At that, she whirled around and beat a hasty retreat before she could get herself even deeper into trouble.

  Just something about him had such an effect on April that she didn’t even know what to do to compose herself.

  Not that he’d been particularly chatty himself, though.

  And what was with all the glaring and mystery? She was just trying to say thank you, after all. Was that too much to ask?

  Her thoughts were swimming, and she ignored the sound of the mayor trying to calm the two rival groups as she made her way toward the back.

  And the smell hit her.

  Smoke.

  Maybe Tiffany just left the toaster oven on or something, she thought, focusing on work instead of the basilisk’s eyes watching her intently.

  She passed through the doorway into the back when a wave of heat hit her, followed by black, billowy plumes that were rapidly filling the small area.

  Not the toaster oven.

  The entire prep area off to the side was alight, but aside from the window at the end of it being broken, nothing could have explained how one minute everything had been fine and the next minute the place was on fire.

  She had to think quick. She needed to grab the extinguisher, tell the customers, and call—

  “Where is it?” a deep voice boomed from behind her, and April jumped from the sudden nearness of the sound.

  When she looked behind her, it was the basilisk. His eyebrows were lowered, and he’d already found the source of the smoke.

  Thankfully, her words didn’t fail her this time. “Not a problem. I’ll get the extinguisher. You just get everyone through the front door.”

  She looked past the basilisk into the main bar where people were already standing, aware something was going on or probably smelling the smoke.

  But to her dismay, before either she or the basilisk could do either of the things she’d said, the two small windows at the front of the bar broke inward with a crash, and two bottles filled with liquid sailed into the bar.

  In mere moments, the contents of the bottles smashed across the ground and turned into raging flames that covered the front door and licked up the walls with shocking speed.

  “Nothing to worry about. No need to panic,” April said loudly and calmly as she came around the basilisk to speak to the patrons, trying to act as collected as possible.

  “Fire!” someone shouted.

  “Every wolf for himself!” another man said in a high-pitched voice.

  Suddenly, Willie’s Corner was mayhem as dozens of people got up and started to throw chairs and tables aside as they made for the exit. Someone tried to open the front door, but the fire was already spreading onto the ceiling, and they burned their hand trying to grab the metal doorknob, pulling away quickly as the entire storefront became an impassable wall of orange heat.

  April thought fast. There wasn’t time to hesitate.

  She rushed for the back exit off to her left and shoved at the handlebar. But the door didn’t budge. She tried a second time, pushing her shoulder into it as more shouts and panic filled the bar, but it wouldn’t move.

  Suddenly, someone grabbed her by the arm and shoved her aside with a growl.

  “Wolves before humans,” one of Bill’s friends said as he kicked at the door, managing to dent it.

  The darn thing had probably rusted over after years of being shut like that.

  Definitely not good.

  Then more figures appeared around her, rushing for the back door, bumping and pushing her, and she heard a thwack as someone punched someone else, though it was difficult to see with the rising smoke and the press of bodies.

  “Out of the way for the Clawsons,” someone said loudly as big, burly bear shifters started hitting anything and everything in their way.

  This was getting worse by the second.

  Instead of opening the door and cooperating, the bears and wolves were too busy fighting each other for access to their yet-unopened escape route, trapping everyone else inside the bar.

  She wanted to scream, but that wouldn’t likely help.

  A chair sailed through the air, and April raised her hands to protect herself as she braced for the impact.

  But it never came.

  A huge shadow appeared in front of April, looking down at her as the chair smashed into his back, shielding her from any harm as splinters and wooden bits cascaded all around.

  “You all right?” The basilisk’s eyes were serious, and if she wasn’t mistaken, his one blue eye was looking a little darker. More like a deep purple-indigo, though she didn’t have time to think about it for long as two similarly large figures appeared instantly at his sides.

  “Gunnar?” The one with the beard and two blue eyes looked to his friend as if for direction.

  So that is his name.

  Like a true leader, Gunnar acted in an instant, not wasting even a precious moment that could save lives. He motioned to the one who’d asked him and looked over his shoulder at the melee of shifters still battling it out. “Diesel, sort that mess.” Then he glared at the other one, the one with red eyes. “Ajax. A new exit.”

  With a growl that was more excited than anything else, Diesel literally leapt into the fighting, fists raised as he punched his way toward the back door, laying out anything and everything that stood in his way. Off to the right, Ajax smirked and moved toward the back wall, cracking his knuckles for a second before cocking a fist back.

  He wasn’t really going to…?

  CRASH.

  Ajax’s fist flew into the wood-paneled wall, and rubble exploded as his arm went straight through as if he’d been punching paper, not concrete. Then his other fist pounded through, and he wrenched his arms downward, tearing a five-by-five hole into the wall.

  Meanwhile, bodies moved back and forth, and when someone tripped free of the fray, almost ramming right into April, Gunnar’s fist flew forward and caught him in the jaw, laying him out cold as April’s body jumped from the ferocity of the impact.

  By the time she looked back at Ajax, the hole was twice the size of the front door, and all around her, people started to rush outside as Ajax stepped aside to let them through.

