There was a man's shirt, as well as a pair of pants that looked like they were too small. But upon closer inspection, she realized they were actually both maternity things. Holding them close to her, she asked where they had come from.
"There's a pack of wolves on the land that are very good friends of ours. Two of the women are breeding right now. Pregnant. Anyway, they brought them over when Kenton asked. You met him, he's my husband." Harper asked her if he was the doctor. "Yes, that's him. And if you don't mind, he'd like for you to go by his office so he can check you over as soon as you can manage it. Nothing untoward, but he wants to make sure that the tumble with the guy that rushed you didn't hurt either of you."
"All right. That man who came with the gun, do you know why he was after me?" Emma told her it was because of the dragons. "So I should expect more of them, someone to come and try to take me from this place too?"
"Yes. You can expect them to come, but they're not going to get you to go anywhere. Not now that you're with family." Harper asked her why she was counted as family. "Because for as much as you don't want to believe it, we are. The moment that you came here-even before, I guess-we were already here to help protect you, and the babe you carry."
"My sister and her husband, do you count them as people that you'd protect me from?" Emma smiled and told her from anyone that tried to harm her, no matter who or what. "I don't understand you people. You know nothing about me. I could be as bad as Winnie."
"From what I've heard, no one is as bad as Winnie except maybe her husband. Dalton, another McCade brother, is a cop, and he's looking into things for you about them. Lewis and I, we'll keep you well fed and happy that way. Jasmine is Jorden's wife … she owns and operates an antique store. She's working today or would be here. They have a son, Gavin, who is extremely smart and one of the politest kids you'll ever meet. Vance, he's.... Well, Vance is a person that you can trust with your life, but he's a little intense. The rest of the family you've met. Oh, and Aisha, their mom. She's wonderful. You'll love her to pieces."
Harper was overwhelmed and said that to Emma. Nodding as if she understood completely, Emma told her to take a nice shower and they'd talk more. Also, Emma said they'd figure out where Winnie and her husband were to keep tabs on them.
After closing the door again, Harper adjusted the water to a nice temp and stripped down. The bruises on her arms were already turning dark. Ignoring them, she looked at the two dragons on her bicep. And she thought of how, just because they were there, she'd been able to deal with the man who had come for her.
Yesterday she'd ordered a pizza. Not that big of a deal, but she was craving one in the worst kind of way. She knew that she'd have heartburn and be a little sick after, but she needed it … like breathing. After finding a place that would deliver to the small hotel, she went to her luggage to find the notes on pieces of pottery that she wanted to design if she ever got out of this mess.
Just a short ten minutes after she'd gotten her dinner and had to run the boy off, there was a knock at her door again. Standing as she was eating the second piece of the worst pizza she'd ever eaten, the door exploded open. A kid no older than some of the ones she'd seen at the high school where she taught a few days a week came in with a gun.
"Come with me and bring your jewelry." Shaking her head, she reached for anything to protect herself with. "I didn't ask you, I said to come with me. We know that you have a piece of it and that you brought it with you, so get it. I don't have time for you to be shitting around on this. Come on."
The torque touched her fingers as she was reaching for something to hit him with, and she was calmed by the simple act. The voice in her head, the dragon, told her to slip it on and he'd help her. The moment that she wrapped it around her wrist, thinking that had to be what he meant, she felt empowered. Not only that, but she knew just what she had to do to save herself and her child. But the young kid, the gun toting boy, seemed pissed when he saw that she'd put it on.
"Well fuck, lady. You sure as shit screwed this up for me, didn't you?" She asked him what he meant, the gun pointed at her head now. "I was supposed to get the jewels then kill you so that you'd not be able to get to the family. I didn't think you'd actually put it on. Damn it all to fuck and back. Now I have to cut off your fucking arm. But I will get it no matter what it takes, just like I was told."