Smoke and Fire

by Donna Grant

  The earth could return to what it was always meant to be—a dragon realm.

  It was a dream Ulrik had held onto for thousands of years. He couldn’t believe how close he was to fulfilling it. All that had gone wrong so long ago would be set right.

  Ulrik searched for a twinge of remorse at the thought of killing Con, but there was nothing there. Whatever had bonded him and Con together millions of years ago had been severed with Con’s betrayal.

  Con had been part of his family at one time. Ulrik would’ve died for Con. How had he not seen the true Constantine?

  That was because Con was a great actor. He pushed all his emotions aside. He shut down and refused to let anyone in. Con was a master at it.

  All too soon the peace that Con built around himself would be shattered. Ulrik had refused to fight him when Con became King of Kings. It was a mistake Ulrik had made because of love. He’d loved Con as a brother then.

  That ridiculous emotion changed Ulrik’s life forever. It made him an outcast, banished from his home and his brethren.

  Con used to tell him not to allow emotions to rule his life. It took the treachery of his most trusted friend for Ulrik to see how true Con’s words were.

  All emotion but one was erased within Ulrik. He lived, breathed, and cultivated the resentment housed inside him. It pulled him past the brink of madness.

  It focused him.

  For tens of thousands of years Ulrik had been setting a plan in motion. And it was going beautifully.

  Ulrik walked from the shadows to his Silvers. “Hear me,” he whispered.

  He didn’t need to speak to them. Their link was mental, but they liked the sound of his voice. In response, the one closest to him moved his front limb.

  “A wee bit longer,” he soothed. “Then you’ll be free of this cage and the sleep. We’ll bring our own brand of justice down upon the mortals. And this time nothing will stop us.”

  Ulrik walked to each of the dragons, whispering their names as he touched them. Being near them gave him strength, reminded him of how important it was that he win.

  He would win. Of that he had no doubt. Ulrik had known from the beginning he could beat Con. He hadn’t wanted to before. Now was a different story.

  Ulrik returned to the shadows. Just as he was about to teleport away, he heard voices. His enhanced hearing picked up Dmitri’s and Thorn’s voices.

  “He wants her,” Dmitri said.

  Thorn chuckled. “Of course Ryder does. It’s obvious in the way he looks at her.”

  “She’s verra beautiful.”

  “I’m just thankful she’s on Dreagan.”

  “I’d feel better if we could locate Ulrik,” Dmitri said.

  They walked into the cavern and stood beside the cage looking at the Silvers. Thorn crossed his arms over his chest. “After the last run-in we had with Ulrik, I think it’s imperative we know where he is at all times.”

  “He must’ve been watching all of us for years. How much did we give away without knowing?”

  Thorn exchanged a look with Dmitri. “Probably too much. I believe Ryder is the only one being targeted right now.”

  “Can we assume that? With the network Ulrik has, he could be aiming his malicious intent at any number of us at once.”

  “With MI5 crawling over Dreagan, there isna much Ulrik can do without exposing himself as well.”

  Dmitri squatted down and rubbed the forehead of one of the Silvers. “Do you really think that will stop him? He wants the humans gone. This is the perfect time for him to strike, because he knows we willna do anything.”

  Ulrik smiled knowingly. Everything was lining up. There were just a few more critical things that needed to happen before he could challenge Con.

  “You sided with Ulrik before,” Thorn said. “Will you again?”

  Dmitri blew out a breath. “The truth is, I’m tired of hiding who I am. We’ve done it for so long that we’ve accepted the invisible chains around us. This was our realm, Thorn.”

  “Then we agreed to share it.”

  Dmitri gave a shake of his head. “Did we? Or were the mortals put here for us to annihilate? Did any of us ever consider that?”

  “I’m mated to one of those humans,” Thorn said in a low voice.

  Dmitri held his gaze. “You’ll no’ find me taking one into my bed. It’s why I’ve always chosen the Light Fae. I’m glad you and the others have found love, but can you really trust your women? Look what Ulrik’s woman did. It’ll happen again, Thorn. Mark my words.”

  Ulrik’s smile grew. This discord within the Dragon Kings was growing, just as he knew it would.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Ryder picked up a jelly donut and bit into it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kinsey glance his way. Since his return from visiting the Silvers, Ryder had ignored her.

  And she didn’t like it.

  He found her looking his way every so often with a side glance. She hadn’t said a word, but her constant shifting in her chair was giving her away.

  Ryder clicked a tab on the computer and music filled the air. Seether’s “Words as Weapons” began to play. Ryder set the playlist to shuffle and repeat before he checked on the scans of Ireland.

  Still no sign of Ulrik. Where was he? Ryder couldn’t help but think they were missing something that was right in front of their faces.

  There were still sections of Ireland to be scanned. While that worked, he checked on the mortals on Dreagan. The software program he’d written that captured all the information about the humans was collecting data at a rapid rate, cataloging it perfectly.

  Ryder scanned the list. Over fifty agents on Dreagan. Surely MI5 wouldn’t continue to keep such numbers on Dreagan when there were other threats across Britain.

  Something kept nagging at Ryder. He began to read over the data on the agents more closely.

