Cunning Dragon (Dragon Echoes Book 2) Page 9

  What could they possibly trade for that sort of information? Verrian had no access to his clan’s treasure right now, but either way, he suspected this human wasn’t in it for the gold.

  “I’m listening,” Lisa said shortly.

  “You tell me what’s going on, where these dragons came from and who they are, and I’ll tell you my sources, and what I’ve heard.”

  Verrian frowned.

  His heart ached to be with his people. He’d give anything to be able to go home.

  Except give up his people. And giving up their secrets could mean the same thing.

  He had already started shaking his head, but Lisa interrupted. “We can give you a basic story, but on the understanding that you don’t release any of it.” She glanced back as she spoke, raising her eyebrow at Verrian.

  Verrian hesitated. Even if Rita agreed to not share the information, could they trust her to stick to her end of the bargain?

  That’s if she even agreed to it. What use was the information to her if she couldn’t share it?

  “What’s the point of that?” Rita said, confirming his suspicions. “The information is useless to me if I can’t release it.”

  There was a hint of doubt in her voice though.

  “I thought you might want to satisfy your personal curiosity,” Lisa insisted. “Come on, you’re not going to try to pretend you don’t just want to know, even if you can’t release it?”

  “Maybe,” Rita said grudgingly. “I admit that I’m curious, but giving up my source is a big deal. They could give me more information about the dragons in the future, so long as I don’t piss them off.”

  Lisa smacked her hands down on the steering wheel in frustration. “You don’t even care, do you? This is just a game to you.”

  “No, it’s not a game at all.” Rita’s voice was just as frustrated. “But I’m not going to just give you everything and walk away with nothing.” She was quiet for a moment, then said, “I’ll do your deal under one condition.”

  “What’s that?” Lisa asked cautiously.

  “If it does come out, as I suspect it’s going to, I want an exclusive,” Rita bargained. “Pictures, interviews, the lot.”

  “Only if you aren’t the one who releases it,” Lisa said quickly.

  “Of course,” Rita agreed.

  There was just one problem. “How do we know we can trust you?” Verrian asked.

  Rita hesitated, then said slowly, “I can help you.”

  “What do you mean?” Lisa asked. “Other than telling us who leaked the information, what can you do to help?

  “Well, you need a car, don’t you?” Rita challenged. “One that isn’t listed as stolen.”

  Lisa gave a laugh. “I’m pretty sure yours is just as hot right now.”

  “I’m not talking about mine.”

  Verrian’s heart lifted. Finally, the possibility of a way out of this. Maybe.

  “Who’s car then?” Lisa asked.

  Chapter 11

  Lisa glanced in the rear-view mirror again, but the road behind them was empty.

  It was hard not to be jumpy. She couldn’t quite believe that they had managed to get out of that mess. She kept expecting the police to show up behind them. Or Paul.

  Or Rita.

  Even though Rita had assured them that she wasn’t going to call the police when they’d left her at a friend’s house, Lisa still found it hard to believe. The fact that she’d convinced her friend to sell them his old car for a reasonable price only helped a little.

  Lisa was glad she had only given the reporter a very bare bones version of Verrian’s story, with promises of more in the future, after she’d proved she could be trusted. Especially since Rita’s information on her informant had been next to useless. Rita didn’t even know the name of the young woman who had come up to her in the street. She’d only believed it because she’d been hearing rumours that something was going on for a few weeks.

  Lisa shouldn’t be surprised at the fact that the mining company had reported finding Taurian’s Mesmer chamber when they’d started digging, or that the librarian had told Rita about Gretchen’s strange visitor and frequent absences.

  In reality, it was surprising it had taken this long for something to come out.

  How they were going to continue to hide the dragon’s existence was the real question. It seemed Rita’s insistence that this was going to come out eventually could well hold some truth. But that wasn’t her problem. Karla and Taurian would have to deal with that one, with Verrian’s help. Right now, Lisa had a bigger issue.

  They still had nowhere to go.

  “We can’t go back to the lair,” she told Verrian. As if he didn’t already know. “Even if Rita’s informant doesn’t tell her anything, they could tell someone else.”

  “Where can we go then?” Verrian asked quietly. “It’s not safe to remain in town, but if we leave on our own, Ultrima is a real risk.”

  Lisa heaved a sigh. They couldn’t stay, and they couldn’t go. What other options were there?

  What they needed was somewhere that wasn’t Mungaloo, but where there were people.

  Then the idea hit her.

  She had no idea why she hadn’t thought of it before.

  “You can come back to the city with me.”

  “Back to… you mean, back to your home?”

  The thought of having Verrian all to herself in her apartment back at the city was both intoxicating and terrifying.

  His presence was so overpowering, and it constantly reminded her of how amazing it had been to sleep with him. Of how much she wanted to do it again.

  When they’d been stuck at her parents, and busy running from dragons, she’d been able to push it away. But if they were alone…

  Like they had been at the ruined house…

  Lisa shook her head. She couldn’t think about that now. Right now, they just needed to go somewhere away from all this.

