“Fine, but when we’re done you’re going to rub my feet for me.” Jude said, with a pout to his mate.
Casper leaned in whispering something to Jude. Jude’s eyes went wide, and damn, if he didn’t look like he was going to pounce on his man right then and there. “Not a problem Pit, when do we start?”
“The sooner the better. I’d like to have the meeting in the next couple of days. That will give me time to make a visit to Clem and see what he might know about Marceli.” Pit said.
“I made some calls to the office and my contact says they still don’t have any leads on where he’s hiding out.” Stone said.
“Okay, so Bren, Azul, and I are going to be taking off right after breakfast in the morning. Hopefully we’ll be back tomorrow night sometime. If not, I’ll give Taj a call.” Pit told them all.
Cobra knew he should get back to his mate, but he needed a little time on his own. Stepping outside the house, Cobra went to turn to go to the motorcycle garage like he always did, but then stopped. They had all talked about getting to know the people of Drago, but right now it seemed as if everyone was inside. “Well, maybe if I start off small, I might get used to it.”
Walking down the path leading to the main road, Cobra turned to go towards the business street. Hearing his name, Cobra turned to see Gunner running towards him. “Is there a problem?”
Shaking his head, Gunner replied, “No, it’s just that I thought you might want a tag along.”
“Uh huh.” Cobra said in disbelief.
Sighing, Gunner replied, “Fine. I’m not all that comfortable getting to know the people here and I thought that if I joined you, maybe it would be easier.”
“Why have you never really gotten to know the people here?” Cobra asked.
Shrugging, Gunner replied, “I figured most of these guys have been terrified enough in their lives, and it seems whenever they see one of us they get even more scared.”
Cobra drew back slightly when Gunner’s maharishi lifted from his arm, saying, “Be serious, Gun. They are more afraid of me than any of you, and you stay away from them so my feelings don’t get hurt.”
Cobra could understand the discomfort a human might have when seeing Gunner’s dragon. When in full form he looked like a giant, a black and orange wasp with spikes going down its tail, and a lizard head with devil’s horns at the tip. Out of all the maharishi in Drago, Gunner’s was the most fierce-looking of them all.
“I’m sure once they get to know us it will all be fine.” Gunner said, with a gentleness Cobra never heard him use with any of them.
“One thing’s for sure, they aren’t going to get used to you if you’re attached to Gunner. I say come out and join us and let them see you. The more they see you, the faster they will be accustomed to you.” Cobra suggested.
“You think so?” The maharishi asked.
Nodding, Cobra replied, “I’ve found that with humans, the more they see or hear something, the more they normalize it. Even things they know are really wrong that go on around them just become the norm.”
Gunner’s dragon lifted off Gunner’s arm and made himself the same height as Gunner, which made him almost a foot smaller than Cobra’s seven feet one height.
They walked along looking at the different shops. “Did you know we had a furniture shop in Drago?”
Shaking his head, Gunner replied, “Had no clue, and is that the hat store Jude was talking about? Can someone even sell enough hats to make a living?”
Nodding, Cobra replied, “Jude said something about a hat store. How many hats do you think someone needs?”
“I have no clue.” Gunner replied with a laugh.
“Hey, is that a coffee shop? When did that come in?” Cobra asked.
Gunner’s maharishi replied, “Smoky said it was opened about a month ago, I think.”
“Want to give it a try?” Gunner asked.
Cobra hesitated a moment, then drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I guess we can.”
Neither man moved, nor did the dragon. They just stood there staring at the building. Gunner asked, “Why is it that I can go in for a serial killer without hesitation, and yet the thought of walking into that building makes me want to vomit?”
“I don’t know, but I’m ready to puke right along with you.” Cobra replied.
“Oh, stop being babies. Let’s do this.” The dragon said as he drew his shoulders back and walked to the door.
