Page 17

Sunday, April 26, 2167

The Sapphire Ward

Dragon Heights, Wyoming

Chester droveme to a large home in the Sapphire Ward. It didn’t quite count as a mansion, at least when compared to its neighbors, but I received a few important messages.

Erik had lived far beneath his familial means in Miami, a lot like me. Unlike me, he would have known about his family’s wealth from an early age. I’d figured out my family had more money than I’d thought a little later in life, but my parents had raised me without much in the way of extra trappings on purpose.

They had wanted me to remain compassionate towards others, and money in vast quantity did a good job of removing compassion.

Erik had played at being from a similar bracket as me. I’d have to congratulate him on his acting skills—and then confess I’d done the same, at least later in life when I’d figured out my parents had more wealth than they had let on.

There was only one problem with the situation: someone in Erik’s family owned a Bentley S1 in a solid, bright green. Its chrome shined, and everything about it defined perfection. As soon as Chester parked, I let myself out, gathered Garnet in my arms, whistled for Tourmaline, and went to investigate the ancient car.

A quick peek inside revealed it had a dark green interior and had been kept in meticulous condition.

Rather than see Erik, I wanted to steal the car and see how far I’d make it before a bunch of angry dragons caught me. As they were yellow dragons, I would likely survive the experience, but they’d make me pay for my insolence, probably through marrying me off to Erik.

The thought made me put serious thought into committing an act of grand theft auto. How long would it take for them to catch me? Would they be angry or proud over the bold display?

I knew how to drive ancient cars; most manufacturers made cars modeled after the old classics, and they were designed to be driven in the same fashion. The fancier ones used paddle shifters, but the most prestigious models included old style sticks and cared nothing for the pride of the operator should they fail to shift properly.

While a driver wouldn’t drop their transmission like some of the models from hundreds of years ago, the car would stall and punish poor driving skills.

Once upon a time, Erik and I had browsed through magazines featuring ancient cars, sighing over vehicles like the Bentley S1. We’d even talked about dedicating a parking spot of an indoor garage we hadn’t even owned yet for such a vehicle—if we could find one.

Time had not done any favors for cars like the Bentley. How had the vehicle survived for so long in such good condition?

“Do you want your bag?” Erik’s brother asked.

“I want the car, but I’ll take the bag since I can’t have the car,” I replied, and I sighed at the unfairness of it all. “Why is she sitting outside? She might be despoiled. Rust might happen. This is not how you treat a beautiful lady. She belongs in an indoor garage spot!”

Chester grabbed my backpack with my camera and other junk, locked his cruiser, and came over. “That car has more protections that the average bank. She’ll be fine.”

Well, at least Erik’s family understood the car’s value.

It didn’t make me want the vehicle any less. While I wasn’t a hardcore history buff, antique cars always managed to evoke something. That something often became a burning desire to own a piece of history. Modern cars, all about their sleek lines, performance, and status as environmentally friendly, lacked the charm of the antiques.

I questioned why someone had parked her outside rather than indoors, though—even with more protections on it than the average bank. Such a beautiful thing deserved a luxury indoor spot, moved enough to keep the tires from rotting, and loved every single day of the week.

I would not let go of the car being parked outside. The situation would eat away at me and drive me mad.

“See this car, Garnet?”

My kitten chirped at me, and after staring at the vehicle, she turned her gaze to me, her expression rather puzzled. She then issued one of her inquisitive mews.

I settled my kitten on my shoulder, petting her to reassure her everything was okay. “I love this car.”

Chester laughed at me. “It’s Erik’s.”

That evil, evil bastard. He’d gotten his filthy, dirty hands on a Bentley S1? “Since when?”

“I don’t know when he bought it, but he’s had it for a while. He’s been restoring her. The paint is not new, but the parts are all original, and it took a great deal of magic to make her run again. She’s his hobby. Apparently, he likes his women difficult, rare, and of the highest quality.”

“She really runs?” I blurted. Ignoring the rest of his commentary would test my patience—and result in a squabble with the man over his opinions. I could accept my status as difficult.

I could be difficult, especially when working on a case I wanted to crack. Rare and of the highest quality?

I foresaw a dispute over the things Erik had said when I wasn’t around to protest. In the meantime, I’d question the Bentley. How the hell could a car over two hundred years old still run? There was only one man who could answer my questions, and I was about to stage an ambush. Erik might one day forgive me for storming back into his life asking about his car, but it beat trying to handle the mess of emotions boiling within me.

I could handle interrogating him about his car.

The rest would test me.

After staring at the car, I turned to Chester, wondering if I could handle the next few hours of my life.

