonspeaking guests.”

I was half afraid Amanda’s excitement was going to propel her straight through the roof. But she just gripped the chair tighter and attempted to smooth her features. “I think that is a very good choice.”

I scanned the list. “We still need your input on the band playlists, finalization of the menus, and an idea of your preferences for specific photo settings.”

“Tell April the cake is fine, and I’m holding firm on the smaller size. For everything else, just do what you think is best. My only criteria is that we encourage the mingling of dragons and humans as much as possible. I’ll have my assistant Sara send someone from DRACIM down to work with you on dining requirements.”

Myrna grinned. “At least moving the event here has solved one big problem. Lord Relobu has offered his stables for dragon dining, so it will be much easier to keep them happy.”

She glanced at her watch and rose. “I’m sorry, but I need to get back to the office. Feel free to call Sara for anything you need. I’ll see you later this evening?”

Amanda rose. “Yes. Come by at any time before nine.”

As soon as Myrna was out of earshot, Amanda’s default personality returned. “Get up. If I’m going to have a flower order turned in today, I need to get a look at the location of the ceremony. The garden behind the house looks promising. This is going to be nearly impossible, but I’ll do what I can.”

Without a backward glance, she swept out of the room, leaving Cameron and me staring at the space she’d just vacated.

“That woman is really wound up tight, isn’t she?” His gaze switched to me as I walked toward the door, stuffing all my notes into the side pocket of my bag.

I laughed. “She’s something all right. I don’t suppose you could show me the way to the garden?”

“Of course.” Cameron gestured for me to precede him out the door, and we walked silently toward the back of the house for several moments before he spoke. “I owe you an apology. I was having a particularly bad day yesterday, and when I saw you on camera with the painting, I flipped out.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have been touching it.” I really didn’t want to talk any more about the artwork, because all it did was remind me of how I’d screwed up. First rule of casing a gig: don’t ever let the target’s security team find you focused on the item you plan to steal. And what had I done? Not only had my interest been completely transparent, but Cameron had actually caught me lifting the painting from the wall.

“Let’s just say I had an experience at an old job that makes me suspicious of unexpected circumstances. I just started in this position, and I can’t afford to have something happen on my watch.”

“Bygones.” I didn’t like the feelings of guilt that had started up at the look in his eyes. Whatever “experience” he’d had in the past, it hadn’t been a good one.

It wasn’t like I was planning on killing anyone.
What was one lost painting in the scheme of things?
Myrna and Trian’s wedding would go off without a hitch; no one would notice if a painting was misplaced in all the ruckus. I’d seen with my own eyes that Relobu had plenty others to replace it.

I pushed aside my concerns. “Let’s find this garden, shall we?”

Chapter Six

Cameron led the way, and soon we were stepping through a glass door into Relobu’s backyard garden. It was built to impress, just like the driveway and front of the home. The two main wings of the house seemed to cradle the large expanse of green in the middle, creating a space that was both relaxed and imposing. I didn’t know whether to credit the dragon lord or an overly enthusiastic gardener, but I was amazed at the splashes of color provided by various plants in full bloom.

It bode well for a smaller flower order.

Amanda was interrogating a uniformed member of Cameron’s staff, who started giving his boss pleading glances from his position near a large stone planter as soon as we were in sight. Judging by her flailing arms, and his repeated shrugs, Amanda wanted the planter moved to another area in the garden so she could get a better look at the “landscape.” It would take at least four men to move the thing without breaking someone’s back, and he didn’t seem inclined to go looking for help.

Cameron chuckled, but led us in their direction.

“Ma’am, you’ll need to talk to my boss about moving it.” Relieved to see us approach, the guard nodded to his boss. “Cameron.”

“Henry.”

In her usual brusque manner, Amanda took over the conversation. But instead of addressing Cameron, she looked at me. “Savannah. I need this moved.”

