Alex dropped Terra’s feet to the floor and held her against him as he punched in his code to unlock the key box. Each agent had their own code that would be reported back to the main office. Taking the key, Alex opened the door and carried Terra inside. The cabin was just the way he’d left it on his last inspection—nice and clean.
Crossing the one-roomed cabin, Alex set Terra on the double bed. Carefully, he shifted her around, undressing her. She wouldn’t need his coat or that stupid bag. He paused to look at it. A piece that he had been missing slipped back into place. The bag! He dropped the satchel to the floor and turned back to Terra. His revelation could wait until he had seen her put to bed properly.
Leaving her in just her T-shirt and underwear, he paused to admire her. This was the view he had missed this morning when she had gotten up to shower. He’d been a fool not to appreciate it then. Carefully, he pushed her slightly rumpled hair back from her face as she relaxed in his arms. He wanted to kiss her and hold her against him. To feel her soft flesh against his again. That had been an amazing way to wake up. It would be an even more amazing way to go to sleep. Of course, there were some very vigorous activities he would like to do with her between the time of going to bed and falling asleep, but that would have to wait until later. He still had things to do, and she was in no condition for what he had in mind. Shaking the image away, he pulled her up and tucked her in under the covers.
“Get some rest, love,” he whispered.
Placing a light kiss on her forehead, he stood up and away from her. That was all he was going to allow himself to do until he was sure the pheromones were out of her system. He wanted to make sure their first time together was something special, not rutting driven by a chemical reaction. And definitely not when she was unconscious!
It took him a moment, but he pushed back the thoughts of his mate and turned his mind to what had to be done next. There were still questions he needed to answer. One thing that boggled his mind was the group that was kidnapping dragons. How had they found his home? He was sure he hadn’t been followed from Melanie’s house, but they had showed up awfully quickly after he and Terra had arrived at his place. Could their attackers have been waiting for them? And if so, how would they even know where he lived? That bothered Alex.
Picking up his leather bag, he took it to the dinette table. It was surprising that Terra had still been carrying the thing—he had forgotten all about it. How could I have forgotten about something so important? He laughed at himself. That was the stupidest thing he could have possibly thought after the last two days. He had forgotten most of his life. Of course he could forget about something as small as a bag. No matter how important it was.
Dumping the bag out on table, Alex sifted through its contents. The fact that Terra had added her things to it made him smile. He moved her purse to the side and considered his things. There was the file, a pack of gum, and the silver necklace. Moving the file and gum back to the bag, he considered the necklace. That was the important thing he had forgotten. He couldn’t quite remember how he’d gotten it, but he knew it had something to do with the men chasing him.
He stared at the charm for a long time, trying to remember how he’d acquired it. The memory played with the back of his mind, but he just couldn't get it to come out. The only things he was sure about were that he’d gotten it when he went to check on Melanie, and that the last of his missing dragons was dead. Just like the rest of the dragons in his file.
Reaching out, Alex touched the charm. The sting of magic bit his fingers, but he didn’t pull back. This was why the mystery group was after him, and he needed to find out what it was. Clenching his teeth against the pain, he pressed his hand down over the charm. The longer he touched the metal, the more the energy radiated up his arm. When the pain got too much to handle, Alex pulled his hand away. He could feel his dragon half writhing in agony, as if the magic had tried to tear it out of him. As the power faded, Alex could feel a distance between his two halves—something he had never known. It was weird. Slowly, the sensation subsided, leaving him whole again.
Someone needs to know about this, but who?
Alex turned away from the charm and went to get his phone out of the pocket of his coat. There were fifteen missed calls and as many text messages. And that was just since they had left The Dragon’s Wing. Who the hell could have wanted to get a hold of him so badly? Alex scrolled through the log. Most of the calls and texts had come from one number. Sanders.
Sanders liked to keep a line on the agents under him, but Alex couldn’t remember him ever being this fussy about someone not checking in. Then again, he had never gone missing before. Plus, there had been that whole business with Michael. He had only been missing for a few days before turning back up with Lady Carissa. What a fiasco that had been! The poor man was still on medical leave as he learned to live with his new instincts. And being bonded to the king’s sister probably didn’t make his life any easier.
Alex shook his head as he thought. He couldn’t imagine what Michael was going through. To suddenly have instincts pushing one around would be rather unsettling, but then again, Alex relied on his other half to keep him out of trouble. Most of the time, his dragon made better decisions than he did. Alex glanced over at Terra, asleep on the bed. Hopefully, his instincts had made a better decision than his rational mind when it came to her. Only time would tell.
Letting out a long breath, Alex turned his thoughts back to his phone and the man who had blown it up. Maybe Sanders did have cause to worry, but did he have to disturb everyone in his search for Alex? Brigs had mentioned that the man had blown up everyone’s phones looking for his missing man. Alex held his finger over the call log, ready to return the worried man’s call, but a growl from his dragon stopped him from placing it. Sanders’ worry was way out of proportion for the situation. That didn’t sit right with Alex. Shifting his finger down, Alex called the number that appeared in the call log only once.
“Hello.” Daniel’s voice rolled out of the phone.
“I need to talk with you,” Alex said, getting straight to the point.
There was a long pause before Daniel answered him. “Is everything all right, Alex?”
“No,” Alex answered. “There is something seriously wrong, and I need to speak with you, alone, as soon as possible.”
Daniel let another pregnant pause hold the space between them. “All right. Will you be coming here?”
Alex thought about it for a moment as he listened to his dragon. “No,” he said softly. His dragon did not like the idea of going into the main office. Something about that idea raised the hackles on the back of his neck. It was also a fair distance, even by wing, and that would leave Terra unprotected for too long. He didn’t like leaving her at all, but he needed to get this taken care of. “Can you meet me at The Dragon’s Wing?”
“Give me thirty minutes,” Daniel answered and hung up.
Alex let out a relieved sight. He wasn’t sure what had his dragon so up in arms about going back to the main office, but Daniel should be able to help him put things together. Turning to look at Terra, Alex made his decision. He would leave her here. It would be best to let her rest until the hormones were out of her system.