Soldier Dragon's Second Chance Read online

  To recreate that connection she’d felt in her dragon clan, she’d tried to replicate the feeling of belonging with humans. When she’d found the motorcycle club, she’d been instantly drawn to their tight-knit group. She’d been inducted, and become a full member, even before she began dating the president. She’d also become the de facto peacemaker in the group. When two members had a disagreement, large or small, they came to Carolina.

  They liked her no-nonsense attitude. They liked that she always listened to both sides. They were a good family. But she longed for the ties she’d had to her own kind.

  She’d resisted dating for a long time, but Jim had eventually worn her down. She cared for him, but it wasn’t love. She had one true mate, and none could ever take his place. But he was gone forever. And he wasn’t coming back.

  She forced her mind back to the present, where she was interrupting a crime.

  Bent over, the man twisted, trying to look up at her, but she never let him see her face. “Let me go,” he said.

  She tried not to breathe too deeply. He reeked of cigarette smoke, and the alley behind the hotel stank of stale food and urine. “When you’ve learned a lesson.”

  “Lady, you’re insane.” He was breathing hard. “What lesson?”

  She wasn’t insane. Just empty. She’d known love once, and she missed it, every single minute of every single day. “I can stand here all night.”

  “What are you? Some kind of karate master?” He asked, his voice strained.

  “I’m someone who has more skills than you do.”

  He heaved his chest, exhaling. “Fine. I shouldn’t have threatened him.”

  “Right. You shouldn’t have. You can do better.”

  “I will. I swear. I'm going to leave him alone.”

  “Try again. I'll give you a hint. You're going to resign from your job. When you find a new job, you're not going to break any rules. If you do break a rule, you're not going to blame the person who's honest, got it?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, I got it.”

  “Good. I’ll be watching you,” Carolina said. “Now stand up, and walk away. Don’t look back.”

  He did as she said. They always did. Something inside the humans she threatened must have recognized that she was prepared to follow through on her promises. So far, not one of them had stepped out of line again.

  She stood in front of the victim. He was even younger than she was. “Are you okay?”

  He nodded. “Thank you. I really thought he was going to kill me. I think my boss must be crooked because he's the only person I told.”

  Carolina considered that. “Do you work here at the Venetian?”

  “Yes.”

  “I'll see what I can do about that, but I can't make any promises.” There were members of the club who could help straighten the boss out.

  The guy rubbed the back of his neck. “My coworkers told me to keep my mouth shut.”

  “No. You did the right thing. We can't let monsters control us.”

  The younger man scoffed. “Easy for you to say. You're obviously really badass.”

  “You can be a badass too,” she assured him. “Take some self-defense classes, and maybe some martial arts. Judo, jujitsu, Krav Maga. They won't save you from a bullet, but you might actually be able to disarm someone if they're in close range.”

  “That's a good idea. Is there any way I can thank you?”

  “No. Just keep being yourself,” she said. And then she walked away.

  She liked it when she could protect someone.

  Because she’d learned the hard way that sometimes, there was nothing that could protect you. Until she was twenty, she had thought herself indestructible. Then the wizard showed up. He proved them all wrong.

  They were not indestructible. Not one bit.

  After she lost her clan, she had spent her first year alone trying to find a way to guard against the use of dark magic. She had scoured the internet and every old bookstore she could find. But she had not been successful.

  She had put her search aside. For now, she was going to run her bar, and ride her motorcycle, and when she could, she would stop crime and kick ass. That would have to be enough.

  She made her way back to her bike, planning to cruise through the city for another hour or so. She threw her leg over the bike, and that’s when she felt it.

  Another dragon shifter was here. In Vegas.

  She knew about the Rock Star. Garrett Hudson. But this wasn't him.

  For years, she had avoided Garrett. She liked it that way. She did not want to be found by another shifter. What if her enemy was looking for her? Or what if she had teamed up with another dragon shifter and corrupted her mind? It was too painful to be around other shifters. Maybe one day she would be able to face them again.

