Emmaline gave a brisk nod. “Good. Because they’re crazy as all get out. I should know. My brother used to be one.”
That information immediately sobered Aiden. He braced a hand against the wall, trepidation coiling like a snake in the pit of his gut. “Your brother…he isn’t Dana’s father, is he?” Let her say no. Please God, let her say—
“Yes.”
Her answer punched Aiden squarely in the solar plexus.
“Holy fu—” Jace stopped himself before finishing the obscenity.
Emmaline tossed a quick look over her shoulder before shuffling closer. “I’d appreciate you boys not repeating any of this to Dana. The poor girl’s been through enough as it is. She doesn’t need to have any taint on her father’s memory to add to her hardship.”
Aiden frowned. “Wait, are you saying Dana’s father is deceased?”
“Twelve years now. A heart attack took him shortly after Dana turned fifteen. Seeing how her mother died in childbirth, I’m the only real family that girl’s got left anymore.” Emmaline readjusted her tortoise-frame glasses. “Didn’t Dana fill you in on any of this stuff?”
“Ah…”
Emmaline held up a hand. “Say no more. My niece can be mule-headedly close-lipped at times.”
Confusion instantly morphed into suspicion as Aiden processed the information Emmaline just provided. None of it had been included in the contract.
Why?
Sure, he and Jace were the first Drakoni called upon to honor a contract in the last two hundred years, and the council had relied on ancient texts to draw up the blasted thing. But even those old relics had documented every personal detail of the parties involved, right down to whether the sacrifice preferred their coffee black or with cream. In an age where anything could be dug up through the internet, discovering the chosen sacrifice came from a family of slayers should have been easy enough for the council to find.
Unless they—or more likely someone—had uncovered Dana’s background and decided to keep the information to themselves in hopes of he and Jace walking into an ambush.
Aiden relaxed his fist against the wall. The last thing he needed was to forget where he was and take his frustration out on the interior of Emmaline’s restaurant. “I get that you couldn’t do much about Dana’s father being a hunter, but why in God’s name are a bunch of them sitting around in your bar? Drinking from glasses that feature their emblem?”
Emmaline huffed out a sigh. “Leo, my bartender, sprang those glasses on me as a surprise gift when I remodeled this place. The sweet man was so excited, I couldn’t tell him no.”
“Sweet man?” Jace snorted. “Hate to break it to you, but sweet and hunter don’t belong in the same sentence.”
“Now wait a minute.” Emmaline slammed her hands on her hips in a way that instantly reminded Aiden of Dana. “Just because most of them are nuttier than a Snickers bar doesn’t mean they aren’t decent folk.”
Jace mimicked Emmaline’s posture. “Show me one hunter who doesn’t deserve a fireball aimed at their ass.” If the threat weren’t damning enough, the reptilian shift in Jace’s eyes sealed the deal.
Aiden’s groan didn’t quite muffle Emmaline’s gasp.
“You’re a…a…” Emmaline tottered, her pupils rolling up to reveal the whites of her eyes. Aiden lunged to catch her before she took a header onto the tiled floor.
“I don’t know what’s taking the kitchen so long today.” Plastering on an apologetic smile, Dana plunked a fresh iced tea in front of Jen. “Let me go see what’s up with Raul. Maybe he got a run in his fishnets or something.”
Wiping her damp fingers on the hem of her polo, she hustled toward the rear hallway. She rounded the corner in time to see Aiden dragging a limp Emmaline through an opened doorway. Breaking into a run, Dana barreled down the corridor and skidded into her aunt’s small office. Her heart thundering, she gaped at Aiden and Jace while they gently settled Emmaline onto the raggedy tweed loveseat wedged in the corner. “What happened?”
Aiden grunted. “My dumbass brother showed your aunt his inner beastie.”
Dana glared at Jace. “That better not be code for you waving your Johnson.”
Jace sputtered a laugh. “No.”
A low groan floated from Emmaline and her eyelashes fluttered. Dana rushed to the sofa. She dropped to her knees on the cushion, prompting the broken spring in the frame to give an indignant woongg. Emmaline gave her a blank stare. “I think I fainted. How quaint and embarrassing.”
Relieved almost to tears that her aunt was apparently okay, Dana grinned. “You always were a bit of a drama queen.”
“No, hon. You have me confused with Raul.” Emmaline shifted her head and yelped when she spotted Aiden and Jace. Her face went whiter than Raul’s homemade Alfredo sauce.
Dana shot Jace a fierce look. “Are you certain you didn’t show her your dick?” A hum of warning came from her aunt and Dana rolled her eyes. “Sorry, I mean penis.”
Emmaline struggled to the edge of the cushion. “Don’t antagonize them. Dragons have a fiery temper.”
“Oh my God. I can’t believe you guys told her that kooky story!” Dana jumped up and slashed her hand in the direction of the door. “Get out. Now.”
Emmaline tugged the hem of Dana’s polo shirt. “Hon, fireballs. That’s all I’m saying.”
One corner of Aiden’s mouth tipped upward. “Don’t worry. We have no intention of flambéing your niece.”
“Arrgh. Would you stop it? And you…” Dana shook a finger at Emmaline. “Don’t encourage their lunacy.”
“Sweetheart, listen to me.” Emmaline grabbed Dana’s extended hand and tugged her onto the loveseat. “They really are dragons. Drakoni. I saw it with my own eyes.” She sent a pleading look toward Aiden and Jace. “Show her.”
Both men stood stubbornly mute.
“Oh no you don’t.” Displaying her typical spunk, Emmaline pushed onto her feet and stormed toward the brothers, her orthopedic sneakers squeaking. The crown of her permed hair barely reached the middle of Jace’s broad chest. The huge discrepancy in their sizes didn’t stop her from yapping at him like an enraged Pekinese. “You’re not getting away with making me look like a blabbering fool. I’m giving you two seconds to flash her some lizard eyes or I’m telling those hunters out there exactly what you are.”
Aiden’s nostrils flared. “You wouldn’t.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, Emmaline tapped a foot. “Try me.”
“Damn it.” Aiden plowed his fingers through his hair, leaving it in messy spikes. “We didn’t want to throw everything at Dana before she’s ready.”
“Ah, screw it.” Jace stalked toward the sofa and leaned over Dana. He blinked and his blue irises glimmered, shifting into brilliant amber. Quicker than she could fathom it, his pupils elongated into distinctively reptilian-like slits.
Her chin plummeting, Dana slumped, banging her head on the loveseat’s tall back. Jace turned to face Emmaline. “Happy now?”
“Wh-what was that?” Wincing at the screechiness of her voice, Dana scrambled from the cushions and whirled in front of Jace. His eyes had returned to normal. For a brief moment, she wondered if she’d imagined the whole thing. No, that didn’t make sense. She wasn’t prone to hallucinations. Okay, there’d been that freaky incident involving cold medicine and a talking Ficus tree, but that was a long time ago.
“It was a brief glimpse of my Drakoni form. I’d have shown you more, but I didn’t want to scare you. Not to mention your aunt would have been pissed if I tore through her roof.”