Page 52 of Dragon Charmed

Tessa couldn’t stop her eye roll. Was he on drugs or something? “Right. Now you’re having visions? Not all dragons can see the future.”

Ben frowned. “Well, I’m in a dark, damp place. I think it’s a cave. I’m fighting someone who has claws like I do and…they die.”

Tessa stumbled back, almost dropping the Taser. This couldn’t be happening.

His eyes widened at her reaction. “You know what I’m talking about. Did it already happen? Did I kill someone?”

Her hand started to sweat, making the Taser slippery. How many dragon deaths in caves could there be? “Yes. You killed Adam Simonson, the leader of the dragon clan.”

His beard stood out in stark contrast to his pale face. “It’s true… I killed someone.” He dropped to the bed and folded in on himself.

His reactions and emotions seemed so real, but she couldn’t trust him or her ability to distinguish truth from lies. She hardened her heart. “They will hold you accountable.”

His brown eyes were drenched in misery. “If I did what you say I did, I should be punished.”

Chapter 20

Ben was having trouble breathing. He’d wanted so badly to know who he was, but he should have remembered to be careful what you wish for. Should have remembered— hah.

He pushed back on the bed and propped himself against the metal headboard.

Tessa stiffened and lifted the Taser higher. “What are you doing?”

“I’m settling in. Once you call your friends, I assume it will take a while for them to get here?”

Tessa reached into her other pocket and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. He almost chuckled at the sight of them, but he felt like his throat and chest were full of razorblades.

“Throw them over and I’ll lock myself to the headboard.”

Confusion filled her expression. “Why are you being so…helpful?”

“Because I wasn’t lying before.”

A scoff erupted. “You’ll need to clarify what part of your story you’re talking about.”

He wanted to shout, All of it! but instead he kept it simple. “The part where I said I deserved to be punished.”

Something new flashed in her denim eyes. Was it pity? He didn’t need that. He hated that she stayed away from him, but he deserved it.

Had it only been a few short days ago when they were lying in a similar motel bed facing each other? He held his hand out, and she studied him for a moment before she tossed the cuffs. He snapped one on the headboard and then the other on his right hand. He pulled on it and let it jangle so that she could see that he had attached them securely.

She pulled out her phone and clicked on a number before her eyes narrowed with determination. “Eric. It’s me. He reached out and I’ve got him.” She rattled off the motel name and address. “You and Marcus need to get here. Bring some guards too.”

Ben couldn’t make out what the voice was saying, but they were talking fast.

“No. He can’t leave. I have him handcuffed to the bed.” She frowned. “A dragon can’t break cuffs, right?”

The voice on the other side of the phone got a hell of a lot louder, and she held the phone away from her ear. “I’ll explain when you get here. Okay. See you then.”

She clicked on her phone and set it on the desk next to the door.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

She tightened the hold on her Taser. “About what, exactly?”

“About not telling you the truth when you mistook me for a PI.”

She turned away from him for a second as if to gather herself. When she turned back, a mask had dropped over her expression. And that was even worse than the pity he’d seen earlier.