I was silent, trying to find a way to respond without using the words “what do you want me to do about it?” when Cameron lifted his hand. A shadow appeared overhead, just before a large golden dragon glided from one of the rooftop garrets to land gracefully a few feet from our position. He waddled toward us. Heavyset even for a dragon, the creature looked like he’d spent a few too many years on stationary guard duty, and not enough time exercising in the off hours.

In perfect, unaccented dragonspeak, Cameron addressed the guard. “Dolgen, would you mind helping these ladies by moving this planter to—” he turned to Amanda. “Where did you want this moved?”

My boss shook herself out of her frozen state to point to a small fountain resting on brick pavers near a bundle of rose bushes.

“Thank you.” Cameron turned back to the dragon. “To the herb garden.”

Dolgen bent his head in understanding, then grabbed the base of the planter with his front claws and lifted it—with no sign of struggle at all, tucking it easily into his left armpit. As he plodded toward the fountain with his load, he called over his shoulder in the low guttural tones of dragonspeak. “Is this the girl who broke in yesterday? Dan told me you had a hissy fit over someone letting her into the house unannounced.”

Cameron glanced quickly in my direction before responding. “Yes. She works for the wedding planner. But I stand by my reminder to Dan. Trouble doesn’t always look like trouble when it shows up. From now on, we confirm identity before opening the gates. No matter how pretty the visitor happens to be.”

The dragon nodded his agreement and set the stone pot onto the brick. “No arguments from me.” Dolgen eyed me critically. “Though I still don’t understand what makes this one pretty, and that one over there,” he pointed to Amanda, “plain. Is it just because that one is loud?”

I had to focus hard not to allow a smile to crack my face, especially when he turned back to me for a second look. “This one is far too skinny for my taste. I could eat twelve of her and still be hungry.”

“I think you could eat twelve of anything and still be hungry.” The words were out of my mouth before I even thought about it, and everyone, dragon and human alike, turned to stare at me.

“You’re a dragonspeaker?” Cameron looked at me as if I’d just demonstrated that I could stick my elbow into my ear.

Damn. This was why Simon handled any of the long-term undercover work. I had a habit of letting my mouth run without a filter, and I’d completely forgotten that I was Savannah Cavenaugh, clueless contract worker, and not Savannah Cavenaugh, girl who spent half her life with vocal cords that couldn’t form English words. Of course I’m a dragonspeaker. I’m a dragon.

But that explanation wasn’t going to work. “Yeah. I had a few elective credits to spend my senior year of college.”

Amanda was staring at me like I’d sprouted a new head, the two guards were grinning at me in delight, and Cameron was completely expressionless.

For some reason, that made me defensive. “What? Is it a crime to want to expand my horizons?”

“No,” Cameron said slowly, “but it is an odd way to use spare college credits. You never applied for a job at DRACIM?” He glanced back at Amanda.

His insinuation being that DRACIM agents were generally paid
a
lot
better than the average wedding assistant. And probably had nicer bosses, too.

“I had family stuff pop up right before I had to sit for my DRACIM exams, and I never got around to re-applying.” Pretty soon, I was going to need a second notebook to hold all my lies.

“I need this one moved, too.” Plainly bored with our discussion, Amanda pointed to another concrete pot.

“Fair enough. It looks like you have quite a bit of work to do before you’re ready for me to look over the area. If you’re comfortable playing translator, Savannah, I’ll leave you to it. Dolgen and Henry are at your disposal if you need anything else moved, and they can find me when you ladies decide how exactly we’re going to make this work. Once you have everything arranged how you want it, I’ll come back, take some notes, and draw up a game plan.”

Her mind already on forcing Relobu’s garden into the design she had in her head, Amanda gave him a distracted wave, and went back to her nefarious plans.

With one last look at me, Cameron turned to re-enter the house.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent trying not to roll my eyes as Amanda forced me to tell Dolgen to move just about everything in the garden at least three times each. Lucky for me, the old dragon seemed to do everything I asked cheerfully, if a bit bemused by my constant contradictions.

