Page 18 of The Last Bachelor Dragon (Mysteries of Dragon’s Island #8)
CHAPTER 17
***MAX***
I t was after two in the morning before they got back from their mission, but it had gone better than anyone could have expected, and they were all riding high on success. Nora was asleep on one of the couches when he came into the conference room, and he stood quietly watching her sleep for a few minutes, his heart swelling with love. This time tomorrow, she would be his wife, and there was nothing he could think of that he wanted more.
Nora’s eyes fluttered open when he kissed her forehead, and a smile slowly spread across her face. “You’re back,” she said, slowly sitting up. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. It was just so quiet after we knew you were coming home.”
“I’ll tell you about it on the way back to the cabin,” he said, helping her up. “It’s late, we need our bed.”
She looked over at him and smiled. “That sounds nice,” she said. “I’m not sure I’m up to the red thing tonight.”
“That’s okay, we’ve got the rest of our lives for the red thing,” he said, smiling at her. “Let’s go home and get some sleep. ”
When they walked outside, Max put his arm around her and she leaned into him, still half asleep. “How did it go?” she finally asked. “Everything was working from our end, so they must not have had any problems.”
“It was almost too easy. We were definitely over-prepared,” he said, shaking his head. “The island was almost dark when we got there. There were only a few guards posted, and most of them were asleep. The rest were in the basement partying. Keith and Harrison slipped past them did their thing and were back out before anyone even knew they were there.”
“Well, it’s better to be over-prepared, but I’m glad it was that easy,” she said. “I’m surprised Adaloni didn’t have more security in place.”
“He’s cocky, he can’t imagine that anyone would try to invade his territory,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “That attitude is going to be his downfall; he’s so used to winning that he can’t see himself losing.”
“Well, I just hope it’s over as quickly as this was,” she said, shivering. “I’m not going to stop worrying until this is done. Dealing with vicious drug dealers isn’t exactly something I’m used to, I can’t help but think that something is going to go wrong.”
“I wish I could tell you that everything will go according to our plan, but the reality is, something always goes wrong. That’s why we have backup plans,” he said, pulling her a little closer. “The thing you need to remember is that what’s important is how you handle the situation when things do go wrong. Try not to panic, think the situation through, then act. It’s always better to do something instead of nothing.”
Nora looked up at him. “I just wish we didn’t have to be separated. I know I’m going to spend the entire time worrying about you,” she said, then sighed. “I want to do something, not just sit around waiting for you to come back. ”
He stopped and looked down at her. “My little warrior princess,” he said. “You will be doing something, you’ll be keeping the guests safe. That’s an important job, and you know it.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she said. “Sometimes it’s just frustrating to be left behind.”
“I need to know that you’re safe, Nora,” he said. “If you’re with us, all I’ll be thinking about is you. I won’t be able to concentrate.”
“It’s a shifter thing, right?” she asked, searching his face and finding the affirmation she wanted. She let out a long sigh. “I guess it could be worse, you could be insanely jealous.”
The next morning, Max was woken by the sound of someone pounding on his door. He forced his eyes open by the force of sheer will, letting out a groan when he saw the sun high in the sky. Groaning, he threw back the covers, grabbed his robe and headed for the door, grumbling under his breath the entire way about rude people waking him up.
He threw open the door with a growl and was met by two smiling faces. “Good morning, well, it’s almost afternoon,” Kira said, her voice much too perky in his opinion. “You’re needed in the conference room, Carlos is about to meet with one of his arms suppliers, and he doesn’t sound happy.”
“And we’re here to get Nora ready for tonight,” Felicity said. “Is she still in bed too?”
“Give me five minutes to get dressed, and then she’s all yours,” he said, opening the door to let them in. “Isn’t it a bit early to be getting ready for the wedding?”
“These things take time,” Kira said, shrugging her shoulders. “And don’t forget it’s a two-hour walk to the waterfall.”
“Two hours,” Nora said, stumbling out of the bedroom. “No one told me that. I can’t walk that far in a dress. ”
“That’s why we’re going early,” Felicity said. “We don’t want you all hot and sweaty for the ceremony.”
“Kennedy picked up something on one of the bugs, I have to go,” he said, pulling Nora into his arms. “It sounds like I won’t see you until the wedding. Last chance to change your mind.”
“Not going to happen,” she said, smiling up at him. “You’re stuck with me.”
Everyone was gathered around the computer when he raced into the conference room. “They’re about to start,” Kennedy said. “The guy just walked in the door.”
There was the sound of a door slamming, then a brief silence, “Good morning, Mr. Adaloni,” a man said timidly. “I understand you wanted to speak to me. I came as fast as I could.”
“I wish I could say the same thing for the weapons you promised me, Carruthers,” Mr. Adaloni said. “I’m not accustomed to being disappointed.”
“Sir, when we made the deal for the guns I told you there might be a delay in delivery,” Carruthers said. “These things happen, bribes have to be arranged, and it can take time.”
“I don’t want to hear excuses, I want my guns,” Adaloni shouted. “I paid you good money, I want my property. You have forty-eight hours to deliver; if the guns aren’t here, I will hold you personally responsible. Do you understand?”
There was a brief silence, then the sound of Carruthers clearing his throat. “Yes, sir,” he finally said. “I’ll get right on it.”
