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  Lorenzo was only mildly shocked that she’d pieced the plan together. He figured the moment he suggested she come with him, he’d given it away.

  Cassie got to her feet. She began to pace the room in agitation. “It’s a vanishing act, isn’t it? You’re just going to disappear. You’re going to bail on everything and everyone! You’re going to start again somewhere else, with a new name and nice Swiss bank accounts.”

  She nodded to herself, walking more quickly as his sense of vulnerability grew. “You’d have to do that regularly if you lived for centuries. It’s the only way to ensure that there are never any questions about your longevity. It makes perfect sense.” She pivoted to confront him, daring him to toss his secrets at her feet. “That’s why you don’t care what happens to me.”

  “I do!”

  “Prove it!”

  Lorenzo couldn’t think of a thing to say.

  “Of course,” she said, nodding. “You leave nothing to chance!” Cassie shook her finger at him. “Which means you’re not risking anything this time either.” She folded her arms across her chest, looking so determined and volatile that Lorenzo wanted to seduce her all over again. Her voice had dropped even lower than its usual husky tones, once again messing with his composure. “Especially not anything important to you, like your life.”

  Lorenzo felt himself shimmering on the cusp of change. He was that annoyed and alarmed—and aroused. Damn it. He hadn’t expected her to figure out every single detail on the spot—and look so good doing it. She was everything he could want in a mate.

  If, in fact, he’d ever wanted one.

  Cassie tipped her head to regard him, fearless in challenging him. Her tone was fierce. “Who will be the corpse? Your father?”

  “No!”

  “You’re not going to just bail on him, too?”

  “I have made arrangements for him to remain here.” Lorenzo didn’t like that plan any better than Cassie obviously did, but his father’s lack of cooperation had necessitated compromise.

  “Uh-huh.” She gestured to the atrium. “What if Balthasar comes back? Who will defend Salvatore? Your dad looks like his fighting days are over, I have to say.”

  Lorenzo’s temper flared. She was itemizing the weak points in his plan, identifying the precise areas that troubled him, and forcing him to confront them all over again. “He won’t follow the plan!”

  “So you’re just going to leave him behind.” She gave him a hot look. “I have to say that I expected better of you. I thought you had some ability to care. But you’re going to look after number one, cut and run for your own convenience. You’re just like my dad. There’s nothing special about you at all.”

  Her disgust was clear, and it angered Lorenzo. He’d seen how hurt she was by her father’s behavior and how deep the wound was from losing her mother.

  He was not like human men, or her rat of a father.

  He was not selfish and heartless.

  And he couldn’t bear to have Cassie think as much.

  It would have been nice if she’d at least listened to his plans to save her! Lorenzo got to his feet and jabbed a finger through the air in her direction, wanting all the while to do something better than argue. “I don’t owe you any stories. . . .”

  She seized his arm, completely unafraid of him. Didn’t she understand what he was? “Wrong! You’re planning to fake your own death, to head off secretly to start your life anew someplace else, with as little baggage as possible. But this baby is baggage you can’t leave behind. What if I terminate the pregnancy?”

  Lorenzo was shocked. “You wouldn’t!”

  “You’re not doing a whole lot to change my mind about the importance of having more dragon shifters in our world.”

  That was it.

  “Your world?” Lorenzo demanded. “We Pyr are the custodians of the earth and the guardians of the four elements. We are the ones who keep the balance and ensure the future. You humans are the vermin intent upon destroying everything you touch. . . .”

  Even as he said the words, he knew he didn’t believe them any longer.

  But what did he believe?

  He was talking about the Pyr as if he was of their number. And yet he had never been willing to follow Erik.

  What was the firestorm doing to him?

  He thought of the prophecy again—his father’s assertion and the fact that Marco had peered into his thoughts but had not wiped out the flashfire song from his memory—and fell silent.

  Was the firestorm going to make a dragon out of him?

  The idea astounded Lorenzo, partly because it made such unexpected sense.

  “Vermin?” Cassie echoed, her eyes narrowing. He saw the flash of her anger and didn’t blame her one bit.

  He had acted shamelessly.

  But he couldn’t just abandon everything in a heartbeat, not after he’d spent nearly a year preparing for this spectacle. . . . He had to think. He had to regroup and modify his plan. He needed a bit of time.

  Cassie continued, not interested in giving him one minute to think. “I don’t see you defending anything except yourself. Selfishness is the definition of vermin in my book.”

  Lorenzo knew he couldn’t think fast enough to save the situation. “You don’t understand. . . .”

  “No, but I know you won’t tell me,” she retorted. “And if you won’t confide in me, I won’t play along.” He admired that about her, that she gave as good as she got, that she was unafraid of him or his truth.

  No. Lorenzo more than admired Cassie.

  He loved her.

  She was the one turning his world inside out, not the firestorm.

  Erik, to Lorenzo’s chagrin, had been right that Cassie had already captured him. As much as Lorenzo would have preferred otherwise, his father had been right about his ability to fall in love with Cassie.

