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  “I thought you wanted a fight,” he taunted. “But then, you were never very effective, were you? That’s why Magnus didn’t share his secrets with you. You didn’t deserve to be his heir.” Lorenzo paused, heard no reply, so added a bit more. “You’ve always been a loser, Balthasar. I’m reassured that some things never change.”

  He heard the roar of Balthasar’s rage like distant thunder and smiled in satisfaction.

  Plan B was coming together right on cue.

  Cassie couldn’t believe it. Lorenzo had invited her to share his life with him, she declined on a technicality, and now he was thinking about his car.

  Like his question was no more important than the convenience store being sold out of his favorite beer.

  It was too bad that she had scratched the rear fender, but the Ferrari was fine otherwise. She got dressed with impatient gestures. Oh, she was sure that the paint would be hard to match and the entire quarter panel would have to be repainted, but really, even if the whole car had to be repainted, Lorenzo could afford it.

  He was the one who was planning to bury this car for a month anyway. What would that do to the paint job?

  Cassie resented that he had just brushed off her refusal, as if it had been irrelevant. Maybe he’d asked her only to be polite. Maybe he thought it would make for a better show if she was buried in the car with him.

  No. She nibbled her lip as she watched him, unable to avoid noticing how indifferent he seemed to her presence. Did he really not care? Or was he pretending disinterest to make it easier for both of them? They would have to drive out of this park together, after all. Lorenzo was a seasoned performer.

  Yes. He was feigning indifference again. He only did that when he really cared. He was managing the details and making a new plan. And she, who liked to control her choices as much as Lorenzo did, needed to trust him.

  She watched him closely and saw the signs of his agitation. Then he looked at the sky and she heard thunder.

  The sky was perfectly clear.

  Was that dragon stuff, too?

  She picked up her boots and tugged them back on. Lorenzo hauled on his T-shirt, then put his hand out for the keys. They were shoved deeply into Cassie’s pocket, so she dug them out and silently surrendered them. There was clearly no question of her driving. He unlocked the car and held the passenger door for her.

  But he was scanning the sky as she got in.

  What was going on?

  Lorenzo swung into the driver’s seat, touched the button for the car to adjust the mirrors and seat to his preference, and turned the key in the ignition. He hit the gas, the rear end of the car fishtailing as he accelerated hard.

  That was when she noticed the blue shimmer surrounding him.

  “Company coming,” Lorenzo said with grim satisfaction, and pushed the accelerator to the floor.

  “The thunder,” she guessed.

  “We call it old-speak. The frequency is too low for humans to hear clearly, but we dragons can all hear it.” He gave her a glittering look and she knew he’d issued a dare.

  She could guess to whom.

  Cassie checked the mirror on her side, and even looked out the rear window, but couldn’t see anything. Then she twisted in her seat to look out the sunroof.

  And saw an airborne dragon closing fast.

  Talons extended.

  He breathed a plume of fire and Cassie spun around to stare forward again. “Balthasar?” she asked, but Lorenzo’s only reply was a smile.

  A dangerous dragon smile.

  Okay. This was good. Cassie tried to convince herself of that. The Balthasar problem would be solved. More proof that she should just trust Lorenzo when it came to matters draconian.

  Even though Cassie pretty much believed all of that, she still screamed at the scrape of dragon claws on the car’s roof.

  Never mind when Balthasar lifted the car off the road.

  That Lorenzo swore so thoroughly couldn’t be a good sign.

  Chapter 15

  It would have been nice if someone had shown an iota of consideration for this subtly retrofitted vehicle, which held the entire key to Lorenzo’s survival. If the Ferrari was trashed, there was no way he’d be able to replace it by the next day, not with all the expensive modifications in place. His whole plan would have to be scrapped, the spectacle canceled, and all his work would have been for nothing.

  So he swore when Balthasar locked his talons around the roof. The two windows on the passenger doors broke and the points of Balthasar’s nails curved through the space, jabbing into the roof interior and puncturing the upholstery.

