Dragon's Frenemy (Dragon Blaze Ops Book 2) Page 7

  Liam sucked in a deep breath and let it out, a tinge of smoke in the air. “Fine. But in order for him to be our first priority, you have to give us something. This here,” he tapped the paper, “is an agreement. You get immunity for your crimes if you agree to help us. Sign it and then we know you’re serious. And we can put that many more resources into getting Aiden back.”

  Utopia glanced over the paper. The words blurred together, but she still got the gist of it. Liam put a pen by her hand, and she glanced up at him.

  “Promise me,” she whispered.

  “I promise. If you sign this and help us, I will do everything I can to get your son back to you.”

  Utopia signed. She dropped the pen and fell back into the chair. “I’m trusting you.”

  “I know. And believe me, I do not take this trust lightly.” Liam pulled the paper back toward himself, then let out a sigh. “All this pain… for one person.”

  If he was trying to make her feel guilty for protecting her son, he had another thing coming. Her hands returned to their clenched position. Yes, she wished she could have found another way. Yes, she regretted getting involved with the Pack in the first place. But she was never going to wish she had sacrificed her son. Nothing was worth Aiden’s life.

  “I would burn the whole world down in order to protect my son.”

  Liam smirked humorlessly. “I believe it. But with that in mind, what happened to his father?”

  Utopia blinked at him. What did that matter? Why was he wasting time asking her irrelevant questions when he had just promised that he would do everything he could to get her son back?

  “Well?”

  “He was a man who I slept with and then I had Aiden. I don’t see how me telling you about him is going to help you or get Aiden back.” Her heart gave a twinge as she thought of Adrian. His smile. The way he used to bury his face into her neck.

  Liam put his hand over hers. “It makes a difference to me.”

  She couldn’t see how, but there was such a look in his eye… she couldn’t refuse to answer. She swallowed roughly, her voice lowering as a lump rose in her throat. The feel of Liam’s warm skin against hers bolstered her in a way she hadn’t even realized she needed.

  “I was very young when I met Adrian. It was… weird. I’d never felt like that before. I loved him the moment I saw him. He felt the same. When I got pregnant, I’d never been happier.” The memories of those days pressed on her. Would she ever have that happiness again? “Adrian was thrilled. He spent all night painting a room for our baby. We didn’t know then that he was sick.”

  “Sick?”

  “Adrian was human. Susceptible to diseases that I didn’t even have to think about. I thought he was just tired because of all the excitement. By the time we got the diagnosis…”

  Liam leaned on a little closer. “What did he have?”

  “It’s very rare. Called Flonciturisanus Syndrome. It’s in the blood… no cure. I thought, shifters don’t get this. Maybe, maybe I can find a way to cure him. If I could splice shifter genes into humans, then maybe I could cure all human disease. Imagine a world without the flu, without cancer. I thought I could do that. The Pack was the only place where I could even begin to start my research. I needed money, and they had it.”

  Liam’s brow puckered.

  “Adrian went downhill very quickly. Before I knew it, I’d lost him. Aiden was all I had left. I was going to stop my research. I’d realized by then that it wasn’t going to work the way I wanted.” She closed her eyes as she remembered the Alpha approaching her when she was packing up, telling her that he wasn’t going to let her leave. “The Alpha decided that I was too valuable to let go. And I didn’t have anywhere else to go. I don’t have any family. I had a son to take care of. And an Alpha threatening to kill him if I didn’t do what I was told.”

  Liam gathered the paper. The pucker was still on his brow. He nodded as he stood. “Thank you, Utopia.”

  “Just bring him back to me. Please.”

  Liam didn’t respond as he left. And left alone again, all Utopia could do was break down into sobs.

  Chapter Eleven

  Liam’s limbs felt so heavy. He hadn’t been this tired in years. Not since he’d received word that his parents were divorcing. It was almost unheard of in shifter communities, and that it’d happened to what he thought was a great relationship… But that was hardly relevant here. Utopia’s story wound around his brain, weaving in and out as though there was nothing else to think about.

