Page 27 of Dragon Tempted

His eyes flared for a moment. “To keep you safe. I’m a target.”

Sienna barked out a harsh laugh, and her inner voice took center stage. “We’re under attack whether you’re here or not. Instead of leaving, why don’t you stay here and work with us? I would think you, more than anyone, would want this to finally be over with, right?”

John stared at her, his frown morphing into a scowl. But he remained silent.

“Right?” she pushed.

He leaned forward. “Yes.”

Was he trying to intimidate her? Sienna wasn’t scared of him. She leaned forward as well. “Then. Step. Up. And. Help. Us.”

The room was silent. But Sienna couldn’t look at anyone right now since she was having a stare down with John.

Don’t blink. Don’t blink, Veronica chanted. And she was listening.

After a few more drawn-out, painful moments, John leaned back. “Okay.”

Okay? Did he just say okay?

“But I have some conditions.”

Of course he did.

He stood and walked over to the closet and stepped inside. Sienna glanced around at the faces in the room. Tessa mouthed, You rock, to her. Megan smiled and nodded, as did Eric. Adam’s face was full of pride that made her chest warm, and Ryan winked at her.

A cry from the monitor had Eric standing. “I’ll go check on her.”

John cleared his throat after Eric left, and Sienna looked up at him. He was holding his backpack, and her heart sped up. Whatever was in that backpack was important, and John was going to share it. And while she didn’t know much about him, she did know he wasn’t much of a sharer.

“I’ve kept notes over the years about the curse.” He turned to Megan. “It makes sense for you to look through these and see if it helps with your research.” He handed her the bag.

Megan’s eyes lit up. “Thank you for trusting me with these. I’ll take good care of them.”

John turned back to Sienna. She stood and told her heart and Veronica to calm down. “Thank you. Now what are your conditions?”

“I’m not going to leave town right now, but staying here isn’t an option for me. I need to find a new place.”

Before Sienna could respond, the door opened and Marcus walked in scowling.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“We had some uninvited guests watching the clan house.”

“Where?” Adam asked.

“A few miles away. They were watching the road leading to the house. We clocked three men. They were keeping a low profile, but we saw them from overhead. I called Carl. He drove his sheriff’s truck down the road and flushed them out. They’re gone for now. In the meantime, I’ve increased the patrols.”

“It pays to have someone from the clan in law enforcement,” Adam said.

John opened his mouth and Sienna held up her hand to stop him from reneging on helping them. “It’s not a secret where we live. And if those were Templars who attacked you, they might have recognized me at your cabin and are trying to figure out if we’re hiding you. We’ve been in their crosshairs for a while now, with or without you here. The sooner we figure this curse out, the sooner we can all get back to normal. Don’t back out on us.”

The door opened on a cry, and Eric walked in with a squirming Bella.

Megan stood, and Bella stiffened and struggled in Eric’s arms. He set her down on the floor.

“What’s the matter, Bella?” Megan said as she headed toward her.

Instead of going to her mom, Bella looked around and toddled over to John, holding her hands up to him.