Dragon Image [D.O.A 6]

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

“People! People! We can’t help anyone if you all keep speaking at the same time.” Pit said in frustration. “I wanted to talk about how we can help our town become closer, not divide everyone.”

Gunner sighed, wishing he was anywhere but in the old diner. It used to be a place for people to go and have a nice meal in Drago… one of the only businesses their small town had at the moment. However, the owner of the diner, Cameron, had turned out to be a douche sent to kill one of their townspeople, Gio—Cobra’s mate. Since Cameron was now dead, the diner sat empty and Gunner couldn’t help but wish someone was on the other side of the counter cooking them all a great meal, because damn he was hungry. Being a D.O.A. agent meant sometimes they missed meals and since Gunner had been out on assignment for the past couple of days taking out a serial con man, he had barely made it back in time for this meeting. Not that he regretted it.

There was nothing Gunner wouldn’t do to take out the scum that threatened the humans of this world.

Gods, he loved being a D.O.A. agent. Each one of them had been chosen by Heck, the right-hand man to god himself, to help protect humans against the worst of the worst… serialists of all kinds, whether it be killer, arsonist, con men and women… whatever life brought their way.

They worked within the human laws when dealing with humans and when a shifter or other paranormal turned out to be the serialist, then D.O.A. dealt with them within shifter law. There was nothing like hunting for a serialist and taking them down. Making the human race safe once again and having a dragon as a partner, or maharishi to the D.O.A. made it even more spectacular.

Dragons by large were fierce and awe inspiring and there were some amazing dragons in Drago

—one per agent—but Gunner knew his maharishi was by far the coolest and most spectacular of them all. As with all D.O.A. agents and their maharishi, they were soul bonded the moment they agreed to help Heck with his mission to save the human race from harm. Gunner’s dragon was no different in that aspect, but where he was different from all others was the menacing presence he displayed, causing people to think twice before even trying to escape from Gunner once he found his man… or woman, whichever the case might be. It was because of the fear he brought to those who merely caught a glimpse of his maharishi, that his dragon had decided to rest in tattoo form on Gunner’s forearm.

There were differences as well as similarities to each maharishi. They were all dragons. They were each soul bonded to their D.O.A. agent. Some could fly like Gunner’s dragon and some preferred the water. All could change their size and body mass. Hell, Wiz’s dragon preferred to stay so damn small, Gunner always worried he might step on the thing and kill it. Azul, Pit’s maharishi really liked to be the size of a tall man. Smoky, Casper’s liked being his original size and flying around Drago with Spirit, Taj’s maharishi, to keep the townspeople safe and Gunner’s… well, Gunner’s maharishi preferred to stay plastered onto Gunner’s body like a tattoo, because as much as Gunner loved his dragon’s menacing looks and fear he brought to

everyone, his maharishi did not. No, his dragon hated his appearance and the look of fear from everyone around him. Not that his dragon ever really said anything, but Gunner knew.

Gunner wished that his maharishi could see in himself what Gunner did. The strength, the kindness, caring, and devotion he had to humans was like none of the other dragons. Oh, the maharishi cared and did what they could to help, but did it out of a sense of duty to Heck.

Gunner’s maharishi did it because it broke his heart to see someone being harmed and having no one to look out for them… keep them safe. Yep, Gunner’s dragon had a big heart and some serious self-esteem issues. Issues Gunner had tried for centuries to break past, but damned if he was even close to helping the poor guy.

“Is it over yet?” his dragon asked.

“Nope. We just started fifteen minutes ago. How could we possibly be done right this minute?”

Gunner responded with a snort.

Gunner respected the hell out of his leader, Pit, but this had to be the stupidest idea he ever had.

Drago was a small town that was supposed to be designed around hiding out people for witness protection. A place that people could call home without fear of death. Some were brought here for turning state’s evidence against some really evil people. Some came to Drago because they discovered D.O.A.’s secret. It was not every day a person came face to face with a dragon, and when they did, they had two choices, promise to tell no one and said dragon would know if they were lying, or tell the truth and come to Drago to live out the rest of their lives.

Learning that they would live rent free and in peace often had people choosing Drago, and as a result, the town’s population had gone from about fifty to almost three hundred.

A loud whistle brought Gunner out of his musing. Jude was standing on top of a table saying loud enough for everyone to hear, “Look, we know how hard things can be here… how boring, and we realize that everyone is excited about the prospect of earning money for themselves.

Work, no matter what kind…”

“As long as it’s legal, of course.” Rylee chipped in, causing everyone to laugh.

