Hearts Under Fire (Dragons of Ember Brooke Book 2)

by Victoria Zak

  No, she wasn’t the type to let things slide. He didn’t trust her and that was a problem.

  Cynthia sat up, pushing Stone off her. She slid off the table and pulled her dress down.

  Stone brows creased. “Where are you going?”

  She looked up at him, tears burned her eyes. “I think it’s best—”

  “I don’t want you to leave.” He cupped her face and swiped his thumb across her cheek, catching a tear. “I need you. You need me.”

  Her heart pounded like a bass drum. She was tempted to beg him to tell her what she wanted to hear—the truth about everything. Damn, she might be desperate, but she wasn’t weak.

  She turned and walked toward the door, picking up her purse on the way.

  She felt his hard, naked body pressed against her back as she reached for the doorknob. Stone slid his hands around her and pulled her close, trapping her with his arms. His breath skated across her skin as he nuzzled her neck. “Please don’t go, beautiful.”

  Cynthia clutched her purse and looked up at the ceiling as she tried to hold the tears at bay. Resolve was fading fast as he peppered her back in soft kisses.

  “I’ll do anything you want. Just don’t leave.” The straps of her dress slid down her arms and her dress fell to floor. Gooseflesh covered her skin as she felt his rock-hard length pressed against her ass.

  She turned around, meeting his reptilian, silvery gaze. The intensity held her captive, forever chained to his soul. She dropped her purse and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him like it had been a century since their last kiss.

  He scooped her up.

  “You slay me, Dragon,” she said.

  He claimed her lips as he walked to his bedroom. Without breaking the kiss, he laid her down on his bed of satin and climbed on top of her. He continued his sweet torture on her body as he ran his tongue between her breasts. He cupped them, the squeeze sending a jolt of pleasure through body.

  She arched her body wanting more of his mouth on her. He licked his way down her abdomen, past her bellybutton. He lifted her thigh and rested it on his shoulder as he dipped between her legs. Anticipating his touch drove crazy with need.

  He took her pearl into his mouth and sucked. She tugged on the comforter, gripping her nails into the fluff. She arched her back and moaned. “You feel so good.”

  “Beautiful, I’m going to love you so hard you’ll never want to leave my bed again.”

  10

  Not able to sleep, Cynthia sat in an oversized chair in the living room, wrapped in a white, terrycloth robe. Parts of her body deliciously ached, reminding her of how thoroughly Stone had made love to her again and again. He’d left her spent and completely fulfilled, yet she couldn’t sleep. A million things were running a marathon inside her mind and the finish line was nowhere in sight.

  Trying to keep her thoughts off Stone naked in bed, she ran her hands down the arms of the chair, taking in its lavishness. It was more like a small couch than a chair, and, if she guessed right, the cushions were stuffed with goose down. Then again, it didn’t surprise her. Stone had always lived the life of luxury.

  Her cellphone vibrated next to her. She picked it up. Zee’s name and number glowed on the screen. Why was he calling her so late?

  “Hey,” she answered the phone and made her way outside the kitchen, so she wouldn’t wake Stone. “Is everything all right?”

  “Sorry to call so late. Are you sitting down?”

  “No, why?”

  “The forensic report is in and it doesn’t look good.”

  Cynthia’s heart plummeted to the floor.

  “The victim is confirmed Dragonkine.”

  “Right.” Her heart raced faster.

  “The bullet found in his chest came from a Desert Eagle.”

  “Shit.”

  “Yep, whoever shot him was shooting to kill.”

  “So, we don’t know the identity of the shooter?” There was a long pause. “Zee, don’t hold back on me. I need to know.”

  “There were two different blood samples taken at the scene. One from the victim, and one from a blood smear on the victim’s right cheek.”

  “And?”

  “Only one of the samples match the victim.”

  “What about the other?”

  “The sample matched Stone MacMarcus.”

  Cynthia stood frozen. Her ears began to ring as her body went numb. She stumbled backward, catching herself against the counter. Her nightmare just came true. She couldn’t conjure a single thought. Stone committed murder.

