Do you love dragon shifters?
Here’s a special Steel Dragon snippet just for you! I can’t wait for this one to go live! It’s right up my alley! đ
Kristen Hall stepped out of her car, careful to avoid a puddle slick with oilâno easy task, considering the parking lot was more cracks than concrete. Despite being surrounded by a chain-link fence and a guard seated near the back of the building with a shotgun resting across his lap, she didnât feel like she was in any danger. On a day like today, her family wouldnât go anywhere else. Buddyâs Pizza offered the best food in Detroit.
She opened the door to the diminutive building and the smells of perfectly crispy crust and melted cheese washed over her. Her smile was instinctive. She loved this place.
As she stepped inside and savored the aroma, her younger brother blocked her path. âI thought police were supposed to look tough. Shouldnât you wear a scowl with your hair in a bun or something?â Brian enveloped her in a bear hug.
Although he was taller and wider than her, she still wrapped him up and leaned back to lift his feet off the floor. âI could still wrestle you to the ground and make you eat bugs, Brian,â she whispered sweetly.
Despite being treated like a big doll, he merely grinned as she placed him on his feet. âYou always were a terrible bully, but bugs off the floor at Buddyâs would still be better than your cooking.â
âHa-ha.â She laughed dryly. Everyone in her family seemed to be able to cook except her. Even Brian, as lazy as he was, could roast a chicken and vegetables. She was basically a master of the microwave and nothing more.
Her mom approached from the back of the restaurant and threaded her way through the narrow spaces between tables. âI think you look lovely, honey.â She kissed her daughter on the cheek. âBut Brianâs right, if you let that red hair of yours run loose at your new job, youâll distract the entire force. Now, come on. Letâs go find your father. Heâs holding a table like heâs pinned down.â
Kristen followed her through the crowded pizza parlor. Smiling people crammed around tiny tables with red and white tablecloths, argued over the Tigersâ latest loss, or scarfed pizza. The walls were covered with photos of celebrities whoâd come to Buddyâs to do the same. Eminem, the Temptations, and even Arethra Franklin had all eaten there, and those were only some of the more famous celebrities. She had been coming here since she was a little girl. It was her familyâs go-to celebration venue when her mom didnât want to cook.
She located Frank Hall at a table in a corner, pouring over the menu as if he hadnât seen it a million times already.
Her grin wide, she shifted her posture so her feet would fall silently as she approached. âIt looks like you need a spotter.â She poked her dad between the ribs with a finger.
He flinched but as soon as he heard her voice, he broke into a smile. âAw, Kristen, now that youâre an honor grad, I can finally let my guard down.â He studied her affectionately. âYou look beautiful, sweetie. The police donât deserve you.â
Kristen pulled a chair out and sat down beside him. âThey didnât deserve you either.â This wasnât the first time sheâd had this conversation with him. He was proud of her for following in his footstepsâat least on the surfaceâbut he was still an old cop. And he was a dad who didnât want to see his little girl hurt, even if she was more athletic than heâd ever been.
âYeah, well, an old baldy who wonât ever shave his mustache is a far cry from the woman youâve become.â He threw an arm around her shoulder. âI still say you could do anything you want.â
âBeing a police officer is what I want.â She raised an eyebrow. âI want to protect people and help this city become even better than it has in the last ten years. Exactly like my old man did.â
His only response was a smile. Despite his misgivings, she could see that what he felt most of all for his daughter was pride.
âCome on, canât we get a pitcher of beer before we get into all the mushy stuff?â Brian plopped into an empty seat and gestured toward a server.
âWeâre proud of you, too,â his mom said to him.
âYeah, those high scores donât set themselves,â Kristen quipped, unable to help herself.
He laughed. âOh, my God, do you have any idea how you two sound? High scores? No oneâs cared about a high score since pinball machines were popular.â He scratched his hair and shook his head. Brian took after his mother with brown hair and plain features. Kristen was the only one in the family with red hair or a figure, despite her eating virtually as much pizza as the rest of them.
âFrom the rumors Iâve heard, Kristen knows more than enough about high scores. Honor grad, huh?â Her dad beamed. âYou know I barely scraped through. Youâve already done well for the family name.â He finally put the menu down as the server approached.
âWeâll have two pizzas. One pepperoni mushroom, one ham and pineapple, plus an antipasto salad,â Kristen ordered before he could speak up. âOh, and a pitcher of something hoppy from Founderâs.â
The server nodded and vanished into the noise and hubbub of the restaurant.
Brian grinned. âAt least you know how to order food.â
âItâs not her fault she likes her meat raw on the inside and blackened to a crisp on the outside.â
âMom!â she exclaimed, shocked that her mother would say that until she remembered it was exactly what had happened the last time sheâd cooked chicken.