Jude rolled his eyes, “That goes without saying, Ry.” Jude looked out to the others, “Working gives us a sense of purpose. A way to distract us from our thoughts as well as makes us just feel good about waking up in the morning. We know that Drago is dull and boring as hell.”

“Jude!” Pit growled, causing Gunner to quietly laugh.

Again Jude rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, big guy. You can growl all you want to, but face it, this place is dullsville. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’d love a place to go and have a drink, maybe get my mate to dance with me.”

“I used to run a bar. It would be nice to do that again.” A tall muscular man said from the middle of the room.

“That would be great, Patrick, and that would bring in jobs for some people that don’t actually want to own a business.” Bren said with a wide smile.

“I used to own a bakery. I could do that.” Another woman said.

Gunner listened as the townspeople began to all call out different ideas for businesses for their town. A flower shop, barber shop that would sit next to Miss Margret’s Salon, a coffee shop that would also have some sandwiches and soup. Ideas were just flowing.

When the young man Gunner remembered seeing with Giovani, Cobra’s new mate, raised his hand, not saying anything, something inside Gunner stirred, and he found himself shouldering Gio. “Hey, I think your friend wants to say something.”

Gio looked up and in the direction Gunner was indicating. “Gordy? Holy crap, I can’t believe he’s even trying to say anything.”

“Why’s that? He a snob or something?” Gunner asked, hating even thinking something like that about the adorable man.

Shaking his head, Gio replied, “No. He’s that shy. Gordy really doesn’t talk to many people. For him to even raise his hand is huge.”

Nodding in understanding, and wanting to hear what the beautiful man had to say, Gunner called out loud enough that everyone could hear, “Gordy, you have something to tell us?”

Gordy’s eyes went huge and his face turned the most adorable shade of pink when everyone stopped talking and looked in his direction. “Um… well, I… ummm… I was wondering… I’ve never owned… I mean, I know how to cook….”

Gunner was shocked when his maharishi lifted partially off his arm, looked in Gordy’s direction, then quietly asked, “Who is that lovely man speaking?”

Using their mind-speaking ability, Gunner replied, “His name is Gordy. He’s nervous enough, so don’t draw more attention to him.” His maharishi nodded and lowered part way, but continued to watch the young man.

Gunner couldn’t blame his maharishi for staring. Gordy couldn’t stand more than five and a half feet tall. He had short wavy brown hair that seemed to glisten red when he moved. It was like watching a fire trying to catch on wood. He had a little paunch at his middle, but that only attracted Gunner to him even more. Gunner had never liked a stick for a man when he f****d them. He was always worried he would break them or something. No, Gordy was magnificent, and Gunner’s hands itched to feel that soft skin under his fingertips.

Gio got up from his chair and made his way to his friend, “It’s okay, Gordy. Just slow down and take a deep breath, then tell us what it is you’re trying to say.”

Nodding, Gordy did as Gio suggested, then after letting out a slow breath, quietly said, “I would like to take over the diner.” His eyes then went wide, as he looked around, “I mean… if… if no one… I mean…”

“Hey, you forget, I’ve tasted your cooking and the people of Drago would be blessed to have you as the new owner of this place.” Gio said, looking around the room, “Right everyone?”

The townspeople all nodded shouting out their agreement.

Gordy swallowed once again, saying, “I… well, I just don’t know how I’d get supplies. I mean Cameron always went into town to do it and well… I… I can’t do that.”

Another large man stood up saying, “I can start a delivery service. I can start going into town for supplies for those that can’t leave Drago. I used to drive a truck before I came here. My CDL

might not still be good though.”

Nautical, one of the other D.O.A. agents, quickly said, “That would be fantastic, and if you could teach some others how to drive a truck, Wiz can work his magic and get you all you need so you are nice and legal. That would really take some of the stress off of us as far as getting supplies here like we already do. I know that we’ve hated having to rely on outsiders to do deliveries.”

“Okay, it sounds like we have a plan. Anyone that hasn’t decided if they would like to start a business can either work for those that have or keep on as you have been. It’s up to you at this point. However, if you haven’t come up with a business and wish to start one, contact Wiz and he can make sure to set up a meeting. Now, there is something else I’d also like to talk about. I’d like to start up our own fire and police stations.” Pit said.

The room erupted once more at the mention of police, but Pit held his hand up and everyone settled down. “Look, I know that a great deal of you don’t have the best experience when it comes to the law, but it has to be done. My men and I can’t keep doing what we have to do for Heck, patrol here and keep the peace, and still have time for our mates. We need to expand a bit.

We need your help, and I figured you guys would prefer to decide who runs it instead of me having Stone call in some favors from the FBI.”

“Drake! Drake would be the best to do the job.” Margret from the salon called out. There were shouts of “Here! Here!” all around.

