“This is it.” I closed my eyes as we sailed through the cinnamon-scented mist.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Travis
As soon as we touched down at the marina on the mainland, I jumped off the massive dragon’s back. In all the years I’d known Xavier, I’d never seen him with a rider. Two other dragons landed next to us. One with Sheriff Aldrich and the other with Merrick.
We’d spotted Griffin’s yacht cutting through the gray water and debated swooping low so I could jump onto the deck, but we didn’t know if Griffin was armed. We had to assume he was. Thing is, dragons have a real aversion to pain. And when they’re hurt, they often strike back with fire without thinking. It’s a natural reflex for them. I didn’t want one of them to inadvertently torch the yacht with Daphne on board.
“Thanks for your help with this,” I told Xavier as he shifted into his human form.
He waved away the dragon magic that kept us hidden from human eyes. “No problem, Travis.” He smoothed out the sleeves of his jacket. Wrinkled clothes were a universal problem for shifters.
I’d thought about flying my plane here, but I wasn’t sure I’d find a good place to land wherever Griffin was heading. Plus, it would’ve been hard to fit six adult male shifters in the cockpit. As I tried to calculate the total payload, Xavier had said, “Fuck it. I’ll give you a ride.” He turned to his men. “Boys, you okay with that?” They nodded and he turned back to me. “Just this one time, Monroe, and that’s it. So, don’t be getting any ideas.”
Griffin’s yacht was motoring past the jetty now. We stayed out of sight near the harbormaster’s office. I didn’t want the asshole to suspect that the authorities were waiting for him. Who knew what he would do to Daphne if he were cornered?
“That’s strange,” the harbormaster said, looking through the lens of his binoculars.
I stiffened. “What is?”
“It's coming in at a really hard angle. It’s never going to dock properly. He’ll have to turn around and come at it again. I thought you said this guy was an experienced seaman.”
Sheriff Aldrich spoke up. “According to our intel, he is.”
The harbormaster nodded. He didn’t know Sheriff Aldrich was with the Monster Patrol, just that they were members of law enforcement. He peered through his binoculars. “And I thought you said the captain was a man.”
I stiffened. Something was wrong. “He is.”
He handed me the binoculars. “Here. Look.”
But when I peered through them, it wasn’t Griffin in the captain’s seat at all, butDaphne! And from here, she looked perfectly fine. Griffin hadn’t hurt her after all. A staggering surge of heat rushed through me, then pride. What the hell had she done to him?
And then the reality of the immediate situation hit me. I didn’t know everything about this woman, but I had my doubts she knew how to dock a sixty-foot yacht.
Also, there was a genuine possibility she might not know who I was, in case that memory charm didn’t work the way itwas supposed to. Cassie was good, but I didn’t know if she wasthatgood.
If Daphne loved me once, would she love me again if she didn’t remember me?
I shoved those thoughts from my head as I ran onto the dock ahead of the harbormaster. The yacht was approaching slowly—and at such an angle that made mooring it nearly impossible.
Daphne stood behind the wheel and was gesturing wildly.
At me? Did she recognize who I was?
Or was she just waving for help from the random men she saw?
She slid the window open beside her and cupped her hands. “Travis, do you know how to dock this fucking thing?”
The relief hit me so hard, it felt like a ton of bricks had lifted from my shoulders.
She knew me. Daphne knew me!
My worst fears—that Daphne would be hurt, that she wouldn’t remember me—remember us—hadn’t come true.
I didn’t feel the chill as I dove into the water.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
