world were about to be blown apart at his feet. He turned and raced for the door.
Grabbing the doorframe, he spun himself around the corner. Three quick strides and he was across the landing and shoving open the door to the stairwell. As the door closed behind him, he heard it—rapid footsteps pounding up the stairs from below. The sound pushed his heart rate even higher. He ran up the stairs, praying he was quicker and quieter than the men below.
He slammed his way out of the final set of doors and found himself standing on the roof, five stories up with no external fire escape. He swore silently. Where was a helicopter when you needed one?
Standing in the shadows surrounding the exit, he debated his options. His jaw tightened, he hated being caught out like this. He glanced at the sky. The heavy globe of the moon illuminated the compound and the heavy jungle surrounding it. If he moved, he’d be a clear target.
Unfortunately, like the ticking bomb, time wasn’t on his side. A man’s coarse shout on the other side of the door made up this mind. He’d have to risk being seen. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, he sent his clothes, weapons, and camera into Elsewhere and began running. He reached the edge of the roof—and jumped.
Air rushed past his face, burning his cheeks. Throwing his arms wide, he released the dragon. With an electric rush, he shifted. His wings caught the wind and pulled him upwards. If he was lucky no one would look up and see a giant, copper dragon flying overhead. If he wasn’t… Well, he hoped they mistook him for a dream not an enemy aircraft.
He pushed through the air with powerful wing strokes.
Boom!
The sound and heat of the explosion almost tumbled him out of the sky, only a jerk of his tail and a mighty wrench of his wings kept him airborne. He glanced over his shoulder to see the roof where he had been standing only moments before, shattered and engulfed in flames. But he was free.
Ryu sat up with a gasp. Sweat trickled down the side of his face. Damn, he hated it when he dreamed. He rubbed his fingers against his temples. Why that dream? Other than the fact it was a while since he’d shifted fully and the dragon was getting edgy to spread its wings, he didn’t dream without reason.
He leaned back against the headboard as an image popped into his head. The photos he’d taken, one of the men had been Razor. How could he have forgotten?
He dragged his phone off the bedside table and sent Adrian a message. The case was about a year old and fitted with the timeline. Although that compound looked like something you might see in the South American jungles, it hadn’t been, it had been domestic, albeit isolated.
He added another text after his first. His mind was shouting that one of the other men in his photos would turn out to be a buyer for the black market information. Seller and buyer in one photo would make a very nice piece of evidence.
****
Monday was turning out to be far more difficult than Kait expected. She arrived early and everything, other than the weather being unseasonably crisp, suggested it would be a regular start to the week. However, things started getting challenging about four o’clock when Ryu arrived to use the practice space.
Ryu, about whom she was still having inappropriate fantasies. She dreaded to think what he might read from her face and she longed to avoid him. Unfortunately, she couldn’t stay in her office for the rest of the day and hide. Instead she had to carry on as normal. Each time she saw him her stomach twinged and her heart jumped. She couldn’t even blame anyone else, this was a nightmare of her own making.
She saw him on her way to Edward Heath’s office; the accountant always insisted on seeing her on Monday afternoons. She saw him on her way to get a cup of coffee as he ran through his routine. She saw him on her way back to her office as he paused to talk to Rachael. She caught his heady scent on her way to Victor’s office
Grabbing the doorframe, he spun himself around the corner. Three quick strides and he was across the landing and shoving open the door to the stairwell. As the door closed behind him, he heard it—rapid footsteps pounding up the stairs from below. The sound pushed his heart rate even higher. He ran up the stairs, praying he was quicker and quieter than the men below.
He slammed his way out of the final set of doors and found himself standing on the roof, five stories up with no external fire escape. He swore silently. Where was a helicopter when you needed one?
Standing in the shadows surrounding the exit, he debated his options. His jaw tightened, he hated being caught out like this. He glanced at the sky. The heavy globe of the moon illuminated the compound and the heavy jungle surrounding it. If he moved, he’d be a clear target.
Unfortunately, like the ticking bomb, time wasn’t on his side. A man’s coarse shout on the other side of the door made up this mind. He’d have to risk being seen. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, he sent his clothes, weapons, and camera into Elsewhere and began running. He reached the edge of the roof—and jumped.
Air rushed past his face, burning his cheeks. Throwing his arms wide, he released the dragon. With an electric rush, he shifted. His wings caught the wind and pulled him upwards. If he was lucky no one would look up and see a giant, copper dragon flying overhead. If he wasn’t… Well, he hoped they mistook him for a dream not an enemy aircraft.
He pushed through the air with powerful wing strokes.
Boom!
The sound and heat of the explosion almost tumbled him out of the sky, only a jerk of his tail and a mighty wrench of his wings kept him airborne. He glanced over his shoulder to see the roof where he had been standing only moments before, shattered and engulfed in flames. But he was free.
Ryu sat up with a gasp. Sweat trickled down the side of his face. Damn, he hated it when he dreamed. He rubbed his fingers against his temples. Why that dream? Other than the fact it was a while since he’d shifted fully and the dragon was getting edgy to spread its wings, he didn’t dream without reason.
He leaned back against the headboard as an image popped into his head. The photos he’d taken, one of the men had been Razor. How could he have forgotten?
He dragged his phone off the bedside table and sent Adrian a message. The case was about a year old and fitted with the timeline. Although that compound looked like something you might see in the South American jungles, it hadn’t been, it had been domestic, albeit isolated.
He added another text after his first. His mind was shouting that one of the other men in his photos would turn out to be a buyer for the black market information. Seller and buyer in one photo would make a very nice piece of evidence.
****
Monday was turning out to be far more difficult than Kait expected. She arrived early and everything, other than the weather being unseasonably crisp, suggested it would be a regular start to the week. However, things started getting challenging about four o’clock when Ryu arrived to use the practice space.
Ryu, about whom she was still having inappropriate fantasies. She dreaded to think what he might read from her face and she longed to avoid him. Unfortunately, she couldn’t stay in her office for the rest of the day and hide. Instead she had to carry on as normal. Each time she saw him her stomach twinged and her heart jumped. She couldn’t even blame anyone else, this was a nightmare of her own making.
She saw him on her way to Edward Heath’s office; the accountant always insisted on seeing her on Monday afternoons. She saw him on her way to get a cup of coffee as he ran through his routine. She saw him on her way back to her office as he paused to talk to Rachael. She caught his heady scent on her way to Victor’s office
Similar Books