“No.” Drake immediately shouted out.

When Gunner saw the look Margret gave to Drake, Gunner knew the man would have no choice but to cave. Gunner had been on the receiving look of that woman more than once and it never boded well for him either.

“Drake Gallow, you are the best qualified to do the job and you know it. Now as Pit here has said, he needs us to all pull together and help. He has given us all so much… hell, all of the D.O.A. men have, and never once has he asked us for anything. Not even money to pay for everything we have.” She looked around to all the people in the room, saying, “They saved many of our lives themselves and they have given us a home when we had nowhere to go.” Turning

back to Drake, Margret stated firmly, “The least you can do is pull your head out of your pity-party ass and help this man when he asks for it.”

Drake sighed, giving a sharp nod, “Fine. I’ll do it, but I expect help. I’ll pick the men and women that will work with me.”

Gunner completely understood his position. After all, it was because of his department being so crooked in the first place that Drake was even here. When his partner had been killed, Drake had begun an investigation to find the fucker responsible, and by the time it was done, not only did he discover that his entire precinct had killed his partner, but the whys of it as well. They were running guns and drugs.

When Drake had contacted the FBI for help, Clem, D.O.A.’s old FBI point of contact, had been assigned to the case and had called them in to help Drake take them all down. By the time they had finished, the entire police precinct had been either arrested or killed, but the plan of attack, as usual, didn’t exactly go down as it should have. Drake had seen the maharishi in all their glory.

They had offered to take Drake with them to Drago, as they did anyone that needed to come to terms in what they’d seen. He had originally refused.

Drake had tried to go back… he really did, but three times Drake had been sent on bogus calls, and all three times had barely made it out alive. Apparently, even if fellow officers were criminals, that was better than being a snitch amongst their kind.

Discouraged and disgusted, Drake had contacted Clem saying he had changed his mind and wanted to go to Drago to start over. As far as Gunner knew, Drake spent a lot of time fiddling in a shop behind his home doing gods only knew what and rarely mingled with the people in Drago.

“I can help with the fire department if you like?” Another large man said.

Looking to where the voice came from, Gunner noticed another rather large man standing there.

Shit, that fucker had to be almost as tall as his own six foot nine and was at least the same two twenty in weight. s**t, the closer Gunner looked at the guy, the more he thought they both could pass as brothers. Between their height and weight and short blond hair… hell, they even had the same strong chin and high cheekbones. It was only the fact that this guy had blue eyes and Gunner’s were a reddish orange—the same as his maharishi. Oh, he used to have blue eyes, but for some reason when he and his dragon had joined souls all those years ago, Gunner’s eyes had changed colors to reflect his maharishi. Somehow, Gunner always figured it made them closer than even the other guys to their dragons. Silly, but true.

“Rusty. I think that would be greatly appreciated. Do you think you’d be able to train some people so we can keep our citizens safe?” Pit asked.

Nodding, Rusty answered, “I can and will, Pit. Margret’s right. We owe you.” Holding up his hand before Pit could say anything, Rusty continued, “I know, you don’t think we do, but if it wasn’t for you, my kids and I would have been dead a long time ago, as would so many people here. Besides, this is our home too and you’re right, we should be getting off our asses and making it one. This is our town and it’s about time we start showing it.”

“Well, gods be damned, Rusty. I think that’s the most I’ve heard you say in the three years you’ve been here.” Margret said with a laugh.

It was funny to see such a large burly man blush such a bright red. Hell, that blush went clear to the tips of his ears.

“What are you doing staring at that man when you have such a tasty morsel over there with Gio?” Gunner’s maharishi asked.

“Stop being annoying. I wasn’t ogling that man, and as much as I would love to get a nip of Gordy’s flavor, I can’t.”

“Why the f**k not?”

“Because he’s close friends with Gio and that means he’s off limits.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it. Come on, Gunner, it’s been a seriously long time since you’ve had anyone share a bed with you. Gordy is sweet and sexy as f**k. If I were you I’d be on him like a dragon with his hoard.”

“Shut up.”

“Gunner, I think things are dwindling down in here if you want to head out.” Pit said.

Shit, Gunner barely resisted the urge to jump. How the f**k had Pit gotten so close without him or his maharishi noticing? Oh yeah, because he was busy ogling the sexy Gordy. Forcing himself to look away, Gunner said, “I can help.”

“You know, thinking about it, if you wouldn’t mind giving this key to Gordy. It’s to the diner.”

