O'Malley: Summer (Shifter Seasons Book 7) Page 5

  “I’m a shifter. I have superhuman strength as well as superhuman senses.” He wasn’t joking. Which made her feel better.

  Better about a whole lot of other things that had been worrying her. O’Malley could take care of himself. He could also take care of her. If they were in danger, he would get them out of it. The determination in the set of his jaw and the calm control in his voice reassured her she’d made the right decision coming here.

  “What time is our flight?” Hannah looked at her watch. O’Malley had asked her to meet him at the bar before dark. He hadn’t given her any details of where they were taking off from or what kind of plane they would fly in.

  O’Malley looked at the watch on his wrist. Karl had a similar one. He’d brought it home when he’d left the Army. Hannah closed her eyes and tried to stem the flow of tears that threatened. This was all too real. They were about to leave to find her brother.

  She’d spent weeks trying to get someone to listen to her. Hours on the phone trying to persuade the authorities to look for Karl. But it had all seemed as though it was happening to someone else.

  This was real. They were about to leave to go and look for Karl. Because he was missing.

  She reached out and placed a hand on the back of a chair as the bar swirled around her.

  “Hey.” O’Malley was by her side in a second. His speed certainly was superhuman. “Sit for a moment.”

  He pulled out a chair and she collapsed into it, feeling weak and stupid. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize.” He watched her face, his own anguish real. “Let me do this for you. You could stay here, and I’ll keep you updated with whatever I find.”

  She shook her head, at the same time she wiped the treacherous tears from her face. “No, I’m coming with you.” She sniffed loudly. “I don’t have the strength right now to argue that point with you.”

  “Then we won’t argue.” He smiled up at her and brushed a tear from her cheek. “We go together.”

  “Thanks.” She looked down into his soft caramel-colored eyes. “It just suddenly hit me that Karl is actually missing. I know it sounds stupid but before…”

  “It was distant, you were still detached from it.” He showed complete understanding. “And now that you are going there yourself, it’s real. It’s tangible.”

  “That’s it. I’m about to go and fly to the Himalayas. Not somewhere I ever thought I’d visit. I’m more of a warm sea and white sandy beaches kind of a girl.” She smiled weakly. “I don’t think I could do it alone. So thank you for agreeing to come with me.”

  “No problem.” He chewed the inside of his cheek as if he were trying to stop himself from saying any more.

  “I’m okay now.” She stood up and shouldered her pack. “Are we ready to go?”

  A small smile crept across his lips as she said we. “We are ready. But before we go, there is something I have to tell you.”

  Her heart skipped a beat before it hammered loudly in her chest. Was this it? O’Malley was going to tell Hannah they were mates. He was going to tell her they were meant to be together forever like true soul mates. The notion both excited and terrified her.

  Mostly it just made her feel safe. If what Betsy said was true, then it would explain why O’Malley agreed to go with her and also mean that he would be there for her no matter what. A fact that seemed particularly important right now.

  “Go ahead.” She breathed out slowly as the bar once more seemed to circle around and around her head. This time she was ready and placed her hand on the back of the chair for support.

  “It’s about our flight.”

  “Oh. Okay.” Her heart hammered in her chest for a different reason. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, everything is fine,” he reassured her although his expression said otherwise.

  Hannah waited for him to continue. If everything was fine, why did he hesitate? He was stalling. “How small is the plane?”

  His eyes darkened. “That’s the thing.”

  “What’s the thing?”

  “We’re not traveling by plane.”

  “Helicopter?” Her stomach lurched at the thought. But surely it was too far to fly by helicopter. Not that she had any real idea of how long a helicopter could fly for. Perhaps O’Malley had called in a favor from a military friend.

  “Yes, everything is fine,” he reassured her although his expression said otherwise.

  “Then how are we getting there?” Hannah tightened her grip on the back of the chair while also holding onto the strap of her backpack as if it were a parachute. Was she going to need a parachute? Her stomach roiled at the thought.