But by four o’clock, Amanda seemed to have everything the way she wanted it, and my hand was beginning to cramp from trying to record the measurements she yelled at me as she mentally built the arbor, the pillars that would provide the arbor’s support, and all the other miscellaneous items that simply “had” to be done to ensure a perfect wedding.

Henry, sensing that she was finally winding down, excused himself to locate Cameron, and soon we were making another pass through the garden, only this time, Cameron was the one taking notes. He asked several questions about the positioning of lights, sound equipment, or other needed items, and made adjustments to accommodate us as needed.

Quickly bored with the discussion—all the real security plans would come later—I plopped myself onto a nearby retaining wall and dipped my hand in the fountain as I watched them work.

I studied Relobu’s new security manager, wondering about his previous job, and how a man who was this thorough had ever had anything unexpected happen around him. Even standing still as he listened to Amanda drone on and on about tulle, crinoline, and aisle runners, the guy just exuded complete control.

I mean, he had
Amanda
stopping to hear him speak.

Maybe it was simply his looks that had people sitting up and taking notice. I allowed my gaze to trace the width of his broad shoulders, wondering what it would feel like to run my hand along the taut muscles on the side of his neck. Or maybe even to run my fingers through his hair, which was just an inch too long for the collared shirt he was wearing.

He twisted around to point out a spot on the roof to Amanda, and I caught a glimpse of his toned torso. What did he do to stay in such great shape? I eyed him speculatively. Boxing maybe, or even soccer. Something that required a fierce concentration and an almost limitless amount of energy.

Everything about him screamed
endurance
, and I suddenly decided he was more of the mountain-biking type, sweat dripping from his sculpted abs as he took on Mother Nature with a smile. When he laughed at something Henry said, a bolt of lust punched me right in the gut. Here, even stuffed into business attire, he was powerful and in control. How much of this demeanor transferred over in his personal dealings with members of the opposite sex? Was he rough and demanding, or a gentleman in bed?

Of course that question had my mind shooting straight into fantasyland, and the next thing I knew, my pulse was speeding up, and the air around me felt a little too warm.

“Savannah?”

I couldn’t help it. I blushed furiously, shocked and embarrassed at how fast my mind had taken a left turn straight into the gutter. And with the guy I’d dragged in with me standing barely a foot from where I sat.

I had to clear my throat before I could answer. “Yeah?”

Cameron gave me an odd look, but continued. “We think we have everything we need for now. Since Amanda has plans to head back to the shop, I wondered whether it was okay if I had Henry take you home tonight?”

“Yes, sure. That would be great, thank you.”

I watched as he started back to the house. The statistical probability of this was almost nil, but in addition to a perfect everything else, the man had an absolutely fantastic butt.

“Woah, girl. Slow it down a little,” I muttered to myself. “He’s not for you.”

“I’m sorry?”

I jumped at the male voice, surprised to find Henry standing just behind me.

I felt my ears heat. “Nothing. I’m ready to go.”

Chapter Seven

Instead of taking me home, I asked Henry to drop me off at Simon and Jeanie’s. Exhausted from my day, I knew the chances that I’d feel like cooking anything at my place were incredibly low, so I opted to kill two birds with one stone and take advantage of Jeanie’s open invitation to supper while I filled them in on my tentative success as a wedding assistant.

I’d managed to regain my composure by the time we reached Simon and Jeanie’s, and I almost laughed at Simon’s expression when he opened the door to find me standing beside a uniformed officer.

“Hey there, Simon.”

“Hi, Vanni. What are you up to?” His tone was casual, but his eyes were begging me to give him a hint as to what con we were running. His eyes flicked back into the house, where I could hear Emma crying as Jeanie spoke in a calm, deliberate tone that told me she was inches from tearing her own hair out by the roots.

“Oh, you know. Just catching a ride home with Henry, here. He’s one of the bodyguards assigned by Lord Relobu to watch Bridal Visions. Lots of threats surrounding this wedding.”

Henry gave Simon a goofy grin, holding out his hand for a shake. “Nice to meet you.”

