Julie screamed. At least, he thought she did. He felt like he was down a dark tunnel. Deep down. Far removed from everything. He felt woozy and unstable. He felt numb.

The screaming intensified. Yes, it was definitely screaming. There was a loud snapping noise. It rang through him. It banged around in his skull for what felt like an age but was probably only a split second. Then everything went black.

Chapter 17

The dragon disappeared into the sky. It moved so quickly that her mind almost couldn’t register it. If she hadn’t known to look for it as it left, she might not have seen it at all.

She walked to the front of her house and just stood on her porch for a few minutes, taking in her surroundings. Home. It didn’t feel like home. It didn’t matter, she wasn’t staying anyway. Candy pulled the wooden bench until it was in the right place. She climbed onto it. Using the tips of her fingers, she felt across the beam until her finger hit the key. Her spare. The one she had stuck up there almost three years ago when she’d moved out of her apartment and into this house. Just in case. Thank god she had.

She sighed with relief. Now all she had to do was grab her passport and identity document, pack a small bag and she’d be on her way. A shiver of fear ran up her spine. She reminded herself of how Ellis had just lain there on the floor. He’d looked broken. She didn’t want him to be dead but she hoped that he was still incapacitated. She prayed hard that she wouldn’t run into him. Not now, not ever again.

Please, no!

She took a couple of deep breaths. She was being silly. Ellis wasn’t waiting for her. The back of her neck prickled despite the pep talk she’d just given herself.

Candy inserted the key into the lock and quickly let herself in, locking the door behind her. She put her back up against the door. She was safe while she was inside.

Her house was quiet. It smelled musty. “Shit!” she said. Her voice the only thing that sounded in the house. Her plants were brown and limp and dead. On the up side, it didn’t feel like anyone had been in her space. She huffed out a breath.

Right, she needed to get packed and to get the hell out of this town. There was nothing left for her here. She felt a pang. If she left, Torrent wouldn’t know where to look for her.

Stop it!

He wasn’t coming for her. He was a huge asshole of epic proportions. Guys with egos like him didn’t ever admit to being wrong. They blamed the other person. They didn’t chase after anyone, nor did they apologize. It wasn’t going to happen. Even if it did… by some small miracle… there was no way she could ever forgive him. He’d hurt her too badly. Candy had spilled her guts to him and he’d really hurt her.