Suddenly wide awake, Lana opened her hotel room door to see Nick, hair tousled and looking exhausted.
Fear gripped her heart as he stepped into the room and collapsed into the chair next to her bed.
2
Nick
As Nick sank into the soft chair next to Lana’s bed, pure exhaustion overwhelmed him. He had been going for almost forty-eight hours straight, trying to find the murderer. He was taught at the police academy that they couldn’t let their emotions become involved in the cases, or the job would eat them alive and they wouldn’t be able to see the case objectively. Yet, this one was personal and he was emotionally involved.
It was his job to speak for those who couldn’t speak for themselves, and he felt as though he were failing them.
He smiled at Lana wearily as she handed him a bottle of water. He could see the fear in her eyes and the worry on her face.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He nodded.
“I’m good. I’m just tired,” Nick answered.
“What is going on?” Lana asked. “What did you need to say so urgently?”
He took a deep breath, took a long swig of water, and swallowed hard.
“I found out some important information about Lucy. Lucy isn’t married to a human. She is married to a dragon shifter. Did you hear about what happened in Vardok’s kingdom a couple of years ago?”
“Briefly,” Lana said. “My father keeps track of the politics and such. I’m more on the practical side, watching out for the people’s well-being, making sure that everyone has food, medicine, and other things.”
“Brady’s sister, Alix, was forced to marry Vardok. Vardok was a monster. He held women captive to use them and torture them. He enslaved everyone in his kingdom, forcing them to wear magical bracelets that prevented them from shifting. He abused everyone and ruled through terror,” Nick explained.
“I do remember hearing about it. Wasn’t she already mated to someone else?” Lana asked.
Nick nodded. “She was. They managed to defeat Vardok, and as his queen, she took over as ruler of his kingdom. She released the enslaved and imprisoned Vardok’s dragon warriors. However, several of them escaped.”
Nick could see by the look on Lana’s face that she understood where he was going with his story.
“Are you saying…?” Lana asked, her voice breaking.
Nick nodded. “Lucy married the leader of Vardok’s soldiers—a mean, vicious dragon shifter named Dizag. Lana, this means that not only is Lucy in danger, you are in danger. I’m also afraid that there is a war coming. I can’t emphasize how evil they are.”
Nick sighed heavily.
They sat there in silence for a few minutes.
Curious about her companion and desperate to change the subject, Lana asked, “How did you end up being a detective on the police force in the human world?”
He smiled. “I was born in the human world. My mother is a human who fell in love with a lion shifter. Although offspring from humans and shifters are usually human, I was lucky enough to be born a shifter.”
“So, why do you live in the human world?” Lana asked.
“It’s all I’ve really known,” Nick answered. “I’ve been to the shifter world several times and it is beautiful. However, there is nothing in the world like watching basketball on television.”
Lana looked at him and raised her eyebrows.
“I’ll introduce you to television and basketball,” he said, laughing.
Nick appraised Lana. She was very beautiful. She wasn’t the “homecoming queen” type of beautiful, which had never attracted him. She was “girl next door” beautiful. She looked at him with intense green eyes, the color of pure emeralds. She had deep red hair. Her face was clear and he was glad she didn’t wear any makeup. It would only ruin her looks, rather than enhance them.
Lana excused herself to use the restroom. Then, she laid down on the bed, falling almost instantly asleep. Nick covered her up with the sheet and blanket.
He was too tired to drive home. Besides, he wanted to make sure that Lana was safe. He doubted if Dizag would attack her here and now, but one could never be too safe.
Nick rummaged through the closet for an extra blanket and tried to make himself comfortable in the recliner. He was so tired that it was almost impossible to sleep. However, he watched Lana’s chest rise and fall and listened to the soft sound of her breathing. Her hair formed a halo around her head.
She was an innocent in both worlds. She had no idea of the evil she was about to encounter. He wished that he could protect her from all it, but had a feeling she was about to get a crash course in all that was wicked in all of the worlds.
He smiled to himself. She won’t fail though. She won’t ever back down.
Nick sensed a strength in Lana that existed in a lot of humans and shifters. She would do what she had to do.
Then, his attention turned from her character to her body. The sheet and blanket did nothing to hide her shapeliness. Her breasts were the perfect size, leading to a lean belly. She was perfect there—not too thin and not too thick. Just right.
He felt himself stirring and he smiled to himself. Apparently, he wasn’t as tired as he thought.
Nick shifted into lion form, as he rested better that way. Then, purposely, he turned his mind back to the farm he grew up on, visually going over every inch of it in his mind until he drifted off to sleep.
For the first time in a long time, he slept long and hard, although there was one part of him that was always aware of every sound, every creak, every voice, and every footstep that vibrated in the hotel.
Nick woke up with a start, with Lana’s eyes on him. He smiled, instantly awake.
Shifting back into human form, he said, “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” she said. “Did you know that you talk in your sleep?”
“What did
