He smiled and clasped my shoulder. “Kill that big dumb druid, and you will have repaid me a hundred-fold.”
I grinned. “Deal.”
He turned and looked at Isaac. “I’ll come visit the landsoon.”
He nodded. “We’d likethat.”
They stood there for a moment awkwardly, and for a second I thought they mighthug.
“Well, you better get going if you’re going to lure the druids here,” Rufussaid.
Yes. I’d almost forgotten about our plan. Eva texted this morning that she’d felt another breach at her border security in the night. They were deterred by her magic, but we needed to bait them awayASAP.
Logan checked his phone. “Nadine and Gear got in late last night, and got a hotel. They’re outsidenow.”
Rufus put up a finger. “I’ve got a little present for you all. Alpha, come withme.”
Keegan raised one eyebrow, being called “alpha” and being given a direct order were his two least favorite things, but he went after himanyway.
We all walked inside, grabbed a bagel and some coffee that had been set out, and put on our backpacks just in time to see Keegan groaning under the weight of a box, absolute shock written on hisface.
Rufus gestured to the box. “I know how much this operation must be costing you, and Laney would have wanted me tohelp.”
I stood on my tiptoes, and yep … the box was full of gold bars. I glanced appreciatively at Keegan, it must have taken all the strength of his shifter magic to holdit.
“Are you sure?” I gasped. I didn’t know what to say or where to sell those, but I wasgrateful.
“Absolutely,” he said, and opened the front door forus.
Logan and I wouldn’t need to worry about shifting to sell scales for a long time. It was an extremely kind thing todo.
“Thank you so much,” I told the alchemist and gave him ahug.
“Good luck,” he told us, and waved us allgoodbye.
Wow. When we’d first started out here, Rufus nearly choking Isaac to death, I didn’t think we would be leaving with my staff intact, and a box full of gold bars. As we made our way down the long driveway to the open gates, where Nadine was sitting behind Gear on his motorcycle, I leaned into Isaac. “That wasn’t so bad, seeing himagain.”
Isaac chuckled. “Not for you. He didn’t turn your lungs tometal.”
A grin pulled at my lips. “True, but it seems you guys might be able to be friends again oneday.”
My good druid looked back up at the house and nodded. “One day. Time heals a lot ofwounds.”
It sounded like this Laney woman was just so desperate trying to give her sterile husband a baby that she had enlisted his best friend to help. Stupid of Isaac yes, but still it was sweet. This was probably in the early nineteen hundreds when IFV didn’t even exist. What lengths would I go to in order to give Logan everything he wanted inlife?
Nadine dropped a duffle bag on the ground and it opened, revealing a cache of weapons. “California is crawling with druids. I smelled half a dozen on our way through town while cominghere.”
Shesmelledthem. I didn’t want toask.
“Good, we’re counting on that,” Keegan said, and started loading weapons onto his person. “The plan is that Danny, Dom, Nadine, and I will take Sloane up to Marlette Lake. It’s a nice secluded spot for a dragon to shift. Meanwhile, Sophie and Gear will go with Logan, heading down to Zephyr Cove. Logan and Sloane will both shift for about a minute before changing back, and getting the hell out ofthere.”
Logan nodded. “One dragon shifting up here might just be an accident, but with both of us it will draw the druids for sure. It will look like we are hiding out in thesewoods.”
Keegan nodded. “We each take a car and meet back at the land. If anyone feels like they’re being tailed, head away from Isaac’s land and down toFresno.”
Everyone nodded. It was a solidplan.
As they packed up the two cars, Logan pulled me in for a hug, running his fingers through my still-damp hair. “I hate splitting up,” hemuttered.