  Balthasar lifted the car off the road with a grunt and flew over the desert, carrying them captive. Lorenzo fumed at the inconvenience of it all. He prayed the moronic Slayer would at least put the car down gently instead of dropping it on rock. If the undercarriage or the suspension were damaged, he’d never get them fixed without someone seeing the modifications made to the car.

  He sincerely hoped that Balthasar strained something from the effort.

  Cassie had slid down in her seat. She was clutching the seat beneath her, her eyes round as she stared at those dragon claws. “Hell on the upholstery,” she said through gritted teeth, and he appreciated her attempt at levity.

  “If he wrecks this car, I will kill him. I will hunt him to the ends of the earth and ensure that he suffers.”

  She cast him a look. “I thought you were going to kill him anyway.”

  Lorenzo felt his eyes narrow. “It’s so barbaric and primitive. There must always be fighting and killing and bloodshed.” Even as he protested against his own nature, he felt his rage grow. He felt himself hover on the cusp of change. He was keenly aware of the threat to his mate and to his unborn child, and the very notion that they should both be at risk made him more livid than he had ever been before.

  All because this stupid Slayer thought Lorenzo should join his team.

  “Why can’t any of these fools just take no for an answer?” Lorenzo muttered.

  “Seems a bit late to negotiate,” Cassie noted.

  He flicked a glance her way, and she smiled. Her attitude made him feel better.

  And he realized that negotiation was Erik’s solution of choice. Only now did Lorenzo appreciate the balance struck by the leader of the Pyr and feel a measure of respect for it. Joining forces with Erik not only meant having the help of the other Pyr in ensuring Cassie’s survival—it meant that he could work against the crude nature of his kind.

  It meant that his life could have a purpose beyond the pursuit of wealth and pleasure. After four centuries, Lorenzo was ready to mix it up a bit. He couldn’t exactly provoke Cassie into following her dreams and not pursue a few of his own.

  But first he had to survive.

  He unfastened his seat belt with purpose.

  “I assume you have a plan,” Cassie said.

  “Not as much of one as I’d like.” Lorenzo turned off the engine and put the car in park. Out of habit he engaged the emergency brake, which would have been amusing under other circumstances. “But I’ll think of something.”

  He gave her one last intent look, grasped the roof the car, and hauled himself out through the window. He felt the wind in his hair, saw the glitter of the sunlight on Balthasar’s scales, then shifted shape with a roar as he surged into the sky.

  Lorenzo leapt high, turned tightly, and buried his claws into Balthasar’s back. He ripped, and the Slayer screamed. He moved like lightning, giving the wounded Slayer no time to respond. He breathed fire until Balthasar bellowed in pain, and the smell of his singed scales filled Lorenzo’s nostrils. He smacked his opponent with the weight of his tail, ensuring that he reopened the wound that had barely closed.

  When Balthasar snarled and made to lunge at him, Lorenz
o saw his grip loosen on the car. He snatched the vehicle away from Balthasar, then raced away from his opponent. Balthasar was right behind him, breathing fire and muttering obscenities. Lorenzo swung the vehicle with all his might, hearing Cassie scream when the left rear fender caught Balthasar in the chops.

  The Slayer fell backward, losing the rhythm of his flight, a good bit of altitude, and several teeth.

  Lorenzo raced toward the ground, set the car down with care, and watched Balthasar approach. He managed to breathe one ring of dragonsmoke around the vehicle, then saw Cassie reach for the door handle.

  “Stay in the car!” he roared. She looked at him in alarm, but he had work to do. He leapt into the sky again, intercepting Balthasar. They fought hard, neither of them holding back, spinning through the air as they wrestled for supremacy.

  For each blow Balthasar landed on Lorenzo, Lorenzo laid at least two. He was pummeling the Slayer and getting no small satisfaction from it. He realized that, for the first time, he was savoring his dragon powers.

