Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Adrian closed his eyes and swallowed hard, hoping he was giving off a look of deep sadness, when in reality, he was fighting hard not to break into snickers. This was an incredible sob story he was weaving, and Adrian did not want to ruin it.
“Oh, you poor thing,” the lady closest to Haru cooed. She handed off the picture she’d been holding to the woman on her left and lightly clasped one of Haru’s hands in hers, patting the top.
“Good grief, Gladys,” the stern woman who’d inquired about where they were from grumbled. “You believe every sad tale you hear. Next thing you know, you’ll be handing over your best earrings and bank account number.”
“Don’t be so mean, Gert. You don’t know what these boys have been through,” Gladys chided, still holding Haru’s hand.
“Mn. Yes, you could be helping nefarious thugs,” the woman holding Shey’s picture suggested. She handed it across the table to Gert and murmured, “He’s a serious one.”
Gert grunted and adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose, while her companion on her right leaned in to see it. “But handsome. Don’t forget that. He’s a handsome one.”
“They’re all so handsome,” argued the one who was holding Haru’s hand.
Of course, the dragon had to wink at the one who took the time to stroke his ego. Adrian stuffed down the desire to roll his eyes.
“Oh yes, because drug dealers could never be handsome,” the one who’d called them thugs snarked.
“No, ma’am,” Adrian cut in. “We’re not involved with drugs. It’s the entire reason Bree and Duncan got out of Zastrad. They wanted to get away from the Dead God followers and his KOD.”
A wrinkle formed on Haru’s brow, but he maintained his harmless, earnest expression. Adrian knew the dragon wanted to ask about KOD, otherwise known as Kiss of Death. The followers of the Dead God used the drug to achieve a near-death high that supposedly brought them closer to their god. The only problem was that it didn’t take much for them to go from near-death to full death.
Adrian heaved a big sigh and stretched out his hand toward Gert for the picture. “Look, it’s fine if you don’t want to help. We knew it was a long shot. I wouldn’t be surprised if the people in Bellcairn lied to us. Bree’s probably dead.”
“Don’t say that!” Haru snapped, and for a heartbeat, Adrian couldn’t tell if Haru was still acting or being serious.
The hand of the woman directly in front of Adrian came up and smacked his. He quickly drew his hand back, leaving the picture with Gert. “We didn’t say we wouldn’t help you.”
“Gail is right,” Gert stated, and Adrian froze.
Had he heard that right? Gladys, Gert, and…Gail? It sounded like Haru had chosen the G-squad to help point them in the right direction. There was still one he hadn’t heard the name for yet, and he prayed that it also began with the letter G. It was taking all of Adrian’s considerable self-control not to giggle. Clearly, he’d not had enough sleep.
A woman in a black uniform holding a half-full pot of coffee walked over, a scowl on her youthful face while her purple hair was twisted on top of her head in a series of complicated braids. “Ladies, are these men bothering you?” she demanded in a threatening tone.
Haru lifted his head, his mouth already seeming to move in a placating smile, but his face froze and he simply blinked at the newcomer. At a guess, Adrian would wager that the dragons of the Isle of Stone didn’t normally color their hair purple.
“It’s fine, Lizzie. These boys are lost and searching for their friend. We’re giving them some directions,” Gert said easily, drawing Adrian’s gaze to her. They had yet to receive anything that resembled directions, but now he had some hope that they would now materialize.
Lizzie gave Adrian and Haru long, threatening glares before retreating into the dark shadows of the coffee shop once again.
When they were alone, Gert glanced at the picture one more time. She nodded and handed it to Adrian. “For your friend’s sake, I hope those Bellcairn bastards lied to you and he’s still there.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. Bellcairn is an awful place,” the woman sitting on Gert’s right mumbled.
Gert’s stern expression softened for the first time, and she lightly gripped her friend’s arm, giving her a supportive squeeze.
“Ginger has a daughter and three grandkids living in Bellcairn right now. Her son-in-law just up and disappeared one day. Six months later, his body was discovered in a patch of woods six miles outside of town,” Gail explained.
Adrian’s inner child cackled to find that all four women had names that started with G, making them a genuine G-Squad, while his brain picked apart the story. “Six miles outside of Bellcairn?”