Page 80 of Dragon Tempted

“Not yet. But if she’s using us, we can use her right back.” Sienna’s heart sped up and she took a drink of wine. Maybe John wasn’t the only one willing to cross some lines to put an end to this curse.

Two days later Sienna rode alongside Ryan as they drove to another meeting with Mia. Instead of the college, this time they were meeting in a motel. There was a nondescript car full of guards following them, and Marcus and other guards were already stationed in a couple rooms in the motel.

Sienna looked down at her outfit. A touristy Nashville T-shirt, faded blue jeans, and cowboy boots. Tessa had teased Sienna’s hair out and applied a heavier hand when it came to makeup. Ryan actually had on Wranglers with a pearl-button shirt and a well-worn cowboy hat. If it wasn’t for the other guards listening in on their earpieces, she would be teasing him about showing Jonas his cowboy look.

Ryan pulled into the run-down lot in a beat-up pickup they were using instead of their normal black SUV, which would have stuck out like a sore thumb. He parked next to the office and went inside for a couple minutes. She could hear his conversation with the clerk through her earpiece. Ryan quickly paid in cash and rented a room before coming back out and climbing into the truck. “We’re in room twelve,” he announced to her and the other guards listening in. Sienna typed the number on her phone in the chat group to alert Mia as Ryan drove the truck a short distance and parked it in front of the room. “Ready for this?” he asked.

She nodded, and he jogged around the truck and opened her door. Sienna smiled as he looped his arm around her shoulder and they walked the short distance to the room.

As soon as they were inside, Ryan pulled the curtains closed over the window next to the door. The hotel room, if you could call it that, was small. It barely fit a bed and two nightstands. There was no dresser, and it had a minuscule closet since it didn’t exactly attract long-term guests. The rooms were rented by the hour with clothing optional and paid for in cash. Which didn’t leave a trail and made a good place for a clandestine meeting. It didn’t take them long to check the room for anything out of the ordinary.

“We don’t see any cameras or listening devices,” Ryan announced. That had been the hope, especially since they had rented the room and not walked into one already occupied by Mia. But they weren’t taking any chances.

“Roger that,” Marcus said. “We’re watching for your visitor.”

Sienna ran her sweaty hands down her jeans. She would not be sitting on the bed. Ryan had already pulled the comforter off the bed to check it over, which was just as well since it would be weird for them to leave the room with the bed still made. They were supposed to be getting busy, not having a secret meeting with an ancient organization trying to destroy magic.

“A woman is approaching your room,” Marcus said, causing Sienna to flinch. She blew out a breath to calm down.

A knock at the door had Ryan checking around the curtain. “It’s her.” He unlocked the door and Mia walked in. Today she had on a wig of long dark hair. She checked Sienna over. “Nice outfit.”

“Thought I might stand out if I came here with my business clothes on.”

“Probably right. Although people make a point of not paying attention around here.”

Ryan nodded. “The clerk didn’t even glance up at me when I rented the room. Could have been dressed like the Easter Bunny and he wouldn’t have blinked.”

“Good.” Mia looked at her watch. “I’m going to set a timer for twenty-eight minutes as a warning. We shouldn’t stay longer than half an hour.” She tapped her smartwatch. “Okay. Let’s jump right into things, shall we? Did you bring the storybook for me?”

Sienna was not letting Mia run this meeting. “Before we get to that, I want to know if you have Templars watching the clan house?”

Mia shook her head. “No. But I’m not surprised they’re watching you.”

“Did you have them follow us and try to run us off the road.”

“When did this happen?” Mia frowned. “Today?”

“No. Two days ago.”

“Suped-up gray pickup truck. Couldn’t make out the plates,” Ryan added.

“Unlike their ancestors, the Templars rarely do their own dirty work anymore. Their numbers are very small now, and their paranoia keeps them from recruiting others. Instead they use their money to get what they want, like hiring muscle. I’m not sure why they would have engaged with you. What were you doing at the time?”

Sienna’s heart started thumping. Huh. She hadn’t really thought this through, but if Mia investigated, she would find out where they had been. “We were coming from a private vault facility. My mother had left a box for me.”

Mia’s gaze tightened. “And what did you find?”

She hesitated for a moment, trying to decide what she wanted to share. “A ring with the dragon sentry symbol.”

Mia tapped her fingers against her leg. “I’m sure whoever was following you figured you had picked up something important if it was locked in a vault.”

Ryan crossed his arms. “How did they know where to find us? And for that matter, how did you know how to find Sienna that day at the restaurant? We checked for trackers on our cars and didn’t find any.”

“There are a variety of ways to track you. Even with safeguards in place, phones are never one hundred percent safe. I would leave your phones at home and start switching out to burners when you’re on the move. Now. Can I have a look at the second storybook?”

Sienna reached into her tote bag and pulled out the book, holding it close. “I’ll show it to you, but you’re not taking it with you.”

Mia agreed and reached for the book. She opened the cover and looked at the name and handwriting. “Same author.” She spent a couple minutes reading the beginning of the book and then flipped to the last pages and read those before handing it back to Sienna. “It will be quicker if you summarize the story.”