“All right. We'll get you to a doctor first,” the cop said resolutely. “Once the SWAT team's done with the island, we'll search for any nearby planes.”
Terror flooded Alyx once more.
What if the SWAT team thought that Braeden was one of her kidnappers?
Run, she thought, reaching out for the thin ribbon of golden light that she could feel even now. You're in danger, all of you! Everyone has to shift and hide!
And then there was a familiar sound. Soft at first, it quickly grew in volume.
It was the sound of large wings beating the air.
When she looked up at the sky, she could see him.
He'd risen from the forest, his gorgeous scales glistening in the light of the morning sun, red and orange and yellow like a brilliant sunrise.
Braeden was coming. He was coming for her.
Relief rushed through her.
They can't see him, she thought, her heart racing. Maybe it'll be okay.
But surely an invisible force pulling her into the air would be just as bad as the cops seeing her get kidnapped by a dragon.
Through the thin ribbon of the mate bond, she could feel his worry and fear for her. She reached back out to him, trying to warn him, begging him not to put himself into danger for her.
And then he was there.
The cops took a step back, startled. They couldn't see him as he landed, but they could feel the wind caused by his large wings.
“Looks like the weather's getting stormy today,” Alyx said, trying to sound nonchalant. “It's the season for freak floods, isn't it?”
She knew absolutely nothing about freak floods or how the ocean behaved, but if she'd learned something in her career, it was that as long as you spoke with utter confidence, most people believed you.
“I don't—” one of the cops began, then fell silent. He gritted his teeth. He reached out to clutch her wrist—and then he stiffened.
His mouth parted. For a moment, Alyx could see flames burning in his eyes.
His hand opened, releasing her wrist.
Her mouth dry, she turned. All the cops had sto
pped moving. They were staring into the distance, their eyes filled by a familiar, red gleam.
And when she finished turning and saw Braeden, he was surrounded by a red glow. The dragon’s mouth was parted, flames licking at his teeth. Through the bond, she could feel an immense wave of power coming off him. Tiny tendrils of invisible flame reached out, probing, impossibly delicately, and burning something.
She had no idea what was happening, but right now, all she felt was relief.
Braeden had come back for her. Whatever had happened between them, he still cared.
Hastily, before the cops returned to awareness, she clambered onto his back. He rose quickly into the sky, the strange, sizzling aura of power falling away. He circled low above the cops for a moment, and Alyx watched as one of them reached for his phone.
“Yeah, call it off. It was another stupid prank call. Dragons! I told you right away that whoever called was either drunk or on drugs. We searched the place. Lots of empty vacation homes. Sleepy little place—another of those boring resorts. Maybe tell that lady who called to talk to her therapist. Whoever kidnapped her friend, they've still got her.”
Alyx stared in surprise.
Whatever Braeden had done, it had made them forget that they'd ever met her.
She remembered the shine of fire in their eyes and the immense power she'd felt coming off Braeden.