  “Cynthia,” Zee called out, bringing her back into the here and now. “Hey, where are you? I’m coming over.”

  “No, Zee, I’m not home. Has a report been sent to Bryce?”

  “Yep. I’m sure he’s reading it as we speak.”

  No, no, no, this wasn’t happening. There was nothing she could do. Bryce wouldn’t hesitate to send a SWAT team out to bring Stone in for questioning. If only Stone had been honest with her from the beginning, maybe she could have helped him. Now her hands were tied.

  “My advice, call Stone and give him a heads up,” Zee said.

  Cynthia pushed her heart aside. If Stone committed a crime, he should be brought to justice. A Dragonkine killing one of their own wasn’t taken lightly. What was Stone’s motive?

  The thumb drive. Something extremely valuable was on it. It was time she found out what.

  “Was there anything else on the report?”

  “The victim was one of Stone’s employees.”

  “Seriously, Zee, do you have any good news?”

  “Something isn’t right here.”

  “No, it’s not, and I’m going to get to the bottom of this.” Cynthia ended the call. She grabbed her purse and took out the thumb drive she’d hidden within the silk lining. She strode to the bedroom and threw the thumb drive at Stone.

  In a dazed sleep, he shot up. “Ouch!” He rubbed his chest. “What the—”

  “Was it worth it?” Cynthia stood at the foot of the bed with her arms crossed over her chest. “I know it was you that killed the dragon. Are you ready to tell me the truth?”

  Fuck! Stone scrubbed his hands down his face. She’d read the report.

  Stone stood, wrapping the sheet around his waist. Her heated gaze warned him she was in no mood for bullshit. It was time he told her the truth. “Cyn, I can explain everything.”

  “I know,” she exclaimed. “You are going to tell me everything.”

  Stone sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the mattress next him, inviting her to sit.

  Cynthia refused.

  “A year ago, the DBI hired my company to take care of some top--secret business. I knew it was dangerous and it was extremely important to Dragonkine that I succeed.” Stone took the thumb drive. “The mission was to retrieve this drive.” Stone looked up at Cyn. She nodded, pressing him on. “The Dragonkine you found in Pinewell square was Sanders. He was one of my men.”

  “You shot him because he had the drive?” Cynthia asked.

  Stone leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. His gaze fixed on the floor. “I did. He was weak and couldn’t be trusted. He was supposed to bring me the drive, but he didn’t. Once I found out Sanders had the drive, I confronted him and that’s when the whole mission turned bad. I tried to reason with him.” Stone shook his head. “It wasn’t supposed to end like this, Cyn.”

  “But why kill him?”

  “In my line of work, once a dragon goes rogue, there’s no coming back from that.”

  “How did Sanders end up in Pinewell?”

  “Like I said, he went rogue. I tried to contain the issue in Ember Brooke, however, he shifted and took to the sky. I followed but it was too late, I had already shot him. How he was still able to shift is a mystery.”

  “So, this is why you’re here in Pinewell, to cover up murdering Sanders?”

  “I’d like to think of it as damage control.”

  “Stone, there�
�s just one thing I don’t understand.”

  “What’s that, beautiful?”

  “What’s on the drive?”

  Stone knew what she’d been waiting for, his confession, but he couldn’t tell her. She was safe now and soon the drive would be in the hands of the DBI, then and only then would he tell her everything. The information he held in his hand had turned a dragon rogue. He couldn’t risk telling Cyn and her, too, turning rogue. He just couldn’t do it. “Cyn, I can’t.”

  Cynthia nodded, sorrow filled her eyes. “Then there’s nothing more I can do.”

  Stone stood, confusion creased his face. “What do you mean?”

  The door to his suite burst open and a team of men dressed in black fatigues charged in with their red, fuck-you-up, lasers shining on his chest. “Cyn, what’s going on?” Stone knew better than to fight. He slowly raised his hands

  One of the officers strode behind him, yanking Stone’s arms behind his back. He fumbled with the cuffs as he slapped them on his wrists. “Don’t do anything stupid, Dragon,” the man warned, sounding fiercer than he really was.