“You as well. I’m Simon. You’re a bodyguard, huh?” Simon gripped Henry’s hand in polite greeting.

My new buddy opened his mouth to reply, but I beat him to the punch.

“Henry is actually more of an audio/video guy. Cameron hired him to help put up all the cameras for the ceremony. It recently got moved from the Silo to Relobu Manor. Isn’t that exciting?”

Understanding dawned, but Simon covered it well. “I see. Glad to hear they’re taking care of you. Henry, we’re just about to sit down for dinner. You interested in joining us?”

Henry grinned, but shook his head. “Nah, but thank you. I’ve got a hot date, a slice of pizza and a beer waiting for me at home. Savannah, it was good to meet you, and I look forward to working with you in the future.”

“You too, Henry. Have a good night.” Simon and I watched as he ambled back to his car, waiting until he’d slipped into the driver’s seat before stepping back into the apartment.

I followed Simon into the living room where Jeanie sat soothing a still-crying Emma.

“Mommy, I’m still thirsty!”

Jeanie frowned and placed a hand on Emma’s forehead. “Baby, you just had a whole glass of water. It’s bedtime now, how about we go read a book, and if you’re still thirsty after, I’ll get you something else?”

The little girl nodded, and Jeanie gave me a strained smile before leading her daughter down the hall and to her bedroom.

“Jeanie’s taking her into the doctor tomorrow morning. She’s been tired and cranky all week. Maybe it’s the sudden move, but she just hasn’t been acting like our Emma lately. She must be coming down with a bug or something.”

“Poor kid.”

Simon sighed, and collapsed into the sofa. “I say poor parents. Jeanie’s so wound up she didn’t even blink when I offered to cook tonight. But enough about us. It sounds like I need to be saying ‘poor Vanni.’ Fill me in on what’s going on with the gig.”

“Poor Vanni indeed. I was hoping to get something other than cheese and crackers for dinner tonight, but it appears I’m out of luck. The gig is fine, I guess, though it just got a bit more complicated than I’d hoped.”

He sat, scowl-lines deepening as I told him about the threats related to the wedding, and the steps Relobu had taken to ensure the safety of his “family.”

“You think the threats are real?”

I thought back to the intimate photos of Myrna and Trian and the pages of dragonscript. “I do.” I laughed without humor. “Myrna is adamant on showing everyone there isn’t that much difference between dragons and humans. Based on those letters, I’d agree with her. The two species definitely have violence in common. Relobu is right to beef up security—it’s not a huge stretch of the imagination for a stray bomb or dragon attack to interrupt whatever plans they’ve made.

“That being said, I think it’s in our best interest to get in, get the painting, and get out. Before we have wedding terrorism to deal with. We move the timeline up. Way up.” I looked to Simon. “I know we usually try to go in, gather information on the place and people we’re dealing with, and form a plan. And I’ve always agreed with that approach. But in this case, the longer we wait, the more soldiers Relobu will be adding to his rotations. And it won’t matter that he’s not hiring them to protect
Bright Seasons.
They’ll be in our way just the same. The faster I can get the painting, the better.”

Simon frowned. “I don’t like it, Vanni. You said yourself that Relobu has more cameras than you’ve ever seen in one place. I mean, geeze, I just met the guy they hired to handle all of them. Add that to the guards, and it’s more than we can manage without hacking into the feeds. To do that, we need time.”

Jeanie, who’d been listening from the hall as she waited to get Emma settled into bed, sat beside her husband and lay her head against his shoulder before looking at me. “Are you safe? I mean, right now, if you went in tomorrow, would you be safe? You know I’m not one to turn down good money, especially when it comes with a great opportunity to get word of our operation into the right ears, but it’s not worth your life.”

I waved away her concern. “For now, yes. I’m safe. I really don’t expect any trouble from the outside until closer to the wedding date. Besides, even as a human I have a pretty hard head. If something comes up, I’ll just find a closet somewhere and morph.”

