A few minutes later, I heard the bedroom door open and Ralph shuffled into the living room. He looked at me, grinning. My heart skipped a beat.

Ralph snuggled with me on the couch and we finished watching the movie. Ralph kissed my neck, which made me forget about everything except what I wanted him to kiss next.

I took off my sweater and Ralph unsnapped my bra. His eyes were drawn to my tattoo. He traced the red line. "What does it mean?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's a gold star for being so good in bed."

He rewarded me for that comment. Things got really good. So good my heart started knocking hard against my chest. Thump.

Thump. Thump.

Ralph looked up from nuzzling my b.r.e.a.s.t.s; his eyes were glazed. I imagine his delirious expression matched my own.

"Do you hear that, Libby?"

"Yes," I breathed, drawing him down again. "It's my heart. It's trying to beat out of my chest."

Thump. Thump. Thump.

He looked up again and frowned. "No. I think it's the door."

We both sat up. I groaned in frustration.

"You better put on your clothes."

I resnapped my bra and put on the sweater. Ralph used his fingers to comb through his hair, then went to answer the door.

"Libby," called Ralph. "It's your parents."

I went to the front door and peeked over Ralph's shoulder. Mom, Dad, and the twins crowded onto the front porch. My libido cried, "Unfair!" But I was still happy to see my family.

While Ralph took a quick shower and got dressed, I settled with my parents and the twins in the living room. Mom and Dad hugged me and then I hugged the twins. My parents had brought bags of toys with them, and the boys sat on the living room floor and played contentedly.

"Can I get you anything?" asked Ralph from the doorway. His hair was still damp and he was, unfortunately, fully clothed. I thought about what was under those clothes, and my pulse stuttered. Ralph's blue eyes found mine and he raised one eyebrow. Ah. He heard my heart race and had figured out what I was thinking.

Ralph's cell phone rang. Surprised, he took it out of his pocket and looked at the display.

"We contacted Brady," said Mom. "He stopped jamming the cell phone tower. He agrees that he shouldn't come in until we've spoken to Queen Patsy."

"And that's who's calling," said Ralph. My gaze followed him as he walked out of the living room. Hm-mmm. Look at that a.s.s. I caught myself ogling and straightened.

Ralph reappeared in the entry way.

"We're meeting in the rec room. Tamara's coming to watch the boys." "Okay," I said, suddenly anxious. "What's going on?"

Ralph tucked the phone back into his pocket. His worried gaze connected to mine. "Ash found Synd's lair."

Chapter 26

When we arrived, Tamara was waiting for us near the rec room door. I hugged the boys and gave them sloppy kisses, and Ralph did the same. She took Michael and Stephen to the play area.

People were still milling around, obviously waiting for the meeting to begin. My parents joined the fray, talking to anyone who would talk to them. I noticed that Stan tried to stay out of their way. He wasn't going to escape my mother, no matter how hard he tried.

I saw Ash leaning against a wall, looking impatient and bored. She wore an outfit that reminded me of the Bride's from the Kill Bill movies. It was one piece, fit her like a second skin, and was obnoxiously pink. Her boots were pink, too. I never figured an a.s.s kicker like her would choose such a girly color.

Since the queen hadn't arrived yet, I dragged Ralph over to Ash.

"Our tattoos changed," I said. "After we . . . uh, consummated our relationship."

Her eyebrows rose. "Changed how?"

"There's a red line now, in between the two slashes." I elbowed Ralph in the side. "Show her."

He rolled his eyes, but lifted his T-shirt. I noticed that her eyes skated along his abs before settling on the tattoo. I didn't have time to gouge out her eyeb.a.l.l.s, though. Her eyes widened and she smirked at us.

"s.h.i.t. I don't believe it." She patted our shoulders. "Congratulations. It's a girl."

"What?" Ralph and I shouted at the same time. We looked at each other, stunned.