  To the left, Diesel had fought his way past the Clawsons and the wolves, and with a heavy boot, he kicked the fire escape open, grabbed the nearest two people he could reach by the neck, and hurled them outside into the sunlight with a dark laugh.

  She felt a warm, heavy hand on her shoulder and realized Gunnar had begun pushing her toward the gaping hole in the side of her uncle’s bar while, at the same time, he dragged the man he’d just knocked out by the back of his shirt, not leaving him behind in the quickly encroaching flames.

  In moments, she and everyone else were outside as there was the sound of something exploding inside the bar. Ajax and Diesel were the last two out, and all around April, people coughed and hacked from inhaled smoke.

  She quickly took in the familiar faces. The mayor who was wiping tears from his eyes. The Clawsons off to the left, snarling as they looked suspiciously over at the larger group of wolves that were helping their friends up who’d been on the receiving end of Diesel’s fists a moment ago.

  But something wasn’t right…

  “Tiffany!” April shouted as she didn’t see her friend amongst the people. She looked again but didn’t see her.

  Oh no.

  April didn’t even think. She just ran, her feet flying back toward the bar. Vaguely, she heard someone call out to her, but she ignored it, not able to leave her friend behind.

  In all the rush, all the chaos, April hadn’t had time to make sure her friend had gotten out.

  Already, the bar was almost completely ensconced in flame, and she had to duck between burning furniture as the heat became nearly unbearable. Thankfully, someone had left a heavy jacket on one of the chairs, and she pulled it over her head and around her shoulders as she rushed for the back, knowing the only place to check.

  The kitchen was a swath of blazing fire, and she had to leap over the smoldering floor to reach the short hallway that connected to the back office. Smoke so thick she could barely see or breathe greeted her as she made her way deeper into the bar.

  “Tiffany!” she called out, her lungs desperate for air.

  “April!” her friend responded, the sound of her voice muffled by the deafening crackle surrounding them.

  She reached the office just in time and, to her dismay, saw that one of the cabinets that had been placed precariously within the hallway had toppled sideways, barring the door from opening.

  “The door’s stuck. I can’t get out!” Tiffany shouted.

  “I’ll get it,” April replied, holding back a cough as she tried to pull the overfull hunk of metal backward. The cabinet was so hot it nearly burned her fingers, but with a grunt and a heave, she pulled it backward where it crashed onto the floor.

  The door flew open, and her friend Tiffany came out of the office as even more smoke billowed into the hallway.

  “I tried to get out, but there was—”

  “Let’s get us both out of here.” April interrupted, taking her friend’s hand and pulling them both back toward the kitchen and their only way out.

  Thankfully, the blaze hadn’t spread much farther, and April handed Tiffany the coat and pushed her forward and quickly over the floor that was so hot she could feel her shoes starting to sizzle from the heat of it.

  Once Tiffany was clear of the worst of it, April steadied herself, ready to jump over the fire.

  There was another explosion from somewhere at the other end of the building, and the ground shook, knocking April off her feet and onto her butt. In the same instant, the roof collapsed in front of her, separating her from Tiffany, and Tiffany screamed in horror.

  “April, no!”

  More beams fell through overhead, and April pushed herself backward, back into the hallway as whatever wasn’t already covered in fire and smoke began to burn even brighter now, giving her only a glimpse of Tiffany through the wreckage.

  “Run for it!” April shouted back.

  The irony of the situation didn’t escape her, though.

  Just great. I’m going to die in this rundown place I’ve been working for years to escape, April thought darkly.

  Then, to her surprise, she saw a huge figure appear next to Tiffany. Then another. One of them picked her up and threw her over their shoulder, disappearing into the smoke.

  At least Tiffany got out safe.

  There was no way anyone could reach her now, not with all the—

  Her mouth fell open as the familiar figure on the other side of the fire began literally punching his way through the flaming wreckage, exploding fallen beams of wood and kicking flaming roofing and insulation to the side.

  In less than a second, she was staring up at Gunnar. Again.

  “You have a real way with entrances, you know that?” she exclaimed incredulously.

  He just frowned down at her like he thought she was a complete fool for being here.

  She kind of was.

  But he didn’t say a word as he reached down and picked her up into his arms effortlessly as though she weighed absolutely nothing. On instinct, her hands clutched him, her vision going hazy through all the smoke.

  Gunnar turned to make his way out the direction they’d just come in, when the rest of the roof fell downward in a deafening roar of fire and rubble, blocking the way out with a wall of flames.

  Darn it. After all of that, she was going to get Gunnar killed too.

  But Gunnar didn’t seem fazed at all as he backed away from the wreckage, turning toward the hall. However, in the moments since Tiffany had gotten out of the office, the flames had found all the piled-up paperwork, and all she could see was a ball of fire ahead.

  Trapped.

  And she’d never gotten a chance to ask him about his tattoos. She’d always secretly loved tattoos on a man.

  Yep, she was definitely getting delirious.

  “Hold on.” Gunnar’s voice immediately roused her as he spoke low into her ear, and she could feel his big arms pulling her in closer, tighter, his huge shoulders shielding her from the worst of the fire and smoke.

