Convincing Cassandra to go back with him to the mansion was the only way to keep her safe, and Dragon wasn't sure he could convince her to do it.
January 5th
4:40 P.M.
Unable to take her eyes off Dragon, Cassandra tried to guess how bad whatever news he’d just gotten could possibly be.
Surely it couldn’t be worse than finding out there had been a second person involved in her almost abduction. That the person had tampered with their vehicle. Tampering with it didn't seem like the best idea when it had looked like her assailant wanted to abduct her, but maybe when that plan was foiled, he’d decided that just killing her was a better idea.
It was all so complicated, and her brain wasn't used to running scenarios like this.
She worked in a library. Alibrary. Her life was about information, about helping people learn, about knowledge. She spent her days running toddler and preschool story time sessions, after-school programs for kids who were struggling at school, for kids who were excelling and needed to be further challenged, and for kids who didn't have someone waiting at home for them and whose parents wanted to ensure they had a safe place to go.
What she didn't spend her days doing was foiling would-be kidnappers and trying to figure out what their next move was. She was so far out of her league that her head throbbed with the beginnings of a headache.
“Are you okay, miss? Ambulance should be here soon,” a well-meaning woman—who had introduced herself, but Cassandra hadn't been paying enough attention to absorb the information—assured her.
Giving a distracted nod, she watched as Dragon ended the call and slid his phone back into his pocket. Their gazes met, and for a second his violet eyes softened, and she could almost feel the gentle caress as he examined her from head to toe, likely in search of any injuries he might have missed when he helped her out of the car.
By some miracle, neither of them appeared to have been hurt, other than some bumps and bruises, but she knew that didn't mean they were safe. Dr. Gardner was a more dangerous man than she’d grasped, and it seemed she had been dragged into that mess now.
Closing the distance between them in two long strides, Dragon reached down and curled his long fingers around her elbow, gently tugging her to her feet. “We have to go,” he informed her.
So the news was that bad.
There were a million questions she wanted to ask, but Cassandra got that now wasn't the time. Too many people were about, and this wasn't the kind of thing you could just talk about in front of anyone.
“Uh, I don’t think you can leave the scene of an accident,” a middle-aged man piped up.
Dragon shot him a glare that had the man taking a small step back, and Cassandra quickly placed a calming hand on Dragon’s forearm. The last thing they needed was for him to view any of these well-meaning motorists as a threat. After all, none of them could be the mysterious partner because there had been no tail when they went to the motel, and none following them this afternoon.
“Maybe we should wait, just till the cops come,” she said softly to Dragon.
“Not safe,” he muttered, glancing around them like he expected someone to come jumping out at any second. Remembering his fierce declaration that when it came to her safety, he had to consider every conceivable threat, she let her fingers trail down his arm until they reached his hand, then she twined them with his.
“Safest place for me right now is here. Cops will be here soon, and medics. Besides, we don’t even have a car anymore, so we’d either have to walk or call a cab or an Uber.”
A low growl rumbled through his chest, causing all four of the drivers who had stopped to check on them to cast wary glances Dragon’s way. If he kept behaving like this, they were going to think he was the source of danger.
“Need to get you somewhere safe.”
“We can call Jax. They’re expecting us anyway and?—”
“No.”
There was more finality in that one word than she would have expected, and the abrupt way he once again cut her offwithout even listening to her, especially when once again she was trying to help him, had Cassandra trying to tug her hand free from Dragon’s hold.
His fingers tightened around hers, and he tugged her with him as he tried to move back from the small group of people.
“Sir, I think you should let go of her,” the middle-aged man piped up again, and she wanted to yell at him to stop talking. She got that he was trying to help her, but he was only making things worse and kicking Dragon’s already protective instincts into overdrive.
“It’s fine,” she rushed to assure him before he could do something even stupider, like actually try to physically prevent Dragon from touching her. “He’s just shaken up by the accident. We aren't going to leave before the cops show up.”
Ignoring Dragon’s huff, she quickly led him away from the gathered group, ignoring the pain pulsing through her leg as she walked on it. The stitches had all popped in the crash, and it was going to need to be stitched again before she went to her sister and brother’s house.
“Who was on the phone?” she asked once they had a few yards between them and the others.
“My team.”
