Treasure Lane Dragons: Complete Series (BBW Paranormal Dragon Shapeshifter Romance) (49 page)

“You must be Jade! Good morning!” a chipper blonde greeted her as Jade walked into Delia’s Tasty Treats, a little bakery she remembered from their visit to the restaurant on the first night.

“Um, yes. Hi. I mean, good morning,” Jade stumbled, though the smile on her lips didn’t waver for a moment.

So what if they knew who she was. She was happy! And maybe it wouldn’t be so bad – she didn’t have to hide herself from Apollo and Alexander’s extended family, right?

“You’re up awful early. Those two beefcakes not letting you sleep?” the woman asked, winking in a conspiratory way.

She was just offloading a pile of bagels and fresh-baked bread from a tray, and the smell made Jade’s mouth water. Jade nodded absently, picking up a big bag and beginning to pluck all sorts of delicious goodies into it.

“You could say that,” Jade said, aware of the blush rising to her cheeks.

“Oh, dear! I didn’t mean to make you blush. Don’t mind me. I’m Delia, by the way. It’s just so nice to see them settling down with someone. They were getting so old, we thought they’d never get to it.” With a gasp and seeing the surprised look Jade gave her, Delia rushed to add, “For dragons, I mean! Most of them are married by that age. Something about their powers. Anyway, their fathers were long married by that time! Sorry, here I am, jabbering on when you’re obviously just looking to quench some munchies.”

Jade grinned, crumpling up the bag, now heavy with warm bagels. Yup, Delia was right. She couldn’t wait to quench some munchies, not all of them to do with her rumbling stomach!

“I don’t mind. They’re dragons, after all. I never thought I’d be in a situation like this. How much do I owe you?” she asked, holding up the bag.

Delia shook her head, waving at Jade to put away her wallet.

“Don’t you dare. The boys are here so rarely, I’d be happy to know they at least got a decent meal! That Apollo’s looking awful skinny these days,” Delia chided, shoving two big challah breads into a bag as well and handing it over to Jade. “You go and make sure they eat, that’s payment enough!”

“Oh! Okay! Thank you so much, Delia. And have a nice day!” Jade said, a bit taken aback by the utter kindness of the middle-aged baker.

“You too, dear!” Delia called after her as Jade exited, the little bell above the door ringing cheerfully as the door opened and closed.

I don’t think there’s anything skinny about Apollo, though,
Jade mused with a smirk, picking the straightest path out of Centerville and towards the Goldplains mansion.

She fished one of the bagels out of the bag and took a big bite, her eyes rolling back a bit as the absolutely mouthwatering taste hit her tongue. Whatever they were doing around here, whether it was the wheat, the craftsmanship or just the love that went into baking – it was the best bagel she’d ever had. And being on the road as much as she had, she’d had far too many bagels to count!

“This is amazing,” Jade muttered to herself, walking along a path that wound through a wheat field on her way back.

“I bet it is,” a gruff voice called from behind her.

Jade whipped around and was faced with the simpering face of a man she’d never met before, but who had trouble written all over his face. Literally. He had it tattooed on his forehead.

The bagel didn’t exactly go down the right pipe after being confronted by a man who looked like he’d made one too many bad choices.

“The fuck,” she sputtered, taking a step back.

She backed right into someone else. Looking over her shoulder, she was met by the grinning face of a man, who could have been the Joker’s illegitimate son by the way his smile seemed to veer right into the creepy and insane. He was wearing a Death Wing tee, and before Jade could make a peep, he’d grabbed her arm, twisted it behind her and put his other hand over her mouth so she couldn’t scream.

Jade dropped the bags on the dirt road and tried to elbow the guys holding her. As she landed her first hit, Trouble came and grabbed her by the legs, lifting her up between him and the other guy like she was a particularly spirited sack of potatoes.

Jade screamed into the hand that covered her mouth and tried to bite down on it, but Joker just laughed.

“Oh, man. The Blackscales are going to owe us big time,” Joker gushed.

“Backstage passes for life, bro! I bet little miss turncoat here didn’t think we’d come get her this far out, huh! Bitch,” Trouble said, carrying her straight through the wheat field and towards a car parked underneath some birch trees.

Unceremoniously, they dumped her into the boot and slapped some tape over her mouth before her ungodly cussing and cries for help could carry very far. Her wrists were bound roughly with more of that silver tape, and then the boot slammed shut. The world went black around Jade, and she slammed her hands and feet against the boot, trying to punch it open.

“Don’t struggle, darling. You’ll only hurt yourself. Cameron and Colt wouldn’t like that, I bet. They wanna do all the hurting!” one of them called, followed by bellowing laughter.

The car started up and lurched forward, creeping out from its shady hiding place. Jade’s heart was beating so hard she was sure it would bounce right out of her chest with the next bump the car went over.

Fuck,
Jade thought desperately.
The hell did you get yourself into now, Jade.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Apollo

Apollo woke up like someone had taken a hot prod to his side and shoved it right between his ribs. His dragon kicked angrily within him, agitated and beyond aggressive at something Apollo couldn’t quite comprehend. He jumped out of the bed, drowsy and confused, his hands already in fists.

“The hell was that?!” Alexander asked, having clambered out of the bed on the other side, looking just as disheveled and baffled as Apollo.

