CHAPTER 1
“People! People! We can’t help anyone if you all keep speaking at the same time.” Pit said in frustration. “I wanted to talk about how we can help our town become closer, not divide everyone.”
Gunner sighed, wishing he was anywhere but in the old diner. It used to be a place for people to go and have a nice meal in Drago… one of the only businesses their small town had at the moment. However, the owner of the diner, Cameron, had turned out to be a douche sent to kill one of their townspeople, Gio—Cobra’s mate. Since Cameron was now dead, the diner sat empty and Gunner couldn’t help but wish someone was on the other side of the counter cooking them all a great meal, because damn he was hungry. Being a D.O.A. agent meant sometimes they missed meals and since Gunner had been out on assignment for the past couple of days taking out a serial con man, he had barely made it back in time for this meeting. Not that he regretted it. There was nothing Gunner wouldn’t do to take out the scum that threatened the humans of this world.
Gods, he loved being a D.O.A. agent. Each one of them had been chosen by Heck, the right-hand man to god himself, to help protect humans against the worst of the worst… serialists of all kinds, whether it be killer, arsonist, con men and women… whatever life brought their way. They worked within the human laws when dealing with humans and when a shifter or other paranormal turned out to be the serialist, then D.O.A. dealt with them within shifter law. There was nothing like hunting for a serialist and taking them down. Making the human race safe once again and having a dragon as a partner, or maharishi to the D.O.A. made it even more spectacular.
Dragons by large were fierce and awe inspiring and there were some amazing dragons in Drago—one per agent—but Gunner knew his maharishi was by far the coolest and most spectacular of them all. As with all D.O.A. agents and their maharishi, they were soul bonded the moment they agreed to help Heck with his mission to save the human race from harm. Gunner’s dragon was no different in that aspect, but where he was different from all others was the menacing presence he displayed, causing people to think twice before even trying to escape from Gunner once he found his man… or woman, whichever the case might be. It was because of the fear he brought to those who merely caught a glimpse of his maharishi, that his dragon had decided to rest in tattoo form on Gunner’s forearm.
There were differences as well as similarities to each maharishi. They were all dragons. They were each soul bonded to their D.O.A. agent. Some could fly like Gunner’s dragon and some preferred the water. All could change their size and body mass. Hell, Wiz’s dragon preferred to stay so damn small, Gunner always worried he might step on the thing and kill it. Azul, Pit’s maharishi really liked to be the size of a tall man. Smoky, Casper’s liked being his original size and flying around Drago with Spirit, Taj’s maharishi, to keep the townspeople safe and Gunner’s… well, Gunner’s maharishi preferred to stay plastered onto Gunner’s body like a tattoo, because as much as Gunner loved his dragon’s menacing looks and fear he brought to everyone, his maharishi did not. No, his dragon hated his appearance and the look of fear from everyone around him. Not that his dragon ever really said anything, but Gunner knew.
Gunner wished that his maharishi could see in himself what Gunner did. The strength, the kindness, caring, and devotion he had to humans was like none of the other dragons. Oh, the maharishi cared and did what they could to help, but did it out of a sense of duty to Heck. Gunner’s maharishi did it because it broke his heart to see someone being harmed and having no one to look out for them… keep them safe. Yep, Gunner’s dragon had a big heart and some serious self-esteem issues. Issues Gunner had tried for centuries to break past, but damned if he was even close to helping the poor guy.
“Is it over yet?” his dragon asked.
“Nope. We just started fifteen minutes ago. How could we possibly be done right this minute?” Gunner responded with a snort.
Gunner respected the hell out of his leader, Pit, but this had to be the stupidest idea he ever had. Drago was a small town that was supposed to be designed around hiding out people for witness protection. A place that people could call home without fear of death. Some were brought here for turning state’s evidence against some really evil people. Some came to Drago because they discovered D.O.A.’s secret. It was not every day a person came face to face with a dragon, and when they did, they had two choices, promise to tell no one and said dragon would know if they were lying, or tell the truth and come to Drago to live out the rest of their lives.
Learning that they would live rent free and in peace often had people choosing Drago, and as a result, the town’s population had gone from about fifty to almost three hundred.
A loud whistle brought Gunner out of his musing. Jude was standing on top of a table saying loud enough for everyone to hear, “Look, we know how hard things can be here… how boring, and we realize that everyone is excited about the prospect of earning money for themselves. Work, no matter what kind…”
“As long as it’s legal, of course.” Rylee chipped in, causing everyone to laugh.
Jude rolled his eyes, “That goes without saying, Ry.” Jude looked out to the others, “Working gives us a sense of purpose. A way to distract us from our thoughts as well as makes us just feel good about waking up in the morning. We know that Drago is dull and boring as hell.”
“Jude!” Pit growled, causing Gunner to quietly laugh.
Again Jude rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, big guy. You can growl all you want to, but face it, this place is dullsville. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’d love a place to go and have a drink, maybe get my mate to dance with me.”
“I used to run a bar. It would be nice to do that again.” A tall muscular man said from the middle of the room.
“That would be great, Patrick, and that would bring in jobs for some people that don’t actually want to own a business.” Bren said with a wide smile.
“I used to own a bakery. I could do that.” Another woman said.
Gunner listened as the townspeople began to all call out different ideas for businesses for their town. A flower shop, barber shop that would sit next to Miss Margret’s Salon, a coffee shop that would also have some sandwiches and soup. Ideas were just flowing.
When the young man Gunner remembered seeing with Giovani, Cobra’s new mate, raised his hand, not saying anything, something inside Gunner stirred, and he found himself shouldering Gio. “Hey, I think your friend wants to say something.”
Gio looked up and in the direction Gunner was indicating. “Gordy? Holy crap, I can’t believe he’s even trying to say anything.”
“Why’s that? He a snob or something?” Gunner asked, hating even thinking something like that about the adorable man.
Shaking his head, Gio replied, “No. He’s that shy. Gordy really doesn’t talk to many people. For him to even raise his hand is huge.”
Nodding in understanding, and wanting to hear what the beautiful man had to say, Gunner called out loud enough that everyone could hear, “Gordy, you have something to tell us?”
Gordy’s eyes went huge and his face turned the most adorable shade of pink when everyone stopped talking and looked in his direction. “Um… well, I… ummm… I was wondering… I’ve never owned… I mean, I know how to cook….”
Gunner was shocked when his maharishi lifted partially off his arm, looked in Gordy’s direction, then quietly asked, “Who is that lovely man speaking?”
Using their mind-speaking ability, Gunner replied,“His name is Gordy. He’s nervous enough, so don’t draw more attention to him.”His maharishi nodded and lowered part way, but continued to watch the young man.
Gunner couldn’t blame his maharishi for staring. Gordy couldn’t stand more than five and a half feet tall. He had short wavy brown hair that seemed to glisten red when he moved. It was like watching a fire trying to catch on wood. He had a little paunch at his middle, but that only attracted Gunner to him even more. Gunner had never liked a stick for a man when he fucked them. He was always worried he would break them or something. No, Gordy was magnificent, and Gunner’s hands itched to feel that soft skin under his fingertips.
Gio got up from his chair and made his way to his friend, “It’s okay, Gordy. Just slow down and take a deep breath, then tell us what it is you’re trying to say.”
