Page 59 of Dragon Tempted

Eric took a step forward. “Sienna—”

“I know, I know, it’s scary. Let’s search the house again for another storybook. Megan, you and Jonas start comparing notes and see if there is anything we find that can help arm us for my next conversation with Mia.”

Marcus chimed in. “How did she know where you were today?”

John wondered the same damn thing.

“I didn’t see anyone following us,” Ryan said.

Marcus crossed his arms. “I think we need to recheck all the vehicles for trackers.”

“Honestly, they could be tracking any of us,” Eric said. “According to Jonas, there are numerous ways to track phones. We don’t know how much resources they have at their fingertips.”

“A centuries’ old secret group? I would say a lot,” Tessa said.

John stood silently while they all talked this out, but he had a question that he couldn’t keep to himself any longer. He turned to Ryan. “Where were you during all of this?”

Ryan looked him straight in the eye. Before he answered, Sienna replied. “Ryan was in the restaurant with me. He stepped out to take a call, and I was in the women’s restroom when she approached me.”

John frowned. “And Mia took advantage of that. Sienna needs a female guard in addition to Ryan.”

Marcus nodded. “I was already thinking that.”

Sienna shook her head. “And I think I can decide what I need or don’t need. Mia didn’t attack me.”

“That’s your gauge of a good meeting?” John growled.

“Getting Mia to communicate has been our top priority for months. And she’s finally reaching out to us. I’m not locking myself away if that’s your next suggestion. Mia wants to work with me, and I will meet with her when she reaches out again.” Sienna glanced around the room at her family before settling on John with determined eyes.

He was awed by her. She was an amazing female. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t worried what all this could mean for her, the clan, and the curse.

Hours later John paced his small cabin. There was so much swirling around in his head right now that sleep was not an option. He was used to being the one constantly caught between the crosshairs. It was his destiny, and he would face it. But what he couldn’t face was Sienna being at risk.

What was it about her that set off all his protective instincts? Hell, he couldn’t remember the last time his dragon bothered to show himself, and since he met Sienna Simonson, the growling he suppressed whenever she was near wasn’t his alone.

The sound of a UTV had him turning toward the front window of the cabin, already knowing who it would be. Headlights shone through the trees. Seconds later Sienna drove alone into the moonlit clearing. She climbed out of the vehicle and headed with purpose to the small front porch. He walked over and opened the door before she had a chance to knock.

She was wearing her Girls Rule T-shirt again with yoga pants. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun. Sienna wore her clan leader business clothes like armor. Seeing her there, unguarded and comfortable, made heat fill John’s chest.

“What are you doing here? Did you find the other storybook?”

Sienna shook her head. “No. We searched the house again and didn’t find anything. Marcus swept all our cars and didn’t find any bugs. So Mia has to be tracking us another way. Jonas is going to put in some safeguards on our phones, but it won’t stop everything.” She stepped inside. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“So you decided to come here?”

“I decided to take a ride. I saw that your lights were still on, so I stopped.” She walked to the center of the room. “You didn’t have much to say earlier about the whole Mia episode except to question Ryan.”

He shrugged like it wasn’t a big thing even though it had been to him at the time. “I thought it needed to be asked.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Ryan was doing his job.”

He wanted to tell her that if Ryan was doing his job Mia wouldn’t have gotten close to her, but instead he swallowed it all down and said, “It doesn’t hurt to add more precautions now that Mia has resurfaced. You need to take this seriously.”

She crossed her arms. “I am taking it seriously.”

“Except you’re out here on your own at night.” And why exactly did he think he could question her? It wasn’t like he had the right to. He wasn’t her friend. He wasn’t sure what he was when it came to Sienna.

She frowned. “We’re on clan property. Marcus has doubled the guards. If I can’t walk our land, then I might as well give up.”