Dragos Takes a Holiday (Elder Races #6.5)(23)

Almost immediately, Dragos’s nostrils flared. “He’s here. Hold on a minute.”

Dragos had literally been in the Light Fae male’s face last night, so he had to have gotten a good fix on the other male’s scent. Thank God. Pia was hot, tired and thirsty. She just didn’t have a hunter’s drive or instinct. If it had been up to her, she would have quit searching an hour ago.

She stood waiting while he strode back to the SUV. When he returned, he gripped the plank in one hand. Then he led the way unerringly to a bar located at the end of the lane, pushed open the door and strode in.

Bracing herself for whatever came next, Pia followed.

Inside, the décor was sturdy rather than elegant. Wide windows faced the water. They had been propped open in the heat of the day. Wooden tables dotted the floor, and tall stools lined the bar against the interior wall. Loud music played, the place was crowded, and it smelled of alcohol and fried food.

Pia spotted the Light Fae male right away, leaning against the bar. This time he appeared to be alone.

Despite the noisy, crowded atmosphere, Dragos’s fiery presence drew attention. People fell silent, and the clink of cutlery against dishes ceased.

At the bar, the Light Fae male turned. His eyes narrowed as he caught sight of Dragos and Pia. He straightened, and his smile was more of a sneer.

“Get out,” Dragos said. The dragon was in his voice.

Except for the Light Fae male, all the customers rushed for the door. Pia barely had time to move aside. Within seconds the place was empty except for, Dragos, Pia, the Light Fae male, and the bartender and wait staff who moved to one side of the room as they watched nervously.

The scene should have been ridiculous, but somehow it wasn’t. Dragos tossed the plank onto the floor in front of the other man, and the Light Fae male’s sneering smile vanished.

“I located the Sebille.” Dragos strolled toward the other man. “And I’m going to bring up everything I can from it.”

The Light Fae male’s gaze flared as he stared at the plank at his feet. When he looked up again at Dragos, his gaze had turned flat and ugly. He said in a strongly accented voice, “That wreck, and everything on it, is mine. You made a big mistake, and not a healthy one for either you or your pretty companion.”

Pia heaved a sigh. He did not just say that, did he? To Dragos, of all people.

Dragos blurred. He took hold of the Light Fae male in both hands, lifted him in the air and twisted at the waist to slam him into a table so hard the table collapsed, with him on it. Dragos followed him down, kneeling to hold the other man pinned by the throat.

“Aaaand, that’s assault and battery,” Pia muttered.

Did officials in another country have the legal authority to throw the head of an Elder demesne in jail? She didn’t know the answer to that. Not that it necessarily mattered, since the question was purely hypothetical. If it came to that, the authorities couldn’t trap him long enough to put him in jail, and anyway, Dragos would demolish any building with jail cells in it. The whole thing would become a legal snarl that would clog up the Elder tribunal for months and years. No wonder Dragos’s lawyers were so rich. He was a litigator’s wet dream.

She pinched the bridge of her nose to stave off a growing headache. She noticed one of the waitstaff was on the phone, no doubt calling the local police.

The Light Fae male struggled, but he could gain no purchase against the iron hand that gripped him. “Your mistakes are getting worse, my friend,” he hissed. “There are many more of us than there are of you.”

“You dare to threaten me?” Dragos hauled the Light Fae male close to his hard, angry face. “My wife says that I can’t kill you for being an *. She has a much kinder heart than I do. If you or any of your men come anywhere near us, I will take you apart. Slowly.”

The Light Fae male’s face purpled. He clawed at Dragos’s hand and spat out a long string of words in the strange language Pia had noticed last night. She didn’t have to understand what he said to know he wasn’t apologizing.

Pia tried smiling at the waitstaff. They stared at her, frozen. She said, “We’ll pay for the damages, of course, and for everybody’s meal.”

Dragos threw the Light Fae male one-handed across the room. He slammed into the wall and slumped to the floor. Then Dragos stood. He was so quick, so inhumanly graceful for his massive size, that just the simple movement of rising to his feet made the skin at the back of Pia’s neck prickle.

It would set a very bad precedent if he had any clue how he affected her when he behaved so badly, so she tried to play it cool. “You’ve had your fun. Are you done now?”

Eyes still glowing with fury, he stretched his neck and nodded. He bent to pick up the plank and said to the bartender, “Send the bill to Cuelebre Enterprises.”

The bartender nodded.

The Light Fae male lifted his head. His expression underwent a drastic transformation. “Draco.”

Finally. Now that the other male had realized who Dragos was, maybe he would grow some sanity and leave them the hell alone.

Dragos reached Pia, his face like a thundercloud. She held the door open for him. Neither one of them said a word until they had walked back to the SUV. He unlocked the doors with the key fob and threw the plank into the backseat again while Pia climbed in the front.

Sirens sounded in the distance. They grew closer rapidly. For a moment neither Pia nor Dragos moved.