Erik’s brother chuckled. “If you’re not ready to go in, I can text my mother and explain the situation. I’m sure she’d be happy to help. Of course, our mother is a little strange at times. I recommend just following me into the house.”

I could only assume my face had betrayed me again. I needed to work on that. In fact, I needed to work on a lot of things. Coming out in the equivalent of a decorated leather bra while wearing tight leather pants hadn’t been the brightest of ideas. “You should have talked me out of the leather. Clearly, I got ahead of myself when deciding what to wear. I’m going to make a terrible impression.”

“You’re fine as you are. The belt with a skull on it is a great touch, though. It’s absolutely moody. It’s like a feminine warning sign indicating the fate of anyone who pushes you in ways you don’t welcome. Erik was not shy about telling us about your physical attributes.”

I stared down at my chest, unable to deny that the leather contraption, little more than a bra with some extra straps to enhance feminine appeal, did great things for my figure. “My physical attributes?”

“Your abilities at self-defense.” Chester coughed. “I phrased that poorly. Sorry.”

I cuddled Garnet, shook my head, and said, “It’s not a problem. I mean, I’m dressed like I’m about to go work in a brothel. I’m definitely weaponizing my physical attributes. Let’s just get this over with before I decide to try to steal the car and run for the hills.”

I’d been confident in my apartment, but I fought the urge to hide in Chester’s cruiser. What was I supposed to say to Erik? ‘I’m sorry’ wouldn’t cut it. Good intentions had driven my every decision, but I’d ventured straight into the depths of some hell.

“You wouldn’t make it far. She’s low on gas, and he has to get special fuel for her. Our modern fuels aren’t the right blend.”

Damn. “He let that baby run low on gas?”

“She costs several hundred to fill up, and he has to put in an order a week before he needs it.” He pointed at his cruiser. “We use a different type of fuel nowadays. The stuff that people put in those old cars hasn’t been used for at least seventy-five years. It can still be acquired, but it’s rough.”

“That implies he drives her.”

“He does.” Chester headed for the walkway, waving for me to follow. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he swoops in for a hug. We’re yellows. We’re attention whores. We thrive when we’re getting affection from family and friends.”

I raised a brow at that. “He chose poorly, then. I am not precisely a hugely affectionate person, especially not with strangers.”

“According to him, you are well worth waiting for.”

“This is going to be a mess for reasons I hadn’t anticipated,” I confessed. “All right. Let’s get this over with. You did tell someone you were bringing an extra, right?”

“I told my father I was bringing you, and that you were opting to be assertive about the situation. He has agreed to allow you to surprise Erik. Erik will be helping Mom in the kitchen. Mom doesn’t know why she has a slave named Erik, but one of us is sacrificed for the job of helping in the kitchen, especially when there is an unanticipated extra. I also relayed Garnet’s dietary interests, so there will be a variety of treats for her to try.”

I smiled over the display of welcome. “You hear that, Garnet? You’re going to get treats to try with dinner tonight. As we’re guests, please try not to fall into your plate of mashed potatoes and hot sauce, okay?”

My kitten chirped and nuzzled my cheek.

“I could throw you over my shoulder and toss you into my brother. By the time he realizes I assaulted him with a woman, I’ll be safely out of his range.”

I raised a brow. “Why would you do that?”

“It’d be hilarious, especially if I cuffed you first.”

Well, Chester looked like Erik, but he certainly acted nothing like Erik. I considered his plan, shook my head, and said, “I can deal with the handcuffs as long as you’re apprehending me for something funny.”

“You have a criminally cute kitten.”

As I couldn’t argue with him, I held my hands out. “I really do. Let’s not cuff my hands behind my back, though. I’ve weaponized my physical attributes enough for one day.”

Partway during the cuffing process, an older version of Erik stepped out of the front door and headed our way. “Why are you handcuffing your sister?”

When had I become Chester’s sister? Puzzled, I regarded the man, who wore a dark blue suit with a matching tie and a pale pastel blue shirt. “I’m his sister? Did I miss a wedding?”

“Yes, to both of those questions.” The man looked me over. “For good reason, mind you. I hope Chester has not been bothering you. I was quite surprised when he texted that he was bringing you over. Why are you being handcuffed?”

“Garnet is criminally cute, so I am being apprehended and taken into custody. This is reasonable because she is just that cute.” Garnet squeaked, and she pressed close to my neck, my cue that the kitten lacked an understanding of what went on and why. I lifted my hands and gave her the petting she deserved. “It’s okay, Garnet. We’re playing. I’m nervous, and when I get nervous, I tend to make a lot of mistakes and behave closer to my shoe size rather than my age. Anyway, I wouldn’t say Chester is bothering me. Whomever took photographs and added them to the paper is definitely bothering me. I’m guessing you’re Erik’s father?”

