Her Dragon's Fire (23 page)

“Just looking at the most beautiful woman in the Universe,” he winked as he held her until she was steady on her feet.

She swatted his arm as he bent down to gather her clothing. “You seriously need glasses, Mr. O’Brien.”

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than Aidan had her backed against the tree again with her chin between his thumb and forefinger, “Do not ever talk bad about yourself, Grace. You are the most beautiful woman in the world to me. The day I met you, all others ceased to exist. My sun, moon, and stars revolve around you. I will not stand for you putting yourself down now or ever again.”

He hoped he had gotten his point across; he meant every word. She laid her hand on his cheek, “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you, but I’m glad I did it. Thank you, Aidan.”

He leaned his forehead against hers, “I love you, Grace.”

He heard her intake of breath. “I love you too, Aidan.” Her whisper reached his waiting ears and his heart leapt for joy. She loved him. She had just said she loved him. He grabbed her around the waist and spun her while he kissed her until they were both out of breath. Once again he placed her on her feet, holding her until she was steady.

They stood there looking into one another’s eyes. He was sure she saw the tears he was fighting hard to hold back. It just would not do to cry in front of his mate. “I guess I better get dressed unless you plan on keeping me out here naked for your pleasure,” she wagged her eyebrows, causing him to burst out laughing. “But don’t think we are not going to talk about you having Lance drag me away from you back there, or the stuff he told me about you and your younger brother when all this shit is over.” She paused for a moment. “I want a partnership with the man I love, not a dictatorship with a caveman,” she smiled, and he knew it was to soften her words.

“My first thought is and will always be to keep you safe and far from harm, but I will work harder to remember to discuss my decisions with you,” Grace raised an eyebrow and he was sure he had something wrong. “I have lived a long time,
mo ghra’,
so give this old dragon some time to change his ways,” they both chuckled at his attempt at humor. “And as much as I would love to keep you naked for weeks and months and trust me, as soon as all of this is over it is going to happen, you are right, we don’t have time right now.”

He handed her the clothes he had gathered from the ground. “Get dressed before I change my mind,” he watched as she pulled her jeans over the tennis shoes he had not bothered to remove. He turned and began picking up the paperwork he had retrieved from the warehouse. He knew they were important and she would be upset of they were lost or damaged.

“I’m ready whenever you are,” Grace called from behind him, just as he picked up the last of the paperwork. He walked over to where she stood and kissed her forehead.

“All right pretty lady, I just have to say, if I had it my way we would be heading as far away from here as I could carry you.” He saw the fire leap in her eyes and her shoulders square for battle. He held up his hands in defeat, “But I know better than to try to change your mind once it’s made up,” he watched her relax a fraction. “So let’s creep up to the edge of the woods and see what is going on with that helicopter and its occupants.” He pulled her as tight as he could into his side. “Stay right by me, Beautiful, there is no way I’m letting anything happen to you.” As they headed back towards the debris of the devastated warehouse, a shiver ran down his spine; whatever they were walking towards was not going to be pretty, but with his amazing mate by his side, there was nothing he couldn’t do.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

And the hits just kept coming. His incredibly bad luck kept going from bad to worse. He had what he thought was a foolproof plan to get away and run a dagger through the heart of the brother that left him for dead all those years ago, but then that damn helicopter landed. So he was still hiding in the bushes with a bunch of worthless wizards, trying to figure out how to get the hell out of dodge, alone and unseen, while whoever the hell had landed the biggest freaking helicopter he had ever seen was just sitting there, doing absolutely nothing but holding up any plans he had to put this catastrophe of a day behind him. The worst part had been watching Aidan throw his mate over his shoulder and run in the opposite direction, completely wrecking the plans Andrew had for kidnapping the raven-haired beauty and finally getting to make that stupid son of a bitch suffer.

He searched for another escape route while he focused on the military helicopter that had just been sitting in the clearing for almost twenty minutes. He had witnessed no movement and the windows were so heavily tinted that he could not see how many men were inside. He had only seen a copter of this caliber a few times during his military career. When their Force had been deployed during the Gulf War, similar aircraft were used to move high ranking officials from site to site. Those helicopters could hold up to twelve men and all the gear necessary to effectively guard the assets inside and launch an offensive assault, if necessary. Whoever was in there either had military connections or a shitload of money to buy whatever and whoever he wanted. Andrew was betting on the latter of the two choices since they were in the middle of nowhere, beside a smoldering mess of a building that not even an hour ago was to be the site of a serious black magic ritual. The people in that damn helicopter had something to do with either the wizards or the abandoned warehouse or both. He was so lost in his thoughts and his pity party that he missed Aidan and Grace’s reappearance at the opposite side of the massive parking lot.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Aidan stood at the edge of the woods, listening to the voices of his brethren in his mind as they attempted to rescue the girls that had been trapped in the lower level of the warehouse by the explosion. From the sounds of it, there were six young women that needed rescuing. At least the girls had still been in the back of the trucks and protected by the thick walls of the trailers when the explosion had happened, or they would not have survived the blast. Still, it sounded as if some of them had tried to get out and were caught by falling debris. He could not help but wonder why the hell the local law enforcement and fire department still had not shown up. He was sure Rayne would have had someone call them, but still no one had responded. He also looked towards the huge helicopter still sitting stationary in the clearing, and wondered what the hell they were doing there and why they weren’t making a move.

Grace tugged on the hand she held, “What’s going on, Aidan?”