  He wasn’t sure why he kept dwelling on Adrian. After all, he didn’t have any reason to. He hadn’t even had a reason for asking. So then why did it feel like such a punch to the stomach, thinking about him and Utopia? It was clear she’d loved him… and didn’t that make her whole situation more tragic?

  Patrick, Maura, and Cooper sat at the little table, arguing with each other. Maura thought Utopia was telling the truth, Patrick agreed but thought they needed to move forward as though she was lying, and Cooper flat-out disbelieved her. They were so interested in arguing with each other rather than asking him for information that Liam had to wonder why he was there at all.

  “The fact that she was so quick to sign for immunity and turn on the Pack is proof the whole story is fabricated,” Cooper roared as he jumped to his feet. “If she really was worried for her son in the Alpha’s hands, she would have refused to sign anything for fear of getting him hurt.”

  “Unless she doesn’t think the Pack has a way of knowing what she’s doing now that she’s in our custody,” Liam said softly. The others turned to look at him. Patrick had a deep frown on his face, Cooper was red-faced with anger, but Maura nodded at him to continue. “Either that or she’s not thinking at all. She’s worried.”

  Cooper snorted.

  “I saw her with Aiden. Not very much, mind you. But I saw her with him.”

  “And what did you think?” Maura pressed.

  Liam looked down at his hands. “I think… it doesn’t matter what I think. I believe her, yes, but that hardly matters.”

  “How can it not—”

  “Because if we assume she’s lying, and we don’t do what we can to get that boy out of there, then we are condemning a child to death. Whatever happens with Utopia has nothing to do with Aiden.” He looked up again, his voice growing stronger. “Because she has her immunity deal. But what happens with him does make a difference.”

  Cooper’s eyes widened as he sank back into his seat. “I… I didn’t think about it that way.”

  “So, we need to get things moving so we can extract Aiden from the Pack. Regardless of anything else, he is a kid. He’s being held there and indoctrinated into their cult, and he deserves a better life than that.”

  Maura nodded while Patrick scowled. When the Colonel opened his mouth, Maura held up a hand. Patrick closed his mouth again.

  “That might be true,” Maura said slowly, “but what if this whole thing is an elaborate plot? A scheme to get any of our people captured? They could have been playing the long game. Taking you, putting you in a position where you could see the boy. Where you could develop a relationship with Utopia.”

  Heat flashed into Liam’s cheeks. “A relationship?” he spluttered.

  “Well, yes.” Maura frowned at him. “You can’t deny that you have a relationship with her. You’re the only one who was able to get her to talk. You’re the one who told us about Aiden in the first place.”

  Right. Of course. Relationships didn’t have to be romantic. Just because they made out in the woods—something Maura didn’t know about—didn’t mean that they were going to settle down with a white picket fence.

  No. He had to keep his head on straight and not go drifting off like that. Taking in another breath, he nodded shortly toward Maura. “So then we need to have that in mind when we go forward. But are we really going to leave a kid to be killed?”

  “We can’t,” Patrick agreed readily. He looked angry, probably because it was such
an obvious trap but one they couldn’t ignore. “But we can’t just rush in blindly.”

  Liam flinched at the obvious dig.

  “My team can start working on finding Aiden right away,” Cooper said, tapping his fingers against the table. “If it is a trap like you suspect then I don’t imagine it’ll be difficult.”

  “Then we will have to discuss these things.” Maura looked between the three men, ending with Liam. “And given recent events… I’m sorry, Captain Young, but I am going to have to ask you to leave so Cooper, Patrick and I can discuss this.”

  Liam stood, nodding. “I understand.”

  He stepped toward the door, but a rumble from Patrick made him turn again. The Colonel met his eye and pointed at him. “Stay on Academy grounds.”

  Liam saluted. “Yes, sir.”

  Patrick saluted back, and Maura nodded in dismissal. Liam left the room, feeling like a weight was on his shoulders. He could go for a drink, but even that didn’t sound appealing. What he wanted to do more than anything was to just take wing again. To go back, find Aiden, and get him out safely. Which was exactly why Patrick made such a point about him staying on Academy grounds.

