Sergeant at Arms Read online

  “Was he abusive?” Agent Anderson asked.

  “Not until his first attempt on my life which didn’t come until I broke things off with him. There was an incident outside the office where shots were fired. I managed to get back into the building and stayed there until the cops came. They assured me it wasn’t aimed at me, but was probably someone angry at the business. People often lost whatever they used for collateral when they weren’t able to pay back their payday loans. That happened often.”

  “Do you think the cops were in on it?” Agent Anderson asked.

  “No, they just drew the logical conclusions based on the available information. Joe was smooth when they came in to talk to him. He explained he’d received threats, he even had proof. There was no reason not to believe him and I had no way to prove otherwise. I wanted to believe he couldn’t have planned ahead like that. It meant he planned to kill me before he even knew I was dumping him.”

  “I can see where you might worry about that but I bet he knew you were leaving before you did. He’s an experienced man.”

  “I know you’re right.” Davy went on to explain about the guys in her apartment, what they’d said, and how the car salesman had been blown up in the car Joe had delivered to her.

  “That’s a good start. But it’s not enough proof to put him away,” Agent Anderson said.

  Ranger jumped in, “We have several discs of recorded meetings that this Joe he’d where he discusses in detail what he did including his part in the death of your partner.”

  Agent Anderson looked stunned. When she heard her partner mentioned her eyes got glassy and moist. She blinked it away. “I hope you really have that because it would make Doug rest peacefully if I could take his killers down,” she vowed. A tear escaped the corner of her eye but everyone ignored it. The woman was a fighter and she wouldn’t appreciate anyone calling attention to that sign of weakness.

  Ranger pulled out some discs and handed them to the gent. They weren’t the same ones Davy had used. It was smart to make copies. She grabbed them with shaking hands and just held them staring at them. Maybe she would get some closure once everyone involved had been punished. Davy hoped so because she had felt for the woman when her boyfriend/partner had been killed. It was always hard to lose someone but violently seemed worse. They spoke a little more and Agent Anderson turned off her recorder. “Thank you,” she said as she held her hand out to Davy. She nodded at the men and she left clutching the discs like they were gold.

  “You think it will be enough?” Ranger asked.

  “It should be, but it will take time to get through the trial. It may be years before he’s punished,” Davy said.

  Jarel said, “Well now that this is done, or at least your part in it, I want us to go somewhere and give you a chance to change.”

  “I thought you said I couldn’t be a dragon?”

  “No, I said the odds were against a total change. Some of the mates change at least partially and I’m sure you have. You went through a longer and more painful change than is usual,” Jarel said. “I want Ranger to come with us in case you have any problems.”

  “What can he do that you can’t?” she asked.

  Jarel flushed. “Ranger is a noble and if you change to dragon form and get stuck, he can help you back to human form.”

  “Oh, okay,” she said. When had she turned into such a conversationalist? Was Jarel feeling bad because he couldn’t help her change? “Let’s go then.”

  They left, went to the elevator, and headed out the back door that only employees usually used. They got into a SUV with the casinos name on it and headed out of town. “The casino owns some land and it’s out in this direction. It’s isolated enough no one should see us,” Ranger explained.

  Jarel sat up front with Ranger and Davy sat in back feeling nervous and worried about the whole thing. What if she didn’t change at all? What would Jarel think? Would that make him unhappy with her? She hoped not because she believed love was growing between them and she didn’t want to lose that. She looked out the window unseeing as they got closer to their destination. Ranger turned onto another road and it wasn’t long before they pulled into a dirt driveway. They drove until they were far enough from the road it wasn’t visible.

  “We’re here,” Jarel announced unnecessarily as Ranger turned the engine off, opened the door, and stepped outside.

  Davy got out to and followed Jarel while Ranger stayed with the SUV. They walked away a short distance. “You’ll need to take a few calming breaths and search inside for your dragon. It will make its presence known. When it does, you call it. You will feel the energy washing over you as the change comes about. Sometimes a first change will hurt but after the first one, it’s exciting and almost like a sexual peak.”

  She wasn’t sure how much to believe of what Jarel said. He’d had no idea how much their joining and her body adapting would hurt her. It sounded like she might be the first human to even go through the whole bonding so it didn’t sound like they had any idea what it would be like. Hopefully it wouldn’t cause the same agonizing pain that the bonding had or leave the same lasting ill effects for days. It wouldn’t be hard to talk her out of trying this.

