Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
“Too late.” He stepped to the side of the flight of steps and flung his hand gripping her upper arm tightly toward the steps and let go. Lalani couldn’t stop her momentum. She wrapped her arms around her head, trying to protect herself.
Those hard wooden steps were brick hard as she bounced down the stairs. Each whack into one felt like she’d break something. But it happened so fast, she didn’t have time to dwell on any one injury. When she hit the concrete floor, Lalani rolled, knowing the pain would end. Ready to take stock of her ability to get away, she let go of her head and felt her skull ram into the edge of a big metal appliance.
The edges of her vision went fuzzy. Khadar!
She didn’t hear the roar that shook the houses in the city core.
Forced to land slowly by the people gathered in the street to figure out what was happening, Khadar thudded to the cobbled street and changed as quickly as his bones would allow. He raced to the house and burst through the door.
“Lalani!”
Finding the gold coins scattered on the floor, he scanned the house, looking for clues. There in the doorway to the family room was a sack with a silver candlestick spilling out of it. That wasn’t how his mate would have packed things. That box on the table. Yes. That was hers. He searched the house and found nothing other than a folded piece of clothing, another box, and tissues.
When he got back downstairs, the neighbor from across the street stood in the entryway. He raised his hands to show he was harmless. “Can I help?”
“Keep everyone out,” Khadar growled.
“That door there leads to the basement. It’s the only house I know of that has a lower level,” the neighbor mentioned.
Khadar ripped that door open, tearing it away from the door frame at the top in his haste. Her scent hit him. He ran down the stairs and peered through the darkness. His green eyes glowed with anger and worry.
When he spotted the small smear of blood on the dryer, his anger almost forced him to lose control to the dragon fuming inside him. Khadar forced his brain to think instead of rage. There were boxes shoved to the side creating a path. Was he dragging her somewhere? He couldn’t reach her mind.
Tracing the path, Khadar felt a faint waft of stale air. Zeroing in on it, he discovered an almost invisible door that was just barely ajar. Wedged into the bottom was the bow he’d tied in Lalani’s hair that morning.
He pulled the door open. It resisted his efforts but couldn’t compete with the raging strength of a dragon, even in human form. As soon as the opening was big enough for him to squeeze through, Khadar dashed out. The path went both ways, with no markings anywhere that he could see.
Hesitating long enough to heat one hand, Khadar pressed it to the door to burn a print into the paint as he listened to hear which way he should go. A muffled curse sounded in the distance to his right. Khadar ran that way.
When he thought he’d run past that sound, he stopped to listen. There was nothing. He’d tear down every damn door if that was what it took. Fixing his eyes on the next door in the passageway, he dashed to it and rammed his shoulder into the barrier. It crumbled to shreds. He bashed those out of the way and invaded. A bullet zinged over his shoulder. That was the last aggravation he needed. The dragon took over.
“A fucking dragon!” the man yelled as he scrambled backward. Khadar’s bulk pinned him to the wall and crushed boxes scattered along the walls. The stairs in the center of the room were ripped from the upper doorway and smashed into smithereens.
Where is she? Give me Lalani.
The strength of his thoughts echoed in the man’s mind. Khadar did not feel a morsel of remorse when the man gripped his head like it was ready to explode.
“I’m here alone. I don’t know Lalani,” he gasped.
What is this tunnel?
“It was built long ago. It connects some of the original families.”
How was he going to find her?
“I heard some guy pulling something through the hall and cussing. He was not having a good day.”
Do you know what door he entered?
“Sorry, sir. I don’t know. I’m sorry I shot you. All I knew was someone was breaking through the door. No one but one person in the family was supposed to know it existed.”
Knowing he was wasting time, Khadar forced his heart rate to slow. There was no danger here. He needed to negotiate through the hallway. His dragon form would not work. Slowly, he resumed his smaller size.
“Send a message to my estate. I will have your door fixed,” Khadar told the man as he hurried to the door.