Destiny Kills

“But you weren’t supposed to come back. You were supposed to be returning the ring to your father so you could find your sister.” I slammed the pot back on the stove. “You know, the one that’s in trouble? Remember?”

Annoyance flared in his eyes. “Of course I remember.”

“So why are you standing here instead?”

“Damn it, how can I leave when Egan is dead, and you came so close to death?” His voice rose slightly, anger, frustration, and worry all evident in the rich depths. “Those bastards are still out there, and they still have a means of tracking you. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you. I couldn’t live without you.”

Warmth flared through my heart, through my soul, and my feet wanted to do a happy little dance, even though I knew that this was wrong, that he should be more worried about his sister than me. She was family. I wasn’t. Not yet.

“But what if something happens to your sister when you’re here helping me? Could you live with that?”

“No.” He thrust a hand through his hair, and blew out a breath. “I rang my mother and asked her what she was feeling about Mercy. She still feels she’s in trouble, but it’s not life or death type trouble. I’m trusting her instinct. It’s all I can do.”

“But—”

“No,” he said forcefully. “This is my decision, my right, my choice. If something does happen, I’ll deal with it. But I can’t leave you to handle this situation alone. I won’t.”

I studied him for a moment, then stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him close. Listening to his breathing, feeling the rapid beating of his heart.

He sighed and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer still as his lips brushed the top of my head.

“If something happens to her, then I’m going to have to live with it, too,” I said softly, my words getting lost against the wool of his sweater.

“If something does happen, it will not be your fault, just as Egan’s death was not your fault. You cannot take the blame for other people’s decisions, Des. That’s not fair to them.”

I didn’t say anything. I didn’t agree, and no amount of words would ever take away the guilt that lingered deep inside, but there was no point in going on about it. It was just something we were never going to agree on.

And I just hoped that his sister’s trouble wasn’t anything too big or life-threatening.

“Where’s your dad?” he said, after a while.

I pulled away from the warmth of his arms. “Not here. He hasn’t been here for a few weeks, by the look of it.”

I walked past him into the dust-covered living room and then up the stairs that led to the bedrooms. Dad’s was the closest to the landing, mine up at the far end. A bathroom and a study separated the two rooms, and a quick glance inside the study revealed the usual array of books and papers surrounding Dad’s computer. He might have lost one of his arms, but he’d never lost his love for reading and writing. As I looked at all the piles of paper scattered about, I wondered if he’d achieved his dream of being published in the eleven years I’d been gone. I hoped so. It just wouldn’t be fair to have all his dreams amount to nothing.

Tears stung my eyes again, but I blinked them back. Find him first, I thought. Cry later. Trae briefly touched my shoulder, but it was a touch so light it would have been easy to believe I was imagining it. Except for the fact that warmth spread like wildfire through my body, filling me with strength and momentarily washing away the sadness.

“We’ll find him,” he said softly.

“I know.” I pushed Dad’s bedroom door open. The bed was unmade, the patchwork comforter I’d made for his eightieth birthday trailing on the floor. A dragon’s life span was usually at least double that of a human, but we’d both known the diabetes would snatch him from this world well before he ever reached those sort of illustrious years. But I’d always expected him to at least hit a hundred and ten.

My eyes went to the bedside table. The phone was on the hook, but the address book was open. I walked across. Doc Macy’s number stood out starkly on the page. I picked up the phone and dialed.

“Lubec Medical Center. How may I help you?”

My mouth suddenly felt dry again, and I had to swallow before I could speak. “I’d like to speak to Doc Macy, please.”

“One moment, please.”

And then I was on hold, listening to what sounded like elevator music for a good five minutes. Trae moved up behind me, not actually touching, but close enough that the heat of him pressed into my spine. It felt safer—which I guess was odd considering the man himself was as far from safe as I could ever get.

“Doc Macy here,” a deep voice suddenly said into the receiver, making me jump a little. “How can I help you?”

“Doc, it’s Destiny here. Rian McCree’s daughter.”

“Jesus, girl, where have you been for these last eleven years? Your dad worried himself sick.”

“It’s a long story, Doc, and not one I can explain over the phone. Where’s my dad?”

“He’s in Lubec. We had to move him into a nursing home.”

I rubbed a hand across my eyes, fighting the sting. Fighting the fear. “How bad is he?”

“Pretty bad. The disease has taken his feet, and most of his internals are on their last legs. I don’t actually know how he’s holding on.”

He’s waiting for me, I thought. He knows I’m coming. “Where is he?”

“Twin Pines Nursing Home. It’s run by a friend of mine—one who understands your dad’s needs.”

Understood what he was, in other words. At least we didn’t have to worry about medical staff uncovering odd genetic differences and reporting them. “Then you’ll know he won’t want to die in that place.”

“No.” Doc Macy paused. “I’d advise heading straight there, Destiny. He hasn’t got long.”

I closed my eyes, but really, he wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know. “Can you arrange his release, then?”

“I’ll call as soon as we finish up here.”

“Thanks for looking after him, Doc.”

“There’s few enough of us left in this world, my girl. We have no choice but to look after each other.” He paused, and I heard papers shuffling. “I’ll get Mike to look after all the official stuff.”

“Thanks.”

I hung up the phone and turned around. Trae’s arms went around me, and for a moment I allowed myself to melt into his embrace, to sink deep in the sense of strength and resolve that was so much a part of this man’s makeup.

“He’s in a nursing home in Lubec,” I said softly. My face was pressed against his chest, and the beat of his heart was a rhythm that seemed to flow from his skin to mine, making it seem in that brief moment we weren’t two but one.

His lips brushed the top of my head, a feather-light kiss that sent heat shivering through every nerve ending, making me tingle.

“You want to leave right away?”

“I have to,” I said, and pulled away from his arms. The day felt suddenly colder. “But there’s a car in the trees at the driveway entrance, and I think they’re Marsten’s men. We need to deal with them on the off chance they pick up the tracker signal as we pass.”

“They’re not a problem at the moment. I knocked them out and tied them up when I first got here. The car is pretty unnoticeable, so we should have some lee-way before anyone realizes they’re missing.”

“Good. We’ll need it.”

He raised a hand and gently brushed the hair from my cheek. “Why is time so important?”

“Because as I said, Dad is dying, and he wants to do it here, not in some nursing home.”

Understanding dawned in his eyes. “A sunrise cremation?”

I nodded even as tears filled my eyes again. I ducked my gaze away from his, and reached down to grab the