They heard the sound of a door slamming again. “Idiot,” Adaloni said. “Whether he gets me the guns or not, I want to make an example of him. He’s got forty-eight hours to live one way or the other.”
“Yes, sir,” another man said. “What about Heart of the Ocean? Should we postpone our plans? ”
“No, I want that island, and I’m tired of waiting,” Adaloni growled. “Guns or not, we’re going after the island in three days. We’ll go in at night, and they’ll never even know we’re coming. Their puny security measures won’t stand up to a full-on assault, especially if we go in on the south side of the island.”
“Yes, sir,” the man said again. “I’ll notify the men, they’ve been getting restless.”
“Send them out to harass some of the smaller islands, that always cheers them up,” Adaloni said. “Now leave me alone, I have some planning to do.”
***Nora***
Nora was hot and sweaty by the time the trail ended abruptly on the top of a rise, but it only took her a second to realize why when she heard the roar of water. Stopping to catch her breath, she watched Juliet, Kira, Eden, and Wren disappear through a break in the vegetation, then looked over at Stella and Felicity, who were grinning at her.
“Come on, what are you waiting for?” Stella asked, giving her a nudge. “Are you nervous?”
“A little,” she admitted. “This place is so important to all of you, I’m afraid I’ll be disappointed.”
“Just relax, Nora,” Felicity said. “Everything is going to be perfect, you’ll see. The island wouldn’t have it any other way.”
When she stepped into the little clearing, she only made it a few steps before she had to stop and give herself a few seconds to take it all in. A green carpet of grass covered the entire space, running right up to the edge of the big pool that swirled at the bottom of a beautiful waterfall. Moss-covered rocks and boulders formed a perfect wall around most of the pool, but a grassy slope led right down to the water, and she instantly thought about how refreshing it would be to dive in.
Off to one side of the waterfall, a big white tent had been set up. Next to it was a firepit with a seating area made of cushions. On the other side of the clearing, a long banquet table rested under the cover of a white canopy, set with sparkling dinnerware and a row of tall candles marching down the center. She could just imagine what it would look like once it got dark.
Completely charmed, she just stood there, goosebumps breaking out on her skin when she realized how much work her new friends had done to make the wedding perfect. “Oh, this is amazing,” she finally said, tears in her eyes. “I couldn’t have asked for anything more perfect.”
“Hey, where did that come from?” Stella asked, looking over Nora’s shoulder at the table. “We didn’t bring that up here.”
“But I wish we would have, it’s perfect,” Eden said, walking over to them. “It looks like the island is going to provide dinner.”
She looked over at the table, then back at the group of women. “You’re kidding, right?” she asked. “The island couldn’t have…never mind, what am I saying, of course it could.”
Everyone laughed, “I think I’ll just shut up and say thank you again,” she said, looking around the clearing. “This really is amazing, I can’t thank you enough.”
“You’re the last one of us,” Juliet said. “We wanted it to be perfect.”
“And the first thing we’re going to do is take a swim to wash off all this trail dirt,” Wren said, pulling her shirt over her head. “Last one in is a rotten egg.”
Nora was self-conscious at first, but it didn’t take long for her comfort level to grow and she joined in the fun, splashing and swimming with the other women until they all crawled out of the water. After drying themselves in the sun, Stella announced that it was time for them to start getting ready and they made their way over to the white tent one by one. Inside, she found everything they would all need to get ready, including a rainbow of dresses hung on a rack in the back of the tent and her wedding dress right in the middle.
A second later, Kennedy rushed through the flap in the tent, slightly out of breath. “I got here as fast as I could,” she said. “What did I miss?”
“Clearly a shower,” Wren said, wrinkling her nose and handing over the basket of toiletries. “Go have a swim and get cleaned up. You haven’t missed anything important.”
“What happened with Adaloni?” Juliet asked. “Did the bugs work?”
“Like a charm. We can hear everything that goes on,” Kennedy said. “We’ve got three days to get ready for them.”
“That’s plenty of time to get everything into place and still have the wedding,” she said, relieved. “We’ll be ready for them when they show up.”
“Adaloni won’t know what hit him,” Kira said. “I just wish I was going to be there to see it.”
The women grumbled for a while about how unfair it was that they had to get left behind, and she was relieved to know that she wasn’t the only one who felt that way. “But it’s worth it,” Eden finally said, rubbing her little baby bump. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to this little one.”
“All right ladies, that’s enough serious talk,” Kennedy said. “I’m going to go have that swim. We have a wedding to get ready for. This is supposed to be a happy occasion.”
For the next few hours, there was a whirlwind of female activity, but they finally all managed to get ready, and Nora found herself standing in front of the mirror, the seven other women standing behind her. The dress Maria had designed was perfect for her; the soft peach color brought out the blue of her eyes while giving her skin a warm glow, and the cut flattered her generous curves without revealing too much. With her hair done up in a complicated arrangement, she almost didn’t recognize herself, and all she could do was stare.
“Max is going to pass out when he sees you,” Stella said, smiling at her in the mirror. “You look absolutely gorgeous. Marie is a genius.”
“Did I hear my name?” Marie asked, striding through the flap in the tent. “Ah…I knew that dress was perfect for you, Nora, you look amazing.”
“Thank you,” she said, turning from the mirror, a tearful smile on her face. “You’ve all been so wonderful, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.”
“Everyone is here,” Marie said, walking over and giving her a hug. “Are you ready to marry the man of your dreams?”