Free Dragon Gate by Gary Jonas Page B

stupidest thing anyone has said to me in months.”
    His jaw dropped. I guess he wasn’t expecting honesty.
    “You want to finish your run?” I asked.
    “No, I think we should head back.”
    “Whatever works for you.”
    Graham looked at me strangely. “You have blood on your hands.”
    “Only a little,” I said. I was tempted to lick it off, but I didn’t think he could handle that, so I did the next best thing and wiped my hands on his pretty blue jacket.
    “Hey!”
    “What? You can afford a new running suit.”
    He glared at me for a moment then turned and started jogging back toward the house.
    I pulled out my cell and called Brand. He answered on the second ring.
    “The bed is cold without you,” he said.
    “Get your ass up to Boulder,” I said and gave him the address.
    “Do I get to kill anyone?”
    A man after my own heart. “I’m already one up on you.”
    “Not fair.”
    “It’s all right. There are plenty to go around.”
    “I’m on my way.”
    I hung up and jogged after Graham.
    JONATHAN SHADE
    “Here’s how this will work,” I said. Everyone was gathered in the kitchen. Brand had arrived fifteen minutes earlier. He, Graham, and Rayna sat at the table, while Kelly and I stood. Esther sat on the kitchen counter, looking bored. I pointed at Graham and Rayna. “You two will not go anywhere outside this house without one of us.”
    “Okay,” Rayna said.
    Graham shook his head. “I’m not willing to have my life completely disrupted.”
    You’d think he’d have learned his lesson. “A bit of disruption is better than being dead.”
    He glanced at Kelly then nodded. “I suppose.”
    “When we’re in public, you will do exactly as we say. We’ll secure the rooms, and we’ll provide the best cover we can between vehicles and buildings. We’ll use a lot of back entrances, and we’ll vary our routes to any locations we go to more than once. In an ideal situation, we’d have a larger team, but we’ll simply have to make due.”
    “Is it key time?” Esther asked.
    I gave her a nod even though Rayna and Graham didn’t know she was there. I pulled out two typewriter keys with small rings attached.
    “Slip these on your keychains. You will keep these with you at all times.”
    I handed one key to Rayna and the other to Graham. They looked at the keys then at me with confusion on their faces.
    “What are these for?” Graham asked.
    “Turn around and look at the counter,” I said.
    The turned and looked. Esther waved at them.
    They looked back at me even more confused.
    “What are we supposed to be looking at?” Rayna asked. “The microwave?”
    They couldn’t see or hear Esther even with the keys, which meant they had zero magic. Good to know.
    “Never mind. Just keep those keys with you.” If they couldn’t see her, there was no point telling them Esther was along for the ride. “Think of them as good-luck charms.”
    “So these have some sort of protection spell on them?” Graham asked.
    “Something like that.”
    “I don’t trust magic.”
    “I said it was something like that, not that it was that. There’s no magic involved. Let’s just say these are sort of an old-fashioned GPS locator.”
    “If you say so,” Rayna said, and dug in her purse for her keychain.
    Graham pulled out his keychain and added the typewriter key.
    “We’re going to rotate protectors for you, so—”
    “I don’t want to rotate protectors,” Graham said. “I want her with me.” He pointed at Kelly.
    “I’m flattered,” Kelly said.
    “You’ve already proven you can keep me safe, and if someone is going to be by my side, I’d prefer a beautiful woman over a couple of men.”
    “Can’t argue with that,” Brand said. “But just so you know, she’s taken.”
    I turned to Kelly. “You cool with that?”
    She shrugged. “The bad guys already know me, so my presence alone might keep Graham safe.”
    I considered that. She’d told me how she handled the situation, letting