“Appreciate it.”
Liam went back to his own car and pondered. Flores said Eva had left the building, but the taxi driver was still waiting for her. Uneasiness slipped in. Eva was in trouble; he had a bad feeling about it. Could Eva have sneaked on the taxi driver? And if she did, how had she got a ride? She didn’t have any money. Something wasn’t right. Somehow she had disappeared between the Arcana Foundation and the taxi. Either that or Flores had lied. His gut told him somebody had snatched Eva from the Arcana Foundation on her way to the taxi.
He exhaled a deep breath. There was one way to track her. He could partially shift and track her by her scent. As a dragon, he could track someone’s whereabouts solely by scent if he was in his beastly form. And he remembered Eva’s scent. Rich, feminine, and heady. Liam concentrated and summoned his power. He allowed himself to partially shift. His arms covered in scales and the wings on his back threatened to erupt. He halted it and focused it on his sense of smell. A thousand aromas and stenches surged into his nostrils—the scent of the city and its people. He separated them one by one and recalled Eva’s from memory. Seconds later, he locked on her scent. He started the SUV and followed Eva’s trail.
*
Her head hurt like a bitch. The combination of constant pounding of a headache and the butterflies in her stomach made her queasy. Her muscles screamed in pain, cramping, bringing tears into her eyes. Being cooped in a trunk made her paranoid. What if she ran out of oxygen? She couldn’t breathe freely. It was hot in the trunk and sweat plastered her face, scalp, and all over her body. She felt as if she was being baked in an oven. If she didn’t die from dehydration and lack of air, these men would execute her like before. This time they would do the job right. They would mortally wound. Why, she whined in self-pity, did I have to have amnesia. If she remembered everything, she wouldn’t be so foolish in trying to discover who she was and she would have stayed holed up in Liam’s house, safe and secure. She was furious with herself. Of all the bone-headed things she had done in life, this was the most all-time epic stupidity. What was she thinking? Out of the sanctuary and into the gators’ mouth.
And the worst part was she wouldn’t be able to see Liam anymore. Even though he’d lied to her, he had saved her life, giving her a second chance and had been nothing but kind to her. She’d give anything she owned to be able to see him one more time. But that wasn’t possible. These vors had taken her trunk into a vehicle, and when they stopped, they would erase her from the surface of the Earth. And she’d be nothing but a Jane Doe corpse found in the ditch or floating in the river.
After what seemed forever, the vehicle stopped. Eva was frozen with terror. Her heart sank to her guts. This was it. Oh, how she hated being so helpless. She wished she had the courage to fight for her life. Even if she had the courage, who was she against the ruthless vors who professionally snuffed people for a living? She clutched her fingers hard until her knuckles were all white. She didn’t want to die.
The back of the vehicle swung open and someone dragged her trunk down. It crashed on the ground causing her to bounce and smash her head inside it. It fucking hurt. Eva cursed. Moments later, her trunk was opened wide. Eva blinked and inhaled as much air as her lungs could hold. Two towering men stood before her. She felt numb all over.
One of them yanked her out of the trunk with brute force. Eva whimpered in pain. Her knee scraped the latches of the trunk. She stumbled face-first on the grass. She looked around wildly. They had taken her to the same place where they had shot her. They were in a clearing surrounded by dense trees and bushes, near a big river. Even though it was daytime, the surroundings looked gloomy. The place was silent, creepy, and secluded. A perfect day for murder and dumping a body.
The man who yanked her from the trunk spoke. His accent was thick and hard to understand. “I don’t know how you returned without a scratch, we’re pretty sure we killed you. I guess we’ll just have to do it right this time.”
“Please, don’t kill me,” she begged through the gag. Her voice was muffled.
“Is she some kind of freak?” the other man piped up. He took out a large gun and screwed on a silencer.
“What do you mean?”
“A freak that can’t die.”
“Nyet. No one can’t die. We put a bullet in the head, she dies. If she doesn’t…“ the man grinned with satisfaction, “…we chop off her head. No head, no life.”
Eva stopped breathing. She felt cold all over. Chop off her head? Could this get any worse? She wanted to plead but no voice came from her throat. Terror seeped to her bones. Please, God, I don’t want to die… Silently, she prayed for a miracle.
The man with the gun examined his piece and pointed it to her head. “Well, do svidaniya.”
Eva shut her eyes automatically. She shook. A quiet gunshot wheezed, and then a big swoosh reverberated the air around them. Bodies dropped to the ground with loud thuds.
She waited for the pain, but it never came. What’s going on?
Cautiously, Eva opened her eyes. She gasped and tried to scoot backward. She tumbled sideway because of the bonds on her ankles. Her heart pounded in her throat at the sight in front of her.
It was a huge beast.
A dragon.
Its scales were deep green as if it was made from emeralds. It towered before her with its long wingspan stretched out like a majestic arch. Its brilliant green eyes were luminously bright, staring down at her.
Eva forgot to breathe. The beast was too otherworldly beautiful for words.
Liam?
There was blood on his talons. Her gaze drifted to the fallen vors. The men sprawled on the ground, unmoving. Were they dead? Had Liam killed them?
The dragon shimmered. The scales glittered against the sun’s ray like precious jewels. It slowly transformed into the man who had saved her life. The muzzle receded. The wings folded and vanished. Talons and claws turned into hands. And Liam was naked. Apparently, shifters didn’t retain their clothing when they changed.
Eva wanted to tear her eyes from him but she couldn’t. She was too happy to see him.
“Are you all right?” Liam asked.
Eva muffled under the gag. He took it off. “I’m okay.”
He untied her bonds. His face darkened when he saw the bruises on her ankles and wrists. And her bleeding knee. “They hurt you.”
“Not much.”
Liam looked grim. He rose. “Can you walk?”
Eva tried to stand. Her legs were wobbly from being confined in a trunk. Liam helped her regain her footing.