“Rayne, Lance, Royce, and Max’s men are getting the young women out of the rubble in the basement,” he pointed towards the still smoldering rubble. “Aaron, Devon, Max, and Sophia are spread out in the woods looking for the wizards that ran when the building exploded. Some were killed in the blast, but at least eight of them got away,” he hesitated and pulled Grace closer to his side, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. He kissed the top of her head, “And I’m sure my little brother is with them.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Grace could tell from the tone of Aidan’s voice that he wanted to be out there looking for his brother, but contrary to what she heard, she could feel his resolve to ensure her safety. She snuggled a little closer to his side and once again thanked God for bringing this amazing man into her life. There was no way she could keep him from being there when they captured his younger brother.

As they stood there scanning the scene before them, two of Max’s men emerged from the warehouse, each carrying a battered and bruised young woman. A shiver ran down Grace’s spine as she took in their condition. Her determination to see justice for these young women and the others that were still trapped below rose within her. ‘The Auctioneer’ and his associates had to be stopped. The men she now recognized as Juan Carlos and Ernesto moved with their enhanced speed towards Grace and Aidan.

Grace grabbed the blankets each man had thrown over the shoulders of the young women and spread them out on the grass. She was awed by the gentle way each man laid the young women down, carefully positioning their unconscious bodies to avoid any further pain. Juan Carlos handed her a bag of first aid supplies from under his arm. “Would you clean and bandage their wounds, please?” He kept his eyes on the girls as he spoke, “Ernesto and I are going back down to help get the others out.” He finally looked at Grace while he spoke the last few words.

“Sure, I can do that.” She opened the bag of supplies. “Be careful,” she spoke to his back as he walked away.

“Here
mo ghra’
, let me help,” Aidan reached for some of the wipes and gauze pads. “If we work together, we can get these two cleaned up before they bring the others out.”

She smiled at her mate, once again amazed at the depth of the man that stood before her. She glanced back towards the warehouse as she wiped dirt and soot from the wounds of the unconscious woman that lay helpless on the ground. Her
spidey senses
kicked up a notch and she caught movement to her right. Turning her head, she saw the doors on the helicopter open and men dressed in full combat gear pour out. She counted ten men in total, fanned out in a formation she had seen in the military movies her father liked to watch. She reached across the young woman she had been caring for and laid her hand on Aidan’s. “Aidan, look,” she nodded towards the helicopter in the clearing. Before her next breath, Aidan was standing at the very edge of the woods using a large patch of foliage for cover, and the buzzing in her head began stronger than she had ever felt before.

She hurriedly finished bandaging the young woman’s wounds, folded the other half of the blanket she was laying on over her, and moved to the girl Aidan had been taking care of to finish her first aid while waiting for Aidan to tell her what was happening. She did not want to call out for fear someone would hear her. Keeping these poor, defenseless, unconscious girls safe was her first priority; so she worked as fast as she could and tried to not let her nerves get the best of her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The men from the helicopter were obviously military trained and protecting someone very important. They were covered in tactical military gear and held automatic rifles. The same equipment most SWAT teams wore. The men from the helicopter had taken a defensive position, five on each side, forming a semi-circle around a tall, bulky man also dressed in combat gear, but only carrying a hand gun that he kept at his side. The man in the middle did not have his face covered like the others, but the cap he was wore pulled down as far as it would go and it obscured everything but his mouth and chin from Aidan’s sight. They moved as a unit, obviously well trained and used to working together.

“Rayne, we have got a serious shit storm brewing up here. Eleven men in total, ten protecting one in the middle, just got out of the helicopter and are heading towards the warehouse,”
Aidan sent through their connection.

“What the hell is so important about this fucking warehouse?”
Aidan could hear the anger and frustration in Rayne’s voice.
“And where the hell is the local law enforcement and fire department?”

“I don’t know, man. But we’ve got to do something about these assholes right now or they’re going to be on your ass before you know it.”

“You’re right.”
Rayne agreed.
“Aaron. Devon. I need you to get to the rear of the building. The assholes from the helicopter just decided to join the party and ‘A’ says they are dressed to kill. Bring Max and Sophia with you. I’m sending Royce and all but two of Max’s men up to help. Lance is with me. Keep them off of us until we can get the girls out of here. Any luck finding the asshole wizards?”

“No,”
Aaron’s voice sounded loud and clear and filled with frustration.
“They have to be using black magic to hide their position. Dev picked up the taint of it just before you called.”

“Fuck! Nothing we can do about it now. See you topside,”
Rayne answered
.

Aidan listened as all the men of his Force answered their Commander. He moved back to Grace and the battered, unconscious young women. “
Mo chroi
,” he put his hands on either side of her face.”I have to go. We have to keep those commandos from the helicopter from getting to Rayne, Lance, and Max’s men while they are getting those poor young women out of that mess down there.”

He touched his forehead to hers, “I need you to promise me that you will stay right here. I hate leaving you but I have to go. It is going to take all of us to keep those assholes away from those girls and our guys.”

He shifted his hands to the back of her neck and lightly messaged. “You are hidden behind all these bushes and trees. Don’t make a sound unless you absolutely have to.”

He leaned back and locked his eyes on hers, “If you feel any type of danger or see anyone getting to close to you, scream like you have never screamed before and I
will
come running.” He pressed his lips to hers and poured all the love and reassurance that he could into that one brief kiss. He needed to make sure she understand exactly how much she meant to him and how important it was that she stay hidden.

He ended the kiss, but only moved a fraction of an inch and kept his eyes closed, “I love you,
mo ghra’
, with every beat of my heart.”