  This was another dragon. A new one. This one felt female to her.

  She would not be cruising tonight. She did not want to be found. She headed straight back to her little house in the desert.

  4

  Davi

  “Freeze!” David yelled.

  But the suspect did not stop moving.

  Inside the Skopje train station, Davi ran after the perpetrator, careful to keep his pace human-like. For the first four years of his military service, he had participated in deployments to Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Bosnia.

  But then the government needed help at the border, and then later at the airport and train station. His hearing and his sense of smell gave him an advantage. He could hear the thundering heartbeat of a human who was lying. He could smell when they were nervous. He could hear their whispered plans.

  If the reason for their distress was because they were a refugee, then he tried to get them help, and find them some resources. But if they were coming to harm his adopted country or its citizens, then he had no mercy. He was satisfied to see them punished.

  But this would be his last arrest, at least for some time. He had put in the paperwork for a leave of absence after his talk with Brynne in May at Niall and Nora’s wedding, and now, two months later, he was finally ready.

  Davi had served his adopted country of Macedonia for almost five years. He’d been proud of his work as a soldier, but his time with the Macedonian military had come to an end, at least for now. Maybe he’d join the military again one day, when he found the place where he’d settle.

  For now, there was only one place for him to go—Las Vegas, Nevada. That was the only lead he had. But he was grateful for it. Without Brynne’s help, he’d have nothing to go on.

  “I said freeze,” Davi shouted.

  He rushed forward and tackled the perpetrator. He could sense no fear from the man, just unbridled rage. The man had a bundle of C-4, and all the ingredients to make a bomb, and had somehow gotten through security. Davi would apprehend him, and then he’d hand him over to the investigators.

  “Jebo ti sve svoje!” the man spat at him.

  Davi didn’t exactly understand the phrase, but he knew it was a curse, and he recognized the language: Bosnian. He’d caught terrorists from all over the world, and he had no sympathy. Killing innocent people, no matter the cause, was never going to be acceptable.

  As someone who’d suffered at the hands of another, Davi was tempted to end this man’s life with his bare hands right there on the concrete floor of the train station.

  But he was not an executioner. He would let the authorities handle him.

  After he’d handed the suspect over, and filled out his last set of paperwork for the Macedonian Army, he visited his favorite site—the Skopje Fortress.

  Built from limestone and travertine, it sat on the highest point in the city, and overlooked the Vardar River. It was constructed in the sixth century, and the ancient feel gave Davi comfort when he’d first arrived in Northern Macedonia all those years ago.

  Although no dragon shifters had probably ever lived here, he felt connected to the past and the future when he ran his hands over the rough stone walls.

 
He walked the streets one last time, then headed directly to the airport.

  Thanks to Brynne’s travels, at least he knew that a dragon-shifter had been in Las Vegas at one point, so this would be his starting point. Just as Brynne had predicted, Kellan had insisted that he take the private jet.

  Twenty hours later, he was in the United States for the first time, in one of its most iconic cities. Las Vegas was the exact opposite of Skopje. It was the opposite of the parts of Ireland he’d visited too.

  It was loud, garish and bright. The scent of cigarette smoke was ever-present. Women stood on street corners, wearing fishnet hose and stiletto heels. Men stood close by, wearing leather pants and mesh shirts.

  Casinos were on every corner, down every street. Sleep-deprived tourists wandered in and out at all hours of the night. Some staggered, still drunk from the night before.

  The sun beat down. It was still early, and it was already 85 degrees Fahrenheit. He’d never felt heat like this in Europe, not in late July. Apparently this was nothing special—Brynne told him August often brought temperatures of 115.

  He had exited the taxi at the beginning of the strip, wanting to walk to the Bellagio Hotel. He needed to familiarize himself with the layout of the city. Already he missed Skopje, where mountains and lush green fields surrounded the city.

