The Dragon Next Door

Chapter 4

DONOVAN WARREN ROLLED over, wincing in pain at the motion. He ached from the top of his cracked skull to his shattered knees. Lisada and her minions had done a number on him, but he’d gotten away. He’d left everything behind, including his cell phone, but once he’d heard over the intercom at Campbell’s house that the plan was to escape and then to meet at the safehouse in Alaska, he’d broken free...barely. He and the others had thought they were untouchable and hadn’t been ready for the intensity of an attack by a powerful witch and her followers. Yet, he was sure everyone had gotten out alive. And he was in a hurry to meet up with them and de-brief the situation. Where did they go from here? Only as a united group could they take on and defeat whatever evil was behind the escalation in attacks on paranormal beings lately.

For now, he woke alone in another hotel bed, but seeing as he was already in Alaska, he should reach the safehouse tonight, and though dragons didn’t heal as quickly as other supernatural beings, he hoped his injuries would be mostly mended by the time he arrived. Last thing he needed was to be ribbed by Mac the cagey werewolf, Campbell the bleeding heart vampire, and Achak the tricky shape-shifter about not being able to hold his own. He smiled to himself. They were a motley crew of paranormal beings, but they were tighter than tight.

He rose from the bed slowly and gathered the few items he’d managed to scrounge together as he traveled over the last couple days. Every movement brought a new round of pain, but he needed to get to the safehouse as soon as possible. From there, they could regroup and figure out what to do next.

One good thing about traveling light, even involuntarily, was that he was ready to go within a matter of minutes. With care, so he didn’t tear any of his self-done stitches, he lifted his emergency duffle over his shoulder. This wasn’t the first time he’d had to run in a hurry. Now he kept the bag behind the seat of his Ford pick-up for just such a time as this.

A quick check-out, and Donovan stepped into the sunlight. He held the door for an elderly lady dragging a heavy suitcase inside. Without thought, he picked up the baggage for her and walked it to the counter.

“Thank you, young man.”

“No problem. Do you need me to cart it to your room for you?”

“Oh, no. This young man behind the counter will take care of me.”

With a nod, Donovan picked up his own luggage, walked toward the parking lot, and stopped short at the sight in front of him. He dropped his bag and stepped around his truck, getting angrier by the moment. Every single one of his tires had been slashed and were flat beyond repair. What the...?

He looked around at the few other vehicles in the lot. No one else’s car seemed to have taken any damage, which meant one thing for sure. He’d been targeted.

With his gaze scanning the area, he backed up onto the sidewalk. As far as he could see, nothing out of the ordinary was stirring. Nobody was even in the parking lot.

“Dammit!”

Donovan walked back toward the entrance to the hotel and approached the front desk.

“Do you have security cameras mounted outside?”

The clerk raised his gaze from the computer screen in front of him and explained, “We do.” Then realization hit and the smile fell from his face. “Do I need to call the police?”

Reaching into his pocket for his wallet, Donovan asked, “What kind of vehicle do you drive?”