“Sure. Come on,” Sam agreed.
“Behave yourselves and don’t get my mate into too much trouble.” Alicia chuckled after kissing her mate goodbye.
Both Lance and Drago watched their mates disappear around the corner of the house. Rian looked at their expressions of love and devotion and once again was envious, but this time he promised himself and Audrey they too would soon be together.
I will save you. We will be together.
“So catch me up.” Lance’s words broke the spell just the mere thought of Audrey always created within Rian.
Clearing his throat, the Dragon Leader opened his mouth to speak but never got the words out as a roar shook the very ground beneath him. Another started while the first still echoed through the atmosphere, but this time it ended with threats.
“You better run, you stupid piece of shite! ‘Cause if I catch you I’m gonna beat you to within an inch of your worthless life! Then I’m gonna let you heal just to do it all over again! Hell, I may heal you myself to keep things interesting.”
Rian knew that voice. Had heard it many times over the years but never once with such venom. Standing and walking out into the yard, the Dragon Leader prepared for a fight as Maddox rounded the corner of Drago’s house like the madman everyone knew him to be.
Spittle flew from his lips as he spat insult after insult. His long dark hair, streaked with grey, stuck out in every direction and his clothes were so disheveled it was clear he’d been ignoring all forms of personal hygiene while waiting to give Rian the beating the old dragon felt the Dragon Leader so deserved.
“Need any help?” Royce’s voice sounded in Rian’s head just as Maddox launched himself into the air, fist at the ready.
“No, he has every right to try to kick my ass.”
“I notice you said ‘try’,” Rory chuckled, joining their mind-to-mind conversation.
“Yeah, well, he got in some good punches on the cliffs. I’m not taking much more. He…OOMPH!”
Just as Rian would’ve finished his thought, Maddox hit the Dragon Leader square in the chest with the entire weight and force of his body. The two men hit the ground with a loud THUD! And the brawl was on. They became a tangle of arms, legs, and fists that made it difficult to know where one man ended and the other began.
Landing an especially powerful punch to Maddox’s midsection that left the old man wheezing, Rian scooted out from under his friend and jumped to his feet. Standing at the ready, poised for another attack, Rian was shocked when Maddox simply rolled over and huffed into his scruffy beard, staring up at the afternoon sky with his normal unfocused expression.
With patience on the end of a very short thread, Rian walked closer to where his oldest friend was doing his best imitation of a log and said, “You done or just trying to get the jump on me for the third time.”
When no indication Maddox had even heard him came back, Rian added, “Because I’m done letting you kick my ass. I know what I did was messed up and I’m ready to apologize for it, but this trying to kill me shit is over. We’re either gonna talk this out like men or you’re gonna go back to your mountain and stay there. Enough is enough.”
From one heartbeat to the next Maddox was on his feet, nose-to-nose with the Dragon Leader, fire burning deep in his cobalt eyes. “Boy, you will not talk to me that way. I trusted you. You were the last person I thought would ever steal from me. You took our friendship and wiped your dirty feet on it like it was a cheap, dime store rug. You’re lucky I don’t take your heart.”
Just like that, Maddox drew his short blade and held it to Rian’s chest. In a flash, Rory and the others circled around the two men, swords drawn, ready to defend the Dragon Leader against one of their own.
A chuckle sounded behind Rian as he heard Drago make his way down the two steps and onto the grass. His footsteps on the soft earth came closer, making the Dragon Leader wonder what the Assassin had planned. A warm hand clapped him on the shoulder a second before Drago came into view and did the same with his free hand to Maddox.
Standing between them, the Assassin looked first to Maddox. “You know you’re not gonna kill him. Even if he wasn’t your best friend in the world and the only one of us that doesn’t think you should be committed, Rian is Ronan’s boy and you loved that man like a brother. Besides, you know the kid had a good reason. Put down the damn blade, calm yourself, and come have a drink. Looks like you need one. Let Ri explain. I think you’ll understand why he did what he did.”
“But he…”
Drago shook his head and interrupted, “Yeah, he stole from you. But it wasn’t really yours. You were just keeping it safe and the boy needed, well, needs it. We all do. So before you make me draw my blade and spank you like a child in front of these youngsters, can you for the love of the Universe pull your shit together for an hour or so and listen?”
Lowering his blade and tucking it back into its sheath at his waist, Maddox backed a few steps away from Rian. “I’ll listen. But I won’t promise to forgive and I damn sure won’t forget.”
Nodding, Rian sighed. “I know and that’s on me.”
Grumbling something about damn fools under his breath, Maddox turned and walked to the patio with Drago, while the others sheathed their weapons and stood back for an extra minute.
When he saw that Maddox had downed a few shots of the whiskey he’d gone into the house and gotten for him, Rian turned to his brothers and brethren. “Looks like Maddox is calm enough to listen. Ready for round two?”
“Round two? I never got my round one,” Lance joked, and Rian appreciated his attempt to lighten the mood as the others laughed.
As soon as everyone was once again on the porch and had a drink, Rian told his tale again. It seemed to be all he’d been able to accomplish in the last fifteen or so hours and although tedious, the Dragon Leader knew he was to blame for the predicament he found himself in.
Looking at Maddox, he started with the only thing he in good conscience could say, “I’m sorry. I was a jerk. I should’ve just come to you and won’t make excuses for what I did. I just hope someday you’ll trust me again.”
