Page 47 of Red Fury (The Dragon Tributes #8)

S hadow

Consciousness creeps back slowly. My eyelids feel heavy, weighted down by exhaustion that seems to have seeped into my very bones. There’s a strange buzzing in my head, and for a moment, I can’t remember where I am or what happened.

Then I hear his voice.

“Shadow? Thank fuck, you’re awake.”

My eyes snap open, and the first thing I see is Fury sitting in a chair beside the bed, leaning forward with his elbows braced on his knees. He’s wearing jeans and a black T-shirt that stretches across his broad chest. There’s worry etched in the lines around his eyes.

Why is he worried?

Where am I?

I push myself up on my elbows, blinking hard, my brain still fuzzy even though it is clearing slowly…too slowly. The last thing I remember was Roman Kozlov and his men, the tranquilizer darts…

“What? How did I—?” I look around the room, my confusion deepening with each detail I take in.

This bedroom looks like something ripped straight from the pages of an interior design magazine. The bed has a massive headboard upholstered in cream silk, and the sheets beneath me feel soft. Everything is…beautiful.

“Where am I?” I ask; my voice sounds rough with disuse.

Relief floods Fury’s features as he leans back in the chair. “You’re okay. For a minute there, I…” He shakes his head.

I frown. “What happened? I had the weirdest dream.” The words tumble out before I can stop them. “More of a nightmare, really. There were two Kozlovs, and a helicopter…no, two helicopters. I…it…we—”

“It wasn’t a dream.” His smile is gentle. “There are two of them. They have to be identical twins because they look the same.”

“No shit,” I whisper. “How did we get here?”

“Turns out we’ve been dealing with the wrong Kozlov. Ivan is Roman’s twin. Roman was out of the country, and his twin impersonated him because he wanted to broker the arms deal with the Mainland government…with Harrison.”

“The nuclear weapons deal,” I say.

Fury nods. “Yep. Roman originally turned the meeting down. He wasn’t interested. In fact, he had made the decision to stop brokering arms deals altogether.”

“But Ivan wasn’t happy with that decision.”

“No.” Fury pushes out a breath. “He thought that Roman was leaving wads of money on the table. It seems to me like he’s looking for his brother’s approval. Like he wants to make Roman proud or something. That’s the impression I get. He also wanted to find Roman a mate.” His voice turns deep.

“Me.” I roll my eyes.

Fury nods, his eyes darkening and his jaw tightening. He looks murderous, which has something warming in my chest, something else tightening in my lower belly.

“You know the rest,” Fury says. “Ivan scented that I wasn’t human, just like the bouncer at Black Blood scented the same on you. That’s when Ivan thought up the auction. Anyway, I digress. Roman apologized on behalf of his brother and invited us here.”

“And you agreed?” I widen my eyes, disbelief laced in my voice.

“Of course not. Roman initially tried to make it sound like we had a choice in the matter, but we didn’t.

You’ve been unconscious for a couple of hours.

Soon after we got here, Roman’s people gave you something to counteract the suppressant drug that was in your system.

They bandaged you up. You know the rest.”

“So, they didn’t give you the suppressant drug then?” I ask, studying his face.

He shakes his head. “No.”

“That’s a good sign, isn’t it?”

He shrugs his broad shoulders. “I’m not sure what to believe at this point. I don’t know what Roman wants with us or why we’re here. We’re not out of danger yet, Shadow. Not by a long shot. I don’t trust him. Ivan is off the rails altogether. His brother had to shoot him with a sedative.”

I move to get more comfortable and immediately wince as pain shoots through my neck. My hand flies to the bandaged area, and I can feel the tender, swollen flesh beneath the gauze.

“How are you feeling?” Fury asks, his voice soft with concern.

“Still a bit weak and thirsty.” As soon as I say it, I realize that my mouth feels dry.

Fury reaches for a crystal glass on the bedside table and helps me drink. The water is cool, and I drain half the glass before pulling back.

“Thank you,” I whisper, meeting his eyes. “If you hadn’t arrived when you did, I’d be dead. Ivan would have drained me dry.”

Something dark crosses his expression, and his jaw tics.

It takes him a few moments to calm down. “You saved me, too,” he says gruffly. “When you knocked into Ivan as he was taking that shot. That dart would have hit my wing otherwise. It must have taken some effort.”

“We’re working together, aren’t we?”

“Yes, we are.” He smiles, and his dimples pop out and in all their glory. “We’re partners.”

My heart actually stutters, which worries me.

“What now?” I ask him.

“I’m not sure. I was too worried about you to give it too much thought.

Besides, there’s a whole army of vampires outside that door.

” Fury points at the door in question, then he stands and walks to the window, where he peeks around a drape.

It’s still dark out. “More surrounding the estate. I don’t know exactly where we are, but it’s one of Roman Kozlov’s properties. That much I’m sure of.”