âNice one, Mom. Get in on the action before her and dad start going at it.â Her brother chuckled.
âNow that youâre a member of the force, you wonât have to cook ever again if you donât want to,â her dad stated matter of factly. âChrist knows I donât.â
He was lying, of course, and could grill a mean burger. Even that was beyond his daughterâs skill in the kitchen.
âIâm not a member yet,â Kristen reminded them. âOnly a graduate.â
âA graduate with honors, honey,â her mom added quickly.
âA graduate who was hand-picked by a dragon,â Brian said incredulously. âItâs not like you wonât actually get a job.â
âI was not handpicked,â she protested.
Her parents shared a look that said they thought that was exactly what happened.
âI still think itâs insane that you bumped into one at all. Youâd think Iâd have seen one by now. After all, enough come through Detroit to perform or whatever.â
âHoney, you have to leave the house if you want to meet people.â Their mother turned to Brian. âOr dragons,â she added after a moment.
Kristen laughed. âNice one, Mom!â
âBut thatâs kind of how it happened, right, Krissy?â Her dad leaned closer over the already cramped table. Sheâd told him the story so many times and yet he always wanted to hear it again.
âNo. I mean, yes, I bumped into a dragon at a concertââ
âWhat did it look like? How big are its wings? Did it buy you a drink?â Brian winked.
âIt was in human form, duh, and he wasâŚwell, handsome, obviously. We talked for a few minutes at the end of the show and he gave me a card with an address.â
âSo what youâre saying is he literally handed you a job.â He had skipped every recounting of the story and preferred to spend his time working his way up leaderboards.
She shook her head. âNo, not at all. I arrived there and had to take a number of tests. I still donât know the point of half of them. There were physical activities like running on a treadmill, an obstacle course, and things like that. I enjoyed that part of it.â
âYeah, well, no surprises there,â her brother said.
âBrian!â their mom chided. âWe should be proud someone in this family is athletic. I donât know where you get it, honey, but whoever it came from, Iâm happy they gave it to you.â
For a moment, she wanted to press her on what that had meant. She sometimes said things like thatâlike Kristen had history that was different than the rest of them. She certainly looked different. But before she could say anything, the server returned with the salad and a pitcher of beer which broke the moment. Not that she intended to complain. She was starving.
Everyone scooped piles of saladâand didnât skimp on the cubes of salami or cheeseâonto their plates and dug in. For a moment, they simply ate and let the sounds of the cozy little pizza place wash over them. As usual, though, Brian couldnât stay quiet for long, âSo, what parts did you not like?â
âWell, I still donât really like olives,â Kristen mumbled around a mouthful of salad.
âNot the salad, stupidâthe tests. You liked the physical stuff, obviously, so what were the parts you didnât like? Did you have to play videogames? I told you that you shouldâve practiced.â
âNo videogames, Brian, sorry.â She shrugged. âI honestly didnât understand much of it. There was some weird history stuff. Questions about dragons in America during colonialism and the Civil War. All kinds of other odd things too. What was strange is that they hooked me up to monitoring devices to measure my brain waves or whatever.â
âAnd they were able to find some? Iâm impressed, Kristen.â He grinned like a fool.
She put an elbow on the table and flexed her bicep. âDo you want to arm wrestle, or what?â
âPizzaâs here.â He evaded her question neatly because obviously, heâd lose like he did every single time.
Their server put two rectangular pizzas on the table and the Halls wasted no time in digging in. It tasted exactly like it had for her entire lifeâperfect. Baked on a steel pan, the crust of each square piece of pizza was perfectly crispy. A lake of sauce covered the cheesy bread and toppings and more cheese were sprinkled on top of that. It was heaven on a plate.
âSo uhâŚdid they uhâŚtell you anything else?â her dad asked around bites of food. Kristen shot him a look. That wasnât really like him. Frank Hall was a direct man and always had been. When he wanted something, he demanded it, whether it was the TV remote or a crook to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
She shrugged, swallowed another cheesy bite, and washed it down with cold beer. âWell, not really. The tests were kind of all over the place.â
âDid they let you ask questions, or did you have to fight your way out of there?â Brian had already wolfed down three slices of ham and pineapple and now reached for a fourth. She snatched it from him before he ate the whole pizza himself.
âThat was the weirdest part, actually. They said I could ask anything I wanted to, so I did.â
Her brother lowered his voice. âDid you ask the big one?â
âThe big one?â her dad whispered, concern in his voice.
âYeah. Are they always smoking hot in their human form or can they choose how they look? If I could change shape, I know I wouldnât keep this.â He slapped his round gut and laughed.
Kristen and her parents all shared a groan.
