“Unless you have such long legs in your human form because you’re like a twenty-foot snake.”
“No one wants to hear about Rían’s twenty-foot snake.”
A shadow fell across us, and the spit dried in my mouth, forcing me to bury my face in his chest.
“Fayne.” He stroked the back of my head. “You’re supposed to be guarding the invalids.”
“I came to pick up Goldie’s phone. She left it in her bathroom.” Her eyes gleamed with delight. “Imagine my surprise to find my grandson and future granddaughter on the porch discussing the length of?—”
“No.”Rían clamped his hands over my ears. “Please, just get what you need and go home.”
“It could be worse.” I gripped his wrists and lowered them. “Liam could have been the one to hear us.”
“Do you honestly believe she’s not going to tell him the second she sees him so they can laugh at us together?”
The door swung open behind us, and Seamus exited with Goldie’s phone in hand. He cocked an eyebrow at us while tossing the phone to Fayne. Dane stepped up beside Seamus, scanned the area, then stepped back to give Rían and me room to untangle and rise.
“Be safe.” Fayne squished my face between her palms. “And most of all, have fun.” She frowned down at Rían. “Try not to popmore of those antacids, dear. They’ll destroy your kidneys.” She kissed his forehead. “Ana will be in safe hands the entire time.”
With the weight of so many gazes bearing down on us, we had no choice but to disengage and go our separate ways. I enjoyed teasing Rían and glimpsing the troublemaker Burdock swore he used to be, but I wished I had spared a moment or two for more serious talk.
Leaning down, he brushed his warm lips across my ear as he said, “Come home safe to me.”
“I will.” I nipped his earlobe again to watch him shiver. “Everything will be okay.”
“We need to go before we lose the light.” Seamus sounded apologetic. “The general area where we suspect Sartori has burrowed down requires a short climb. We need the shadows to help conceal our movements, but I wouldn’t want to risk a misstep in full dark.”
Tension radiated through Rían, but he gritted his teeth, produced a smile, and kissed me once for luck.
“Dane will be in charge of getting you to the rendezvous point,” Seamus prattled on. “He climbs mountains on the weekends, if you can believe anyone’s daft enough to call that fun.”
A low growl poured into the air behind me, but I didn’t dare turn around to face Rían. I was too afraid I would cave. I didn’t want to pile more stress on him. He had more than enough already.
“You’re doing the right thing.” Seamus kept his voice low. “Trust me when I say you don’t want to start a relationship with someone who doesn’t know who you really are. They won’t be pleasantly surprised to find out the truth later.” He sighed. “I tried selling Lisa on the idea I was a calmer, more polite man than I am to impress her. I didn’t want her to know how hard Iwas, how sharp I could be. Part of me wanted to be that different version for her, but the rest grew stifled beneath the act.”
“You’re worried if I fold now, to spare Rían pain, I’ll cave every time.”
“Worrymight be the wrong word. The choice is yours. I won’t judge you either way. I just don’t want you to struggle with your identity like I did.” His smile was crooked. “You’re strong, you’re smart, and you care. You give a damn fine speech too. You’re a good match for Rían.”
“But?”
“He thought he lost you once, and he’s terrified he will again. For good this time.” He gripped my shoulder, and the bones groaned under his wide palm. “He’ll never be happy you’re going out in the field. My wife is the same. But she knows I will take every precaution to ensure I return to her and our son in one piece. Rían knows this too. Just as Lisa had to make her peace with who I am, Rían must do the same for you.”
“It’s not often we get a second chance at life, and I don’t want to waste mine.”
The two teams parted ways at the street, and I followed Team One to the van that would carry us to our starting point. The drive gave me a chance to use the same mental spigot as before to twist my link with Carmichael closed until we reached the area drone footage and rumor had convinced Liam was the most likely spot for him to hunker down.
This mission was a fine testing ground to determine whether I could deliver Carmichael as promised or if I had squandered clan resources on misplaced confidence. No. I couldn’t think like that. I would make good on my word. I had to because I refused to let Rían wrestle with his anxieties for nothing.
Unfortunately, the slight drop I was promised turned out to be more of a long fall to a stony basin if my foot slipped even once. Unease slithered through my stomach, reminding me I wasn’t great with heights and really should have considered that before giving Seamus two thumbs-up on his plan.
“You look like you’re about to vomit,” Dane commented from next to my elbow.
“This is a bit different than I expected.” I swallowed hard. “It’s a little high, isn’t it?”
“You’re a dragon.”
“A dragon who can’t fly.”