“How did you know to come after me?” The question has been eating at me since I saw him in that clearing. “I thought you were long gone. That I was on my own.”

He stops pacing and turns to face me. “My flight was delayed on the tarmac. I was sitting there, pissed off and ready to get home. Something felt off, so I went to check with the cockpit. They talked about the flight up ahead having a sudden change in flight plan. About there being an incident on board. When they told me the flight number, I knew. I removed myself from the flight. Like you said, we’re working together.

I couldn’t leave you. I knew you were in danger. ”

More warmth floods.

Fury came for me.

He came.

“How did you find me?”

He makes a face and scratches his jaw. “I did the only thing I could think of and went to Webb, same as before. He didn’t believe me this time.” He walks over to the bed and sits.

“How did you convince him?” I sound skeptical.

Fury looks away. He rubs a hand over his face.

“I told him we were sleeping together,” Fury continues, and I can see the embarrassment in the way he won’t quite meet my eyes.

“I told him that I wasn’t with the redhead in the hotel room that night.

I might have told him that it was you.” He squeezes the back of his neck.

I’m surprised to realize it doesn’t bother me the way I thought it would. In fact, there’s something almost…nice about it. Someone else knows about us.

“I’m sorry, Shadow. I’m sure you’re angry, but there was nothing else I could do.

I had to tell him there was something between us,” Fury adds quickly.

“I had to tell him that it was more than just sex, even though it’s not.

” He pauses. “I’m sorry I had to lie about that, but it was the only way to get Webb to help me find you. ”

The warm feeling in my chest deflates.

I know this already. Why do I keep doing this to myself?

“I understand,” I tell him. “If you hadn’t done it, I’d be dead. You don’t need to apologize for—”

A soft knock at the door, and we both turn as Neilina enters without waiting for permission.

“Hello,” she says, her face lighting up. “I heard you talking. I’m so happy to see you awake and feeling better. You’re looking a little tired. You poor thing. I heard what Master Ivan did to you. Nasty business.” She shakes her head.

Then she glides, more than walks, across the room with a bright smile on her face.

Despite myself, I smile back. “Hello, Neilina.”

“You know this person?” Fury frowns.

“Neilina looked after me when I was abducted by Ivan.”

“I’ve been so worried about you, Shadow. Such a lovely name. Are you hungry? Thirsty? I could bring you something to eat. What about you, big guy?” She winks at Fury, who glowers back.

“We’re fine, thank you,” I tell her.

“Is there anything else I can get for you or do for you?” She flicks her inky black hair over her shoulder, looking at us with her freaky purple eyes.

Fury stands. “We’d like to see Roman Kozlov.”

Neilina turns that megawatt smile on him, and I swear she actually giggles. “No wonder you weren’t interested in becoming the master’s bride, Shadow. You’re already in love! He’s gorgeous,” she whispers, like Fury won’t hear her.

Heat floods my cheeks. “It’s not like that between us.”

Neilina laughs like I just told her the biggest joke.

“Can we see Roman now?” Fury asks again, his voice strained. His muscles are bulging against the shirt.

Neilina scrunches her nose. “I’ll try, but I can’t make any promises. The master is very busy today. There’s been quite a bit of…upheaval since he left for Europe.”

That’s putting it mildly.

She heads back toward the door. “I’ll see what I can do.”

The moment she’s gone, Fury starts pacing, his hands clenched into fists. His muscles pull tight, and there is a smattering of scales on his arms.

“If Roman thinks he can keep us here indefinitely, he’s mistaken,” he growls. “I don’t care how many vampires he has. I don’t care how powerful he is. We’re not staying here as his prisoners. I’ll shift and bust us out of here. Just watch me.”

“It’s okay. We’re fine.” I tell him.

“For now,” he growls. He stops pacing and looks at me, his eyes practically glowing with suppressed rage. “But how long will that last?”

“Think about it,” I continue. “It bodes well for us that they haven’t drugged you with the suppressant.

That they gave me something to counteract it instead of just keeping me as I was.

If Roman wanted us helpless, we would be.

The fact that we’re not suggests he has other plans.

He hasn’t locked us away in some basement.

He is seeing to our needs, or Neilina wouldn’t be here. ”

“He’s still holding us here against our will.”

“Is he, though? Is he really? You just said we could break out of here if need be.”

“He is keeping us here, Shadow. Those guards out there are all armed to the gills and with dart guns to bring us down. We—”

The door opens. Neilina returns with an armful of clothes and that same bright smile.

“Good news!” she announces. “The master will see you both in the living room. That’s if you’re up to it, Shadow?” She asks, looking at me.

“I’ll need to take a quick shower, but…yes…I’ll be fine. The sooner we meet with Kozlov…the real Roman Kozlov, the sooner we can leave.”

At least, I hope so.

I hope I’m right about not being prisoners here.

Fury and I exchange a look. Whatever game Roman is playing, it’s time to find out the rules.