Page 49 of Dragon Tempted

Before he could respond, Sienna spoke up. “There’s plenty of pizza left if you want something. I’m sure Marilyn will be here any minute once she hears you.”

Megan shook her head. “We had an early dinner. Adam and Eric are talking to Marcus. They should be here soon.”

John’s alarm bells sounded. Something was going on that they didn’t want the girls to know.

Lily spoke up again. “Look what Aunt Sienna got us!” She pointed to her T-shirt.

“I see that. Very cute,” Tessa said.

Megan smiled. “I need a picture of the three of you together.”

Sienna chuckled. “I already took one. And before you start pouting, Tessa, I got shirts for you and Megan too.”

Tessa’s eyes lit up. “Yay! We can have all kinds of girl parties with no boys allowed.”

“What’s this about no boys allowed?” Adam asked as he and Eric walked into the room. Adam came to a stop when he saw John, and Eric narrowly avoided plowing into his back.

“Well not all boys, apparently,” Tessa said and winked at John.

John frowned. This was not what he signed up for. He was tempted to leave, but he wanted to hear what really happened tonight.

Sienna held up her hand. “John came over to see the boards. We were going to take a look once the girls were settled for the night.”

Marilyn walked into the room as if on cue. “If you all need to talk, I can watch the girls for a bit. They can help me pick out meals for the coming week.”

“And desserts?” Lily asked.

“Of course.”

“Let’s help Marilyn clean up first,” Sienna said.

Over Marilyn’s protests, they quickly carried the dishes and leftover pizza into the kitchen. Adam left to find Marcus so that he could join them for the discussion as well. Because apparently the more people the merrier. But John wasn’t feeling merry.

He followed them down the hall into an office. A desk, seating area, and bookcases took up the space. Across from the desk was a fireplace. Above it hung the Death of Magic painting he had given them. The painting was a bloody reminder of what started all of this. Hell, he was a bloody reminder of it as well. Every time he saw the painting, his hand burned where his grandmother had cut him. He looked down at his palm. The scar was still there. Although over the years, the thin line had taken on a silver hue.

He turned and found Adam, Eric, Tessa, Megan, and Sienna grouped together. Marcus stood behind the couch with his arms crossed. John wasn’t sure if the man knew how to relax.

Sienna spoke before he was able to. “The concert wasn’t canceled, was it? What really happened tonight?”

Tessa frowned. “After I made sure everything was good with the clothes and set up for the gig, I headed out to join Adam, Eric, and Megan. The place was packed, and I was weaving through the crowd when I saw the Templar creep who grabbed me last year.”

“Are you sure?” Sienna asked.

“Yep. You don’t forget someone you kicked in the junk.”

“Did he try to grab you?” John asked.

“No. But he was watching me. By the time I made it to Adam, he’d disappeared. But we decided to get out of there and come home anyway.”

“Which was the right call,” Marcus said. “We didn’t see anyone following you to the venue, so I’m not sure how they knew where you were.”

Tessa shrugged. “The concert wasn’t a secret, and neither is the fact that the designer I work for is responsible for clothing the artist. I do this a lot with our clients.”

John’s stomach twisted. The Templars were escalating, and he was the one who had brought trouble to the clan.

Sienna frowned. “Something is making them nervous. Maybe they’re worried we’re going to finally break this curse. Which means we need to figure this out. Let’s talk through things. Megan?”

Why wasn’t he surprised that Sienna would take charge?