Page 18 of Lahaina Noon (Modern Legends of Dragons & Shadows #1)
Chapter 18
“ G abe!” She gasped and leaped from the bed with a strength she didn’t know she possessed. She was almost to the door when strong arms wrapped around her waist, and she was yanked back against Vaughn’s hard body. “Let me go!” she growled at him, slapping at his arm, which was locked like an iron band. Damn the man and his muscles, that’s her baby!
“Clothes,” he hissed in her ear.
She stopped struggling and remembered that, yes, she was stark naked. She nodded, and he carefully released her. She turned and ran for the pile on the floor and sifted through it, getting dressed in record time.
Somehow Vaughn beat her to it and was out the door before she could fasten her bra. Stupid thing, absolutely invented by a man as some sort of evil torture device , she grumbled. She quickly threw her hair in a ponytail and ran out after Vaughn to find her son. She found them in the living room, Gabe sitting on one of the sofas, Vaughn next to him, with a hand on his shoulder .
Gabe looked up and saw her before jumping to his feet. “Mom!” he said again and ran to her arms.
“Baby!” she soothed as she wrapped him in her arms and held him tight. “Shh,” she cooed, “I’ve got you.” She looked over at Liam and glared at him as he stood awkwardly behind the couch, her son’s backpack in hand. “You,” she ground out between clenched teeth. “Talk. Now.”
Gabe leaned back, waving his hands. “No, Mom, no, it’s not Liam’s fault! He got there just in time.”
She turned her gaze to her frightened son and smoothed his hair back. “What happened, Gabe?” she asked softly.
He trembled and hugged her again. “They almost got me.”
She looked helplessly at Vaughn and then Liam, pleading for them to tell her what was happening.
Liam walked around the couch and led them both to sit down. He sat close by on the chaise, sitting on the edge like he might need to jump up at any minute.
“Well,” he started haltingly, searching Vaughn’s face and receiving a go-ahead nod, launched into his tale. “I got a call from Vaughn earlier about the, uh, visit you experienced at lunch today and he was concerned for your safety. So, knowing you were going to go over to get some things, I went ahead to pick Gabe up from school, you know make sure he got home quickly so we could move fast. I got there and he was hanging out back with his friends. Everything seemed normal, so I pulled the Rolls up to the curb and walked over. You guys had the Lambo so I figured he’d seen the Rolls before and would be comfortable with it. The guys all wanted to check it out, so I was showing them some of the special features of the car and maybe I was a little distracted, but I looked up and saw Gabriel walking away with a shad… uh, shady-looking person.
“I ran over and was able to wrestle him away. I didn’t want to take him to your house in case they were watching, so I brought him straight here. I didn’t explain too much, just that someone was looking for you and may have been trying to take him to get to you.” Liam lapsed into silence, hanging his head in shame.
Bridget patted Gabe and smiled at him, kissing his forehead, before she stood and went to Liam.
He sighed, and his shoulders tensed.
She sat and wrapped her arms around him before kissing his temple. “Thank you. You saved my baby for me. I can never repay you.”
Liam jerked his head up, “But Bridget, they almost got him right under my nose!”
She shook her head, “No, Liam, had you not been there at all, they absolutely would have him now, and I’d be a complete wreck. Because of you, he’s here safe and whole. I kind of love you right now!” She kissed him again, hugging him tightly.
He rested his hand on her arms and leaned into the hug, making a low purring sound.
Vaughn studied Bridget, hugging Liam and heard her declare she loved him. He knew it was a motherly kind of love, but the growl seeped out of him regardless. He was jealous.
Liam, knowing what it meant, jumped up as if he’d been scalded.
Gabriel looked around in confusion and said, “Was that thunder? ”
Bridget, who knew where the sound came from, stared at Vaughn with a cold expression he couldn’t quite figure out. She cut her eyes over to Gabe, and he understood. She was telling him to cut the dragon crap in front of the kid. He was already freaked out.
“Hey buddy,” he patted him on the knee. “I know you like games, but how do you like swimming?” he asked.
Gabriel’s face lit up. “I love it! This building has a pool?”
Vaughn chuckled, “Even better, my man, I have my own pool. It has a water slide, a hot tub, and an overhead screen for watching movies or letting in some sunlight.”
