The Dragon Conspiracy by Lisa Shearin Read Free Book Online Page A

phone just as soon as I’m finished. Don’t worry; we’re going to take care of you.”
    The smile reassured Ben Sadler.
    The smile creeped me the hell out.
    One, I’d never seen Ian do anything easy and relaxed, especially not smile at a time like this. And two, I’d seen what Ben had done to that harpy, plus gotten myself a free sample, and I knew that in SPI speak, “take care of” could very well mean a cell, an interrogation room back at headquarters, or both. Fortunately, Ben Sadler was still too freaked-out by being attacked by harpies and threatened by the owner of the diamonds his employer was in the running to auction off to take Ian’s words at anything other than face value.
    “Thank you,” the appraiser said. “I believe I could use some assistance.”
    Ian spoke into his headset. “Mobile Six, we have three for extraction. Request pickup at the west entrance.”
    Ben’s baby blues went even wider than when he’d first laid eyes on those harpies. “Mobile Six?
Extraction?
Who are you people?”
    “Take it easy, sir.” Ian knelt and quickly placed a steadying hand on Ben’s wrist.
    The diamond appraiser instantly relaxed.
    Way too relaxed, far too fast.
    I quickly leaned forward. “What did you—”
    Ian flipped his hand open toward me. I saw a flash of a tiny needle.

5
    “A needle? You drugged him?” My voice started rising. Anger does that to me. “You can’t just kidnap a man from a thousand-buck-a-head gala.”
    Ian was patting Ben down for weapons, and found none. “It’s not kidnapping.” He gripped Ben’s arm above the elbow and hauled him halfway to his feet. “It’s protective custody.” He lowered his shoulder to Ben’s midsection and, with no discernible effort, hoisted the Christie’s appraiser up into a fireman’s carry. “Let’s go.”
    Just because Viktor Kain was on the other side of a reinforced fire door, didn’t mean I couldn’t still feel his menace clear down to my bones. I scurried on bare feet to catch up with Ian’s long strides, realizing that my shoes were still somewhere in the Sackler Wing. High-heeled pumps were death traps; they could stay there.
    “Protective custody from Viktor Kain,” I conceded. “Okay, I can see that. But did you have to—”
    Ian indicated my arm. “He did that?”
    I looked where he was looking. My forearm was red and starting to swell. “Yes, but he didn’t mean to hurt me. I scared him.”
    Ian raised an eyebrow.
    “I can scare people,” I said indignantly.
    He glanced at my hair. “Must have been the shrimp.” He keyed his mike. “Mobile Six, I need confirmation on that extraction. We have a probable Code Three.” He listened for a moment. “Roger that. We’ll be there in ten.”
    I’d been with SPI for nearly a year, but I’d never heard that one before. “Code Three?”
    “Rogue talent.”
    “Rogue?”
    “Untrained, untested, unpredictable. Dangerous to himself and everyone else. And after what this guy did, it’s not going to take long for a line of people and not-people to form wanting to chat with him. Right now it doesn’t matter if he’s new to his magic, or if he’s just stupid enough to throw it around in public. Viktor Kain isn’t the only one wanting to talk to him. This place is about to be overrun with cops and feds, and our boy wonder doesn’t need to talk to any of them.”
    Ian didn’t need to explain. Cops meant questions. Questions signaled evasive maneuvers, either verbal, physical, or both.
    Most of the witnesses had been too busy watching what their eyes and common sense had told them couldn’t be real. But once the cops got hold of the surveillance tape, they’d be able to zoom right in on me and Ben. We needed to make ourselves scarce before the NYPD took that choice way from us. A guy new to his power and who’d literally been smacked upside the head with the reality of the supernatural world did not want to be in a police or FBI interrogation room.
    “Until we