Page 29 of Red Fury (The Dragon Tributes #8)

F ury

I check my phone for the twentieth time in the last hour, scrolling through empty message threads that mock me with their silence. Nothing. Not a single fucking word from Shadow since she disappeared from that parking garage.

My regular phone sits on the coffee table beside me, equally useless.

I resume pacing the length of my small apartment. Back and forth, back and forth, like a caged animal. Which is exactly what I am right now.

My dragon is absolutely losing his shit beneath my skin. He’s clawing, snarling, demanding that I shift. The urge is so strong that scales keep trying to press through my skin, and I have to concentrate on my breathing to keep from losing complete control.

She’s in danger. I know it. I feel it in my bones, in the way my beast is thrashing inside me like he’s trying to tear his way out of my human form.

Something is wrong. Something bad.

And I’m stuck here, helpless, waiting for Webb’s FBI contact to work his magic with phone traces while Shadow could be—

No. I can’t think like that. I can’t let my mind go to dark places about what might be happening to her right now.

I check my phone again.

Still nothing.

“Fuck!” I growl, the sound echoing off the walls.

If Webb doesn’t get back to me in the next ten minutes, I’m taking matters into my own hands. I’ll drive back to that airport, break into the security office, and get those parking garage camera feeds myself. Someone took her. Someone saw something. There has to be evidence somewhere.

The thought of Shadow scared, hurt, helpless… It makes something primal and violent surge through me. Makes my dragon roar for blood and vengeance.

Why do I care this much?

The question stops me mid-pace.

We had sex. Great sex. Twice. But that was supposed to be it.

So why does the thought of losing her make me feel like my chest is being ripped open? Because I need her for intel. That’s why.

It doesn’t matter why I care. All that matters is finding her.

My phone buzzes with an incoming text, and I nearly drop the fucking thing in my haste to check it.

It’s just a spam message about extending my car warranty.

“Goddamn it!” I snarl.

I’m losing my mind here. Every minute that passes is another minute Shadow could be suffering, could be—

No. Stop.

She’s tough. She’s a trained operative who can handle herself. She’s probably already working on an escape plan.

The knock at my door comes so suddenly that I nearly jump out of my skin.

Finally!

I rush across the room and yank open the door to find Webb standing in the hallway. He looks spooked, his face pale and drawn with concern. His usually perfect hair is messy, and there are stress lines around his eyes I haven’t seen before.

“Come in, Laurence,” I say, stepping back. “Thank fuck you’re here. What did you find out? Do you know where she is? Is she okay? Did your FBI contact—?”

“Slow down, Marsh,” Webb interrupts, holding up a hand as he steps inside. “Let me catch my breath first.”

I can’t slow down. I can’t catch my breath. My dragon is thrashing beneath my skin, and every second that passes feels like an eternity.

“I’ve been going out of my mind here,” I continue, closing the door behind him. “It’s been hours. If someone really has taken Claire, then every minute we waste—”

“I know, I know.” Webb moves into my living room, immediately heading for the window and pulling aside the blinds to peer out at the street below. “I’m sorry it took so long. Setting up a phone trace isn’t exactly a quick process, even with connections.”

“But you found something?” I ask, following him across the room. “Please tell me you found something.”

Webb turns to face me, and the expression on his face makes my stomach drop.

“We found her phone,” he says quietly. “My buddy ran the trace, used triangulation to narrow down the location.”

Relief floods through me so fast it makes me dizzy. “That’s great news. Where is she?”

“That’s the problem.” Webb’s expression grows more troubled. “The location… It doesn’t make sense.”

“What do you mean it doesn’t make sense?” Panic starts up again. “Just tell me where she is, Laurence.”

Webb takes a deep breath before speaking. “Chicago.”

I stare at him, certain I heard wrong. “Chicago? We just came from Chicago. Why would she be back there?”

“I thought the same thing, but I had my contact double-check. Triple-check. The phone is definitely in Chicago, in a very upscale area downtown. Near the lake.”

My blood starts to turn cold as implications race through my mind. “What kind of upscale area?”