  “Hold on! Why?”

  But he didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled back from the wall behind her and kicked forward into it, creating a boot-sized hole that rays of welcome sunshine poured through.

  There was no way they were going to fit through that.

  Unbothered, though, Gunnar just clutched her close and backed a few steps from the wall, enough for a running start, and April’s fingers held on so tight to his shirt her hands went numb as she realized exactly how Gunnar intended to get them out of this.

  Oh dear…

  Gunnar shouted and charged the wall, and April shut her eyes in horrified anticipation.

  There was an explosion, followed by a heavy rumble that shook everything around her.

  Then nothing.

  4

  In all his years walking the earth, Gunnar had never seen someone do something so ridiculous, so foolhardy, so utterly idiotic as he’d just seen the curvy little bartender do a minute ago.

  Or so courageous.

  He’d had to be careful crashing through the wall with the delicate little human in his arms, and for a moment, he’d feared she’d passed out from the fumes after they first came out into the cool summer breeze.

  But she’d allayed his fears when she came to a second afterward, gasping for breath, tears streaming down her face.

  Thankfully, Diesel had gotten her friend to safety, and the two women were now sitting safe on the sidewalk a block away from the now-smoldering blaze as the fire department continued to douse whatever was still burning.

  From the looks of it, the red-haired woman wasn’t even family. Or a child. He’d seen people stick their necks out for close relations, but not just a co-worker, of all things.

  Maybe this human is more interesting than we thought? the voice of his basilisk rumbled.

  Even so, Gunnar had bigger problems on his hands right now.

  Two of them, to be exact.

  “You were supposed to make sure nothing happened, not burn down the whole damn meeting place.” Troy groaned as he raked a frustrated hand over the delicate features of his face.

  As dragons went, Troy and his partner, Jack, were prettier than most. Troy had bright-green eyes and short, vibrant blond hair, while Jack had longish black hair with streaks of blue in it and observant blue eyes, along with a penchant for dressing like a cowboy at all times.

  Someone had apparently tipped off the two dragons about the fire because they’d shown up in less than twenty minutes, Troy hurling obscenities at the snafu that was supposed to have ended in a signed treaty, not a charred pile of rubble.

  As a powerful pair of double dragons, they ensured peace and safety within their sprawling region of Texas, which included Clawson’s Creek.

  A few months ago, when Gunnar and his friends were still settling into living as humans, Troy and Jack had begrudgingly agreed to let the basilisks help out with some of their missions. Apparently, since the knowledge of shifters was becoming more common, more incidents were creeping up. And as a town full of wolves and bears, Clawson’s Creek had been high on their list of problems for a long time now.

  “I was in the middle of an interrogation too,” Troy said, frowning at the smoldering heap where the bar had been.

  Gunnar growled, and Troy flinched almost imperceptibly. “Not our fault.”

  Even though he didn’t like dragons, Gunnar respected the double dragons since they were protectors.

  And there wasn’t a thing in the world Gunnar and his friends understood better than protecting.

  In the background, the wolves and bears had been arguing the second they’d escaped the fire. And more than once, Diesel had jumped in to stop another scuffle from starting.

  Meanwhile, Gunnar found himself standing closer and closer to the cute little woman. What was it about her that drew him to her like this?

  “You Clawsons probably set this whole thing up! Tried to wipe out our pack leadership!” some wolf yelled in the background.

  “Bullshit. All you wolves are lying, thieving mongrels. The only good wolf is a dead wolf,” someone else responded.

  Gunnar grinned with amusement as Jack, Troy’s partner, tried to intervene. But when someone shoved the blue dragon backward, Troy’s attention immediately flew from talking with Gunnar toward the group of shifters behind him. “You touch my partner one more time, and I’ll turn you all to fucking ash!” he shouted, whirling around and leaving Gunnar by himself next to the heroic woman and her friend.

  He turned to look down at April. She’d wiped most of the soot off her face, and long, curly wisps of hair had escaped her ponytail, giving her an adorable, frazzled look.

  She’s cute. Let’s make her ours, the basilisk growled.

  One thing at a time.

  “It’s not your fault, April. It’s your damn uncle’s fault for not keeping the place up to code,” her redheaded friend said, comforting her.

  April. What a pretty name. It reminded him of Texas wildflowers in full bloom. Of blazing spring sunsets and fresh air purified by rainstorms.

  “I know. But the fire… Someone started… Never mind.” She trailed off, staring at the water bottle in her hands. “Your boyfriend will be here soon, right, Tiffany?”

  There was a honk of a car horn, and Tiffany looked over her shoulder. “Yeah, that’s him. You sure you’ll be okay getting home, honey?”

  April nodded, and at that, Tiffany left to join whoever had come to pick her up.

  Leaving Gunnar alone, standing next to April.

  “You okay?” he asked, his voice feeling dry every time he saw her luscious curves that begged to be held. To be loved so fully she forgot even her own name.

  April looked up at him, startled, and Gunnar didn’t know if he should be amused or annoyed. She looked so scared every time he was near.