  Not that Liam was going to leave. He was still weighed down by exhaustion. He wasn’t in any shape to pull a rescue mission. He needed to rest, heal… The idea of laying still and doing nothing was enough to drive him crazy, though.

  Maybe if he found a girl… Maybe Clementine would be willing to give him a little comfort… But the only face that flashed before his eyes was Utopia’s. The only thing he felt was her curves pressed against his body. The taste of her lips on his.

  With a growl, half angry, half horny, he turned on his heel. Only to nearly run right into Eugene. The Major jumped back. Liam shook his head—it was a sign of just how out of it he’d been if Eugene could sneak up on him.

  “Hey, Cap.” Eugene slugged his shoulder. “I was just wondering if you felt up to sparring? Or if you’re too tired for that, maybe we could watch a movie or—”

  “Not interesting in going on a date right now.” Liam frowned at him. “Was it Patrick or Fiona that sent you to check up on me?”

  Eugene grimaced. “Neither. Everybody else did. We drew straws and I lost.”

  Liam rolled his eyes. “Well, that’s not surprising. Evan cheats and would’ve made sure you were the one to keep me in line. But you can go back and tell them not to worry. I’m not going to do anything stupid. I thought I’d just go get some rest.”

  “Hmmm.” Eugene studied him before shrugging. “Alright. I’m going this direction anyway, so I’ll just walk with you. I heard that Utopia is supposed to start working with Clementine. She’s furious. Absolutely furious.”

  “Which one?”

  “Clementine.” Eugene frowned. “Why would Utopia be furious? She’s lucky that we’re not locking her away in a dungeon somewhere terrible. She should be grateful that we’re giving her any chance at all. Nobody’s got a gun to her head.”

  How much had Patrick shared with the rest of the team? Liam would have liked to have told Eugene the whole story—he hadn’t been told not to. But there were some things a person shouldn’t have to be told.

  Liam shook his head, pressing his fingertips to his temples. “There is a lot going on right now. And I know that I’m the last person you’d expect to hear this from, but you can’t just assume things… It’s complicated with Utopia. She isn’t… what you’d think.”

  “She isn’t what I’d think?” Eugene frowned at him.

  “No. I… I don’t know how much you’ve been told.”

  “She supposedly has a kid being held hostage.”

  “Not supposedly.”

  Eugene rose a brow at him.

  “She doesn’t supposedly have a kid being held hostage. She has a son. He’s in the Pack’s hands. And she isn’t going to do anything until she has him back.”

  Eugene’s hand shot out. He grabbed Liam’s elbow, jerking him to a stop. Worry creased his brow. “You’re not thinking about going after him, are you? Liam, you don’t have medical clearance to be back in the field and—”

  “That’s Captain Young,” Liam snapped, but instantly regretted it. They didn’t insist on the formality of regular military establishments here. It made it so they worked better together. As Eugene stepped back, Liam tried to even his breathing. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

  “I know. You’re stressed.”

  Liam shook his head. Even though he knew he was stressed, it was reductive to say that all of this was happening just because he was stressed. His mind kept going back to Utopia, again and again. He wanted to see her. Wanted to talk with her. Wanted… he wasn’t sure what it would resolve, but he just wanted to be able to reassure her.

  Not that he had much to reassure her about.

  The weight came back to his shoulders. He had promised. Everything I can do, he said. But what could he do? Was he supposed to just lie around, sleep, feel better? Nervous energy rushed through him. His flames danced up and down, hotter than colder. He couldn’t seem to get control of himself.

  “I think maybe I need to go to the hospital,” he admitted at last. “I know Clementine wanted to run some more tests. I don’t know if this is physical or emotional, but I don’t feel right.”

  Eugene quickly stepped up and put an arm around him, bearing him up.

  Liam laughed, getting Eugene in a headlock and giving him a noogie. “I’m not going to fall over, Eu. It’s just the situation. Okay?”