  That shook him a bit. Had he become a barbarian as well? Was that the legacy of the firestorm? The prophecy echoed in his thoughts and Lorenzo knew he had to find his own way clear of the situation. Balthasar slashed at him while he was distracted and Lorenzo winced at the impact of the blow.

  “Want to join the winning side yet?” Balthasar demanded in old-speak.

  Lorenzo scoffed. “No team comprised of dregs and losers will ever claim a victory over anyone.”

  Balthasar’s eyes flashed and they locked talons, grappling back and forth across the sky. “You don’t even like humans. Except maybe this one. And you’ve had your firestorm. You’ve got nothing to lose.”

  “Just my soul. My dignity. And my red, red blood.” Lorenzo punctuated his claim with a snarling bite, one that left a gaping wound on Balthasar’s side. The Slayer howled in pain and his black blood flowed, but Lorenzo didn’t release his grip on his opponent’s talons.

  He could have killed Balthasar, right then and there, but that would have made him no better than a Slayer.

  He’d eliminate the Slayer with his own signature style.

  Lorenzo backed Balthasar hard into the rock face, slamming his spine into the rock so hard that Balthasar lost his breath. He sagged in Lorenzo’s grip, but Lorenzo held tightly. “Now we negotiate,” he murmured, holding Balthasar captive there as his black blood dripped down the rock.

  Just as Lorenzo had planned, Balthasar looked up with hope.

  Looked right into Lorenzo’s eyes.

  Lorenzo smiled. He conjured the beguiling flame in the depths of his eyes. He spoke in his lowest, most melodic tone, using old-speak to slide some of his instructions into Balthasar’s thoughts.

  The Slayer offered some resistance, but his mind was malleable. In moments, he was utterly transfixed. He was trapped to Lorenzo’s will. He succumbed so easily and so completely that Lorenzo knew his solution was the perfect one.

  And when Balthasar was totally in Lorenzo’s thrall, Lorenzo told him what he was going to do.

  Against her every urge to run as far and as fast as possible, Cassie followed Lorenzo’s instructions. She stayed in the car.

  Fidgeting.

  Watching.

  Fretting.

  At least until Lorenzo slammed the other dragon hard into the rocks and held him there. She could have cheered that he was taking the upper hand, and expected him to finish off the dragon that was a threat to her very existence.

  But Lorenzo seemed to be talking to him.

  Cassie couldn’t figure it out. She watched, incredulous, as Lorenzo released his opponent. Balthasar, who was bleeding profusely, fell like a rock. He wasn’t dead, though, because he managed to beat his wings a little bit and soften his own landing. He shifted shape immediately then, becoming a dark-haired man in a halo of blue light. He sat down and buried his head in his hands, moaning in pain.

  Lorenzo, in contrast, landed with elegant grace, shifting shape just as his toes touched the ground. He strode toward the car with purpose, ignoring Balthasar completely, and his expression was grim. He wrapped the hem of his shirt around his hands and pulled out the safety glass from the two front windows, chucking it on the ground.

  Balthasar looked up just as Lorenzo opened the driver’s door of the car. Lorenzo didn’t so much as glance his way; he simply got in and started the engine.

  As if they’d been to the mall.

  “He’s not dead!” Cassie cried, pointing to the other man who had now pushed to his feet.

  “Of course not,” Lorenzo agreed with taut composure. He accelerated furiously, leaving a cloud of dust behind them. “I assume you’d prefer to go to your hotel?”

  Cassie looked between him and the rearview window in astonishment. “I thought you were going to kill him.”

  He shot her a glance and she noticed how dark his eyes had become. He spoke, though, with precision, his tone level. “I was, but you changed my mind.”

  “Me?” Cassie said. “I thought you were going to kick his butt.”

  “His butt has been kicked.” Lorenzo winked at her. “And you did notice that I had need of a corpse to make my illusion complete.”

  “I can’t believe he volunteered for that.”

  Lorenzo slanted her a glance, a smile curving his lips. “No. So I spoke to him about it.” His eyes were twinkling, a reaction that she didn’t think the situation deserved.