  “Okay. Maybe we should sit back down.” He went to the bar and filled up two glasses with an amber liquid and brought them back to the table. “Please.”

  Hannah set her backpack down on the floor before she sat down. She wanted to scream at him, just tell me. But part of her didn’t want to know. “O’Malley?”

  He placed the glass in front of her and she immediately recognized the smell of brandy. Her dad used to drink it when her mom was alive for medicinal purposes. After her mom died, he drank to forget.

  “Drink.” He swirled the brandy around in his glass before he placed it to his lips and downed it in one gulp. He winced and placed the empty glass on the table.

  Hannah took a breath, picked up the shot glass, and gulped down the liquor. “Oh, that burns.” She screwed up her face. The brandy might burn but as the alcohol threaded through her bloodstream, she welcomed the buzz.

  “We’re flying to the village on the back of a dragon,” O’Malley told her while she was still recovering from her shot of brandy.

  “A what?” She pushed the glass toward him. “It’s going to take more than one shot of brandy to make me believe that.”

  “It’s the truth.” His expression was deadly serious.

  “Look, if it’s some new top-secret military plane, that’s fine, I won’t tell a soul.” She studied his expression and a sneaking doubt crept into her head. One that wormed its way in and would not leave no matter how many times she told herself this was crazy. Crazier than crazy. “A dragon.”

  “Yes.”

  “You know that sounds crazy?”

  “Yes.”

  Ahh, now she got it.

  Hannah stood up and grabbed her backpack from the floor. “Is this how you intend to get back at Karl?”

  “I’m sorry?” He leaned back in his seat, stunned by the change in tone of her voice.

  “You and Karl didn’t get along in the Army so you think it’d be cool to get back at him by telling me you would agree to help and then inventing this preposterous idea that we’re going to fly there on the back of a dragon?” Her temper flared. He’d wasted a whole day of her time.

  “No.” He jumped to his feet and came around the table to her. “That’s not it at all.”

  “I bet shifters aren’t even real, are they?” she hissed. “Is that also something you made Karl believe?”

  Although, she had no idea how he would trick her brother into thinking he could turn into a cougar. The incident had happened when they were under fire so it’s not as if it could have been staged. And hadn’t she seen two people shift earlier today? However, at this precise moment, her brain was not thinking clearly.

  “Hold on.” He put his hands up as if to stop her as she stomped toward the door. “I’m telling you the truth.”

  “Don’t.” Hannah warded him off, but he reached out and grabbed hold of her arm just above the elbow. “Let go of me.” She wrenched her arm out of his grasp, but he moved to the door and stood between her and the only way out.

  “I know how crazy it sounds, I really do. But it’s the truth. The same as it’s true I’m a shifter.” He sighed and his shoulders drooped. When he spoke again, his voice was calmer, as if he’d regained control. “I can prove that shifters are real right here, right now. I can shift.”

  She tilted her head back and looked at him
levelly, trying to figure him out. “Please, don’t waste my time.”

  “I’m not. I promise you that shifters are real and that I have a friend who is a dragon shifter who has agreed to fly us to the village where Karl was last seen. Right to the village.” He locked eyes with her, and she could not see a lie.

  “Damn it.” She swept a hand over her hair which she’d tied back in a ponytail. “This is the…”

  “Trust me.” He moved away from the door so that she was free to go if she wanted to. “Come with me. It’s a short drive to my friend’s house and there you’ll see the dragon.” He shrugged. “If not, then you’ll know I’m full of crap.”

  He was right. Since they were about to fly on the back of a dragon, it wasn’t as if there was much point in him lying. Why would he have said such a thing if it wasn’t real?

  But that left one very disturbing fact that she could not ignore. If this dragon was real, then she was going to climb up and fly away on the back of a mythological creature.

  Chapter Seven – O’Malley

  For a long moment, he thought they had lost her. Hannah looked as if she was going to storm out of the bar and never look back.

  Telling our mate she’s going to ride on the back of a dragon was never going to be easy, his cougar tried to console him.