“I am. Call me John. If you absolutely must, you can sir and ma’am us, but we prefer hearing our names now and then. Nicknames are welcome and encouraged, but we prefer to avoid reminders of what our last name is. We hear that often enough at work. There are a few rules in this house. Our job descriptions stay outside. If we used rank or titles or what have you inside, we’d do nothing but posture. If we get angry to the point we want to start calling names, we excuse ourselves. Just state that your temper is on the rise and walk off. We leave the arguing for outdoors if an argument must happen at all. All animals brought indoors must use the species appropriate facilities, but should a mess be made, the owner is responsible. We’ve got six K9s, so keep your bird close to you. They’re trained to get along with cats, as we have seven of them running around the house, but we’ve never had birds before.”

“Tourmaline, you best ride on my shoulder with Garnet for this,” I said. “But that won’t be a problem. They’ll stay with me unless they need to use the bathroom. As long as the bathroom door is open, they can handle the matter themselves, although someone will have to flush after Tourmaline.”

The hummingbird flitted over and decided to land on Garnet, burrowing into her fur.

“I see our K9s have been severely outclassed.” Erik’s father grinned. “When ours are off duty, we’re lucky to get them to sit. And they know when they’re off duty.”

That tracked; while I hadn’t had a dog while working in Miami, I also hadn’t wanted one. I’d dedicated all my time and energy to investigations. “How is it you get away with having so many family members working on the force?”

“We have an established protocol for disciplinary matters, and if I do have to make a decision regarding a family member, all names and identifiers are hidden if it’s a new case. That way, I look at the interview material, the situation, and make an assessment before finding out which one of my asshole kids decided to do something stupid.”

Chester snickered, and he directed me towards the front door. “A few years back, I was on vacation, got drunk in a bar, and got the cops called on me for disorderly conduct. I was singing along with the karaoke singers. I’m loud. I was too drunk to clue in maybe I should stop. Upon realizing they dealt with a drunk, off-duty cop singing, I got hauled to the local station and written up for not having the wisdom to take a babysitter with me while out on the town. I was assigned to watching the general holding cell for three weeks.”

Erik’s father went ahead of us to open the door. “I’d even guessed which son of mine had gotten into trouble that time. It was on a report, and upon reading said report, I reached out to his captain and suggested an extra week be added to the punishment. Honestly, being in my family means harsher punishments as a general rule. I hold my children to higher standards.”

A sparse but comfortable entry offered a place to take off shoes, grab a pair of house slippers, and store coats, hats, and other outdoor apparel. As cuffs made removing my shoes difficult, I sat on the bench and did my best, tossing my boots off to the side. Chester tossed me a pair of fuzzy purple slippers, which I crammed onto my feet. “How long has Erik been in Dragon Heights?”

“He’s been here about a year. The funny part is, we’ve heard about you on the grapevine, but none of us had pieced together that the Gray Ward’s Kinsley is my son’s rather elusive Kinsley. Since you only used Kinsley with family and close friends, it hadn’t occurred to him you’d just go by your middle name.”

I smiled at the commissioner’s commentary, which had been precisely what I’d wanted when deciding to go by Kinsley. “Kirani is too uncommon, and Ramons isn’t exactly common, either.”

“Oh, it’s common enough if you’re a navy dragon living in Dragon Heights. You could have even gotten away with Kirani Ramons, at least with everyone except our family, as nobody outside of us is even aware your parents had a child. We head to Miami often now, as the wife loves her play dates with your mother, so we just wing over whenever we have off.”

Well, that explained that. “I was under the impression you lived in Miami.”

“We have a second home in Miami, so technically, we do live there on weekends and during vacations.” Erik’s father checked down a nearby hallway and chuckled. “That’s why Erik was in Miami in the first place. He wanted to be a cop outside of Dragon Heights for a while; he didn’t want my position to influence his ability to earn his rank. Before you two moved in together, he lived in our Miami home.”

“I have a strange desire to go into the kitchen and yell at him,” I admitted, heaving a sigh.

“Are you upset that I happen to be the commissioner?”

I lifted both hands because of the cuffs and held my finger and thumb the tiniest bit apart. “He put up with a lot of bullshit in Miami, and he could have just stayed in Dragon Heights and gotten to work as a cop?”

