The men whipped around, and Max recognized them as reporters from larger London newspapers. He’d worked with one during his time in the city.
“Max?” the man said in surprise. “You live here?”
“My parents’ house,” Max said in a stiff voice. “You didn’t answer. Why are you thumping on the door?”
“Witnesses saw the dragon land here and enter your house,” his acquaintance said.
Max’s brows rose. “The dragon landed here? And entered my house? How? My home seems to be in one piece, and I doubt a dragon would fit inside without damaging the building. Now stand aside and let me enter.”
The two men exchanged a glance and backed up to let Max past. He plucked his keys from his pocket and entered. The two men attempted to follow him inside, but Max shut the door in their faces and locked the door.
“Sasha! Noel! Where are you?” He turned toward the family room since he could hear low voices.
“Max. Max. Max!” Noel hurtled from the den and flew at him, gripping Max around the knees. “Someone tried to steal me, and Shasha saved me.”
“What? Where’s Sasha?”
“In here, Max.” Her voice sounded subdued and less Sasha than normal.
Concern zapped him. Was Noel telling the truth? Long strides took him into the room where they spent most of their time. “What’s going on? Noel said someone grabbed him?”
Sasha bit her bottom lip, hesitating in a way that had his warning signals blaring.
“Tell me what happened.”
“We visited the beach as we do most afternoons. Instead of swimming today, Noel and I walked and collected shells. The entire time, I suspected someone was watching us. We had almost walked to the car park halfway along the beach when I noticed a runner. Instead of continuing past us, he ran at Noel and seized him. He took off with Noel. I gave chase and caught him before he could stuff Noel in the waiting car and drive off.”
“There was a waiting car?”
“Yes, the driver had the engine going.”
“I don’t understand. How did you grab Noel back when there were two men? Did someone help you?”
“Shasha turned into her dragon and scared the men. She blew fire, and then she picked me up, and we flew back here. It was like a book adventure,” Noel shouted.
Max gaped at his brother, then glanced at Sasha and waited for her to deny everything. She didn’t, merely averting her gaze and continuing to bite her lip.
“Did you call the cops?”
Sasha shook her head. “I tried to ring you, but it kept going to voicemail.”
Max winced. He hadn’t wanted his boss to call him for updates, so he’d turned off his phone. “I’m sorry.”
Someone banged on the front door. “Max Lombardy, please come to the door. It’s the police.”
“At last,” he muttered. “Someone to make sense out of this.”
He strode to the door, unlocked it, and flung it open. Two policemen stood in the doorway. The tallest one—a man with cropped black hair and a close-trimmed black beard—handed him an envelope then paused a beat, his gaze going beyond Max to land on Sasha and Noel. Irritation flooded Max when he noted the appreciation in the policeman’s eyes. The other cop, with red hair and blue eyes, maintained a professional mien. Thankfully.
“Mine,”Max stated and stepped back before slamming the door.Oh, very mature, Max, he mocked himself, but his inner caveman hated the cop’s expression. Anger pulsed through him again. The entire time he’d been away from Sasha and Noel, he’d thought about them, and the highlight of his day was the evening video calls where Noel told him the details of his morning and afternoon. His little brother was thriving under Sasha’s care, despite someone trying to kidnap…
“Fuck,” he ground out and flung open the door. “Can you wait?” What the hell was wrong with him? Someone had attempted to grab Noel, and he was letting his drama get in front of his brother’s safety. “I want to report an attempted abduction.”
The policemen paused and exchanged a glance. They retraced their steps.
“An abduction? Is that why the reporters are baying for your blood?” the red-haired cop asked.
“Me?” Max clapped a hand to his chest. “I haven’t been home for long. Someone reported they saw a dragon.”
