"You talk a lot."
Her temper flared a little. "What the hell do you expect me to do? You kidnap me, poison me, throw me in a box for God knows how long, now you won't even give me a drink so I can get this nasty taste out of my mouth. And you think I'm just going to sit here and be quiet like a good little girl?"
He walked over to a small refrigerator in the corner. "Here." He tossed her a bottle of water.
"Thank you." She tried to unscrew the top, but her fingers weren't recovered enough to give her the strength she needed. She held the bottle out, and Phil twisted the cap. She took a long drink before she thanked him.
"Where are we?" Ellie shivered against the chill in the air. In the distance, she suddenly heard a horse whinny. "Are we in a barn?"
He sighed and rubbed his head. "Training arena."
Her mind spun. Where was there a training arena near the cabin?
To his credit, Phil grabbed a jacket off a peg on the wall and handed it to her. She slipped it on, grateful for the warmth. "Thank you."
Most of his bravado seemed to have vanished as soon as the pain in his groin did. "Look, lady. This wasn't my idea. I didn't want to hurt you."
"Who did?"
"Doesn't matter. I just don't want any trouble with your dragon boyfriend."
She stared at him with a blank look on her face. "Did you just say dragon?"
"Yeah, I saw him when he put the fire out."
She shook her head. "A dragon. Like a big reptile with wings, dragon?"
"He shifted just like something out of a fairy tale."
She stared at him as she tried to form a response. "Have you been sniffing whatever you drugged me with?"
Before he could answer, a ringing startled them both. Ellie glanced down as a cell phone vibrated on the table. Phil reached down and grabbed it, but not before she saw the photo of the caller on the display.
Chapter Nineteen: Connecting the Dots
Colton Hale
Colton hurried along the walkway until he found the 500 block of rooms. Or suites, as they were called in this high-dollar establishment. Each block was five stories tall, so Suite 504 was on the fourth story. He took his time and got a good look around before he headed for the staircase. The elevator sat in plain view, but he didn't want to risk someone greeting him with a gun in his face when the door popped open.
Nothing seemed out of place or even questionable. He took the stairs two at a time, his heart in his throat with each step. If anything had happened to Ellie, he had no idea if he could recover from it. Guilt dogged him for allowing this to happen in the first place. His fear of losing his mate dogged him harder.
His mate.
He almost stumbled as the word suddenly swirled in his mind. It wasn't one that he had ever expected to hear in his lifetime. At his age, almost forty, most people had already found their mates and settled down. He sucked in his breath. He might be a late bloomer, but he wasn't about to miss out just because someone was being an asshole.
He listened at the door when he arrived at the suite. When he didn't hear anything, and for lack of knowing what else to do, he knocked. Surprisingly, the door was answered pretty quick. A pretty brunette stared at him with a glass of champagne in her hand. "Yes?"
Although he didn't know what he expected, she was not it. Her long hair was shiny and perfectly curled, her makeup done to perfection, stylish clothes, and he caught a whiff of expensive perfume. While she fit in with the resort, she didn't fit it to the scenario he was currently dealing with.
"I'm... uh... you're very beautiful." He needed to stall while his brain whirled trying to find a suitable excuse of why he was there.
She grinned at him. "You're pretty sexy yourself, cowboy. Are you here for my massage?" She looked him up and down. "Because if you are, I approve. And I'll probably say yes if you offered, shall we say, extended options."
"No, ma'am. I'm afraid if I tried to give you a massage, you'd be somewhat disappointed."
"Somehow I doubt that." She sipped from her glass while she invited him with her eyes. Colton struggled to remain calm with the wanton woman. "Disappointing, but if you're not here for the massage, why are you here?"
"The resort sent me to retrieve the four-wheeler?"