  It was breathtakingly inconvenient. He could only have her if he trusted her with all the details of his escape plan.

  Which looked a whole lot like repeating the past. Hadn’t he confided in Caterina at exactly the same point in his first escape? He could be setting himself up for the same disappointment all over again.

  Cassie glared at him. “You want me to cut you some slack, feel free to share the details that will change my mind.” She eyed him, expectant, toe tapping, but Lorenzo couldn’t find the words.

  It was all happening too quickly, the net of his assumptions collapsing around him like a house of cards in a stiff breeze.

  Was this what Angelina had done to Salvatore?

  Now that he knew her, what would be the point of his life without Cassie? He glanced at the painting of his mother’s home and a lump rose in his throat at the notion of his own future.

  Alone.

  Aging.

  Fading, because the firestorm had come and gone.

  “What happened to her?” Cassie asked quietly.

  Lorenzo started. She must have followed his gaze.

  Trust Cassie to find the heart of the matter. Trust Cassie to guess what he was really thinking. For centuries, he’d believed himself inscrutable and untouchable. For centuries, his shields had been impenetrable. He’d thought himself above it all, invulnerable. But it had only taken the right woman and the heat of the firestorm to prove just how wrong he had been.

  Lorenzo couldn’t summon a word to his lips.

  Cassie smiled, although it was a sad smile. The sight wrenched Lorenzo’s heart. “Right. You owe me nothing, seeing as how I’m just the vehicle to bear your son and human vermin besides.” When she met his gaze, her eyes were cold. “So, men are all the same, after all.”

  She pulled her hand out of her pocket, spun his car keys on her finger, then turned to leave. “You owe me a car, so we’ll just call it square. Have a nice spect
acle, Lorenzo.”

  With that, she marched out of the room, fury in her every step.

  Leaving a very astonished dragon behind her.

  Cassie wasn’t happy to learn—again—that men took what they wanted, conceded nothing, then moved on. What a moron she had been to think that Lorenzo might be different. Humans were vermin, were they?

  Well, bad things happened to everyone, but only stupid people blamed an entire species for their problems. Cassie was completely disappointed in Lorenzo. She’d been sure he was smarter than that.

  She’d been sure that she was smarter than this.

  She blinked away her tears, telling herself that he wasn’t worth mourning. No, what she’d glimpsed in him had been the illusion. His tenderness, his humor, his intelligence—that had all been the trick.

  And the idea that he was bailing on the world, intending to start over somewhere else with all his money but not with her or their child, was just salt in the wound. She didn’t know that they could make a permanent relationship, but it would have been nice for him to try.

  It would have been nice of him to care.

  Cassie heard Lorenzo behind her as she marched out of his house and his life. She heard him calling after her but didn’t slow down. She couldn’t have cared less what he had to say. As far as she was concerned, he’d said plenty. To the left of the front door was another door. Cassie guessed that it led to the garage.

  Perfect. She ripped it open, not caring that the security alarm went off. Lorenzo could deal with that—it was small potatoes compared to raising a child alone.

  “Cassie!” Lorenzo swore and quickened his pace, shouting her name again. If he wanted something else from her, he could wait. Cassie hit the unlock button on the key for the car as she walked into the garage.

  The Ferrari beeped obediently.

  “No!” Lorenzo bellowed.

  Cassie glanced back to discover that he was right behind her, shimmering blue.

  Cassie leapt into the car, locking the doors as soon as she was inside. Lorenzo fell against the outside of the vehicle, his weight making it rock. He didn’t shift, but leaned close to the window, still shimmering blue as he looked to be wildly negotiating.

  Well, she’d cracked his composure, at least.

  But it was too late.

  She knew he wouldn’t rip open the door: the car was too precious to him to risk damaging it.

  Cassie, unfortunately, didn’t hold the car in quite as much esteem. She ignored him and whatever he was promising. It was probably all bullshit anyway.

  Or beguiling. She didn’t dare listen to him, lest she be seduced by the appeal in his words. She didn’t dare look at him, lest he try to enchant her all over again. She knew he could get to her, and knew herself well enough to recognize that she hadn’t completely turned against him.

  Cassie was pretty sure his earlier promise not to beguile her again was moot at this point.

  He pivoted and raced back to the house. Cassie really hoped he didn’t have a second set of car keys.

  He probably did.

  She wasn’t going to wait to find out.

  Her heart was pounding as she started the engine. She gave it too much gas and it roared. She found the button for the garage door opener, and at her touch, the door slid upward, revealing an inky square of desert night.

  Lorenzo shouted at her.

  Cassie turned up the music to block the sound and fastened her seat belt. She’d driven a flashy car like this once, when pursuing a shot of a celebrity who raced cars. He’d offered her the photo she wanted if she won a race against him on a closed track. She hadn’t won, but she’d done well enough that he’d posed for the shot.

  Cassie surveyed the dash and the gearbox, pushed in the clutch, and put the car in reverse. The gearbox was as smooth as butter, the gear engaging with a sweet snick.

  Piece of cake.

  And just the thing for escaping dragons.