  Here, dry, dusty sand stretched out beyond the city bounds, and the mountains blended in with the horizon. The buildings were a mishmash of steel and glass and forced opulence, although Skopje had its own weird mixture of modern architecture too.

  And he knew in his heart that the place where he’d come from in Portugal was stunning, even if he couldn’t remember the details. It wouldn’t even be a fair comparison.

  Clearly humans saw something worthwhile in Vegas, because they came in droves. If he was going to stay here, he was going to have to adapt and quit finding fault.

  He stopped to touch a palm tree. These were different from the date palms he’d seen in the Middle East during one of his deployments. He pressed his palm against its weird bark when he felt it—there was a dragon shifter nearby.

  He closed his eyes. The presence felt like Niall’s had the day he and Nora stepped into the train station Davi was guarding. So the shifter must be close. He opened his eyes and looked around. He was drawn to a sprawling building that read ‘MGM Grand.’

  He made his way into the lobby, and his nose was assaulted by the pungent scent of too much perfume and cologne. The color gold was everywhere. People with fancy clothes and women with high heels strolled by. Many of them carried drinks, and many carried huge shopping bags stuffed with clothing.

  Davi had to focus. He kept walking, zeroing in on the feeling of the shifter. He walked outside, scanning the expansive pool area. This shifter felt male to him, and unfamiliar. But maybe he’d find a clue to his past.

  No, the shifter wasn’t near the pools. The shifter was up higher. On autopilot, Davi got in the elevator. He had a feeling the shifter was at the very top of the building—the penthouse.

  Maybe the shifter was trying to pretend he was on top of a cliff. Davi had been living in landlocked Macedonia, never understanding why he often felt restless. Once he was in Ireland, and his Irish friends had taken him to their spot on the Cliffs of Moher, he understood. A feeling of peace had washed over him.

  He could only imagine what it would feel like in Portugal, his true home. But he wasn’t ready to go there yet.

  If this shifter was in the Penthouse, then he or she must be very wealthy. Davi hadn’t stayed at many hotels that he knew of, but he was aware that he would need an access code to the penthouse. He wasn’t going to waste time trying to get one. He pressed the button to take him to the next highest floor. Once he was there, he walked into the stairwell and climbed the stairs to the Penthouse fire exit.

  If he pulled the doors open, he’d set off an alarm. He would also be caught on any number of surveillance cameras. It didn’t matter. He could easily escape. If he’d had more time, he could have scaled the side of the building and landed on the penthouse balcony. But he was tired of waiting.

  Davi had spent years being careful and methodical. He’d had all of his impulses trained out of him in the army. That training ended now.

  He grabbed the door and yanked it open. To his surprise, no alarms sounded. Maybe they were only alerting security. He raced up the flight of stairs and was met with several more doors and locks. They were all easily broken.

  In front of him stood one more metal door that looked like a vault. He could feel the shifter now. His heartbeat picked up. Was he finally about to meet someone from his childhood? Would he help Davi regain his memories? He couldn’t sense a female, but he hadn’t given up hope on finding his friend here too.

  He ripped the door off its hinges. Any shifter would be able to hear him by now, no matter how good the sound-proofing was. “I know you can hear me,” he called out.

  Within seconds, an equally strong arm was closing around his throat.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” a male voice said. “I just had to call security and tell them it was a false alarm.”

  Deflated, Davi shoved the male off of him. “You are not her,” he said. He had never met this shifter before, he was sure of it. And he had an American accent. There was no hit of Portuguese hidden in his tone.

  The guy was shirtless, with long wavy hair. He chuckled and looked down at his muscular bare chest. “No. I’m definitely not a her.” He waved his arm. “Now that you’ve ripped up my hotel room, come on in.”

  Davi glanced back at the mangled doors. “You do not need security.”

