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Before the sun came up, they were out of their room and headed toward safety.
The rest of the day consisted of small intimate conversations where they asked questions, laughed quietly, and confessed to a few dark spots in their lives.
Much to Hammer’s relief, they did not catch a whiff of anyone in Ajmal’s group, and right as the sun sank into the land, Charlie, and he found themselves in a new town.
Hammer’s keen tracking helped them quickly find a place to stay for the night.
Charlie collapsed on the bed. Although she had kept pace with Hammer, she was not used to the stamina that dragon shifters had.
She propped herself up on her elbows and watched Hammer gracefully move around the room. “You could have been a dancer,” she mused.
“Not my style, Charlie.”
“Yes, but you could have been. You move like you know the words to any song. Like music is inside you at all times.”
Hammer stopped and looked at her. “That is very poetic.”
Charlie shrugged. “I’m a poetic kind of gal.”
Hammer smiled and shook his head. He clapped his hands together and pointed at the door. “I’m going to get food. You keep this door barricaded at all times.”
Charlie nodded.
Hammer came over and kissed Charlie on the forehead. “I’ll be back quickly. Don’t do anything stupid when I’m gone.”
“I’ll shower with lots of suds, soap, and water running all over my body.”
Hammer growled. “That is an amazing image to leave me with.” He leaned over her and kissed her passionately. “I’ll be back in five minutes. Got it?” He laid a bowie knife on the table and gave her a pointed look.
“Got it.” She swallowed hard, eyes fixed on the blade. He wondered if she would use such a weapon, but it was there if she was in trouble.
He closed the door and heard furniture scrape against the floor. Hammer was glad she took survival seriously.
He jumped down the stairs and ran across the street to get food from the store. Not the highest quality sustenance, but it would have to do for now. Hammer did not want to leave Charlie alone for long and didn’t want to parade her out in the open.
As he walked out of the store, he looked into the bag to make sure everything was in it when he heard footsteps coming up behind him. He would have brushed it off as another member of the public, but a sharp object pressed against the base of his skull.
“Shit,” he muttered.
“Don’t you think that we know you better by now? You’re a beacon right to her, Hammer. Thank you for being so frivolous with yourself. Now, take me to the girl. You give us Charlie Jackson, and you can live. Anything else, and you’ll be eating lead.”
NINETEEN
HAMMER
“There is only one known substance to drop a dragon shifter. These bullets are laced with it. Take me to Ms. Jackson, and you’ll not have to feel the pain they will give you. You can give her to me, and we can work out another arrangement for your prison sentence. Okay? We can be friends.”
Hammer quickly snuffed out the irritation that shot through his body. Being annoyed with himself wouldn’t help him get out of this mess.
Instead, he dropped the bag of food and raised his hands, pretending to give up quickly. The gun lowered from his neck.
Hammer huffed, pleased. A slight smile cocked the side of his mouth, and his dragon flared to life.
Hammer spun with arms and legs swinging. He knocked the gun out of his attacker’s hand while his foot made contact with his stomach.
“Ooof!” The assailant crumbled, holding his stomach.
“Getting soft, there. I barely did anything.” Hammer kicked the gun away from the man in a ball at his feet, then heard footsteps racing toward him.