âNo, I didnât ask them about their glamor. I donât like it when people ask why my hairâs red and curly instead of brown and straight like Momâs, so I assumed they wouldnât appreciate it either.â
Her dad straightened in his chair. âDid you ask to be a cop like your old man?â
âBecause if you did, youâll be in big trouble, Krissy,â her mother huffed. âI spent thirty years staying up late wondering if Frank would come home, and I donât look forward to spending another thirty worrying about you.â
âNo, I didnât ask about joining the academy. I asked about the tests, mostly, and why they selected me. IâŚwell, this will probably sound stupid, but I asked if they thought I was a mage or something.â
Brian spat out a bite of pizza. âYou asked what?â
âWhy else would they be so interested in me? Seriously, think about it. I barely bumped into this guy in a concert and suddenly, Iâm doing all this crazy stuff and taking these tests. I thought there must be a reason I didnât know about.â
âMaybe dragons like redheads.â Brian ran a finger through his brown hair and pouted his lips in a poor impersonation of her.
âBrian!â his mother snapped.
âItâs fine, Mom. They answered that question anyway. No. Iâm not a mage. They almost laughed in my face when I asked it.â
Her parents shared another look.
âWhat?â she demanded.
âWe worry about you is all, honey.â Her mother dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin. âI mean, two rebellions, both led by magesââ
âMartyâs right, Kris. One of those wars made Canada, for Christâs sake. I hope youâre not a damn mage. Youâd either have to serve them or⌠Is it true they can really breathe fire?â Her dad shook his head. Everyone had heard rumors, but dragons were rare and fairly secretive, especially about the extent of their powers, so most rumors remained exactly thatâpure conjecture.
âI donât know, Dad. Like I said, they didnât answer most of my questions, and itâs not like the one at the concert transformed and took the time to show me his powers. They merely took more notes on what I asked. Honestly, I think that was one of the tests too.â
Brianâhaving devoured a fifth slice of pizzaârejoined the conversation. âWhy would you be a mage, though? Doesnât that run in families or whatever? Unless mom and dad are holding out on us, the Halls are basically normal.â
âYouâre definitely not normal, Brian,â she retorted and drew a look of mock indignation from him.
âHalls arenât magic,â their dad stated in a tone as frustratingly opaque as the dragons had been.
Kristen nodded. âThatâs what the dragon said too.â
âSo, then what happened? They popped you off the diodes and you felt compelled to join the police academy?â Brian gestured at the ridiculousness of his sister being selected instead of him. âThey do that, right? Iâve read about it on the Internet. Compulsion or whatever.â
âNo. No, not at all. They took a few minutes to look at the results, then told me Iâd be a great fit for police work. It wasnât like they forced me or whatever. Dragons aside, you guys know Iâve always wanted to be a cop like Dad.â
âWhich is still not okay,â her mother said, but her voice lacked the fervor it had possessed when Kristen first applied to the academy. Marty Hall might not be happy her daughter was following her father into the force, but sheâd accepted it.
Her dad reached for another slice of pizza. If they waited, Brian would eat it all. âItâll be fine, honey. With a pretty face like that? Theyâll put her on meter maid duty for a few years before they promote her to detective. Before long, sheâll run the force without so much as a scratch on her.â
As they usually did, her parents fell into their familiar patter about the job. Since sheâd joined the police academy, dinner often devolved into the two of them debating her choice. She might have had second thoughts about her decisionâshe had always loved her parents and wanted to make them proudâbut since they werenât in agreement, she knew she couldnât please them both. The choice was ultimately hers to make.
Sheâd always been athletic and wanted to help people, so being a police officer made sense. Still, she hoped her mom didnât continue to stress eat.
Kristenâs phone buzzed in her purse and she glanced at it. Brian had already tuned out of reality and now played a game on his phone, so she knew her parents wouldnât say anything.
âOh, my GodâDad, itâs an email from the force. Theyâve given me my first assignment,â she blurted before sheâd even read the whole thing.
âThatâs great, honey!â Her mom obviously tried to be enthusiastic but sounded like she didnât think it was great at all.
âNow, Krissy, remember, the force is still a manâs world,â her dad began. Sheâd heard this speech before too, but beer often made him repeat himself. âIâm sure that once they see what youâre capable of, theyâll get you into more action, but thereâs nothing wrong with starting out as a meter reader or a traffic cop. The force has to make money.â
She almost couldnât hear him. Not because of the noise of the restaurant or because his words were slightly slurred, but because of the four capital letters that glared at her from the screen of her phone.
âIâve been assigned to SWAT.â
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Uh-oh! Kristen’s mom is going to have a heart attack! How in the world did a rookie cop get assigned to SWAT for her first assignment? This is going to be fantastic! Check out the FB page or our Home page to find out exactly when this one goes live!