  “Yeah, but my manager doesn't know that. There was a big fire here around forty years ago, and people were trapped. They’ve upgraded. My agent insisted we have a fire safety plan, as well as a bunch of locking doors so no one can break in.” He laughed again. “They’re always on my ass about my flagrant disregard for my own safety.”

  “Who are you?” Davi asked. He knew nothing of American celebrities.

  “I’m Garrett Hudson.”

  “That tells me nothing.”

  “I’m a singer. I have a band.” He picked up a flyer and handed it to Davi.

  This shifter was the lead singer of a rock band. “I’m usually on tour, but when I’m not, I perform concerts here in Vegas.” Garrett spread his arms wide. “And this is my home.” He nudged Davi’s arm. “You want anything to drink?”

  Davi knew what rock music was from watching TV and listening to the other soldiers talk. But he’d never been to a concert. Some of the soldiers had gone to see a popular artist in Budapest not long ago. But Davi didn’t want to be that close to the speakers. He wasn’t sure how Garrett could stand the screeching noise with his shifter hearing. “Yes please. Whatever you’re having.”

  Garrett disappeared for a moment into a cavernous kitchen, and came back with two glasses of bourbon.

  Davi accepted the drink. “Do you have a clan?” he asked.

  Garrett pulled open the balcony door and ushered Davi outside. “Yeah. They’re up in the Pacific Northwest. Cape Mears, in Oregon. You been there?”

  Standing against one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, Davi took a sip of the bourbon. “No. This is my first trip to the United States.”

  Garrett flung himself onto a plush lounger and sprawled out. “So that’s why you haven’t heard of me.”

  Was this shifter offended at his lack of international fame? Davi was hardly a good measure of what others would know. “I don’t keep up with pop culture.”

  “Where are you from then?” Garrett leaned back and closed his eyes, sighing as the sun beat down on him.

  “Originally, Portugal. But I’ve been living in Macedonia for five years.”

  Garrett opened one eye to study him for a second. “You military?”

  “Yes. How can you tell?”

  “I’ve got buddies in the military. Doesn’t matter where, the mannerisms are the same.” Garrett patted th
e seat next to him. “Come on. Sit down. You’re making me anxious standing there all stiff and proper.”

  Davi perched on the edge of a lounger while he considered that. He supposed he was easy to spot with his military training. “Why are you here instead of with your clan?” He asked.

  “I like it here. I visited Vegas when I was five years old. My clan mixes with humans quite a bit. We have our own space, but a lot of the adults commute to the town to work. So my dad’s a human dentist, and he had a work conference out here. I came, and I fell in love.”

  That sounded like the Texas dragons. They had their own small clan, but they all spent quite a bit of time living a human lifestyle.

  Davi made a face. He frowned at the haze that had descended on the city. The air was thick with dust and smoke, and the skyline was barely visible, even to his shifter eyes. “What is there to love?”

  Garrett punched his arm. “Dude. You’re insulting my town.”

  “I apologize.” Clearly he was still missing something.

  “As I was saying, I like it. It’s a fun place. There’s always something going on. There’s always someone awake.

  “So you are a musician.”

  “Yep.” Garrett sat up and smiled as he told Davi all about his music career. That seemed to be the only topic that interested him.

  “Are you in contact with any other dragon shifters?”

  “Just the ones from my clan up north.”

  “Are any of them here?”

  “No. They share the same opinion that you do. And they think it's dirty and stinky.”

  “I will not insult your town again. However, I am here for a reason. I'm looking for another shifter. A female.”

  “Yeah? I've felt a few shifters come through town a time or two. No idea if they were male or female though.”

  “And you did not investigate?”

  “Nah. They're minding their own business, and I'm minding mine.”

  Garret's words were those of a man who had never been alone in the world. He had never wondered where he came from and who he belonged to. Davi had spent five years not knowing who he was or what he was. He’d had no name for his superhuman strength. or his finely tuned hearing. He hadn't understood why the mountains had appealed to him or why he liked driving the military Jeep at top speeds with the top down.