Page 20 of Dragon Tempted

“Yes. So far we haven’t seen anyone around the property.”

“Is your son in his IT cave fine-tuning the security cameras?”

He nodded. “Jonas is tweaking the cameras and the proximity sensors. I’ve also got a couple guards still watching John’s land, and no one has come back.”

“Good. Did you assign Ryan to guard the perimeter?”

Marcus shook his head before giving her a long look. “You’ll have a new guard starting tomorrow.”

Sienna’s stomach dropped. “What happened today is on me, Marcus. This isn’t Ryan’s fault.”

Another long look. “Never said it was.”

“Then why are you removing Ryan from my security?”

“I’m not. Ryan requested to be reassigned.”

Hell no!

For once she and Veronica were on the same page. Sienna stood taller. “Postpone that. Do you know where Ryan is?”

“Training center.”

She stormed out of the house toward the building, but once outside she slowed and took a deep breath. Losing her cool and not thinking through things had gotten her in this situation to begin with. She didn’t need to barge in there like a bull and bark orders at him, so she told the never-ending voice in her head to back off. Ryan was just as stubborn as she was. Dragons weren’t known for patience. In both their cases the stereotype held true.

She blew out another hard breath before pulling open the door to walk inside, but it was empty. A thumping sound came from the right, and she walked over to the side door that led out to the courtyard and outside training area. A heavy bag was attached to a pulley system that allowed it to be raised several feet in the air. Ryan flew around the bag, landing hits and kicks to it with precision. His emerald-green wings appeared to have a mind of their own, flapping and twisting so that he could bob and weave in the air. He didn’t look down as she made her way to him, instead hitting the bag and then kicking it in some sort of move worthy of an action movie.

She stopped a few feet away and waited until he finished even though her inner voice was pestering her to get on with it. Ryan lowered himself to the ground, breathing hard as he furled his wings. He reached for a towel and wiped his face. Hanging it around his neck, he turned to her and stared. This was bad. He needed to yell at her. Anger she could handle.

“I’m sorry, Ryan. I was reckless. I shouldn’t have run off. I should have had you come with me.”

He started to remove his gloves.

She clenched her hands into fists. “I was so angry that John was leaving, and that was probably the reason that I reacted instead of thinking things through. I didn’t consider that my going to see him was dangerous. But that’s no excuse.”

He dropped his gloves onto the bench, reached for a bottle of water, and took a drink before finally speaking. “I know it pisses you off that you can’t go places on your own, Sienna. I understand. You have always been independent. Hell, you had to be. And maybe you wouldn’t need security as clan leader in a world without witches, Templars, and curses. But we don’t live in that world.”

“I know.” Sourness filled her stomach. “Marcus said you asked to be reassigned.”

He set the bottle back on the bench. “I don’t think I should guard you anymore. I think me being your friend and your guard is a bad combo.”

“How can you say that? You understand what I’m up against. It’s my job to lead this clan and I know I can do it, but it’s hard when they don’t take me seriously.”

“And it’s my job to guard you, but you don’t take that or me seriously.”

His words were like a slap to the face. One she desperately needed if Ryan truly felt that way. She took a step toward him. “I am so sorry. I’m sick to my stomach that you think I don’t take you seriously. That I don’t respect you.” Her voice cracked. “That is the furthest thing from the truth. When everything has crumbled around me, you have been by my side. And I want you to continue to be by my side.”

She swallowed. “I said that I can lead the clan, but I need your help. Please. I can’t lose the best damn PA on the planet. Or my best friend.”

A hint of a smile from him had her lungs filling up with much needed air.

He looked at her for a drawn-out moment. “You will never lose me as your best friend. But you have to let me do my job, Sienna.”

“I know.”

He held up his hand. “Don’t say that without thinking it through. You are the leader of this clan, but when it comes to your safety, our friendship and your leadership have to be put aside. I have to be in charge. In the future, if you’re in danger, you have to do what I say, no questions asked. Can you do that?”

She took a deep breath and let it out. She needed to give him the respect of truly thinking this through. If she was honest with herself, she probably did push back on him more because he was her friend. “I can. But I’m not perfect. You need to call me out when I’m being single-minded and not realizing that I’m putting myself in danger.”