  “Are you sure I should do this?”

  “If you wait, it can cause problems.”

  “Great, I’m screwed either way,” she mumbled.

  “Please, Davy. This is important.”

  “Okay, I’ll give it a shot.” She breathed in deeply trying to relax. In through the nose out through the mouth, she’d heard that somewhere. It seemed to be working because she saw a small golden dragon. “You’re so beautiful,” she whispered. Come to me!

  “Dear goddess,” Jarel marveled. “You are so gorgeous, my mate.”

  She opened her eyes unsure of what she might see. She looked down at golden scales and clawed feet. Oh my God I am a dragon! She tried to talk but she only made growly noises. She flapped her wings. Yes, there were wings. She wished Jarel could take a picture of her because the only things she was sure of was that she was small compared to his dragon and golden in color though she didn’t know if she had other colors as well.

  “I’m sorry that you can’t fly here. The risk is too great that someone will see you. When we get home, we will fly together. We will be leaving in a few days since all the men have potential mates and all but one have agreed to go back with us. Morel will be given two more days and then he will have to go. Try to change back now. Think of your human self.”

  She did and she called out to her human self and she felt an odd cessation of feeling just before the change took hold. It made her realize how much more sensitive to the environment dragons were. It also made her excited to experience all that and flight. She thought back to what Jarel had told her.

  “Will Morel get another chance to find a mate?”

  “Possibly, it depends on how things work out. We had an arrangement for mates for many centuries with a nearby planet, but they had a natural catastrophe and had to abandon their world. That’s why we came to Earth.”

  “Oh, and here I thought you heard Earth girls were easy.”

  Jarel laughed. “I think I’m beginning to understand your Earth humor. We were told about the movie and not to have those perceptions because all Earth females are unique.”

  “I should have probably made you wait longer, but I couldn’t help myself. You were just too hot.”

  He took her arm and they walked back to the SUV. “I’m glad you didn’t make me wait any longer. It was painful to wait at all.”

  It made her happy to hear him admit that. Ranger was waiting patiently when they returned. They all got back in and he drove them back the way they’d come.

  “How did her first change go?” Ranger asked.

  “You won’t believe me,” Jarel said.

  “Tell me anyway.”

  “She is a golden dragon and she has a wing span proportional to her body.”

  “Truly?” Ranger asked in hushed to
nes.

  “Why is that such a big deal?” Davy asked.

  “Your wing span indicated the ability to fly. Your color is rare as are the swords found on your sides,” Jarel noted.

  “You didn’t mention those before. What do they mean?” she asked.

  “You are warrior class,” Ranger answered.

  “Why is that a big deal?” she wondered.

  “We’ve never had a female warrior before,” Ranger said. “If you have the swords, you are a warrior.”

  “Cool, but how does that really change anything? I was planning on doing surveillance on your planet anyway once I was trained. Isn’t that already warrior’s work?” she asked. She could tell by their expressions as they both looked in the rearview mirror that they hadn’t considered the truth in that. “You do know that we have female soldiers here, right?” she asked.

  “I suppose you are right,” Ranger admitted.

  They were back at the casino now and they headed in the back door. She had done everything she had intended to and now there was nothing to do but wait for the results. She hoped they got Joe by the balls and never let him go.

  The next two days passed memorably as she spent all her time with Jarel. Morel finally talked his lady into going with them and everyone packed their bags so they could go. Ranger promised to keep her informed of what happened with Joe’s case and to take the letter she’d written to her family. She’d told them she’d eloped with a foreign dignitary from a small barely known country. She would keep in touch and maybe they would be able to visit eventually.

  They got on a shuttle and rode to the spaceship and she was interested in everything she saw. The thing was huge and she was impressed. She was allowed to visit the bridge and Jarel was able to answer all her questions. He worked on the bridge when he accompanied his emperor on one of his trips. Even though she loved the ship, she was glad when they were approaching the Jarel’s home world. The planet was beautiful from space and the water was purple, the land green and in some areas black. Jarel said the black was desert sands.

  Now it was time to catch a shuttle ride to the planet.

  Epilogue

  Two months later and she was still as excited to be here as the day they’d arrived. She would start training tomorrow on the equipment they used here, their technology being a little more advanced than that of Earth. Jarel had insisted she take time to adjust to his world and she had to admit things were different here. They were in tune with the planet and had always been. Many cities were located in mountain ranges because they lived inside the mountains. In some of the wooded areas, locals lived in elaborate tree houses.

