Lyla hmphed. She subjected him to a long, lingering assessment that made his face heat even further. “You seem a little under equipped, Dai.”
Was he being pranked? Dai was very definitely starting to feel that someone must be surreptitiously filming this.
Lyra gave him a pitying look. “Young man, if you go any redder, we’ll be able to plant you on the corner and use you as a stop sign. I meant, under equipped for rescuing Ms. Cat. I was expecting them to at least send someone with a ladder. From past experience, I also highly recommend a long-handled net and full body armor.”
Dai drew himself up to his full height, gathering the shredded remains of his dignity as best he could. “I’m a dragon, ma’am. I think I can get a cat out of a tree.”
3
“Let me make sure I fully understand this,” Chase said, grinning from ear-to-ear. “You—a full grown male red dragon in the prime of life—couldn’t handle one frail, elderly, confused cat shifter.”
“Shut up,” Dai muttered, glaring at him through his fixed, professional expression. “We’re in public.”
Chase cast a glance at their audience. By now, they
’d attracted quite a crowd. This was clearly the most entertainment Green Acres had seen in years. One group of ladies had set out deckchairs, and settled in with expressions of avid interest.
Chase gave the onlookers a cheery wave, and turned back to Dai, still grinning. “Never fear, o dragon in distress. You’re no longer alone in this terrible ordeal. We have come to rescue you. We’re a team, after all. A band of brothers.”
Dai had a very brotherly urge to punch Chase’s smirking face.
Still, they were a team. The two of them had gone through training together, and joined the squad at the same time. And Dai did genuinely like the exuberant pegasus shifter…especially since most of the time, Chase made him look like the reliable, responsible one.
He sighed. “Just remember how much I’ve covered for you during training, when you’re making your report.”
Chase gave him a wounded look. “Are you suggesting that I should fail to relate every last detail back to our glorious and illustrious Commander? I am shocked. Truly shocked.”
“All right, stop ribbing the poor man,” Griff said tolerantly, appearing from round the fire truck. “Don’t fret, Dai. Even the most routine call-out sometimes goes sideways. You did the right thing, calling for backup.”
Griff’s warm, understanding tone just made Dai feel worse. No matter the emergency, Griff was always warm and understanding. He only had a few years’ seniority on Dai and Chase, but he had a natural aura of leadership.
Dai would have assumed that was due to Griff’s alpha lion…if that had been possible.
The first time they’d met, Griff had explained—in a simple, matter-of-fact way—that he was unable to shift. It had been clear that he didn’t want any pity. Griff’s disability had only increased Dai’s respect for the Scotsman. He desperately wanted to impress him.
Which did not, unfortunately, seem likely in the near future.
Griff flashed him a sidelong look that suggested he knew only too well what thoughts were going through Dai’s head. He gave Dai a kind of consolatory thump on the shoulder—the gesture somewhere between a friendly shove and a reassuring pat—before turning back to the truck.
“Come on, lads,” he said, starting to undo the clips holding the ladder to the side. “Let’s get to work. The poor old lass must be frightened, stuck all the way up there.”
“You haven’t met her yet,” Dai muttered. “That is not a meek little old lady.”
He’d thought it would be so simple. Shift, reach up, carefully grab cat in his talons, return her to the ground, modestly wave off effusive thanks.
Ms. Cat, it turned out, violently objected to being picked up by a dragon. No matter how carefully.
Should have set fire to the tree, his dragon muttered. Still could.
Dai tightened his control over his sulking beast. Red dragons had a reputation for being impulsive and prone to feral, destructive behavior. It wasn’t entirely undeserved.
He helped Griff and Chase unhook the ladder and carry it over to the huge oak. The cat shifter had retreated to the very topmost branches. Dai couldn’t spot her at all, but Griff just gave the foliage a single swift, casual glance before pointing upward.
“There she is,” Griff said, with calm certainty. “Let’s get this ladder into position.”
“Oh my.” A lady—who had to be ninety if she was a day—wolf-whistled. “That’s some mighty big equipment you’ve got there, boys. Need some help handling it?”
Dai could feel his ears heating again, but Griff smiled. Without a word, he tipped his helmet at the giggling onlookers, then got back to work.