Draco: Dragon Protectors, #2

By Ava Benton

A secret group of dragon shifters operate in a city not far from all of us.

They save lives. They demand secrecy. They take no prisoners.

Or do they?

Draco is one of that elite bodyguard cadre.

Luna's the daughter of a rich man. Or she was.

Until she was on the run. Until she became Draco's captive.

Fate brought the rebel and the dragon together.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ABP
• Release date: May 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393589594

Book preview

1

Luna

Igathered up my hair with one hand and piled it into a messy knot on top of my head. Meeting my eyes in the dirty, graffiti-covered mirror, I relaxed my jaw and ran a fingertip over my cheekbones. A lifetime ago, someone had told me I could pass for J-Law’s sister.

A lifetime ago… I’d left them all behind. Every last one of my friends, my family, every classmate that ever thought they knew me.

Behind me, a bathroom stall door crashed open, and I tracked the woman’s movements up to the dingy second sink.

Her brown eyes met mine. Jesus, girl, you’re too fuckin’ pretty to be here. She wheezed as she spoke, and I’d swear I heard her joints squeaking in protest under her impressive weight. Her mousy brown hair was swept up in a ponytail on top of her head that flopped down to the right side of her face, and she opened her mouth to reveal toothless gums.

I washed my hands and returned my attention to myself in the mirror. I didn’t trust this stranger. I’d learned not to trust anyone. The last couple of weeks had proven I was right all along.

First, the men came. They’d put a bullet in the brain of the man who’d sworn to protect me with his life. An ache filled my chest and squeezed so painfully tears stung in my eyes. He’d given everything to protect me, and I’d taken that opportunity to do what I’d already planned to do.

Disappear.

Take care, girl. The woman left the restroom, leaving me completely alone.

I gripped the edges of the sink until my fingers ached. All my life, people told me how lucky I was. How being the daughter of a rich family and having everything I ever wanted or could ask for was the blessing of all blessings.

But it wasn’t. Money is a curse.

My father never paid attention to me. He was too caught up in his own life. Sure, if I wanted something, I merely had to whisper a word, and he’d make sure I had it in a snap. Unless the thing I wanted was his time. Then no amount of begging, crying, screaming would even get his attention.

I only existed when he could throw money at me. Otherwise, I was ignored.

Cupping both hands under the water, I splashed it on my face. I’d have the last laugh. He’d kept me under his thumb all my life. He’d planned every second of my life from the day I was born—via C-section, to fit into his schedule—to the school I’d go to, the friends I was allowed to have, all the way to the man I’d eventually marry. Hell, he’d even picked out the burial plot I’d ultimately wind up in.

Beads of water streamed down my face, and I glared at myself in the mirror, memorizing every freckle. The men coming to kill me had the grace to tell me why and that sparked the plan I’d already had.

They wanted me dead for a simple reason. My dad decided he wanted to try his hand at politics. But he hadn’t made sure he was in the pocket of all the right people first. That was all they’d told me, but I’m not stupid. I knew the reason they wanted to kill me. To send a message to him. To force him out of politics. And I knew the reason, too. They couldn’t control him.

The only thing I didn’t know was if he knew before my life had become part of the bargain. I doubted he’d risk me. Everything was too perfectly planned out in my life, and daddy didn’t like to see a good plan to go to waste.

I stepped back from the mirror and eyed myself. The clothing was all a far cry from the prim and proper dresses I’d been forced to wear all my life. The jeans left marks on my skin. The t-shirts were a bit scratchy. A slight smile tugged the corners of my lips. But the beauty of it was that I fit in. This was all the disguise it took for me to remain hidden.

I lifted my hand, looking at the stamp. This place was home to two types. The traffickers and the undergrounds. I was hiding in plain sight. Right under the noses of the men trying to kill me. Because they also had a subset. They had turncoats in their ranks, people that struggled to right the wrongs, who would smuggle out the innocents or those able to pay. Maybe that made them less than honorable, but hey, they were risking their lives, I didn’t begrudge them a payout for their efforts.

Time to go. A man stepped into the room and grabbed my arm. I went with him willingly as his fingers wound around and dug in just under my shoulder. Free your hair, he growled at me.

I reached up and pulled out the band, and the waves cascaded around my face before bouncing down my back. I’d considered cutting it, but I was warned not to, that it would be helpful.

Chin up, girl.

I lifted my chin as he marched me out into the room. He’d given me the whole walkthrough. I knew exactly what to do and when. My break was coming. With my pulse thundering in my ears, I faced the crowd that began to converge on us. Hands reached out and pawed at me as time seemed to slow down. So many men reaching out to touch me even as the one guiding me shouted at them to get their dirty fucking hands off the merchandise.

I stared up at the stage, swallowing hard as my lips parted in a mixture of fear and excitement. We took the steps, and I lifted my chin another inch as he’d instructed. Taking a deep breath, I promised myself this was the last indignity. Then I’d be free. Completely, utterly, wholly free of all of them. Free of my family, the bonds holding me in place, the promises my father made for me, the future husband I’d been sold to like a piece of meat.

After this, I’d live my life the way I wanted to, and none of them could stop me.

People shouted at me from the ground as the man holding me dragged me into the light on the stage. I refused to look at any of them. Instead, as instructed, I stared directly ahead over the heads of the crowd.

In the back of the room, two brilliant blue eyes locked on me, but I ignored them and stared into the dark shadows.

The spotlight focused on me, blinding me. I lifted a hand to protect my eyes, but the man smacked it down. I resisted the urge to kick him in the shins and remembered he was my only friend in this room of rabid animals out for my blood.

After this, I’d start over. Find a hiding place where no one would ever find me. I’d lived a simple, quiet existence. But I’d make my own decisions, choose my own path. No one would plan a damn thing for me.

I’ll start the bidding at a hundred grand. The announcer spoke, and the crowd went quiet. I scanned around, and the man holding me leaned in and whispered, Highest starting bid ever.

I didn’t even act like I’d heard him. He’d warned me that if I gave him away we’d both die or, in my case, suffer a fate worse than death. I had to trust him.

I. Someone in the back shouted the word, indicating he’d kick off the bidding and gasps filled the air. And it hit me. I was being sold right back to the same people I was running from. The rich normal people didn’t have a hundred grand to throw down on a piece of meat. Maybe I hadn’t escaped my fate after all.

I had to focus. I had to keep my head. Losing my cool would spell disaster.

Two hundred. Another voice spoke up, and suddenly, the crowd was in an uproar.

Two fifty!

Three hundred. The collective gasp of the crowd didn’t dissuade the battle between the three different voices.

Three fifty.

Five.

I continued staring over the heads of the crowd, my chin held high and proud even though static charges skittered up and down my arms. Someone was willing to pay half a million to buy me based on sight alone. The traffickers didn’t give any info other than that I was free of diseases after they’d run blood tests and had a doctor check me over.

The roar of the crowd grew louder, and I continued to ignore everything but the shadows in the far back of the room. The hand on my arm yanked me back, and I struggled to keep my footing. I’d get through this. I’d make it out on the other side and be free. I stumbled as he yanked on me again, and I nearly fell to my knees.

Under the guise of ‘catching’ me, the man whispered in my ear. That’s not my guy.

My blood ran cold. The whole plan hinged on his contact bidding the highest. That’s why he’d sounded so surprised that the bid started so high. They weren’t prepared for this massive amount on me.

Hey, hands off. Another burly bastard ripped my contact off me and shoved him aside before taking