"Can I help you?" My voice didn't waver, but my heart thudded against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat. My senses screamed for me to run.
He pushed away from the car, stepping closer, and I instinctively stepped back. "I think so," he said smoothly, almost charming. There was no mistaking the threat underlying his words. "I'm here for you."
Understanding dawned, icy fear spreading through my veins. There was no other reason for him to be here, no other explanation for the danger signals flaring in my mind.
I should've known it wasn't over. I shouldneverhave let myself get excited. "Look, I don't know what you want, but I have nothing to give you." I edged sideways, aiming for the open front door of my house, hoping against hope that I could make a dash for it. "I don't know who you are or why you would be here. I don't know anything, never have."
"Let's not play games." He took another step forward. "You're going to want to come quietly."
My breath caught in my throat as I weighed the odds of racing to the door, but before my muscles could tense for the sprint, he was upon me. Cold metal kissed my ribs through my t-shirt, and his voice, a low murmur, promised violence without a single shouted threat. "Don't scream. It won't end well for you."
Ashton's name clawed up my throat, desperate to break free, but the gun pressed to my side held my words hostage. My mind screamed for my dragon savior, yet not a sound escaped. The mafia man had closed the distance with predatory ease, leaving no room for escape.
"Walk to the car." His command was a velvet threat wrapped in calm, his gripfirm on my arm.
As we moved around the inn, each step felt surreal, like a nightmare where the boogeyman had stepped out from under the bed and into reality. The warm night air turned chilly as fear crawled up my spine. The sky was a dusky blue, but all the beauty of the evening was lost in the gun's shadow and the man who wielded it.
He opened the passenger door of a sleek, black car I didn't recognize—definitely not the type that blended into small town life. He'd parked in the guest parking, just out of sight. I slid into the seat, every sense heightened to the presence of this stranger. He kept the gun trained on me with his left hand as he maneuvered with his right.
The engine purred to life, and we were moving, the houses blurring past us as we headed toward the city. The silence in the car was thick, punctuated only by the quiet hum of the road beneath us.
"You've been quite elusive," he said after a few miles, breaking the silence with the same eerie calm he'd maintained since appearing next to my car. "I'm impressed. Few can say they've given us the slip for so long."
I swallowed hard, my throat dry. "What do you want from me?"
"Your talents." He cast me a glance that felt like sizing up prey. "You've got potential. Potential I could use."
"Use for what?" I sounded small, even to my own ears, drowned out by the rush of wind and the steady beat of my heart.
"Let's just call it... specialized work. You've shown remarkable skill in staying off the radar. That's a rare quality, one that could be very valuable to the right employer."
His words hung between us, an unspoken offer laced with danger. In the dim glow of the dashboard lights, I looked at the outline of his profile, a man accustomed to power, to getting what he wanted. Right now, he wanted me. For what purpose, I couldn't begin to imagine. How could my being able to find a place to hide in Stock Creek help him?
"Of course." He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, "this kind of opportunity comes with a...personaltouch."
I knew what that meant. I'd heard stories, rumors about girls who got caught up in that world and never came out the same. My stomach twisted into knots. "If I refuse?" My voice was steady, but my hands trembled where they lay in my lap.
"Refusal isn't really an option," he said, his tone casual as if discussing the weather. "Not if you value your life."
I stared out the window, watching the highway lights blur into one continuous stream. The choices laid outbefore me were simple. Surrender my freedom or face death. Neither option seemed bearable.
Suddenly, a massive shadow descended upon the highway. It wasn’t a cloud, but something impossibly vast, casting the asphalt into sudden darkness. The roar that followed wasn’t engine noise, it was a powerful rush of air and ancient fury that vibrated through the car’s frame, rattling my teeth.
My breath hitched. Ashton. Without a second thought, I unclipped my seatbelt and flung open the door, ready to jump as soon as I could.
The car screeched to a halt, tires screaming against the pavement. I stumbled out onto the asphalt, not looking back as I sprinted to the safety of the shoulder. Adrenaline fueled my legs, heart pounding in my ears. I had to get clear, had to give Ashton room.
What came next would be a reckoning, a storm of fire and scale. I pressed myself against the guardrail, waiting for the disorder to unfold.
Ashton reared up, his wings unfolding like the gates of hell itself opening wide. The air shimmered as if reality bent around him. His jaws parted and what followed wasn't a sound but an inferno—a torrent of dragon fire that roared from deep within his ancient soul. It was so hot I had to turn and run up the highway a bit. Holy shit. Talk about hellfire.
When Igot far enough away that I could stand the heat, I turned back to watch. The car didn't even have a chance to combust properly. It simply dissolved under Ashton's wrath, metal and glass liquefying into a grotesque sculpture that no longer resembled anything man-made. The heat was immense, and I shielded my face with my arm, sweat beading on my forehead.
It was over, just like that. The mafia man, the threat, the car—reduced to nothing more than a smoldering heap on the asphalt.
Erin.The voice wasn't heard, but felt, reverberating through every fiber of my being. Ashton stood before me, his scales reflecting the dying flames, eyes glowing like embers. He was majestic and terrifying, a creature of myth in the flesh. Yet, there was a softness in those eyes when they met mine.
Can you climb on my back?The question echoed, his mental voice resonant and clear. There was no mistaking the intention behind the words; he was offering me an escape, a way out of this mess.We need to run before anyone drives up. We're lucky it's quiet tonight.
