His words made sense, but still Drake fought against them. Joey wouldn't do that to him; not the Joey he knew. But that little voice in the back of his head, that damned little non-believer, made him wonder if he was just being foolish to think that he knew her at all.
"I think I'll take my chances on Joey." Plus, he needed to get to Colton and his mother to warn them. He grabbed a bottle of water that sat on Percy's desk, and before the man could move, Drake threw the water on him.
He hoped that all of the tales he had heard growing up were true. Wyverns hated water, and alcohol totally disagreed with their systems. It made sense now why Percy had such a zero tolerance for drinking, and why only some of his goons participated in the illegal drinks as Joey called them.
Percy hissed as the water hit him, and Drake took the opportunity to haul ass out the door. One of the goons came at him as he leapt down the stairs, and Drake bowled him over with a right hook.
He headed for his mother's house and got lucky that Colton and Sarah were both there. Vinia slammed her hand on the table. “I don’t know what kind of sub-species they are, but wyvern is close enough.”
"I knew it! I knew I smelled danger, but who the hell would have thought a wyvern would be around here?"
"I have no idea, but there is. At least a few of them." He told them everything, including the part about Joey.
Sarah shook her head. "No way. I've seen how she looks at you. There is no way she would betray you like that."
Colton wasn't as convinced. 'She didn't know Drake when she led them here."
"How did she lead them here?" Drake still refused to believe it. "She told me that she was thrilled to find out they were making an unscheduled stop here because she wanted to try a smaller venue to get someone to listen to her about the problems they had with Percy abusing the horses and the competitors. Percy told her they were coming here, not the other way around. And she's doing this rodeo to keep her mother in a nice care facility, so she's dependent on the rodeo doing well."
"Well," Colton shrugged, "I guess we need to find her."
Drake headed for the door. "Good idea. I just wanted to warn you guys first."
Vinia called after him to be careful. "Wyverns are nasty creatures and extremely evil, regardless of what kind of hybrid. He blindsided you once; don't let him do it again."
Her words echoed in his ears as he headed toward the barn. Why hadn't Joey told him that her boss was not as he appeared? Surely, she could see his dual personalities, even if Percy hadn't straight up told her. Why had she let him get blindsided and possibly hurt?
He ran into Scarlet as she carried some poles to a long trailer. "Have you seen Joey?"
"Not for a little bit. The last time I saw her, she was running toward the woods."
Drake frowned. “For what?” He doubted she just went on a hike.
“I have no idea. She was too far away for me to ask.”
"Where?"
Scarlet adjusted the poles, and Drake grabbed them from her. "Don't point. I don't want Percy's men seeing where you're sending me. Just give me a general direction."
They walked toward the trailer so Drake could dump the load of pipes. She moved closer so no one could read her lips, if they were even trying. "The trees behind the field the horses are in. Our horses. That's where she disappeared."
"I believe she's in danger," he whispered to Scarlet. "So, you be careful. There are two thugs guarding your camper, looking for Joey. Stay away from there until they're gone."
Scarlet nodded. "Thanks for the heads up. We're supposed to be leaving though. One of us has to drive the camper."
He shook his head. "I have no idea. Just be careful." He turned back as he started to walk away. "And Scarlet?"
"Yeah?" She was adjusting the poles into place.
"Don't tell anyone else that you saw her go into the woods, okay? Unless it's my family."
She nodded. "Go find her. Keep her safe."
"I intend to."
He turned and headed toward his own house. It was time to take the skies, but he didn't need any witnesses.
Chapter Twenty One: Searching for Safety
