“I need to hold it,” Viper reached out for the purse.
“I’ve already checked through it. She didn’t have much except for her ID, keys, Bible, and a little cash,” the sheriff told him, holding it out but not letting Viper take it. “We need to keep as many fingerprints off the bag as possible.”
Viper leaned forward, inhaled deeply. “Where was this found?”
The sheriff placed the bag in his car and walked down the sidewalk, away from the church. “Do either of you know why she would come down this way? It wouldn’t lead her to the library at all, but take her farther out of town.”
“It makes little sense to me, Sheriff. Callie is usually straightforward in everything she does. She likes to get from point A to point B with as few stops in between.”
“Unless she was trying to get away from something or somebody,” the sheriff added.
Viper agreed with that assessment. But what or who was she running from?
“The screams came from this direction and we found her purse there, just off the sidewalk on the grass.”
Viper went over to the spot, inhaling. Then he searched the darkness and the sky. “It took her in that direction,” he told them.
“How do you know that?” the sheriff asked.
Viper didn’t answer but walked in the direction he pointed to. Valorie was the one to respond.
“His people are skilled trackers.”
“Like Native Americans. I know a few. They are good at tracking. But he shouldn’t be going off on his own. He needs to wait for backup.”
Viper stopped and turned to look at Valorie and the sheriff. “I have the trail while it’s fresh. If I wait, it could rain and wash out.”
The sheriff ran a hand through what little hair was left on his balding head. “That girl is like family to me. Take my number and call me if you find her. Do not take this asshole on all by yourself. He could have others helping him.”
Viper took the card the sheriff handed him, then looked at Valorie. “Tell the rest to follow my trail if they can, otherwise I will call as soon as possible with an update.”
“I’ll let them know. Please find her and bring her home.”
“I will.”
Chapter 13
This totally sucked! Callie woke up several times to the same nightmare scene of being high in the sky with talons clutching her. At first, that was all she could see because it was pitch black, but the higher they flew above the clouds the brighter the moon shone down and that’s when she got the first actual glimpse of what had snagged her—a dragon.
Holy hell! A real fire-breathing dragon had her in its talons. No one would ever believe this. That’s if she lived to tell about it.
More fluttering of large wings and another dark shadow passed near them. It made her heartbeat even faster. Realization struck. There were two dragons, not just one! Dizziness threatened to send her back into unconsciousness, but she fought it the best she could.
How was she going to get out of this situation? Escaping one dragon would be hard, but two would be nearly impossible. Why did they want her? Was she their food? Callie couldn’t see two mythical creatures flying to Dragoon, Arizona, of all places to wait outside a church and grab a single librarian to snack on. It was just too crazy. But here she was.
Wait, where was she? This didn’t seem familiar. Was she even in Arizona anymore? That’s what she should focus on, finding out where she was, where they were taking her. If there was a way to escape, she needed to know those things. She felt a shift in the dragon's direction, holding her. It was taking her down.
She felt knocked around at the rough landing. What happened next, she really couldn’t explain except to say, one minute she was looking up at two enormous dragons, then the next, two very naked men stood there. Callie blinked, trying to adjust to what just happened. The dragon bodies had shrunk and morphed into men.
One man, the one who had been the dragon that snatched her, stood at about six feet tall with shaggy brown hair and a goatee. His body was muscled and lean and she would have called him attractive if he didn’t stare at her with dark malevolent eyes. It made her shiver.
The other man was a little shorter but had broader shoulders. His hair was cut short to his scalp, and he also looked viciously at her. When he spoke with a growly voice, he sounded what she would think a dragon would sound like.
“Spider, why did you stop here? Playas is a dry lake. We can’t possibly find what we need here.”
“This is just the halfway point. I need to take a piss and she may need to do the same. I don’t want her doing her business mid-flight,” Spider answered.
She took the information in. Lake Playas was in New Mexico. It sounded like their destination was close, so they would probably stay in New Mexico. She could work with that.
“Piss if you need to, Callie,” the man ordered her.
He knew her name. Was this the asshole that broke into her apartment? But that wasn’t the question she asked as she stood on wobbly legs. “Where am I supposed to go?” There was very little water and around them looked muddy. It was dark too, so she wasn’t sure she could maneuver safely through this.
“You have a dress on. Just pull it up, squat, and go. We leave in two minutes.”
“Can you turn your backs?”
“No!” both men yelled