  Would it have been better if we’d simply arrived at Kelos’s house and watched him shift? O’Malley asked.

  No, that would have been a disaster and we would have lost Hannah’s trust. His cougar was right. This was the best way even if Hannah was seated next to him in the truck, not saying a word.

  “Are you warm enough?” It was a lame question, but it was a neutral one.

  “Yes. Thanks.” She glanced sideways at him, chewing her bottom lip. “If this dragon is real, how do we ride him?”

  “Kelos’s dragon will bend his front leg. We climb on it and then we clamber onto his back.” O’Malley chuckled. “Just don’t ask about a saddle.”

  “There is no saddle?”

  “No, no bridle either. Although, he does have horns along his back. We kind of sandwich ourselves between them and hold on tight.”

  She leaned her elbow on the door. “I don’t know if I prefer you to have made the whole thing up or if I want this to be true.”

  “Dragon flight is the fastest, most direct route to your brother’s last known whereabouts.” O’Malley longed to reach out and take her hand and tell Hannah it was all right and that he would never let her fall. However, she was too uncertain about him right now. Nothing he said would help soothe her fears.

  She sat up straighter in her seat as he turned off the road and drove up the trail that led to Kelos’s house. Hannah stared into the twilight as if expecting to see a dragon standing in front of the house waiting for its passengers to arrive.

  Instead, they were met by Kelos and Amber, who were standing together, wrapped in each other’s arms. O’Malley experienced a twinge of guilt that he was stealing Kelos away from his mate.

  “Hi.” Amber raised her hand but didn’t leave Kelos’s side.

  “Hi. Thanks so much for doing this.” O’Malley got out of the truck and went around to the passenger side where Hannah remained with her seatbelt still firmly buckled.

  “No problem,” Kelos said as he and Amber came toward the truck.

  “He’s really a dragon?” Hannah hissed, not knowing Kelos could hear her.

  “He is.” O’Malley shot a look over his shoulder. “He doesn’t look too scary, does he?”

  “He doesn’t bite.” Amber stepped forward to greet a nervous-looking Hannah. “I’m Amber. And I also know how crazy this must all seem to you.”

  “I’m Hannah.” Hannah took a step away from O’Malley. He wanted to reach out and grab her, pull her back to his side, but he let her go.

  We thought finding our mate was hard but letting her go is even harder. His cougar stretched, his attention fixed on Hannah.

  “Kelos.” Kelos stepped forward to stand by Amber’s side. “And my wife is right, I don’t bite. Not anymore at least, but there have been times…”

  Amber dug him in the ribs. “Not helpful.”

  Hannah laughed nervously. “You’re not joking, are you?”

  “No, I’m not but that was in the days when people were less civilized.” Kelos grinned and Hannah relaxed.

  “It’s all a shock, that’s all.” She waved her hand around her head. “I’m just trying to process it all.”

  “It took me a while,” Amber admitted. “When I found out about Kelos, it was a surprise. To learn I was also his mate…” She slipped an arm around Kelos’s waist and leaned on his chest. “That took some getting used to.”

  “But she could not resist my charms.” Kelos dropped a kiss on the top of his mate’s head.

  “Or his treasure hoard,” Amber whispered loudly.

  “You actually have treasure?” Hannah asked.

  “Yes. When you and O’Malley get back, I will show it to you.” Kelos glanced toward the sky before he leveled his gaze at O’Malley. “We should leave. There is time for me to get there and back again if we leave in the next half an hour. If not, I am going to be spending the night curled up on a mountain somewhere.”

  “And we have a guy coming over to fix the boiler tomorrow.” Amber smiled apologetically. “But if you need Kelos to stay, I can rearrange my day.”

  “No, I appreciate the offer, but we’ll be okay.” O’Malley opened his backpack and dug out a satellite phone Jake had loaned him. “When we’re ready to come home, I’ll call you. Is that okay?”

