He’s a good guy. I don’t know why I’m always so nervous about…well, everything. It’s just hard to turn off that part of your brain when it’s been wired to be on high alert for so many years.

I move around a broken-down car, picking my way through the old parking lot. As I do, I come across another vehicle I hadn’t seen yet, an old ambulance, its tires flat on one side and the entire thing tilted as if sinking into the ground. Weeds have grown up around it, and a small tree is sprouting through one wheel well, but that’s not what draws my attention.

It’s the neon green DRAGON LOVER IN BOOKSTORE spray-painted across the entire side of the ambulance.

I stare at it for a moment, reading it once, twice, before my heart starts to pound with anxiety. Taking Murr’s kilt, I move to the painted words and try to rub them off, but they don’t budge.

Shit. Shit, shit, fuck, damn and shit.

Who knows that we’re here, other than the nomad? And how does he know about Murr?

I know exactly what this sign is, of course. It’s a callout to anyone in the area that if they’re looking to cause trouble, I’m one to pick on. The worst thing you can call someone in the After is a dragon lover, or a dragon sympathizer. It means you’re no longer on the side of humanity. It means you’re aligning yourself with the dragons that have set fire to and destroyed our homes for the past ten years. I don’t think enough time has passed with the dragons no longer attacking us for that mentality to change.

“Hey, guys?” I call out. “Can you come look at this?”

The others come over to where I’m standing, and Dottie curses under her breath at the sight of the lettering. “That damn nomad is determined to cause trouble.”

“You think it was him?” I ask, worried.

“I do. He’s done this shit before. His hobby is harassing people,” Dottie says. Aggie is unusually quiet for once, but her expression tells me that she’s just as unhappy about this as Dottie is.

“We can paint over it, Mom,” Rabbit says, moving to my side. “I’m sure we can find some paint cans and cover it up. It’s not a big deal.”

She’s right. There’s no need to panic. We can cover it, like she says. There are bound to be paint cans around somewhere that haven’t turned to glue. I put an arm around my daughter’s shoulders in a hug. “You’re right. Thanks, baby.”

I’m just being overprotective. Panicky.

I glance over at Aggie, who’s still quiet. She’s staring off in the distance, and I follow her gaze.

DRAGON LOVER is painted on another car, with an arrow. Beyond that one, there’s another car that’s been hit by the vivid green spray paint.

Jesus, this guy really is determined.

OceanofPDF.com

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 33

DAKOTA

I must look like I’m ready to explode. Rabbit gives me a worried look, touching my arm. “Mom, are you okay?”

“I kind of want to kill a man right now, actually,” I say, keeping my voice cheerful. “Just find that guy that’s trying to ruin our lives and put a few arrows through him.”

“You and me both,” Aggie says, her voice mournful. “He won’t give up. We should probably just all leave the bookstore to him, Murr included. Just go somewhere else and live peacefully.”

Rabbit scoffs, leaning against the car as if she can cover up the hateful words with her body. “Why would we do that? Murr can just eat the guy.”

“We don’t want that,” Aggie says, suddenly alarmed. “That’s just wrong!”

Is it? Or is there something else going on?

I round on the two women, narrowing my eyes. Why is it that finding a big dragon-man living across the parking lot from us hasn’t been half as chaotic as these two old ladies coming into our lives? What is it about them that brings such craziness? “Don’t you find it strange that this guy won’t fuck off? That he’s picking on women who haven’t done anything to him?”

Dottie frowns at me, folding an old quilt as tightly as she can. “What are you saying?”

“If he’s a mercenary, why won’t he just leave? We don’t have anything he wants. If he wants some books from the bookstore, he’s welcome to come grab them. Why hassle us? And why are you suddenly so gung-ho on us leaving? What is it you’re not telling us?”

Aggie just scowls. “I don’t like your tone, missy.”

It’s Dottie that lets out a heavy sigh and turns to her friend. “Maybe just tell them the truth, all right? I’m tired of all this subterfuge.”

Aha. Now we’re getting somewhere. “You’re working with him, aren’t you? That’s what all this is about.”

Aggie’s mouth quivers and for a horrifying moment, I think I’ve made an old lady cry. “It’s not what you think. It’s not like we have a choice.”

“He’s got Stella,” Dottie says, her voice flat. “And he’s going to keep her unless we do what he says.”

I knew there was something suspicious about all of this. It all felt like too much, all at once. A hostage makes sense. He’s got their friend and that’s why some of their stories don’t quite line up. I don’t feel that Dottie and Aggie are malicious, but some of the ways they’ve been acting have seemed cagey for sure. “Did he push you two towards us? Told you where we were?”

Dottie nods reluctantly, and Aggie just looks utterly deflated, her mouth pulled into a permanent frown. Dottie continues, “He told us to go make friends with you. See if you had anything worth taking. We’re supposed to report back to him. Give him a signal if you’re worth stealing from.”

“And are we?” Rabbit asks. I can hear the betrayal in her voice.

“Of course not. You’ve got a dragon! He’d be an idiot to come steal from you,” Dottie scoffs. “And you’ve been real nice to us. It would have been easier if you guys were jerks. I don’t feel too bad snowing someone if they deserve it. But it’s the fact that you’re nice that throws things off.”

“And the dragon,” Aggie says, uncharacteristically solemn. She sits down on the floor of the open van, as if all the energy has left her body. “He protects you. Feeds you. I bet he’d protect and feed us if we stayed, too.”

“I don’t know that I want you to stay,” I point out, angry. “Not if you’re putting me and my daughter at risk.”

“And the cats,” Rabbit adds. “Murr loves his cats. I love them, too. I don’t want anything to happen to them.”

“We’re not interested in harming the cats,” Dottie begins.

“You might not be but what about this jerk?” Rabbit retorts.

“His name is Curtis,” Dottie says. “And I don’t know how he feels about cats. He’s more interested in electronics. And Stella, of course.” Her mouth purses and she looks over at Aggie again. “He’s not going to give her up without a fight.”

“”Not if he wants to breed her,” Aggie agrees, her tone mournful.

My daughter sputters. “Wait, what?”

I frown to myself, too. I’ve been picturing poor old Stella as some gray-haired little granny, too fragile to take control of a bad situation or too small to fight back against this Curtis guy. “He’s breeding her?”

“Well, yeah, he wants to. I mean, she’s too stupid to care,” Aggie says.

“That’s not nice,” I say automatically.

“It’s true, though,” Aggie continues. “She doesn’t care who’s in charge as long as she gets fed, but he’s got plans. He thinks he’ll make a fortune selling the little ones in the forts. He’s just gonna keep her locked up and breed her until she can’t breed no more.”

“That’s awful,” I say, revolted anew at how terrible people are in the After.

Aggie grimaces and scratches under her wig. “Well, yeah. He’s not a good guy. He saw we had Stella and took her from us. I just want her back.”