  She took off the emergency brake just as Lorenzo came back into the garage. She gave him a fingertip wave more characteristic of Stacy, and hit the gas. The car rocketed backward. She turned and braked to a smoking halt.

  She really liked how the tires squealed.

  As a bonus, the sound disguised Lorenzo’s roar of rage. He erupted from the garage, with something that looked suspiciously like another set of keys in his hand.

  Cassie didn’t wait to chat.

  She was racing down the driveway when she realized the gates were still closed. There wasn’t another control button, at least not one she could see. She had an instant to panic; then a sensor on the gate evidently recognized the car.

  The gates began to swing open.

  Cassie smiled and accelerated.

  Her eyes widened when the gates changed direction and started to close again. Lorenzo must have an override at the house.

  She was not going to get trapped in this compound.

  She knew he wouldn’t hurt her—she just didn’t want to argue anymore.

  No more false promises.

  No more illusions.

  Reality started now.

  Cassie gauged the distance to the gate opening, geared down for a burst of speed, and put the gas pedal to the floor. The car lunged forward, like a cheetah on the hunt.

  It slipped through the closing gates with the barest sliver of space.

  In fact, one gate caught the rear right fender. She heard the sound of metal scraping against metal, and winced at the grinding sound. The car’s trajectory twisted slightly, but Cassie didn’t slow down.

  So now something precious to him was damaged. She could just imagine how Lorenzo was roaring now.

  But Cassie had gotten away. She turned onto the highway, fishtailing a bit on the last of the gravel, and tried to figure out exactly where she was going to go.

  A bit too late, she looked skyward for Balthasar. There was no sign of him. Maybe her luck was changing for the better.

  Either way, Cassie needed a plan before Saturday.

  Sooner would be better.

  Chapter 12

  Lorenzo was right behind Cassie. He took the bold chance of shifting shape as he leapt out of the garage, unconcerned with who saw his change. It was reckless and uncharacteristic.

  Lorenzo had no time for artifice.

  He had to ensure Cassie’s safety.

  Even if he would have liked to have given her a good shake. How could one woman turn him so inside out and upside down? How could he be simultaneously infuriated with her and worried about her? How was it that he couldn’t get enough of her?

  He ground his teeth as he flew low and fast after her, not wanting to risk having her out of his sight. He raced after the taillights of his car, knowing what the firestorm and Cassie were conspiring to make him do.

  And with every beat of his wings, Lorenzo wondered: Could the prophecy be right?

  How could a ditty scrawled on a piece of parchment have any relevance to real life?

  There were too many questions, too many variables, too much information missing for Lorenzo to make a good choice. And no time. He had no time.

  What was he going to do?

  Even as Lorenzo flew, he knew the answer. He wasn’t at all persuaded that he and Cassie could have a future together, but he wanted her to have one. He’d seen the depth of her hurt and she’d told him the reason for her distrust of men. He wanted to prove to her that he was different.

  Fortunately, he had an idea how to do it.

  But he’d need help. Even as he trailed behind Cassie, Lorenzo understood why Erik was in town.

  Lorenzo was going to have to ask the leader of the Pyr for assistance. And Erik, with his gift of foresight, had known it.

  Lorenzo was pretty sure the words wo
uld stick in his throat.

  But it was clear that his established tendencies weren’t going to ensure Cassie’s safety. If she wouldn’t trust him and join him in his plan, then he couldn’t defend her and his son. And no matter what she thought of him, he wasn’t prepared to lose her.

  His sense that he had become a kind of focus for Slayers and Pyr alike wasn’t paranoia, after all. They were attracted to him for some reason, and intent upon using him for something. And the only way to foil whatever their scheme might be was to surprise them. A little sleight of hand was required.

  Lorenzo could only hope that Erik wouldn’t turn him down.

  Cassie saw the sign for the national park on her way back to Vegas. It gave her an idea.

  After all, she didn’t really want to go back to the hotel. Not with Balthasar hunting her. It would be bad enough if he took her down, but she wasn’t going to lead him straight to Stacy, too.

  She didn’t want to go back to Lorenzo’s place.

  But the state park was where Lorenzo’s spectacle was supposed to be held. She turned into the park on impulse, slowing down only slightly on the smaller road. There was no one at the gates to the park, but she could see spotlights far ahead and off to one side.

  She’d guess that was where Lorenzo’s preparations were being made. She drove directly toward the bright lights, not really surprised to find the site busy despite the hour.

  And defended. There was security staff everywhere, probably ensuring that no one got into the site before the big day. She might have turned back, but the first guard obviously recognized the car.

  He gave her a salute and opened the gate, well in advance of her arrival. Cassie realized the windows of the Ferrari were tinted quite dark.

  And they must be used to Lorenzo driving fast to open the gate so early.

  Cassie went with the assumption and roared through the gate, as if she’d expected nothing else. She drove on as if she knew where she was going. There was a big pit in the middle of the site, with lots of bleachers for spectators. Enormous light standards had been constructed, and three massive screens stood to display video for the crowd. There was a big silver crane poised to lift something into that hole.