  A familiar sour smell permeated the room, turning Stone’s stomach. He’d smelled it twice before, once on Cyn after the attack and at the gala. Every fiber of his being sparked him into holy shit territory. What was going on?

  He looked at Cyn in disbelief. She didn’t have the balls to look at him and turned away as the officer pushed him out of the room.

  Outside, the officer shoved him inside an unmarked SUV with dark tinted windows. Everything about this arrest was off. Humans didn’t have the authority to arrest Dragonkine, and these officers were definitely human. If they didn’t have their red lasers pointed at him he could have taken them on.

  As the officer shut the door, Stone saw Bryce escorting Cyn out of the hotel. Why was he here?

  “Cyn,” Stone yelled, but she couldn’t hear him. He yelled again as she got into Bryce’s car. No, no, no! He kicked the door, trying to get out. Fear raced through his body and pushed him to find a way to escape. “Cyn!”

  The car door on the other side of Stone opened and an officer slid in. “This should shut you the fuck up.” The officer pistol whipped him once, then again for good measure. “Lights out, asshole.”

  11

  Everything was coming up roses for him. He’d captured the beast and soon beauty would be his, too. The goods he held would forever solidify his position in the world—fuck over the Lords and rule Pinewell, which was huge since this district was full of supernaturals.

  The Lords thought they possessed his loyalty. Surprise…you can’t trust a human.

  Like a greedy bastard, he took the Lords help as they sent him recruits and dragon intel to help retrieve the thumb drive. Fuck that. He’d take the thumb drive and its spoils for himself.

  What he held in his possession was power, even over the Lords.

  His cock grew hard as he thought about growing his regime. Giving up his soul to the angel of the bottomless pit was paying off. He now had power to proceed—he now had purpose—slay the dragons.

  Humans had enough of bowing down to these scaly creatures. They were encroaching on their city and demanding rights, all in the name of keeping peace. Well, this wasn’t peace. They were overstepping their bounds and he would end this.

  His vision was clear, dragon genocide. Kill the alpha dragons, enslave the weak, and breed with their females to produce a stronger race. With the power of a dragon and spirit of the Dark One, their new race would forge a New World Order of Dragonslayers.

  He looked next to him at the beauty sitting in the passenger side of his car. She’d played right into his hands. She held the key to his future. She’d make an excellent queen.

  “Bryce, you missed the turn,” Cynthia said.

  “I know.” He pulled a syringe out of his pocket and plunged it into her thigh. Instantly, her body slumped over. “Night, night, my queen.”

  Stone jerked awake as pain shot through his body. It burned as if he’d been struck by lightning. Still in a haze, he fought against the heaviness of his eyelids. Where the fuck was he?

  The sound of chains rattling echoed as he tried to move his hand. Spiked with terror, Stone’s eyes shot open. He stood spread eagle with his wrists and ankles connected to chains. Fuck! He yanked on the chains, testing their durability. The damn things were solid. He had to break free and get the hell out of here. Cyn was in danger.

  Pushing onward, he pulled his arms forward, gritting through the pain as he strained the muscles on his back, fighting against the unmovable chains. The chains gave a little, allowing him to move forward, but as the chains gave, so did his body. The chains reeled in. He stumbled and his arms snapped back.

  Giving up wasn’t an option. Even though his body was stretched beyond its natural ability, Cyn needed him. He tried again, but this time he used his legs and took a step forward. He heaved one arm forward giving him leverage to take another step. The muscles in his arms and legs shook with fatigue as he took another step.

  A sharp, excruciating pain stabbed him in the ribs causing him to weaken and fall backward. Again, the chain reeled in, tugging him back into place.

  “There’s no escaping, Dragon.” An officer stood next to Stone holding a cattle prod. The electricity buzzing around the top glowed like a fucking fly catcher—zap and trap. Stone braced himself as the officer lunged forward and stuck him with it.

  Mother fucker!

  Inside, his dragon roared with fury. Stone pinned the asshole with reptilian eyes.

  “That’s it.” The officer moved behind him and jabbed his back with the prod. “Turn, son of a bitch.”

