So he shot back a text so she would know he was in, then went to change into a loose cardigan and a pair of sweats, so that way he could at least just look… chunky.
He slipped out of the penthouse, then rode the elevator down to the parking garage, where his driver smiled for him. “Where are we off to, sir?”
“Luigi’s.”
“Always an excellent choice.”
He settled in the back seat, checking his texts to make sure nothing else was going on, and thirty minutes later, they pulled up in the alley behind the restaurant.
He stepped out, grinning in at Kevin, the driver. “You should come on in and grab a plate. I’m talking charity with Lila in the back room.”
“Could be a while then.” Kevin laughed, stepping out of the car, and there was a terrible noise, a bang that made him think someone had hit a car behind them.
Then Kevin fell over, landing in the salad dressing mix of oil and water on the alley surface with a splat. His mouth dropped open, and he started around the car.
“Kevin! Are you o—Aaah!” Someone grabbed him, and he went stiff, his dragon roaring, trying to come to the surface. Which was when something metal clamped around his neck, sending shocks through his whole body.
“A magic dampening collar. No shifting for you, dragon. Come on. You have a date for lunch, and it’s not here.” A gag was shoved into his mouth.
He kicked and flailed, but the one asshole was joined by two more, and they trussed him up with zip ties before tossing him into the backseat of a car almost identical to the one he’d arrived in.
“Play nice, little dragon, and you’ll be home before you know it,” one of them said before tying a blindfold over his eyes.
And then they took off like a bat out of hell.
Chapter
Two
Desmond DeBeque strode into his office building, tossing his briefcase at his personal assistant. “You take that to the war room. I’ll meet you there after I check in with Kumar and see how my mate his doing.”
Gods, he was sick of this shit. Of spending all of his time away from his mate, not daring to see him until this negotiation was over, until he knew Alistair and their baby were safe.
He’d just had a lunch meeting with a lawyer from the rival dragon clan, and it hadn’t gone well. What they wanted was freaking impossible, but he was trying to stall for time.
The Galandel clan was notorious for involving mates in their bullshit takeovers. That was how they got what they wanted instead of honest hard work.
And Des fucking hated it. He hated leaving Alistair alone, especially while he was pregnant, but the more indifferent he appeared to his mate, the less danger Alistair was in.
He pulled out his phone, dialing his butler cum valet. Kumar handled everything on the home front with skilled precision.
“Hello, sir. How may I assist?”
He smiled at the clipped tone, which told him Kumar was busy cleaning or some such and was annoyed to be interrupted.
“Just checking in with you about Alistair, Kumar.”
There was a long pause. “He went out for lunch with Miss Lila Handscome, sir.”
He blinked, then shot his suit cuff to check his watch. “When?”
“At eleven-thirty.”
“Kumar, it’s almost three.”
“I know. I will call Luigi’s…”
“I’ll do that. You call his driver.”