“We both know that bombs explode faster than you’d be able to morph.” She cast a troubled glance toward Emma’s bedroom before redirecting her attention to me. “Which I guess means I’m voting in favor of moving up the timetable. I’d rather get Savannah out of there before the wedding, before all the people making these crazy threats have time to set their plans into motion.”

Simon still wasn’t happy. “I don’t like it. I’m coming with you tomorrow.”

“Simon, go with Emma and Jeanie to her doctor’s appointment tomorrow. You know you want to be with your family, and I need to draw as little attention as possible. I’m putting up with a nightmare of a boss for this wedding assistant thing, the least we can do is get some mileage out of it. Bringing a stranger to the Relobu estate wouldn’t do anything but remind Cameron Shaw that he still has background checks to run.”

He mulled it over, and finally agreed, albeit very reluctantly. “So what’s your plan?”

“You remember the treasure hoard I told you about?”

“Yeah.”

“Well Amanda is thinking about using a set of dinnerware from the collection. I’m simply going to pick it up for her.”

Simon looked skeptical. “You’re going to try and sneak out a painting the size of
Bright Seasons
with a box of dishes? Vanni, I taught you better than this.”

“It’s not just a box of dishes. It’s like three hundred boxes. Perfect reason to use our truck. Oh, and if you still have them, I’d love to try out a pair of those new clamps you built. The walls in this place have pressure sensors.”

I laughed as his eyes lit up. Simon loved nothing more than to test out his new toys.

“Come on back to the workroom, and I’ll show you how you use them. Actually, it’s something I need to show you how to make.”

“I don’t want to learn how to make them. That’s your wheelhouse.”

“But just in case I’m not around, you’ll be able to whip up a set. They’re rather ingenious if I do say so myself.”

“You always say so yourself.”

“Brat.”

“Braggart.”

* * *

Turned out, Cameron hadn’t forgotten the background checks. In fact, I’d barely stepped from the delivery truck I’d “rented” from Simon—complete with a hidden compartment behind the driver’s side seat—before one of Cameron’s human guards had me rattling off my birthdate, a list of previous employers, and my last two addresses.

I gave him the information, glad that Simon kept our cover stories fresh and up-to-date. There was no doubt I’d pass a cursory look, and would probably be okay should they want to dig a bit deeper. But the request reminded me of the ever-tightening security here in Tulsa, and made me glad that we’d decided upon the “smash and grab” approach I was about to attempt with the Tofegaard.

I’d started the day by announcing to Henry that Amanda wanted the whole of Lord Relobu’s presidential chinaware—appropriated from the remains of the United States White House many years back—delivered to Bridal Visions for inspection and cleaning since Myrna had decided to use them for the reception. Henry had been agreeable to the suggestion.

Until, of course, we ran into Cameron Shaw.

“Tell me again why you’re transporting dishes from Relobu’s personal collection when the wedding is going to be held here?”

“You know Amanda.” I rolled my eyes for effect. “She wants to make sure everything is perfect. So she’s doing the inspection of the pieces herself.”

“And that’s fine with me. But Relobu has plenty of space here if she needs to sort through it all. Besides, why didn’t she mention it to me yesterday?”

Ah, how I hated logical men.

“Listen. It’s not as if I’m looking forward to loading all this up, unpacking them, and then loading them up again to bring them back for the wedding. But that’s what I have written here,” I pointed to my always-present notebook, “and I’d really like to keep my job, so that’s what I’m going to do.”

I could tell by the set of his jaw that he was about to refuse.

“Besides, this dinnerware was on the list of things Relobu had already approved for use at the wedding. And that list was put together before the wedding was moved back to the mansion from The Silo. So doesn’t it stand to reason that Relobu is okay with this stuff leaving his house?” I paused for a moment, then said the one thing I knew would change his mind.

“Are you always this suspicious?”

I stared at the floor while he wavered, feeling horrible that I’d just deliberately caused him to second guess himself.

