Page 18 of A First for the Playboy Dragon (Mysteries of Dragon’s Island #7)
CHAPTER 17
***HARRISON***
H arrison didn’t miss the feeling of relief that hit him when he walked away from the cabin. He’d told Juliet the truth; nothing was going to change the way he felt about her, but he wasn’t ready for more problems. He just wanted to enjoy the first flush of their love before they had to share it with the real world. It didn’t seem too much to ask, not considering what they’d been through.
“Mateo is waiting for us down at the dock,” Charlie said. “Max and Montgomery are both out on the boats, and the rest of the crew is working with the retrieval team, so he’s in charge on shore. He can explain everything better, but I guess someone has to go down and hook the pier back up when they get it back.”
“I’ll need my scuba gear,” he said. “It’s in my office at the community center. If you could grab it for me that would be great. I can find Mateo on my own.”
“Sure thing, Mr. Parker,” Charlie said. “I’ll head right over there.”
“Thanks, Charlie,” he said. “And it’s Harrison, no need to be so formal.”
“Yes, sir,” he said, then grinned. “Sorry, I can’t help myself.”
He just shook his head. “It’s okay,” he said. “Have you ever thought about joining the military?”
Mateo was waiting for him at the end of the dock, but he took a second to survey the damage the earthquake had done, cringing when he saw the broken parts of the dock and several boats laying dangerously on their sides. Pushing the guilt aside, reminding himself that he couldn’t have known this was going to happen, he carefully made his way across the damaged walkway.
“Look at the mess you made,” Mateo said, a note of accusation in his voice. “You should be ashamed of yourself. We tried to warn you, but you wouldn’t listen. Now we have to get this all cleaned up.”
“Hey, I didn’t know something like this was going to happen,” he said, defending himself. “I was starting to figure it out, I can’t help it if the island got impatient.”
Mateo put his hands on his hip. “Oh, so now you believe,” he said, a look of annoyance on his face. “I suppose you think that makes everything okay.”
Beginning to get angry, he took a deep breath. “Look, Mateo, I didn’t do this on purpose, okay? This is my life we’re talking about here. I just made the biggest commitment I’ll ever make. I’m sorry if the earthquake did some damage, but I’ll do my best to help get it cleaned up.”
After studying him for a few seconds, Mateo shook his head. “You should know better than to mess with magic,” he said. “Since Max came here, this island has become more active. Each time one of you falls in love, its power grows. I don’t know where it will all end.”
“Max is the only one of us left,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “Maybe it will end with him.”
Mateo opened his mouth but the radio in his hand crackled to life. “Is he there yet?” Max asked, his voice staticky. “He’d better be, or there’s going to be hell to pay.”
It was late afternoon when he finally climbed out of the water for the last time. It had taken most of the day to resecure the pier and troubleshoot the rest of the dock, but the only evidence of the earthquake was the damaged boats still floating sadly in the slips. Slipping off his fins, then shrugging out of his tank, he carried them over to the marina office and set them down before stripping off his wet suit.
Using the hose, he began to rinse his gear with fresh water, every muscle in his body screaming with exhaustion. “Well done, Harrison,” Max said, walking up to him. We couldn’t have done it without you. Sorry about before. I know you couldn’t have predicted this, but I haven’t had a moment’s peace since the seven of you started visiting.”
“I should have listened to you, I should have listened to what was going on inside me,” he said, turning off the hose. “But I can hear clearly now, and it’s over Max. Juliet and I are together, and nothing is going to tear us apart, so you can relax.”
Max snorted, “Are you kidding? There’s no way I can relax; I’m next, and there’s nothing I can do about it; I’m not leaving the island; this is my home now,” he said. “From now on, I’m going to spend all my time looking for her, because I promise you, I won’t make the mistakes the rest of you made. I’ll take what’s given to me and learn to live with it.”
He started laughing. “It’s not that bad, I promise,” he said. “But I sure do hope I’m here to see it.”
After giving him a dirty look, Max picked up his scuba tanks. “I’ll help you get your gear up to the office,” he said. “I still want you and Juliet over at my cabin for dinner. I’d like to hear the whole story, even if it means the end of my freedom.”
When he got back to his cabin, he was a bit disappointed to find it empty, but was too tired to go searching for Juliet. Instead, he collapsed on his bed, thinking that he’d rest for a few minutes. He woke a few hours later, looked at the clock on the night table, then jumped out of bed and ran for the shower, sure that he would be late for dinner. Dressed and ready to go in record time, he left his cabin, warmth flooding him when he thought about seeing Juliet again, even if it was so that Max could interrogate them.
Hoping she hadn’t been waiting for him too long, he took the path in big strides but stopped short when he saw Juliet standing on the trail in front of him with another man. Slipping into the shadows of the trees, he watched as Juliet threw her arms around the man, a look of pure joy on her face. His blood instantly began to boil as jealousy shot through him, waking his dragon.
Fighting the urge to stomp over to them and claim what belonged to him, he watched, his heart sinking, as he realized that they knew each other. After several agonizing minutes, he forced himself to turn away, no longer able to watch the woman he loved with another man. She’d tried to tell him, tried to warn him, but he hadn’t listened, hadn’t wanted to believe that their love was anything but perfect. Now the truth was clear, and the burn of humiliation rose to the surface.