  Stone growled in pain. Anger shot up his spine. “Fuck you!” Stone gritted out between clenched teeth.

  “Now, is that any way to talk to your superior?” Bryce walked out of the shadows. “Welcome to your new home.”

  Stone looked around. Aluminum siding arced above him in the shape of a dome and was held in place by a steel frame. It was big enough to fit at least three choppers inside. A fucking aircraft hangar. The only thing big enough to cage a dragon.

  With his keen sense of hearing, Stone tried to listen for outside noise to clue him in to where he might be. Nothing. Not even a busy road within a ten-mile radius. Then again, it was hard to hear anything over his heart thundering and that damn electricity sparking from the cattle prod.

  As if someone had sprayed the room with aerosol spray, that familiar sour smell he was beginning to royally hate, wafted pass him. “You’re a Dragonslayer.”

  “Guilty.” Bryce held his hands up.

  Stone put the pieces together—the smell… “You attacked Cyn.”

  “Not directly. You see, Mr. MacMarcus, this could have all been avoided if Cynthia would have given up the thumb drive. However, I’m glad she didn’t. My plan B was much better than plan A.”

  Stone lunged at Bryce. “I will kill you.”

  “You see.” The Dragonslayer shook his finger at Stone and approached him. “That’s what I’m looking for.” He shoved his finger into Stone’s chest. “Rage,” he growled. “You will turn rogue for me.”

  “Never,” Stone barked back.

  Bryce nodded to the officer. A wicked grin spread across the asshole’s face as he smacked Stone with the prod like a fucking piñata. The wind escaped him in a rush.

  “Oh, but you will. You have no choice. I have the thumb drive—I have the map to King Drest’s heart.”

  The confidence Stone had been holding onto was fraying strand-by-strand. The one thing that could destroy Dragonkine was now in the hands of a Dragonslayer. But why? King Drest’s heart belonged to Dragonkine. What could a human want with this kind of information?

  “Why?” Stone coughed. “You’re…human. Drest’s heart belongs to us. Listen, Bryce, the Lords are using you. Once you deliver the drive, you’ll mean nothing to them. Give me the map so I can take it somewhere safe.”

  Bryce clucked his tongue, disagreeing.
“I’m not giving that kind of power up. Ooh noo!” He slinked up to Stone, hatred brewed in his eyes. “I have big plans, my man,” he hissed. “Dragonkine will be kicked down a few notches on the food chain. I will fundamentally fuck up your world. You will go rogue for me. The thirst of blood and the taste for flesh will consume you. I will be your only source of relief.”

  Before Stone knew what was happening, rage spiraled up his spine and unlocked his dragon’s cage. Anger fed his beast, wrath gave him the strength to shift, and a whole lot of bat shit crazy insisted he kill the cocksucker where he stood.

  Quickly, Stone realized what was happening. Losing his shit right now was exactly what they wanted. He would never give in. “Like I said before, I will kill you.”

  Bryce grinned wickedly and turned his head, shoving his neck against Stone’s nose. “You smell that?”

  After he got past the initial sour smell, a sweet familiar, cock-hardening fragrance sent off blaring sirens in his head. Cyn. Pulling power from his clenched fists, Stone leaned his head back, then lunged forward, slamming his head into Bryce. The bastard stumbled back holding his nose. It wasn’t what he’d been aiming for, but fuck it, his point was made. “What have you done with Cyn?”

  The Dragonslayer removed his blood-covered hand from his face and spat.

  “Where’s Cyn?” Stone growled.

  “You shouldn’t have done that.” Bryce walked away.

  Stone screamed again and again, “Where’s Cyn?”

  Something animalistic rumbled in his chest. Stone threw his head back and poured all that pent-up rage into one fierce roar. The veins running down his neck popped to the surface. With all his dragon might, he bore down on the chains, breaking one free from its pulley.

  The officers rushed him with more zappy-zappy, sticking him in the ribs and stomach multiple times. Relentless pain rushed his body, teasing his dragon to come out and play. Knowing Bryce had done something to Cyn drove him insane. The leash grounding his dragon snapped in two.