Where My Demons Hide

Chapter Six - Dragon

The sound of an explosion always left me feeling as if the world was shattering to pieces around. I shouted for my friend as the flames of a million suns engulfed my entire body. The smell of burning flesh and hair was vivid on my brain.

"P?"

The voice was in the distance. It wasn't the one I called for.

"P'Dragon?" The voice was insistent followed by a loud bang.

I jerked upright, reaching for my sidearm but I was in bed and not a warzone. Panting, I covered my face trying to control my breathing.

"Dragon? Are you okay?" Star called.

I cleared my throat. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine." I told him in a stronger voice.

"Um..." Star went silent for a moment.

I held my breath and waited until his footsteps carried away from my door. Frustrated, I flopped back into my pillows then turned my head to look out the window. I had forgotten to draw the curtains in place the night before. The sun was showing signs of rising, but I knew I wouldn't fall asleep again for the rest of the night.

Instead, I grabbed my laptop and set about checking my messages. I'd sent out some feelers the night before, to see if anyone could tell me what was going—why someone was attacking Star. One of my contacts at the local police sent me a digital file about all the complaints that had anything to do with Star and his father plus his father's company.

There weren't many on the father or the company. The bulk was on Star. It seemed when he was drunk, he got into scrapes with other club patrons. At this rate, he'd been banned from eighteen clubs in the area. I suspect the only reason the others hadn't banned him yet, was because he was a big spender, and they didn't wish to lose him as a customer.

Just before my alarm clock was supposed to go off, I switched it off and climbed out of bed. I took a quick shower, made my bed then dressed before making my way downstairs to see what fresh hell awaited me.

Star hadn't come down yet, as usually, and I exited the home to check the property. When I returned, Star was in his office and I leaned against the doorframe and folded my arms across my chest.

"Marching orders for today?" I asked.

He quickly closed his laptop and the large screens around it went dark. I arched a brow but said nothing to that weird moment.

"I have a meeting with Ohm." He didn't even look up. "But I have some work to get done before that—around lunch time."

"Okay."

"So you can—um—take the morning off, or something."

"Okay."

He was acting strangely but I merely dropped my arms and turned to leave.

"P!" Star called.

"Okay." I turned. "You being police is unnerving me. What's wrong? What do you want?"

"I don't want anything." Star swirled in his chair and rested his palms to his thigh. "I just think my father was right and I need to be a little more polite, you know? Approachable."

"Khrap."

Star sighed. "I know you have Wednesdays off."

I said nothing.

"Why are Wednesdays so important to you?"

"That's my business." I told him, trying to keep my tone in check.