Defending the Dragon King: The Continuum, #3

By Dawn Michelle and Jason Halstead

Defending the Dragon King is part 3 of The Continuum paranormal serial romance by NY Times bestselling author, Dawn Michelle.

Cole's days of hauling drunks out of the club were over. He had a real job ahead of him, if he could survive the training. If he didn't...well at least he didn't have to worry about going back to the club.

His biggest challenge was Lyta, the director of training for his new employer, Hydra Securities. She claimed a lineage traced all the way back to the queen of the Amazons. Worse, she maintained the Amazonian militant lifestyle and she had a special interest in seeing him fail.

All the while there was Selena, the green eyed woman that continued to take his breath away. She was off limits as the personal assistant of the owner of Hydra Securities. But, when a pretty girl was in his sights, he never could stop himself.

Between Lyta, Selena, and his final exam to become a member of Hydra Securities, Cole's odds of survival are increasingly slim. Only his own unknown heritage has kept him alive, but even that will be tested when he has to parachute into the war-torn night of the northern Ukraine in order to protect one of Mr. Regent's assets.

Look for these other parts of The Continuum:

Part One: Claimed by the Dragon King

Part Two: Flight of the Dragon King

Part Three: Defending the Dragon King

Part Four: coming soon

• Language: English
• Publisher: Novel Concept Publishing LLC
• Release date: Aug 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781536512601

Dawn Michelle

Dawn Michelle is a NY Times and USA Today bestselling paranormal romance author that started out as a girl next door turned mother of two and household champion. After years of watching her husband write novel after novel and not trying to write the stories she was interested in she decided it was time she showed him how it was done.

Book preview

Defending the Dragon King

Continuum #3

By Dawn Michelle

Published by Novel Concept Publishing LLC

©2016

All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

For additional information contact:

www.novelconceptpublishing.com

784 Hidden River Dr.

Ortonville, MI 48462

Cover art © 2016 Cora Graphics

Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

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Look for these other books in The Continuum series:

Claimed by the Dragon King

Flight of the Dragon King

Defending the Dragon King

Chapter 1

Cole ducked as bullets zipped through the air over his head. Others thudded into the sandbags in front of the steel barrier he crouched behind. His shoulder hit the barrier, placing a snarl on his face. He glanced around to be certain he was in position, then turned back to look at his quad leader. He turned his head away as soon as he made eye contact to issue another order to one of the other two people in the quad.

Cole counted to four and made certain his rifle was ready. He gathered his feet under him and lifted his head and shoulders. He snapped off two bursts before hitting the deck again. A heartbeat later the gunner taking cover in the storefront returned fire.

He'd done his job though, he distracted the machine gunner long enough for Calkins to take up a position to the right of the storefront where their enemy was located.

Cole was about to pop up and risk another shot when a fresh fusillade of bullets slammed into his cover. A few burrowed between the sandbags and pinged against the hardened steel barricade.

He leaned over and thrust himself up, firing almost blindly at the storefront before gravity claimed him and pulled him down to the ground. Bullets tore through the air above him where he'd been. He winced in pain from hitting the ground and having the air knocked out of him. He fell on his back and his discomfort was forgotten as he witnessed the distorted lines in the air where the 5.56 millimeter bullets had passed.

The need for air made him blink and suck in his breath. The sound of gunfire and people shouting crashed over him. He felt the oppressive heat in his combat gear and the ache in his back and shoulder. The lines of air distorted by the passing bullets were invisible, as they should have been. He shook his head and rolled back to his knees so he could be ready.

Bravo, cover in five! the quad leader called over the gunfire.

Cole switched his H&K G36 to single fire mode as he counted down from five. When he reached one he popped up and fired. His first bullet tore into the concrete sidewalk and the second hit the base of the storefront. The next bullets he rapid fired into the broken window where the gunner was hiding behind his own steel plates and sandbags.

The enemy's muzzle spat fire in response. Cole held his ground, gritting his teeth and fighting his survival instincts. The bullets hit the sandbag in front of him and whipped past on his right. He felt a punch to his right side as the enemy gunner zeroed on. Cole jumped to his feet and stepped left, still firing round after round as his thirty shot magazine was nearly exhausted.

Alpha and Charlie were firing too, throwing as much threat at the machine gunner as possible. Cole ran out of cover as he reached the end of the railing, not that it was doing him any good. His action clicked on an empty breech, signaling that he was done. He leaned forward and ran, throwing defense to the wind.

He dropped his spent magazine as he ran and prayed that he could outrun the gunner. He turned to the right, running in an arc to try and flatten himself against the storefronts. He leapt onto the trunk of a car and slid across it before dropping down and continuing his sprint. He fumbled with a fresh magazine on his vest while he heard somebody scream off to his side.

The flash in the darkened storefront from the gunner's muzzle had disappeared for a few seconds, sparing Cole instant death. Either his weapon had jammed or he was reloading. In either case, Cole was a dead man without cover. He yanked his magazine free and threw himself forward, running with all he had until he threw himself into the shallow recession allowed by the door of another shop two stores down from the bank the gunmen had taken refuge in. He bounced off the door but pushed himself back into the tiny alcove and fumbled his magazine into the port.

Cole gasped for breath and pulled the charging handle back to load in a fresh round. He looked out at where his quad was pinned down and knew he had to do something. He'd deviated from Raskett's plan already by charging the storefront.

Cole hugged the wall and walked in a crouch from the left. He made it to the next store and was hurrying past when the door swung out and hit his rifle. Rather than be spun away he let go of his weapon and grabbed the left arm and barrel of the man that came at him from the doorway. The rifle went off but Cole had pulled it towards him and to his right, sending the bullet safely to his side.

The off balance gunman staggered into Cole, only to feel Cole's shoulder punch into his chin. Cole ripped the gun from the ambusher's hand and let it go, then grabbed the man's shirt and spun him around. Cole rolled him over his hip and dropped him on the ground. He took a step back while he drew his pistol and took a two handed stance.

The gunmen stared up at him with wide eyes. Cole pulled the trigger twice, sending the ten millimeter rounds into the man's chest.

Cole jerked his eyes up to look for his rifle. It was lying on the concrete several feet away. He could grab it, but he'd be within spitting distance of the machine gunner. No amount of luck would save him then.

Cole switched his pistol into his left hand and tugged a grenade free with his right. He pulled the pin and took half steps until he could lean far enough and see the open window of the storefront. He backed up and then flung the grenade in a sidearm arc that took it into the opening. Before the grenade hit he stepped out and fired  his pistol, concentrating on sending the remaining six bullets into the interior as a distraction more than anything.

Cole's Sig clicked empty as the gunner inside swung the business end of his rifle back toward him. The muzzle flashed and sent supersonic pain his way. He felt the slap against his right side, near where the first had hit him,