  All their buildings were made of local materials and blended in with the area they were located. Interiors were sometimes much more sophisticated than expected. The emperor lived in a massive cave system but the interior of the cave looked like the inside of a mansion. Jarel had told her much of his planets wealth had come when they had excavated more of the mountain to make homes and businesses. It seemed their mountains were made of gold, a metal considered precious almost everywhere. There were a few of the smaller hills that were made of a metal called Reezit which spaceships were made from. It was one of the top five strongest metals known in their part of space. None of the top five metal were abundant.

  She and Jarel had gone flying and the attention they drew was unbelievable. She didn’t care, she had become addicted to the feeling of soaring through the air beside her mate. There was nothing that compared to it. Her relationship with Jarel improved every day. He was perfect and she was glad he was hers.

  Yesterday, Ranger had sent a message that Joe had been arrested and he was in jail without bond awaiting trial. She had been thrilled with the news. Joe Sr. had been leaving them alone and right now he had his hands full of an FBI investigation. Some of Junior’s activities had been connected to him and he was fighting to stay out of jail himself. He was finally getting some of the justice he’d deserved for so long.

  Jarel had taken her to the desert, well they’d flown there and she’d seen and touched the black sand. It had been incredible. He’d taken her to an oasis with a waterfall and they gone swimming under the two moons. Jarel was the most romantic male she’d ever met. She’d met his family, five brothers, and his parents the day after they’d arrived. His parents didn’t look any older than he and his brothers. His family had been wonderful but it made her feel bad about having to leave hers behind. She had several single female cousins, she cast an eye at all of Jarel’s single brothers. Who knew what might happen?

  “I saw that look you gave my brothers. Should I be concerned?” Jarel asked.

  “When did you say your first brother goes to Earth for a mate?”

  “It will be about a year,” he said.

  “I have a cousin I think he should visit before he meets anyone else.”

  “So you’re a matchmaker now?”

  “I just have a feeling.”

  “We will tell him before he leaves.”

  She leaned back into his arms. Whether her cousin joined her or not, she would make a life here. She loved her mate, she had a career she could pursue here, and tomorrow while Jarel worked she would see a healer. She suspected she would have some good news for her mate tomorrow night. Life had gone from crazy scary to downright wonderful and she wouldn’t change a thing if she could.

  Winged Beasts Book 1

  Captain of the Guards

  Romo was excited as he headed for Earth. He was sure his mate awaited him there. All he had to do was find her. How hard could that be? Surely the goddess would assist him in his search. He suspected he found her when Ranger asked him to keep an eye on certain a dark haired, green eyed vixen.

  Bree was looking for her cousin, Davy. She didn’t believe that story about her running away with some dignitary, who did something like that? Not her cousin Davy who as the practical one. She would find her if she had to tear this place apart. She wasn’t going to let that blue eyed devil distract her either. She knew the manager had told him to keep an eye on her and that just made her more suspicious.

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  If you want to read more books by Crystal Dawn, check out:

  Blue Moon Pack Series

  Planet Amazon Series I, II, III, and IV

  Cousins of the Moon Series 1 and 2

  Legends of the White Werewolf Series 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5

  Keepers of the Land Series 1, 2, 3 4, and 5

  Frozen Origin Series 1, 2, and 3

  Frozen Origin Quickies 1

  Frozen Holidays 2 PK Eudoras & Zelus

  Frozen Origins Love 2PK Adonis & Aphroditus

  The Southwest Illinois Pack Series

  The Wilde Pack Series

  The Strong Pack 1 & 2

  The Red Wolf Series

  Lucifer Frozen Origin Demons 1

  White Wolf Matriarchs Series

  Witch Way Series

  The Warriors of the Vinii by Corre Deepe

  Xanterie

  Can a bad day turn your life around?

  Crash landing on Earth seemed the worst thing that could happen to Xan, his crew and their battered ship. It was only the beginning. After nearly freezing to death, Xan’s savior, in the form of a little Earth female, is driving him crazy. He doesn’t want to want her, but he can’t seem to help it. Edie wonders if she’s gone crazy when she wakes up looking into the glowing red eyes of a naked, not quite human male. He seems determined to keep her with him, but she’s just as determined to go.

  www.amazon.com/dp/B00QUE
PI80