  “Yes. Call me at any time. For anything. If you need help, if you get into trouble in any way, tell me. If you can give me your coordinates, I can find you,” Kelos said.

  “We could use What3words,” Hannah said. She seemed to be back to her normal self. Meeting Amber and Kelos and finding out they were like two normal everyday people seemed to have settled her nerves.

  That might not last when Kelos shifts and she sees him as a dragon for the first time. As for climbing on his back… His cougar left the sentence hanging.

  Hannah will find the courage. She has to if she wants to find her brother and we both know she wants to do that more than anything. O’Malley had faith in his mate’s strength.

  “What3Words?” Kelos asked.

  “Yes, it’s an app. It can pinpoint your exact location down to a three-meter square.” Hannah took out her phone and tapped the screen to show the others but then she stopped, heat creeping across her cheeks as the last rays of sun slipped away. “Of course, you could simply sense us. I forgot you guys don’t operate on normal human parameters.”

  “I’d like to see it,” Amber said enthusiastically. “Why don’t you show me the app while the guys grab the gear and get ready to leave?”

  “You don’t have to. Just to make me feel useful.” Hannah gave Amber a thankful smile.

  “Are you kidding? You have yet to learn what it’s like to live with a shifter. Anything that will give me the tiniest bit of an advantage when pitted against my husband is welcome.” Amber looped arms with Hannah and led her toward the house.

  “Thank you.” Hannah’s voice drifted to O’Malley as they walked away.

  “Thank you,” Amber replied. “For coming into O’Malley’s life.”

  Hannah ducked her head and spoke so quietly that O’Malley could not hear what she said.

  “Sometimes it is better not to eavesdrop,” Kelos told him.

  “I expect you are right.” O’Malley grabbed the packs and handed one to Kelos as he checked the truck over.

  “You’ve packed light,” Kelos said as he hefted O’Malley’s pack onto his shoulder.

  “Hannah is certainly prepared. There was no way she was going to carry all of the gear she brought so I swapped it into mine.” O’Malley inhaled deeply and let it out slowly as his nerves built. “I haven’t traveled into a mountain region with a civilian before.”

  “A civilian?” Kel
os asked. “Is that the new word for mate?”

  “No, it’s the word for an untrained person of non-shifter persuasion.”

  “Ah, I see. Shifters can naturally take care of themselves and soldiers are trained to take care of themselves.” Kelos nodded as O’Malley handed him the keys to his truck. “I believe your mate is capable of taking care of herself, especially if she has you watching over her.”

  “It’s scary, isn’t it?” O’Malley swapped packs with Kelos and inserted both arms through the straps before lifting it onto his shoulders.

  “Having a mate?” Kelos asked.

  “Yes. I’m so happy I could burst and yet at the same time I am terrified that something is going to happen to her while we’re searching for Karl. It makes me resent the guy even more,” O’Malley admitted.

  “Resent him for getting lost even though if he had not gotten lost, Hannah would never have walked into your bar?” Kelos had a way of putting things into perspective.

  “Now you are saying I have to thank the guy for getting himself in whatever trouble he is in?” O’Malley rolled his eyes. “Some friend you are.”

  Kelos chuckled. “Aren’t we such complex creatures?”

  “None more so than a dragon shifter who has lived through the ages of man,” O’Malley stopped walking and turned to face Kelos. “I can’t thank you enough for doing this.”

  “Yes, you can. By finding Hannah’s brother.” He leaned forward and dropped his voice. “Dead or alive.”

  “Dead does not bear thinking about.”

  “But whatever the outcome, you are there for Hannah and that is the most important thing. You will be her shoulder to cry on or the person she celebrates with. But more importantly, you are the person she came to who she knows she can rely on and you will not let her down because you are her mate.” Kelos glanced at the sky once more. “As much as I enjoy your company, we need to leave. I really do not want to spend a day in some remote place when I could be here with my mate.”

  “I understand.”

  “I know you do.” Kelos laughed as they turned to the house and their mates who were inside talking.