  “We’ll be safe there,” she told Verrian. “And it’s far enough away, and there are enough people around that I don’t think Ultrima will bother us. So long as Rita keeps her word and doesn’t publish this, then we’ll be fine there until Karla and Taurian sort this out. Safer there than anywhere else.”

  “Are you okay with that?” Verrian asked, his expression unreadable.

  After all the mess she’d made, he was still worried about her. Lisa’s eyes filled with tears. He was the nicest person she’d ever met, and he wasn’t even human.

  She didn’t deserve his concern.

  “It’s my fault all this happened. If I hadn’t tried to talk you into leaving my parents, we’d still be safe. Rita wouldn’t have found out anything more about the dragons, much less seen proof of their existence, and you wouldn’t be…” Her voice broke.

  She didn’t even want to mention the fact that he wouldn’t be wounded if not for her.

  “Hey.” Verrian’s voice was soft, but it was his hand on her knee, sending a warm, wonderful flush through her body, that was almost her undoing.

  Lisa sniffled, holding back the tears with great effort.

  “You did the best you could,” he continued softly. “And the way you took that camera away from Rita and convinced her not to tell this story, that was amazing.”

  Lisa shook her head. She took a couple of deep breaths, trying to get her voice under control before she said, “That was nothing. All I did was snatch a camera and talk lots. It doesn’t even begin to compare to fighting a dragon.”

  “Yeah, like I did a good job at that.”

  Seriously? He still didn’t see it?

  The need to convince him that he wasn’t worthless stopped Lisa’s tears. “You did! You were amazing. You beat that other dragon. How can you not see that?”

  “He was distracted,” Verrian said flatly. “If you hadn’t yelled at Rita right when you did, he would have finished me. It had nothing to do with anything I did.”

  Lisa stared at him. “So, if it had been me fighting
that dragon, I could have done the same thing then?”

  “I… Well, maybe not. But that’s just because I’m a dragon and you're human. If you were a dragon, I’m sure you could have.”

  Lisa outright laughed at that. “Yeah, me. Who freezes up as soon as she gets scared. Not a chance. But you, you didn’t even hesitate,” she insisted. “When the dragon was going to attack Rita, you just jumped in, even though you knew there was a very big chance he was going to beat you. That’s real courage. Way more than snatching a camera from a woman who isn’t any more threatening than you are.”

  “Well, what else could I do?” Verrian stared at her, honestly confused.

  Lisa’s heart swelled. The fact that he couldn’t see it just made it more adorable. “You’re amazing,” she told him.

  Verrian blushed bright red. “You’re more amazing,” he countered.

  It was Lisa’s turn to blush. She didn’t believe him, but it was very nice that he thought so.

  The moment hung between them, and Lisa was pretty sure there was something in there. Something that neither of them were prepared to come outright and say.

  Something she didn’t even want to think about, for fear of scaring it away.

  She cleared her throat. “Well, anyway, I do need to get back home. I’m going to lose my job if I don’t. So do you want to come?”

  She focused on the road, trying not to let the fact that Verrian was staring at her affect her.

  “I’d love to,” he said solemnly.

  Lisa smiled over at him. “Great.”

  Looking at him only reminded her of his wounds. Rita had convinced her friend to sell them a pair of jeans and paired with the leather jacket from Paul’s car, they covered most of the blood, but Lisa knew he wasn’t doing so well.

  Meaning she might have to sleep with Verrian again. She knew that was how Karla had healed Taurian back at the ruined house.

  It would be her duty, wouldn’t it?

  The fact that she’d enjoy it would just be a bonus.

  The End

  Want to know what happens next?

  Part 3 of Dragon Echoes will be available soon!

  Visit my webpage at http://www.rinellegrey.com to signup to my mailing list to be notified when Part 3 is released, and to get exclusive access to extras such as deleted scenes and character bios.

  Want to know what happened while Lisa and Verrian were in the Mesmer chamber? Dragon's Cowboy, Chase's story, is available now.

  Dragon shifter Wayrian feels duty bound to mate with her fated mate, the hot human cowboy, when the goddess warns she'll turn her clan human if she refuses. But that's a deal breaker for her grandfather, who wants her to impress the new dragon prince...

  Grab your copy now

  If you haven't already, check out Karla and Taurian's story, beginning with Waking the Dragon.

  When his centuries long slumber ends abruptly, dragon prince Taurian finds himself in a whole new world. Now, pursued by an ancient enemy, he finds his survival depends on the human woman whose presence woke him. Despite being irresistibly drawn to the half-naked man she discovered in an ancient chamber, Karla is sure he’s crazy. The sensible thing to do would be to drop him off at the nearest police station. But she soon finds out that dealing with dragons is never that simple.

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  About the Author

  If you read a Rinelle Grey story, you can trust in a happy ending. Love will always triumph, even if it seems impossible… Rinelle Grey writes feel-good romance usually in science fiction or fantasy settings. Her heroines are independent and headstrong, and her stories are hard to put down.

  She grew up in a remote area of Australia, without power, hot water, or a phone, but now lives with all of those and her (happily ever after) husband, daughter, chooks, ducks and veggie garden.

  She loves to receive e-mails at rinelle@rinellegrey.com, or follow her on facebook or twitter.

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