Chapter Nineteen
Hone’s nerves bounced up and down the entire time Cassie and Emma were away. His taniwha wasn’t much better with his restless growling.
“Thank god,” Jack said. “Here they are now.”
Hone was halfway out the door before he registered the action. “Where’s Cassie? She’s not with Emma.” He sprinted to the driver’s side demanding answers. “Where is Cassie?”
“She’s walking. We found a young boy on the side of the road and she insisted on walking back with him. What was I meant to do? I can’t tell her the truth—that a fire-breathing dragon wants to punish her. She’d say I was crazy.”
“Hone.” Jack grabbed him when his taniwha pushed past his restraint and shook him. “It’s not Emma’s fault. We’re doing our best.”
“I talked to Manu,” Emma said. “June has disappeared. Samuel and the boys are hunting for her.”
“Crap. I’ll go and get Cassie,” Hone said, taking off at a sprint.
Fear cramped his guts, the itch to shift strong. He kept running, scanning the air for signs of June. Surely she wouldn’t fly over in daylight and put the entire race at the risk of discovery?
Damn, where was Cassie? He still couldn’t see her.
Ah, there she was. A dark-haired child walked at her side, both chattering away and not paying attention to their surroundings. Typical humans. So unaware of the dangers.
He slowed and gave his taniwha a mental shove.It’s all right. She’s safe. If June comes, we’re here to protect her.
“Hi,” he called before he reached them.
“Hone.” A brilliant smile flashed across her face and his heart drum-rolled.
God, she was so beautiful. He couldn’t lose her, not to June. He couldn’t live without her. Nothing had prepared him for Cassie, yet his father had been right. The moment the right woman walked into his life, he’d leave his tomcatting ways behind.
Hone studied the kid. Cute in his Spiderman suit.
“Is he a stranger?” the kid asked Cassie.
She laughed in the musical way of hers that never failed to stir him. “No, this is my friend, Hone. Hone, this is Dillion. He lives next door, and he’s coming to visit until his father picks him up.”
“What cookies do you have?” the kid asked.
“We have shortbread and chocolate chip. I couldn’t decide which ones to buy, so I got one packet of each.”
As Hone fell into step with them, the pair continued to chatter. It was so easy to imagine her with his child, and that told him, more than anything, that he couldn’t let her leave. It meant he’d have to tell her about his dual nature as a taniwha, but he thought she’d accept all of him. At least, he hoped she would. He couldn’t marry her without letting her in on the truth, yet he risked everything if she rejected him and left to pursue her career.
“That’s an awfully big frown. Are you doing heavy-duty thinking over there?”
“Work stuff,” Hone lied, and the falsehood cut him. No, he didn’t enjoy lying to her.
They turned into the driveway and found Emma had set up outside with an umbrella to keep off the sun. That would also help screen them from June if she went crazy and decided to fly during the day.
Unless she had one of Manu’s devices…
He cursed under his breath. “I should call Manu to see what’s happening with Auntie June. Evidently she hasn’t been well.”
Hone strode indoors, plucked his phone from his pocket and face-timed his cousin. “Manu, has your mother got one of your devices?” he demanded without preamble.
“No, I keep them locked up when I’m not working with them. She tried to get at them and failed. Emma said you guys are at the house in Clevedon.”
“Yeah. It’s probably safer in Papakura, given the larger population, but none of us can think of a reason good enough to persuade Cassie it’s less dangerous in town. We’ve tried, believe me, but she said she is surrounded by private investigators and couldn’t be more protected. And she said it’s easier to spot strangers out here. It’s taken her a few days to settle after that clown episode.”
“God, what a mess. I have no idea what to do, Hone. If any other dragon ran amok like this, we’d put them down for the greater good, but this is my mother. The matriarch of the tribe. She’s out of control, but I don’t know if I can do the right thing.”
