“We can manage,” Amber replied. “I think we could both do with stretching out the kinks.” She put her hand on the small of her back and stretched. “We’ve been sitting in the car far too long.”
“And I could do with some fresh air. But thanks for offering, Kelos.” Margie walked to the kitchen door, disappearing into the darkness beyond.
Kelos nodded and turned to make tea while the two women went outside. As he put the kettle on to boil, Amber paused and watched him, taking comfort in his presence.
Then she turned and walked away, hurrying after her sister-in-law toward the car. “Wait up.”
Margie didn’t stop until she reached the open trunk of the car. “Are you sure this is the right thing to do?”
“Staying here with Kelos?” Amber turned to look at the house, silhouetted against the dark sky, with only the faint glint of the light breaking up the shadow.
“Yes.” Margie hugged herself as she followed Amber’s gaze. “The idea of coming here was to stay with Shawn. Who you know and trust.”
“I trust Kelos. I thought you did, too.” Amber was too tired to have this conversation. She just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep. In the safety of Kelos’s arms. She closed her eyes and chased that thought away. She needed to keep her focus on what was important and her feelings for Kelos would only complicate things.
How did she already have feelings for Kelos?
“We’ve only just met him, and we’ve come here to his hillbilly house in the middle of nowhere.” Margie dragged a hand through her hair.
“Hillbilly house?” Amber’s jaw tightened as she repeated her sister-in-law’s words.
“You know what I mean. The place looks as if it’s about to fall down.” Margie tugged a couple of pieces of luggage out of the trunk and set them down on the ground.
“Kelos will protect us. That’s more important than a nice house,” Amber countered.
“It’s not that the house isn’t nice. It’s just…broken.” Margie curled her lip in distaste. “I hope it has indoor plumbing.”
“Margie, I’m tired, you are tired. Let’s get some sleep and then we can assess the situation in the morning.” Amber grabbed the remaining luggage and tucked it under her arms. “Kelos will think we’re permanently moving in.”
Margie snorted. “No chance of that.”
“Margie,” the warning in Amber’s voice wasn’t lost on her sister-in-law. “I know this is tough. I know you’ve given up your old life. But please don’t be rude.”
“Rude?” Margie’s eyes widened.
“I don’t want a fight, but you do have a habit of speaking without thinking about how it sounds to others.” Amber’s words were harsh, but true. Margie often spoke without considering other people’s feelings and she didn’t want Margie insulting Kelos. She suspected dragons needed handling with kid gloves. At least the ones she’d seen in movies always seemed to be proud and easily offended.
Amber leaned back on the car and took a breath, fighting to compose herself. Was he really a dragon shifter? Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined dragons were real.
“I promise to mind my manners,” Margie’s tone was petulant. “But if the roof caves in or a wall falls down, I will be the first to tell you, I told you so.”
“You will be the only person to tell me I told you so.” Amber winced at her curt words. “Sorry.”
Margie dropped the suitcases to the ground and leaned on them heavily, her hand on her side as if she could not breathe. Amber placed the luggage she was carrying down on the ground and went to her sister. “I miss Fabian so much.”
“I know you do.” Amber rubbed her sister-in-law’s back. “And soon this will be all over, and you’ll be with him again. All of you will be together again.”
“Do you really think that?” Margie glanced up at Amber. “Do you really believe we’ll get our lives back?”
Amber shook her head. “I don’t know about getting your lives back…”
“We’ll have to live in the witness protection program.” Margie wiped her hand over her eyes. “It’s not what I want.” She looked toward the house. “I want the children to go back to school. I want them to be able to play safely outside with their friends.”
“I know.” They had been over this again and again while they drove to Cougar Ridge. “But we need to take it one day at a time.” She helped her brother’s wife to straighten up. Amber doubted Margie’s life would ever be the same again.
Fabian was about to testify against the rich and powerful Roman Ostabell. Ostabell owned an investment firm that had been laundering money for years. Fabian had unwittingly stumbled across evidence of the money laundering and had agreed to testify anonymously. Unfortunately, with the court case looming, his identity had been leaked and Fabian and his family had been moved to a safe house.
The house hadn’t been as safe as promised and a further leak had put Fabian’s family in danger. A rogue officer working alone had been blamed for the security leak. But Fabian hadn’t been convinced and so he’d called Amber and asked her to take his wife and children somewhere safe.
Amber had answered his call. And their trek across the country to Shawn’s house in Cougar Ridge had begun.
Where this adventure would end, Amber was no longer sure. Margie wanted her sister-in-law to tell her it was all going to be okay. That this would all be over soon, and she could go back to her old life. It was a promise Amber wasn’t willing to make.
“Okay. I’m sorry for being a bitch. I am grateful to you and to Kelos. I’m just… I’m so out of my depth, out of my comfort zone that I don’t know what to do.” Margie sniffed loudly and picked up the two suitcases. “I’m sure I’ll feel better after a
