Taming London (Warwick Dragons #1) - Milly Taiden Page 0,57

roaring like it was touched by madness. London wasted no time. He lunged one arm forward, catching the bear by the throat. He shook the animal, letting the tips of his talons dig into the furry flesh. The bear howled and roared, clawing at the limb to try and get free. It hurt, but London was determined. He shook the bear a few more times before sending him into the flames.

The bear caught the lapping orange waves of heat and rolled away, unmoving.

London blew out an enormous breath, extinguishing the fire.

He trained his eyes toward the sky and saw that the helicopter was moments from landing. It was fine, he would let the thing land, and crush it when it was safely on the ground. It would limit the amount of damage, and also ensure that no innocent bystander would get hurt. London watched as the pilot landed the helicopter right in the middle of the ring of fire he had just put out. The man made no move to get out, but he had the good sense to turn off the engine, stopping the rotary wings from causing wind and noise. He gave the dragon a surreptitious nod of the head. London roared a loud noise in his direction, hoping to frighten the man into taking off again.

The scent on the air changed, and Humphreys was coming out of the house.

London roared again, but this time it was an ugly sound that could have curdled dairy.

Humphreys was leading Bethany in front of him at gunpoint. Her hands were bound in front of her and her mouth was sealed behind a strip of duct tape. London took on a prone position, preparing himself to strike out at the coward of a man. He had to make sure that his calculations were right so that he didn’t accidentally hit his mate. Bethany’s eyes were wide in panic, and fear rolled off of her.

“You need to shift back into your human form, right now. Or I swear to you, I will shoot her. You won’t stop me from taking off, do you hear me? Shift back. Shift back right now.”

London eyed the helicopter’s pilot. The man didn’t look nervous at all.

In fact, London would have recognized that smug mug anywhere. He huffed out a chuckle, but he was sure the humor of his tone was lost on Humphreys.

He slowly shifted back into his human form and rushed toward Bethany. She couldn’t move as her stepfather was keeping a firm grasp on her.

“Easy,” London told the man. “You’re caught, Humphreys. There is nowhere for you to go. Interpol has your information. They know what you’ve done, and they know you’ve gone and hired Jean Rochelle. Give up.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s going to happen.” A man stepped out of the house, hands behind his back as if he were on a leisurely stroll through a museum, not coming onto the strangest scene of a naked London, a bound woman, and four seriously injured animals.

“Jean Rochelle,” London guessed.

“Yes,” the stranger said. “Very good. Now, if you would be so kind as to step away from our ride, we have somewhere to be.”

“Who is this man to you that you would protect him?” London growled. “He already paid you.”

“He still owes me money, you see.”

“What, because 1.5 million isn’t enough for you?”

Rochelle laughed. “Oh, that was the money he owed me from before.”

London faltered for a moment. “Before what?”

“Tut, tut,” Rochelle said. “When Mr. Humphreys lost his fortunes on a bad deal, and his wife wouldn’t lend him the money to rebuild his empire, he came to me for a loan. Of course, he had no way of knowing he was dealing with me. But I don’t think that would have mattered.”

“So, you’re what, a hitman turned loan shark for desperate rich people who lose everything?”

“I have many fingers in many pies, but that’s no concern of yours. As I understand, you have already alerted Interpol to my involvement in this situation. That’s not very sportsmanlike behavior.” He tutted again. “You’re going to let us leave, the pair and I.”

“Sure,” London stepped aside. “By all means, get in that helicopter. I think you’ll find that you’ll end up exactly where I want you to go.”

Rochelle’s smile was dry and humorless. “Your money won’t help.”

“No, but my best friend being a rich prick who had nothing better to do with his time than to learn on to fly a helicopter sure will help me.” London waved