  “Oh, you spoke to him. Wonderful. That will solve everything. I feel so much better.”

  Lorenzo chuckled.

  Wait a minute . . .

  “You beguiled him.”

  Lorenzo’s smile was wicked. “It is said that we cannot beguile our own kind. Rumor is not always true.”

  “That’s why you didn’t believe about the baby.”

  He grimaced and shook his head. “So much PR and so little of it based on fact.”

  “I suppose I shouldn’t ask you how the illusion is going to work.”

  Lorenzo only smiled and took the turn onto the highway. When he sped up, the wind ripped through the broken windows, tossing her hair into her face. Cassie disliked that he wasn’t confiding in her. “Don’t you think I have a right to know?”

  “Illusionists keep their secrets close.”

  Cassie folded her arms across her chest. “Is that really it? Professional discretion? Or don’t you trust me?”

  He didn’t answer that, but he frowned.

  “Here’s the thing,” Cassie said. “I need to know whether I’m ever going to see you again. I need to know what happens next.”

  His lips tightened. “You should trust me.”

  “You should trust me.”

  Lorenzo simply drove. Cassie turned to look out the window, frustrated with him.

  “Too bad about the car,” she said, unable to keep a bit of snark from her tone.

  “Windows I can have fixed today. It’s only nine, after all.”

  Cassie eyed him, his proprietary tone convincing her that maybe she was missing something. She surveyed the interior of the car, but other than dragon battle wear and tear, it looked perfectly normal. “Is there something special about this car?”

  He gave her one of those sidelong glances. “Everything I covet is special,” he said in a low voice, one probably intended to make her shiver with desire.

  It did.

  “You need to trust me, Cassie,” Lorenzo murmured as he entered the city and slowed down. “Everything hangs upon that.” They stopped at a red light and she saw his fingers drumming on the gear shift.

  Once more Lorenzo was uncertain.

  Hiding it well, as she’d expect, but nervous.

  When she looked at him, he was regarding her steadily. Cassie swallowed and took a chance. “I’m just n
ot used to falling in love with people who don’t play straight with me.”

  Lorenzo arched a dark brow. “I’m not used to falling in love at all. Once was enough to cure me of that inclination.”

  Who had he loved before? What had happened? Nothing good, Cassie would guess.

  “Who was she?”

  Lorenzo sighed. “A beauty. A temptress. A woman who overwhelmed me with desire.” He flicked a glance at Cassie. “Not unlike you.”

  Cassie’s mouth went dry. “And?”

  “And it was a trap. She had been sent to reveal me, to entice me and snare me, and she nearly succeeded.”

  “How?” Cassie could understand why this would make him cautious about women, and she had a new appreciation for his openness with her.

  He swallowed. “It was the first time I had planned to disappear and reinvent myself in a new identity. I was maybe fifty, in Venice still, and there were suspicions about my apparent perpetual youth. I made plans, and then I met her. I never saw the link to the timing until it was too late.”

  “You loved her.”

  He sniffed. “She ensured that I did. I learned later that she was insincere, but I adored her. And I wanted her to come with me. So I explained to her all of my plan.”

  “She tricked you,” Cassie guessed.

  His eyes narrowed. “She did not meet me alone.” He glanced at her, his expression cold. “I barely escaped with my life.”

  And Cassie understood why he was so concerned about sharing the details with her. “I won’t ever do that to you,” she said quietly.

  He tapped out a rhythm on the gear shift, considering. The light turned green and he shot into the intersection. “Old habits are hard to break,” he murmured.

  “You’ve had a lot of time to get set in your ways,” Cassie teased and was rewarded by the flash of his smile.

  “The point is that the less you know, the safer we both are.” He shook a finger at her. “Not because I don’t trust you. Because I don’t trust them.”

  Cassie could understand his point, but she needed more from him than this. She needed proof of his trust if she was going to believe in a future. “Tell me where you’re going.”