"You mean she's pregnant?" He put his hand on my belly, like he could figure out if there was a baby growing there. "Really?" His voice had gone soft.

"Uh, no," I said. "I was a virgin. And he's dead."

"He's also a dragon." She held up her hands. "Don't ask me how the h.e.l.l he managed to get his swimmers to work. I'm not a biologist. Dragons are lucky if they get any kids out of a mating. It's one of the reasons they're so rare these days." She nodded toward my still-flat stomach. "The one growing inside you will probably be the first dragon born in . . . oh, about five hundred years."

"Libby's pregnant?" asked Patsy. She had just entered the room and was less than a foot away from us. "How is that possible?"

"Not a biologist," said Ash.

"s.h.i.t." Patsy grimaced. "I mean, congrats." She looked at Gabriel, who stood next to her, and then she looked at Ash. "This changes everything. We can't ask her to draw out Synd now."

"What?" snapped Ralph. "I already told you she wasn't going to be used as bait!"

"C'mon, Ralph! We weren't going to douse her in barbecue sauce and throw her in his cave."

Ralph turned his gaze to Gabriel. "Would you let your pregnant wife do something like this?"

"Not in a million years."

Patsy turned and glared at her husband.

"That is, I'm not the boss of her and I always support her choices."

She smiled and faced us again. I saw Gabriel look at Ralph and shake his head slightly. Patsy thought she had the upper hand in that relationship. But it was obvious that Gabriel would go to extreme measures to protect her-whether she liked it or not. And by gauging Ralph's reaction, he probably felt the same way.

I was with Patsy. I should have a choice. And my choice was . . . not to do it. I didn't want to be dragon bait. I heard the boys giggle and looked over my shoulder. But I would do it for them. Synd would keep striking at us, at everyone in Broken Heart, until he got what he wanted.

Even though Ash was the only one who could stop him, I was probably the only one who could get her close enough to draw him in.

"I don't see why we can't use her," said Ash. "He won't go for Ralph because he doesn't know that Ralph has part of his sister's soul."

The debate raged, but I drifted away mentally. There was a baby growing inside me. A little girl. Would she have scales? Or look human? Was there a Raising Dragons for Dummies book out there? We'd have to fireproof the nursery. And her brothers.

Yowzer. Ralph had given me one h.e.l.l of a wedding present. I pressed a hand against my belly and grinned like an idiot.

"Right, Libby?"

Ralph's strident question pierced through my pink cloud of thoughts. I blinked at him, taken aback by his fierce gaze. "What?"

"You're not going. I don't care how much backup they have. I won't risk you." His gaze dropped to my stomach and I saw equal measures of worry and wonderment. He hadn't had time to absorb the idea. "I won't risk our baby, either." He gulped, then glared at Ash. "You're sure about this?"

"Christ! I'm not a biologist or a f.u.c.king doctor. I just know what the dragon symbols mean." "Hey, boss, I got the shields ready." We had been joined by a short brunette who had sparkling green eyes and a dimpled smile.

She wore denim overalls, hiking boots, and a thick coat. Her hair was braided into pigtails, which stuck out from under a ball cap she wore backward. She smelled like gasoline. Oil smudged one pristine cheek.

"Hey! I'm Simone Sweet." She pumped my hand enthusiastically. "Nice to meet ya."

"Nice to meet you, too."

She nodded toward Patsy and headed back out the door. "What shields?" asked Ralph.

"Simone runs the garage, but she's also a whiz with metallurgy. She made some metal shields for the more flammable people to hide behind," said Patsy.

I knew someone who could trump metal shields.

"We could bring in Brady," I said. "If I used one of the force fields, it would give me extra protection."

"Libby." Ralph gathered me into his arms. "Please, tell me that you're not considering this crazy plan."

"We won't be safe from Synd. Not ever. Not the boys, not you, and not me or our baby." I broke away and looked at Ash. "Can you get him?"

