Draconic Amnesty

Chapter 16 - Blackmail

Wren didn’t know when, but at some point, Elias had taken hold of her right hand. Though rough like granite, his palm exuded warmth and protection. His grip, a light squeeze, carried with it his best attempt to share in her suffering. In spite of his own troubles — the early stages of drasp withdrawal, extreme blood loss, and bullet removal surgery — he prioritized her anguish above his own.

She returned his squeeze and leaned to the right. Their arms touched and her head rested on his shoulder. As if reading her mind, his grasp tightened. She yearned to melt into him, for his embrace.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured.

“What?” She lifted her head, but his brown tangles concealed the side of his face. She swept his hair back to see his eyes fixated on the floor. “Why?”

“I should’ve killed that man a long time ago.” He didn’t look at her as he spoke.

She clamped her other hand on top of his, sandwiching it between hers. “I don’t want you to kill him.”

His eyes ambushed her. “How can you say that after what he did to Yuki?”

She couldn’t handle that look, not right now. She couldn’t bear his rebuke. Her head shook slowly and lowered.

He sighed and pulled her into a hug that demolished her facade. A fresh stream of tears descended as her body shook. Digging into his back, she pulled him close, her face buried in his teal gown.

“I want you to stay here tonight,” he said. “I’ll meet with Enzo’s men. I just need your help getting the drasp and the money ready.”

She pulled away and grabbed his hand in both of hers. “No. I have to go.”

“He’ll do business with me. He knows who I am. If you go, he’ll find a way to trap you.”

 “He can’t hurt me.”

“I don’t believe that. Everyone has a weakness, even dragons. Anything alive can be killed.”

“You’re not going alone, Elias.” She spoke with finality.

“I can’t prevent you from coming,” he said. “But I’m going to kill the man. Promise you won’t try to stop me.”

Nothing good ever came from revenge. As the ancients said, ‘From the soil of vengeance grows the black flower of despair.’ But his path couldn’t be changed. One way or another, he’d act upon his wrath, if not today, then at some point in the future. And on some level, his predictability comforted her. 

“I promise,” she said.

Because on some level, she wanted the same thing as him.

***

Elias pulled into Powell Park entrance at 10:45 PM. Carrying both briefcases, Wren stepped out of the Escalade and waited for him. They’d spent the day ditching the Lexus, gaining access to Yuki’s bank account, and locating her drasp supply. The last objective, the drasp, had been the most difficult. They found twenty vials, but he suspected Yuki had a much larger stockpile somewhere.

Regardless, Enzo didn’t specify an amount so twenty would have to do.

Without bothering to turn off the hotwired SUV (they never found Yuki’s keys), he circled around the front of the vehicle and took the briefcases. The park wasn’t officially open at this time of night, but security didn’t care. Other than a few crackheads and meth addicts wandering around, the place was deserted.

“You ready?” he asked. He was ready. He’d shot up earlier that afternoon and most of his wounds had fully healed in the interim.

She nodded. Dressed in black, she blended with the night, save for her pale face and other areas of exposed skin...like her feet. She wore her eyebrow ring too, but she agreed to remove it if necessary.