“Wicked!” Gabriel said, jumping up. “Um, that’s, if it’s okay with my mom. Is that cool, Mom?” he turned to her with his best pleading face, batting his eyelashes and pursing his lips like a fish.
Bridget smiled, glad to see the trauma being pushed behind him through the resilience of youth. “I’m cool buddy, oh, but he doesn’t have a suit.” She turned to Vaughn.
He smiled. “I’m sure Liam has something that would fit him.”
Liam nodded enthusiastically.
“Liam, why don’t you get Gabe suited up and take him in there while Bridget and I talk next steps.”
Gabriel ran after Liam like a rocket, peppering him with a million questions about the pool.
Bridget was pretty sure she heard something about cannonballs and shook her head. When they were safely out of earshot, she collapsed in Vaughn’s outstretched arms, grateful to have someone to hold onto for the first time in years while she fell apart. “Vaughn,” she cried, burying her face in his shirt .
“Shh, Bridget, love,” he comforted her. “I know. I know.” He rocked her back and forth.
When the tears subsided, and the fear had worked its way from her, she sat up and wiped her face. “I’m sorry about that. I keep crying in front of you. I’m afraid I’m not a pretty crier.”
Vaughn simply held her face between his hands and kissed her tenderly. “It’s okay, my sweet Bridget, no one cries pretty, but you are still beautiful, and a little red nose can’t change that,” he said, tapping her on said nose.
She laughed and rubbed it, “Well thank you for lying to me kindly at least.”
He smiled. “You okay?”
She nodded yes, and then her face went cold. “But those bastards who tried to hurt my baby won’t be. It’s time we turned the tables and began the hunt for them. No one touches my child and gets away with it.” Her eyes lit up with their own kind of fire.
He was mesmerized by this side of her and was about to promise her the world when she started laughing. He joined her as they both heard Gabe yelling the time-old phrase of all teenage boys, “ Mom! Come watch this!”
After watching the requisite number of tricks and splashes that Vaughn had joined in on, Bridget called a halt to the hilarity. She looked at Vaughn and caught him staring at the hot tub. The memory of their night there made her flush a little and she knew by the look on his face he was remembering it too. She nudged him with her elbow while the other boys were drying off. “Hey, I need to get my things from my house,” she reminded him. “I need to feed my cats too. ”
He smiled, “Already taken care of.”
Bridget lifted an eyebrow and shook her head. He was being high-handed again, but she knew he was worried about their safety outside of his home or office. “Okay, so what can I do?” she asked, “How about I cook dinner?”
Liam’s face lit up; he liked that idea, she could tell. He was probably ready for a break from playing butler, babysitter, chauffeur, and whatever other chores Vaughn set him to.
“Mom,” Gabe called, “We had lasagna on the menu at home, I was looking forward to it, any chance of that still happening?”
Liam ran over, “We have everything you need for that!” He was almost vibrating with enthusiasm, “Anything we don’t have, I will go get right away. Come here; the pantry’s this way.” He grabbed her hand and started dragging her to the kitchen.
Bridget laughed and followed behind the eager man. She realized despite his large size and many jobs, he still seemed pretty young himself, not quite close to her age. Although, as she’d just learned with Vaughn, age was just a number. She smacked herself in the forehead, why hadn’t she realized before when she heard him purring? “Liam, are you uh, well, I’m not sure if this is rude or not, so I’m just going ahead with it, but are you a dragon too?”
Liam stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her. “I guess the dragon’s out of the bag,” he chortled. “Yeah, I’m the youngest in North America,” he said with obvious pride.
Bridget smiled at that statement, but she was confused. “Hang on though, I met your sister today, is she older than you then? ”
Liam’s eyes flashed with amusement, “No way, she’s my baby sis, but with dragons, only the oldest can turn. It’s why she’s so…” he looked at the ceiling. “Well, you met her, she’s pissy, right?”
She laughed, “I guess that’s one word for it. She was a little surly and seemed to have a chip on her shoulder about something. Makes sense.” It did make sense. Her older brother was a dragon, and she had to settle for what, watching him grow up with wings and talons while she played with Barbies? Yeah, Bridget suddenly had a lot more sympathy and understanding for Siobhan.
“Don’t go feeling too sorry for her, though.” Liam cautioned, “One, she hates that, and two, she didn’t come away empty-handed. She’s got Wielding power.” He turned and trotted off towards the pantry again. Eager to get the feast underway.