Cameron sighed. “Okay. Fine.” He waved to Henry, who jumped up from the chair he’d fallen into while we argued. But instead of waving me on my way, and going back to whatever heads of security were supposed to be doing at ten in the morning on a Tuesday, Cameron addressed his rosy-cheeked employee.

“Henry, can you go to the control room and put a call in for some of the groundsmen to come around and help us get this stuff into Savannah’s truck?”

“Oh, no! It’s totally okay. I can handle it.”

He raised an eyebrow. “All one thousand place settings?”

“Oy.” That was a lot of plates. But to be fair I hadn’t actually planned on taking any of them in the first place. The plan had been to get the painting, put it in the Simon-fashioned compartment in the truck, and then tell Henry that I’d misread Amanda’s instructions. I’d head back to Bridal Visions with an empty truck, a sheepish expression and an ignorant Henry.

The next day, we’d be well on our way out of the country, painting in hand, off to a meet with our client in London.

“Just back the truck into the delivery bay, and we’ll get it loaded.”

So much for that idea.
I’d have to ask Simon what the full set of White House china would go for on the black market.
The thought made me chuckle. At this point, if hauling around a few boxes of china was the only bump in my plan, I’d count myself lucky.

I did as I was told, running to the truck and maneuvering the large trailer into the concrete bay just outside the kitchen, all with a little help from a dragon who’d perched himself on the roof to holler directions at me. Apparently, if you were a dragonspeaker and didn’t work for DRACIM or a dragon lord, you were a walking freak show. Once Relobu’s dragons had learned I was a non-DRACIM dragonspeaker, they all wanted to get a look at me.

I jumped from the cab, ready to use the excuse of a bathroom break to remove the painting. But the words dried on the tip of my tongue as I caught sight of Cameron Shaw.

He’d been adamant about getting me some help with the boxes. But for some reason, it had never occurred to me that he’d personally be helping.

Or that the sight of a man’s bare arms could stop me in my tracks. Oh sure, I’d noticed he was in shape when we first met, and I’d spent a good deal of yesterday afternoon imagining what he looked like naked, but all his gorgeous skin had been covered by a dress shirt. Now I got a chance to ogle the real thing.

Cameron had removed his button-up to reveal a simple white tee, and the box of dinnerware he held caused the muscles in his arms to bunch up. But it was the tendrils of a half-hidden tattoo that really caught my attention. It appeared to be some sort of creature, the scaled tail of which formed a band around his bicep before ending just above the crease in his elbow. Could it be a dragon?

Be still my heart. I don’t know what it was with me and tattoos, but spotting one slapped a multiplier on a guy’s good looks. With Cameron already sitting near the top of the male-attractiveness scale, my hormones were doing a happy dance.

“Wowza.”

I hadn’t realized I’d spoken aloud until Cameron looked up to catch me staring. “Excuse me?”

I felt the skin on the back of my neck heat. It wouldn’t be long before my ears lit up like brake lights. “Nothing. That’s just a lot of plates.”

His smile was wry. “I know. That’s why I questioned your reasons for hauling them halfway across town.” Cameron gave me an odd look, but soon his attention was on one of the groundsman who was asking how high the boxes should be stacked in the trailer.

For the next two hours, I kept my arms full of dishes, and my eyes
off
Cameron Shaw. When the truck was fully loaded, I thanked the men and excused myself, using the bathroom break card.

Minutes later, I was humming under my breath as I lifted the frame and slid Simon’s pressure-sensor contraptions onto the wall in its place. I paused a moment to make sure the magnets engaged, then proceeded to divest canvas from its mounting before slipping
Bright Seasons
back onto the wall. Only this time, the parliament members were all a few centuries younger.

Thank God we had Jeanie. Back in the days when Simon and I were sharing the creation of the stand-in canvasses, we’d been hard pressed to make anything that could be mistaken for the real thing. But Jeanie was awesome, and she’d managed to paint us a replacement that looked so close to the real deal, only an art student—or a Tofegaard groupie—would be able to tell them apart.