Determined to walk away, to leave the happy couple without a backward glance, he stepped back onto the trail but lost his resolve. When he turned, he was surprised to see that the man was gone, leaving Juliet standing alone in the middle of the path, staring into space, a stricken look on her face. A wave of pain and disbelief hit him, then heartache unlike anything he’d ever felt before. Instead of walking away, he stomped over to her, anger that she could make him feel that way, surging to the surface.
“Well, that was a touching reunion,” he barked. “Is that what you had to tell me, Juliet? It might have been nice if you’d told me that you were already involved with someone. Who is he? I guess all that virginity stuff was just a bunch of lies. Was anything you told me the truth?”
***Juliet***
Juliet couldn’t manage to take a deep breath. The pain of her brother’s betrayal was too great, a weight on her chest that only grew as each second passed. She’d been so happy to see him, so sure that their problems were over, but he’d been so angry with her, so full of venom that she’d known instantly something was wrong. Now as she stood there trying to come to terms with the truth about her brother, the magnitude of what she’d almost done began to settle over her.
She finally managed to suck in a deep breath, but it came back out in a sob, all her hopes and dreams for her brother evaporating as she remembered his terrible words. “It’s now or never, Juliet. You can either prove that you’ve got my back or do like you always do and take care of yourself,” he’d hissed at her. “I should have known you couldn’t do this, I should have known you’d make it all about you. Well, I’ve got news for you, I’m not going to blow this chance, I’ll get the files myself. Then you’ll see, I won’t be your screw-up little brother anymore, I’ll be a big man in the organization, and I’ll finally get that promotion I’ve been working for.”
It had taken a second for her to realize what he’d said. “Wait, what do you mean a promotion?” she’d asked, still completely innocent of what a truly horrible person her brother was. “You said Mr. Adaloni was going to kill you, you said it was life or death, that I had to help you.”
“And you believed me,” Joe said, starting to laugh. “You’re so gullible, sister dear. You always have been, even when we were kids. Did you know that I used to get in trouble on purpose just to watch you take my punishment? Sometimes it was the only fun I had.”
Shocked, she sucked in a breath. “Joe, you didn’t,” she said, shaking her head. “Did you?”
“Mr. Adaloni is willing to give you one more chance to hold up your end of the bargain,” Joe said, ignoring her question. “You have one more night to get the plans, or I’ll do it myself, and you can answer to him about all the money he spent sending you here. I have to warn you, he isn’t a very understanding man. Good luck, sister dear. Do your part, and everything will be fine.”
Feeling physically sick at the memory, she looked around, only then realizing that Harrison was standing only a few feet away. Guilt mixed with the pain and heartache when she looked into his eyes. Her stomach churned dangerously, and she started to stumble to the bushes nearby. Harrison grabbed her and tried to stop her, but she shoved him away and headed for the bushes, afraid that she was going to vomit on him if she didn’t get away.
He followed her, but by then, she was already on the ground on her hands and knees, retching into an especially pretty fern, and humiliation made her cheeks burn. She felt Harrison kneel down next to her and tried to push him away, but he didn’t move, so she finally gave up.
“I’m not going anywhere with you like this,” he said, rubbing her back. “Whatever it is, it will be okay, Juliet. We’ll talk it out. I’m sorry about what I said, I didn’t mean any of it.”
Sucking in deep breaths, trying to get her stomach under control, she didn’t move for a few minutes, then finally managed to look over at Harrison. “You don’t understand. He’s going to kill me if I don’t do what he wants. My brother betrayed me,” she said. “I can’t do it, I just can’t, I rather die…”
Harrison pulled her into his arms. “Hush, sweetheart, no one is going die, especially not you,” he said. “It’s going to be okay, I promise, I just need you to tell me what’s going on.”
Warmth and comfort slowly spread through her. “Oh, Harrison,” she sobbed. “I almost did something horrible, I almost hurt a lot of people. I’m so stupid, but I wanted to believe him, I wanted to believe that he’d changed.”
“But you didn’t do whatever it is,” he said, scooping her up into his arms. “We’re going to Max’s cabin, and you’re going to tell us what’s going on; I’m sure you’ll feel better once you do.”
“But Max is already mad at us,” she said, the sobs easing slightly. “And when he finds out what I was going to do, he’s going to be even madder.”
“I’ll handle Max,” Harrison said. “I just want to make sure that you’re safe.”
Relief poured though her. “You’re not mad at me?” she asked. “I lied to you, Harrison.”
“And it sounds like you had a good reason,” he said. “I’m not mad, but you have to be completely honest with me now, Juliet.”
“I hated lying to you, I hated every second of it,” she said, sighing. “I really did.”
Max met them at the front door. “What happened?” he asked. “Are you hurt, Juliet?”
“Only my spirit,” she said. “Harrison, I think you can put me down now.”
“Take her over to the couch. I don’t want you face planting on my floor; you’re white as a sheet,” Max said. “I’ll go get you some hot tea with lots of sugar, and then we’ll talk.”
“See, he’s not mad anymore,” Harrison said, smiling down at her. “It’s going to be okay, Juliet.”
She let out a long sigh, wishing she was as sure as he was, but let him settle her on the couch, relieved when Max came back a few minutes later. “Here, drink some of this,” he said, handing her a mug. “I want to see a little color in your cheeks before we talk.”