“Ah. You’re offended because of the bullshit. I’ve been told about your inherent dislike for unnecessary bullshit.” Erik’s father laughed. “Chester, do you want to tell your brother you have apprehended his woman? Or should we let her storm into the kitchen and pitch a fit over his refusal to take the easy road?”

“I feel like we should tell her that it’s actually harder to get hired into the force when you’re related to the commissioner. We have to make the top five percentile before we can graduate from the academy. After that, we have an extra year of experience required for every step of the process. Erik won’t be eligible to be made a captain here for another three years; that year counts for every rank prior to captain. He’s been already given approval to be promoted once he’s done his time as his rank in Miami does carry over. Dad was nice and eliminated detective rankings from his calculations, and he didn’t include his stint as a cadet.”

“I thought about making him wait six years, but the chiefs asked me nicely to reconsider. They like him in the Diamond Ward. If there is a need for another captain in his ward, he’ll promote early, but I’ll give him a hard time about it.”

I considered my cuffs, realized I could get Erik in one hell of a good headlock while wearing them, and considered if I could get away with assault in the commissioner’s kitchen. “I haven’t been keeping up with my self-defense. Has Erik?”

Erik’s father regarded my handcuffs with a raised brow. “Not against an opponent wearing handcuffs, but yes, we practice often.”

Damn it. “That’d be unsafe for both of us, then. I’m too out of practice.”

“Someone in this family has common sense,” Chester muttered. “It’s a miracle.”

“Erik has plenty of common sense,” Erik’s father said, and he winked at me. “He actually stopped to think about Kinsley’s actions, stayed in her corner, and waited without resenting her for her decision.”

When phrased that way, Erik had more sense than most. “I resent myself for my decision enough for the both of us.”

“If sacrifice was easy and enjoyable, they’d change the name to something more pleasant,” Erik’s father informed me. His attention focused on my kitten. “You could just use your kitten against him. He has seen pictures of Garnet, and he desperately wants to pet her, cuddle her, and charm her into liking him almost as much as she likes you.”

“I told my mother he needed to charm his own carbunclo.” I bowed my head and sighed. “That was before I really realized how rare carbunclo are. And Garnet has to approve of the kitten. I’m an idiot.”

“We have heard about the carbunclo challenge. Getting a kitten is going to be just that: a challenge. Garnet, do try to have some mercy on us; there aren’t many other litters of carbunclo around. I think we can get one from Paraguay, as there was a litter born recently. Honestly, that you have Garnet is helping his cause, because he’s presenting the acquisition of the kitten to keep her company.”

Garnet lifted her head, her ears pricked forward, and she chirped.

My heart broke for her, as I recognized her sound as one of interest. “Garnet’s pretty social, and she likes having company.”

I hadn’t had her long, but when she wasn’t playing or admiring her rocks, she wanted to be close, and she listened to when I spoke to her. I’d work harder at talking to her more to make sure she had the companionship she craved.

“Some carbunclo are social and want to be a close part of the family. I think that’s part of the reason she didn’t do well with the titaniums. The titaniums play at being standoffish and unwilling to form close bonds with the animals they work with. They do their duty to their animals, but they’re more inclined to let them live in as natural a habitat as possible. Garnet needs more involvement than that.” Erik’s father reached over and scratched behind my kitten’s ear. “We’ll work at getting Erik a little friend who needs the companionship of another carbunclo as much as you do.”

The kitten mewed and nuzzled his hand.

“You’re already looking into a kitten?”

“Upon learning he was chasing after you, rather than continue to hide, you decided to stand your ground. Your challenge is, frankly spoken, a thing a dragon would do. Have you upgraded yourself from being a dragon-kin to being a dragon without telling anybody? Because that is the behavior of a confident young dragon lady hunting for an appropriate gentleman to keep. I have more than a few daughters, and the married ones were all the same way when it came time to settle down.”

“I have not sprouted scales. Had I sprouted scales, I’m sure my mother and father would be preening about it and showing me off to their friends.”

“Knowing those two, they’d be hiding you in their nest and hissing at any other dragons showing interest,” Erik’s father muttered. “Frankly, I’m astonished they haven’t dragged you back to their nest as it is.”

“Well, I wrote them letters and kept in touch. I just did a very good job of covering my tracks.” As I was quite proud of giving even my parents the slip, I smiled. “I did a good job. I escaped Miami with life and limb intact, I maintained my integrity, and I’ve done well enough for myself.”

“You have. Once you’re ready, go into the kitchen. There’s no rush, and I know these things are difficult, especially when you feel like you’ve done something wrong. You haven’t, and we’ll keep telling you that until you believe it. There is nothing ever wrong about doing something difficult for someone else’s sake.”