“Gold Coast district. High-rise apartment buildings, luxury condos worth wads of cash.”

The description sounds familiar. Too familiar.

“Which building?” I ask, though I’m starting to suspect I already know the answer.

Webb’s expression grows even more grim. “That’s where it gets really concerning.

The trace led to an apartment building owned by Kozlov Enterprises.

In fact…” He pauses, swallowing hard. “Roman Kozlov himself lives there. He lives on the entire top floor. It is my understanding that it is his main residence when in Chicago.”

My vision actually goes red around the edges as rage explodes through me like a detonation. My dragon roars inside my head, demanding blood, demanding vengeance. Scales rub against the inside of my skin.

Kozlov.

“That fucking bastard,” I snarl, my voice dropping to something barely human. “That piece of shit has her.”

I start pacing again, every muscle in my body is coiled tight with the need to tear something apart.

“Marsh, you need to calm down,” Webb says, his voice careful and controlled. “We don’t know for certain—”

“He has her!” I roar, spinning to face him. “That sick fuck took her from the airport parking garage, and now he has her in his apartment. What the hell does he want with her? What is he planning to do?”

Webb takes a step back, his face pale. I must look unhinged right now, barely human. My dragon is so close to the surface. I force myself to breathe. I can’t shift. Not now!

Easy. Easy.

My phone dings with an incoming message.

I dive for it, my hands shaking as I swipe to unlock the screen.

It’s from Shadow.

I’ve been abducted. I don’t know where I am. Please help!

My worst fears are confirmed in a few simple words. She still has her phone. I can find her.

“Who is it?” Webb asks, trying to peer over my shoulder. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I ignore him, my fingers flying over the keypad.

I know where you are. I’m coming for you. Hold on.

I hit send and wait, watching the screen for any sign that the message has been read.

A full minute passes.

The message remains unread.

“Marsh!” Webb’s voice cuts through my focus. “What the hell is going on? You’re scaring me here. Who was that message from?”

I force myself to look up at him, schooling my expression into something that won’t send him running for the hills.

I can’t tell him the truth. If he knows Shadow’s been abducted, he might want to call in law enforcement.

At the very least, he’ll want to alert the Secretary. I want to handle this myself.

Getting others involved could spell disaster. The moment official channels get involved, any chance of keeping this quiet disappears. Not to mention that Shadow is a dragon shifter operating under false credentials. If the government discovers who she really is—

Nope!

I can’t let that happen.

I take a deep breath and force what I hope is a relaxed smile.

“That was Claire,” I say, dropping my shoulders and pushing out a breath like I’m relieved. “She finally read my messages of concern from earlier. She wants me to know that she’s fine.”

Webb’s eyebrows shoot up. “Fine? Then where the hell is she? Why was her purse scattered all over the garage floor?”

“She’s with Kozlov,” I continue, the lie burning like acid in my throat.

“Apparently, they’re spending the next few days together.

She’s there as his guest. She says she must have dropped her purse when she was in a hurry to leave with him and asked me to keep it for her.

” I shake my head with a laugh I don’t feel.

“You know how women get when they’re excited about a new guy.

She probably wasn’t thinking straight. God, and here I was thinking…

Well, thinking the worst. Can you blame me? ”

I’m amazed at how steady my voice sounds when, inside, I’m screaming.

Webb stares at me for a long moment, his expression skeptical. “She’s with Kozlov? Romantically?”

“Looks that way.” I shrug, hating every word that comes out of my mouth. “I guess they really hit it off last night at the club. More than I realized.”

“I suppose a guy like Kozlov probably doesn’t need to abduct a woman.” Webb chuckles, but his humor is quickly replaced by something that looks like concern. “Marsh, I need to tell you something about Roman Kozlov. Something important.”

My fake smile falters. “What about him?”

Webb moves to my window again, pulling the blinds aside to check the street once more. He looks twitchy as fuck, and I don’t like it.

“Kozlov isn’t just some wealthy businessman with government contracts,” he says quietly, not turning around.

“The man is seriously dangerous. Connected to things that would make your hair curl. There’s talk of mob involvement.