“I felt something,” Apollo said lamely, scuffing a hand through his hair and wiping the sleep from his eyes.

His heart constricted, and then, the intense heat went out of him and cold took its place.

Jade…

“Like a… punch in the stomach,” Alexander said, before his bewildered expression cleared and Apollo met his gaze.

In unison, they understood what was wrong.

“Where is she!?” Apollo roared, looking around himself as if Jade would magically appear from behind a cupboard or traipse right in as soon as he called for her.

His dragon told him he would have no such luck. Apollo grabbed for his pants and dressed haphazardly, fear turning into anger and then rage. He knew there was something wrong. His dragon was sure of it, and Alexander’s movements betrayed that he knew it too. Apollo could
feel
his frustration and his determination. It flowed through him, uniting Apollo with his older brother.

I guess that’s what it must feel like for most twins. That single point of purpose,
Apollo thought grimly.

He wished he could have found out in some other way, not by having their mate possibly snatched from right under their noses.

“We have to find her,” Apollo said, though the words were hardly required.

“I’ll search the house. You do a sweep of the valley. If we don’t find her here, we split and you take the East, I take the West. I’ll check the interstates, you check the airports. We’ll find her.”

Alexander stepped up to Apollo and grabbed his hand, their palms locking against one another. Their dragons approved – a singular purpose, just as it was meant to be. Apollo nodded, forcing the worry down. It would do him no good now. At least with Alexander by his side, there was hope. Hope that whoever had done this would pay. And hope that they would find Jade in one piece.

They parted ways, both looking like they were willing to kill on command if it only meant Jade’s safe return. Apollo didn’t need to be told that she was in danger. He felt it. With every fiber of his being, he knew she wasn’t safe, wasn’t happy, wasn’t satisfied. All the things a dragon needed his mate to be.

Apollo gritted his teeth as he took the steps leading up onto the roof in threes, his muscles worn from the long night, but already rearing to go. He was mid-shift before the door could close behind him, and within seconds he had taken flight, his golden wings spreading out across the roof and throwing brilliant rays as the sun caught the shiny scales.

He let out a roar that bellowed back to him as it hit the high snowcapped peaks. It carried over the valley, and he knew that everyone in it would know his rage from the sound of his voice. When he found whoever was responsible, he would not be kind. The fire raged in him and wanted to bubble up his long neck, the mouth of the dragon constantly sparking with the fire that licked around his white fangs. Oh yes, there would be trouble.

Guilt racked through him, but his dragon would not let him dwell on it. The beast was in control now. All that mattered was finding her, and then, payback. It might have sounded petty, but Apollo wasn’t the kind of man, or dragon, who took kindly to his possessions being tampered with – especially when his mate-to-be, the most valuable part of his hoard was in question.

His dragon grumbled at the knowledge that she was not wearing any of his treasures. Suddenly, Apollo wished he had draped her in gold last night. Not that it would have changed anything, but the knowledge that she wore a part of his hoard on her would have made him… calmer. Purely dragon nonsense, but the thought plagued him still.

Visions of Jade underneath and on top of him last night filled his mind. Her smooth, alabaster skin… The way she moaned when he kissed and nibbled her inner thigh. The way she yelped and grinned as he pulled her by the hair or made her sink down on his cock. She was everything he’d ever wanted, and he hadn’t even known she was the one missing from his life before she showed up.

For once, he had to agree that Alexander had known better. Though they’d both avoided the possibility of finding a mate like one would the plague, Alexander had always stated that the time would come, and they would have to be prepared. Apollo had never listened.

His life as a playboy and a budding drunk, and hell, as a rock star, had been far too enticing to think about giving it up for just one woman, especially one shared with his brother. But now, he couldn’t imagine any other life than the one he thought had been offered to him the night before. Gone was the need to piss his life away, for lack of a better term.

He found himself wanting that stability, that safety… If only Jade were returned to him unharmed. While the thought of having to share a life and a woman with his brother had once horrified him, now he relished it. Over the course of Jade’s entry into their lives, Apollo had felt years of separation close and mend between himself and Alexander. Together, they were stronger. Together, they were whole. How could he ever have doubted it?

Thin wisps of clouds obstructed his view, and Apollo dove lower, so close to the ground that the treetops sometimes grazed his thick, leathery scales. A plume of smoke followed him as he flew, created by the flames that raged in his mouth, ready to strike at their unlucky opponent.

His nostrils were flared, hoping to catch a whiff of her scent, or at least to sense her presence. If it hadn’t been for last night, they would have been in a much worse position when trying to find her. But now, both he and Alexander knew her scent, knew her presence, knew her aura. They’d find her. It might take time, but she would be back with them – of that Apollo was sure.

And whoever took her from us, will pay
.

The singular thought rolled in his mind, satisfying the dragon and calming the man. Yes, there would be revenge.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Jade

The soothing blackness that was Jade’s world was in for a rude awakening. Suddenly, it was all bright lights and a hot burning cheek and aching joints and parched lips.

“Ow! What the fuck!” she spat through her daze, a violent smack now making her other cheek burn hot as well.

Jade blinked her eyes a few times, adjusting to the blazing bright sun beating down on her. When her vision cleared, she could make out the self-satisfied smirk of Colt Blackscale. Her heart sank as she tasted the copper in her mouth and saw the black rag in his hand – the one he must have just pulled from her eyes.