  “Well, excuse me.” Eugene rubbed his head as Liam released him. “You say you’re not feeling right, so I try to help. We don’t know what Utopia did to you and what the effects are going to be. So, forgive me for being a little over-anxious to make sure that you’re okay. Come on, let’s get you to the hospital.”

  Liam hummed as they headed to the hospital, but his mind kept going over it all again and again. When they reached the doors, he had come to a decision. He hadn’t even realized it was one he was struggling with, but as he turned to Eugene, he nodded, pleased with what he’d decided.

  “Gather the rest of the Blaze Ops and tell them to come to see me,” he ordered. “I have some things to tell them.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Dr. Clementine Brown didn’t bother even trying to hide how much she hated Utopia. It would have weirded out Utopia, only the hatred was not at all as hostile as the impressions she used to get from the Alpha. Clementine might want to knock her silly for what she did, but actually lifting her hand to do it? Utopia didn’t get that sort of dangerous vibe off her. She wasn’t the kind of person to hurt other people.

  Utopia just hoped her gut was right on this one.

  Still, there was no hiding the stink eye that Clementine was giving her as she looked over Liam’s chart. Utopia frowned at the various results of his bloodwork. It all fell within the normal ranges, but that in itself wasn’t really… entirely normal. True, they were only in phase two, but the drugs that she’d been giving him should have been suppressing certain systems still.

  “Check his CBC and thyroid again.” Utopia put the results down and rubbed her eyes. “It could just be that he’s a dragon, but he shouldn’t be recovering this quickly.”

  “Isn’t a quick recovery a good thing?”

  Utopia shook her head. “Normally yes, but in this case, it could mean that there’s a buildup of the drugs that haven’t fully been metabolized yet. It’s happened before. And if that is the case, then he needs to have a close watch kept on him.”

  Clementine snorted. “Must feel good.”

  A growl reverberated in Utopia’s chest, but she held it back from becoming audible. “What must?”

  “To be able to buy your way out of being held responsible for what you did.”

  Utopia didn’t bother to respond. She had no desire to get into it with this woman. The fact was that whatever Utopia said, Clementine did have the high ground. After all, wasn’t one of the basic tenants of becoming a doct
or ‘do no harm’?

  And she had caused harm. Utopia could not deny that. She’d done her best to mitigate that harm, but she had caused it. Clementine wouldn’t understand. She wasn’t a mother.

  The deal that the Academy had offered her, complete immunity, made her feel sick to her stomach. If it wasn’t for the fact that she needed to be there for Aiden when he was rescued, she wouldn’t have taken it. She’d have done what she could to share her research so the Academy could combat it and then take her jail time.

  The door opened. Utopia jumped as a wave of hostility rushed over her, causing the hair on her arms to stand on end. She looked around quickly, her heart stuttering to a stop when a man walked in. He wasn’t as big as Liam but still was muscular and covered in tattoos. There was something about him that froze Utopia’s blood. Her snow leopard hissed.

  “Cooper,” Clementine said, her eyes widening as she fell back a step. So, she was sensing the danger, too? “What are you doing here?”

  Cooper didn’t even look at her. “I need to talk with Dr. Tennet privately.”

  “But I—”

  “Privately,” Cooper repeated more firmly. His gaze flickered to Clementine briefly, and she actually flinched back from him.

  The other doctor hurried out without another word. Utopia’s heart beat faster. She tried to breathe evenly but the look in Cooper’s eye… She might have signed those papers saying she was going to help them, but she knew without him saying that this man would kill her the first excuse he got. Her stomach clenched and churned as she backed away from him.

  “Do you know who I am?”

  Utopia tried to think if she’d seen him before. “You were there when Liam’s teammates brought us back.”

  Cooper pulled one of the latex gloves from the box. He stretched the fingers out, taking his time. What was he doing? What did he want? Utopia wanted to ask but didn’t dare. She clutched the clipboard tighter in her hands. It was the only thing right now she could even start to think of using as a weapon. If there were scalpels or needles… but that sort of thing wasn’t just left lying around!