Pit said, turning to go to his mate and the others, then he turned back around, “Oh, and two more things. One, let Gordy know if he needs anything to let me know and I’ll make sure he gets it. I think the place is going to need new equipment because it looks pretty old. I think it’s dated to when this town was first built. Second, if you even think of tapping Gordy’s ass and using him as a disposable, I’ll f*****g kick your ass… that is, after Gio and the other mates get finished with you. He’s been through enough and is already struggling with things in Drago. I don’t want him messed with like a blow-up doll. Capeesh?”

“What I do and who I do is not really any of your business, Pit. You may be our leader, but the last time I checked, a mutual, consensual joining was between the two people involved, and you have no say in that, Pit.” Gunner stated angrily. Truth be known, Gunner had no clue why he was getting so pissed. Hell, he had just said about the same thing to his dragon.

Pit raised a brow, “Normally I would agree with you, Gunner, but not this time. Gordy is here, under my protection. He is best friends with Gio and Bren, and Lexi, Rylee and Jude have become close to the little guy. I won’t have him used up and tossed aside. The man’s been through enough and I won’t have him hurt even if it’s just emotionally.”

Gunner was about to lose his s**t. What the f**k is my problem?

“Gunner, let’s just give Gordy the key, pass on Pit’s message and get out of here. If we don’t, we just might be looking for a new leader, because I’m about to eat the prick.” Gunner’s maharishi said with a low growl.

Gunner started to walk away from Pit, snapping, “Heard.”

Doing his best not to push people out of his way, Gunner zigged and zagged until he was finally almost there. Gio must have said something funny, because the sexy man tossed his head back laughing.

The smile stopping Gunner right where he stood as his maharishi whispered, “f**k me, he’s sexy as hell, but when he smiles he’s absolutely stunning, and that laugh… I could sit and listen to that laugh forever.”

“I know, right. Holy s**t it’s going to be hard to keep my distance from that man.” Gunner replied mentally to his dragon.

“I don’t know what’s going on with me, but I really like him. He calls to me in a way I’ve not felt in a long time. Can’t we just take him out for a picnic or something? We could…”

“No! Even if Pit didn’t give us a warning to stay away I already told you we couldn’t be with Gordy that way. It wouldn’t be fair to him or to us. The way everyone is finding their sentiences around here, what if we did start dating him and ours came along? Then, we’d have to break his heart. No, it’s best we just give him his key and give him Pit’s message, then get the f**k out of here. Maybe we can head to the club in town and see what we can find?”

“Fine, Gunner, but I still think you’re being stupid.”

“Hey, Gunner, is there a problem?” Gio asked.

Holy f**k me sideways and running, Gordy had the most magnificent and hypnotizing copper-colored eyes Gunner had ever seen. Gunner knew that he could get lost in the way they sparkled and moved. He just bet that they could shimmer even brighter in the throes of passion, and damned if Gunner didn’t want to find out.

“Gunner?” Gio asked once more.

Blinking back to the real world, Gunner quickly handed Gordy the key Pit had given him, briskly saying, “Here’s the key to the diner. Pit said to tell you, if you need anything go to him.”

Turning around, Gunner made his way as quickly as possible to the door and rushed outside before he did something asinine, like grab Gordy and take him to the nearest bed and f**k him to unconsciousness.

Gunner’s dragon lifted off his arm, and grew to match Gunner’s size. They walked in silence towards the garage all the D.O.A. guys kept their bikes in, saying, “Gordy makes me feel funny.”

“What do you mean funny?” Gunner asked.

“I don’t know, just kind of mushy. Like I want to bring him gifts and spend time talking to him… getting to know him.”

Shaking his head, Gunner said, “I already explained why we can’t do that, so can we please drop it?”

“But what if… I mean he could be our… we don’t know he’s not our…”

“He is not our sentience. You know as well as I do that if that were the case one of us would be burning up with the dragon heat, and I don’t know about you, but Gordy looked fine and I feel like I always feel.” Gunner stated as he pulled his key out to his Soft Slim 112.

Gunner’s dragon sighed, “I feel fine too, I guess.”

Tossing his leg over to the other side, Gunner straddled his motorcycle, asking, “Are you coming or not?”

Shaking his head, his maharishi said, “No. I’m not in the mood anymore. You go and have fun.

I’m gonna stick around here.”

Gunner pursed his lips as his brows drew together. “Don’t you dare go back to Gordy. I mean it, you big s**t you. Stay away from him.”

Waving his large black claws in a shooing motion, his maharishi said, “Yeah I hear you. Just go.

I’m going to check out to see what the other maharishi are up to. Azul has learned how to play Texas Hold Em and he’s been teaching some of us how to play.”

Gunner started his bike, revving the engine a couple of times, hollering out, “Stay away from Gordy.” Then he took off as fast as his bike would take him.