More than just talk. He’s not someone to be messed with, and he’s definitely not someone a nice girl like Claire should be getting involved with. ”

“What kind of things? The mob? Are you sure?”

Webb finally turns to face me, his expression grave. “Yes, very sure. He’s involved in the kind of things I can’t discuss, even with you.”

“Then why the hell are we doing business with him in the first place?” I demand, my carefully constructed calm starting to crack. “If he’s that dangerous, shouldn’t we be staying as far away from him as possible?”

“When it comes to nuclear weapons, Kozlov is pretty much the only game in town,” Webb replies bluntly. “He has connections, resources… He… We need him. That’s the long and the short of it. But that doesn’t mean I’d want my daughter anywhere near him.”

This bastard is planning to help wipe out my entire species, and now he has Shadow.

“I’m hoping Claire knows what she’s getting herself into,” Webb continues. “Because if she doesn’t… Well, let’s just say that women – people in general – who get involved with Roman Kozlov have a tendency to disappear sometimes.”

“Disappear?” I repeat, my voice coming out in a deep rasp.

Webb nods grimly. “There have been rumors for years. Nothing that can be proven, of course. Kozlov is too smart and too well-connected for that. But the pattern is there if you know where to look.”

My dragon is desperate to break free and tear Kozlov apart. The thought of him touching Shadow, hurting her, makes me want to shift right here and now, despite the consequences.

“I’ll warn her about him,” I say, because it seems like the right thing. Webb doesn’t know my plans to kill the bastard.

“Yep, sounds good. Claire seems like a smart woman. I guess that at the end of the day, she needs to make her own decisions.”

“Yeah, you’re absolutely right,” I say, forcing myself to nod. “I’m just glad she wasn’t abducted by some serial killer.” I smile.

“Yep.” He laughs. “I suppose things could always be worse.” Webb moves toward the door, clearly ready to leave. “Though I have to admit, I’m a little surprised by her choice. She never seemed like the type to go for bad boys.”

“I guess you never really know someone,” I tell him. “Listen, Webb, I’m really sorry I dragged you into this. I was sure something had happened to her.”

Webb nods. “No worries. I was concerned, too. When you described that scene in the parking garage, it really did sound like foul play. Any reasonable person would have reacted the same way.”

“Thanks for understanding. And thanks for your help, even though it turned out to be nothing.”

“No problem.” Webb opens the door, then pauses. “Try to get some rest, Marsh. You look like shit.”

If only he knew.

“I will. Thanks again, Laurence.”

The moment the door closes behind him, I drop the friendly facade completely.

My phone is in my hands before the lock even clicks into place, and I compose another message to Shadow.

Are you hurt? Can you tell me anything about where you’re being held? I’m coming for you. Sit tight!

I hit send and wait, watching the screen.

Unread.

Still fucking unread.

I try calling her, but it just rings. She must have only had a few seconds to send me that message. It’s clear she can’t use her phone right now. Maybe something has happened to her.

No. I can’t think like that.

My dragon surges against my skin with renewed fury, and this time I don’t fight him. I let him surface just enough that my senses sharpen, my strength increases, my animal instincts take over.

Shadow is mine to protect. Mine to save.

And I’m going to tear apart anyone who’s hurt her. That includes Kozlov. I don’t care if he is some mob boss or who he is connected to. He is still just a human and will bleed just the same.

I go to my bedroom and start throwing clothes into a duffel bag. Dark clothing, tactical gear, weapons I’m not supposed to have but keep, anyway. My service pistol, backup knives, zip ties, and a small explosive device for use in case of an emergency.

This definitely qualifies as an emergency.

I finish packing and head for the door, shouldering my duffel bag. The drive to Chicago will take me about four hours if I push it. I’ll be there before midnight.

And then Roman Kozlov is going to learn what happens when someone takes something that doesn’t belong to him.

The male is going to die. The only question is whether it will be fast or agonizingly slow.

He had better not touch her. Not so much as a hair on her head, or his death will be excruciating.

I plan on tearing him apart.