"Yeah," she said. If I didn't know better, I'd think it was respect that glimmered in her diamond eyes. "You're d.a.m.ned right I can get that b.a.s.t.a.r.d."

February sucked.

The wind blew hard, slicing at my face like razors. I put my head down and kept going. The air was bitter cold. Without streetlights or moon to offer light, the darkness seemed as thick and black as tar.

Four of us crept along in the woods. Ash was the a.s.sa.s.sin in charge. Lorcan had the happy task of cultivating dragon saliva. Ralph refused to stay behind. He held my hand like I planned to float away any second.

Ash had turned down the opportunity to use the surprisingly light metal shields created by Simone. But Lorcan and Ralph each had one.

Brady had agreed to come in, but refused to bring in his team. Before we left on what he called a suicide mission, he clipped a small black device on my coat. All I had to do was push the b.u.t.ton and the shield would appear. It would not only make me invisible, but offer protection against fire, claws, and teeth.

Ash led the way, since she'd figured out which cave the dragon used. Lorcan was behind her. Then me and Ralph.

Maybe we should've been looking up.

Hands gripped my shoulders and, before I could take a breath to scream, I was being yanked up into the air. I saw Ralph's horrified expression, and then Synd wrapped an arm around my waist and took off like a shot. I realized he was in human form except for his big, iridescent wings.

I couldn't reach the b.u.t.ton to enact the shield. I fought like a madwoman. I wasn't going to die, d.a.m.n it. I kept kicking at his legs and tried to bite his scaly arms.

I bashed the back of my head against his face. He screamed in agony and dropped me. I managed to push the shield b.u.t.ton.

An electric hum filled my ears and a bubble appeared around me. I bounced along the ground and rolled to a stop. My heart stuttered and sweat dotted my brow. I was so scared, but I fought the urge to throw up.

Synd floated to the ground and stalked around, obviously looking for me.

No one else was in sight. How far had we gone from the dragon's lair? Several yards away I saw the grave of Therese Genessa.

Talk about coming full circle. This was where it had all begun. And where it would all end.

I needed Synd to be able to find me so Ash could find him. With shaking fingers, I punched the b.u.t.ton again.

He stepped toward me and raised one hand. I watched in horror as his fingers morphed into deadly, sharp claws. "I have no desire to bargain with stubborn females."

"Too bad, a.s.shole," said Ash as she just . . . popped out of thin air. I stumbled backward as Synd whirled to face his nemesis.

Ash advanced on him. She held a wicked-looking sword with practiced ease. My thought was that an Uzi would get the job done faster.

"Burning down my hotel didn't kill me, stupid," she said, swinging the sword with an incredible grace. "But you did manage to torch my favorite shirt, and that p.i.s.ses me off."

I had no intention of watching the two of them battle. Ash scared me nearly as much as Synd did.

I scrambled to my feet, ready to hightail it the h.e.l.l out of there. Before I could take a step, Synd waved his hand at me, and I found myself a living statue. I couldn't move, though it didn't stop me from trying. Sweat dripped off my temples, but no amount of mentally demanding that my muscles move got them to do the job.

Synd and Ash didn't talk much, just tried to kill each other. The dragon turned both hands into claws and used them as effectively as ten tiny daggers. Every time he made contact with Ash's clothing, his claws bounced off. He didn't leave a mark.

The same could not be said for Ash's neck and left cheek. She never cried out, never got angry. She was a machine of efficiency.

Synd had an ego the size of Canada. He had bulk and he had the ability to shift into a very dangerous creature.But Ash was the better fighter.

Synd couldn't accept defeat. He went after Ash again and again, getting more and more desperate. At one point Ash took a tiny blade from . . . well, somewhere, but I had no idea where she could possibly store anything in that outfit.

She tossed it at Synd's neck. The blade seemed to be alive; it burrowed into his skin. The dragon slapped at the spot where it had entered, screaming.

All of Synd's dragon manifestations reverted. "No!" He clawed at his neck as if doing so could make whatever the object was come out again.