Chapter 3
“Um…Sandy, I’m gonna need your help in here,” Junior called out as he spastically winked at all of us, nodding like a dummy with a plan.
Dear God, what was he up to now? His waggling eyebrows and snickering clued me in. I was clear on what chipping meant now and I suspected Junior had found another way to keep Sandy under surveillance without cameras.
Again, his reported MENSA status boggled me.
“What do you need, Sheriff? I’m in the middle of balancing the town budget and deconstructing the encryptions on the passwords you gave me,” Sandy said, avoiding eye contact with the besotted Junior.
She was just as lovely as all the other Werewolf shifters I’d met—wild long blonde curls framed her heart shaped face and her eyes were a beautiful shade of cornflower blue. However, far more impressive than her looks was her brain.
“I’m gonna chip Dima and her son Daniel. Since you’re working for the city government now, you’re gonna get chipped today too,” he answered briskly as he pulled a sharp knife from his desk and some miniscule pieces of metal.
Sandy rolled her eyes and shook her head as Essie tried not to laugh.
“And who monitors these chips, Sheriff?” she asked as she folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes at Junior.
“Um…I do, but only if someone goes missing,” Junior told her as he busied himself sharpening the knife that I realized he was going to use on me and Daniel to insert the chips under our skin.
Not really my idea of a good time since I didn’t want any of the people I cared about coming to my rescue. No one was going to die for me. However, Daniel was a different matter altogether.
With a grunt of disbelief aimed at Junior, Sandy turned to me and smiled.
“Hi, I’m Sandy,” she said warmly, extending her hand to me. “It’s lovely to meet you. I’ve heard such wonderful things about you and Daniel from Essie.”
“Likewise,” I said as I took her hand in mine.
Her grip was strong and she met my eyes—not an easy thing to do with a Dragon. She was not one to screw with and I liked her. I liked her even more when she squatted down and offered her hand to Daniel. She didn’t even flinch as he covered her in ketchup when he avoided the shake and went right in for a hug.
“You’re a handsome little man,” she said, ruffling his hair and then scooping him up in her arms. “I have a nephew about your age. Maybe you can come over and play.”
Daniel’s eyes grew wide and he began to tremble. He’d never played with anyone his age and guilt washed over me yet again at how sheltered his life had been.
“Ohhhhhh Mommy, can I pway with Sandy’s neffu?” he asked.
“I think we might be able to work something out,” I said carefully, wondering if it would be safe. If others in the town held the same opinion of Dragons that Jimbo did, I wasn’t so sure about Daniel being out of my sight.
“I’ll go with him,” Dwayne offered as he either read my mind or expression.
“Me too,” Granny added quickly. “I haven’t seen Sandy’s momma in ages. I’m due for some town gossip.”
Being around people I trusted was seductive. I’d never had it except as a child. My mother would have died for us…and in the end she did. She basically ran interference so my three brothers and I could escape my father’s deadly wrath. My brothers didn’t make it and neither did my mother. I did and I’d lived with the guilt of being the only survivor for hundreds of years. Until Daniel came along I lived my life in my mother’s and brothers’ honor. Avenging them was my only mission. Having Daniel only increased my need to end my father before it was too late.
“Sandy?” my son asked in a shy tone as he gently patted her hair inadvertently smearing it with red, crusty ketchup. “Will you mate wif me?”
Her laugh sounded like bells and I giggled at the audacity of my four-year old Romeo.
“Daniel, I think I might be a little bit old for you, but you have made my year in a big way,” she told him and hugged him tight.
“She’s gonna mate with me,” Junior informed the room as he grinned and winked at Sandy.
“We’ll see about that,” she muttered as she put Daniel down and took the knife from Junior’s hand.
“Sumbitch!” Junior crowed joyously as he picked a shocked Sandy up and swung her around the room. “You people heard it here. Sandy is mine and she agreed to it.”
“I wouldn’t go quite that far,” Essie said with a laugh. “But I will say you’re making progress.”
“Sandy is right here,” the gal in question grumbled as she eased her way out of Junior’s arms a little slower than someone who hated the person would. “I’ve agreed to nothing, but I’m slightly impressed with your restraint in the lady department.”
“There are no other women,” Junior promised as he crossed his heart and gave her lopsided grin that even melted my heart a little bit. “You’re it for me. The sooner you come to your senses, the sooner I’ll take you out in my truck and make you see Jesus and all the angels and saints.”
“Um, Junior, you probably should have stopped after the ‘you’re it for me’ part,” Hank said with a grimace.
I couldn’t have agreed more. I half expected Sandy to slug him.
“Dream on, Big Boy,” Sandy snapped at Junior as she extended her arm. “Chip me and then you can remove all the cameras you have trained on me all over town.”