  There was a tap on his shoulder. He blinked and looked up to find Kinsey standing beside him. The annoyed look on her face had him asking, “What is it?”

  “You did it again.”

  “Did what?” he asked, glancing around before he paused the music.

  She pointed to the three monitors he had taken over. “You got engrossed. You’ve been staring at those screens for three hours. I’ve left twice without you even hearing me.”

  Ryder slid a hand down his face. Damn. He was supposed to be keeping an eye on her. If he was going to take responsibility for Kinsey, he couldn’t allow himself to become so absorbed in his work.

  “Don’t worry,” she said as she rolled her head from side to side, stretching out her neck. “I went to the kitchen and the bathroom only. What are you looking for?”

  “I’m no’ sure. Just a feeling that something isna right.”

  Kinsey put her legs together and bent forward, placing her hands on the floor to stretch. “You said MI5 was used against you before. Perhaps that’s what you’re thinking about.”

  He watched as she remained in that position for a moment before she straightened, flipping her long hair over. “Possibly. My feelings are no’ usually off.”

  “All right.” She came to stand beside him. “Since I’m still searching through tens of thousands of e-mails of crapola, give me something else to think about for a bit.” She read over the data on one screen. “Wow. That’s a lot of information.”

  “I wanted to make sure we had everything.”

  “What about pictures of these people?”

  Ryder cut her a dry look. “It’s the first thing taken.”

  “Show me.”

  With a few punches of the keys, he pointed a monitor toward her. The faces of the MI5 agents began to play through one by one every three seconds.

  “Stop,” Kinsey said.

  Ryder quickly halted the rotation. His mouth dropped open in surprise.

  “Your instincts weren’t wrong,” Kinsey with a sad look. “What are you going to do?”

  Ryder looked into the face of Esther North. She wore color
ed contacts, making her eyes brown, and dyed her hair black. Not even the fake nose and chin could hide who she was.

  “Whoever taught her is good,” Kinsey said.

  “MI5 trained her.”

  Kinsey looked down at him. “Is she with MI5 then after what we saw in her file?”

  “That’s a good question. I’m going to need to show Con and Henry this.”

  “Henry has already been up here twice. He tried to get your attention to see if you found anything about his sister.”

  For once, Ryder was glad he’d been too preoccupied to know someone was there. “You didna tell him?”

  Kinsey shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t know him. I figured it’d be better if it came from a friend. But he suspects we found something.”

  “You can no’ lie to a spy, especially one as good as Henry.”

  “Thanks for the reminder.” She began to walk around the rows of monitors when her mobile rang. Kinsey halted, her gaze going to Ryder.

  His head followed Kinsey as she rushed to her phone. Her face lost color when she read who the caller was.

  “It’s my boss,” she said.

  Ryder stood, drawing her gaze. “Put it on speaker and answer it. Stay calm. Doona let them know you know anything.”

  She gave a nod and hit speaker as she answered, “Hello?”

  “Kinsey. It’s Cecil. How is everything going at Dreagan?” came a nasally British male voice over the line.

  Kinsey licked her lips and sat in her chair. “It’s going good.”

  “Are you finished yet?”

  Ryder gave a nod when she looked at him.

  “Almost,” Kinsey answered.

  Cecil chuckled over the line. “That’s my girl. Have you upsold them on anything?”

  “Not yet. I’m almost at that point.”

  “They’re powerful and the company is loaded,” Cecil said. “I don’t care what you have to do, but get something sold.”

  Kinsey held Ryder’s gaze. Her violet eyes held worry and anxiety. “Their system is pretty good, and they know it.”

  Ryder gave her a smile of encouragement. They needed her to stay, but it couldn’t appear easy. She needed to have a reason.

  “No system is bulletproof. You’re the best we have, Kinsey. Find their flaw and use it against them. Make them see how vulnerable they are.”

  Ryder wanted to roll his eyes. Vulnerable, his ass. Dreagan was the most secure system on the planet. It was more secure than any intelligence agency in the world.

  “Yeah. Okay,” Kinsey answered. “They don’t leave me alone for a second, Cecil. I’m actually in the bathroom talking to you so I could have a moment alone.”

  Her boss made a sound over the link. “That means they’ve something to hide. Have you seen anything about dragons?”

  Kinsey continued to hold Ryder’s gaze as she said, “Dreagan is Gaelic for dragon. Of course there is dragon stuff all around the estate.”

  “Have you seen a real dragon?”

  She hesitated. Ryder didn’t move as he waited to see what she would do. Kinsey was smart. She knew she was being used by her company, though she wasn’t sure who was pulling the strings. She might fear him, but she comprehended she was safer at Dreagan.

  “No. There is no such thing as dragons,” Kinsey said with a chuckle. “Nice joke though.”

  Cecil released a long-suffering sigh. “I was hoping you’d have better news. I fully expect you to e-mail me later with an order from Dreagan.”

  “And if they don’t take my recommendations?”

  “Break something,” Cecil stated in an irritated tone. “You need the sales. Brian has already outsold you for the month. And quite frankly, I’d rather not have Clarice bring me into her office again. Save us both, Kinsey. Get another order.”

  He disconnected the call. Kinsey sat back in her chair with her eyes closed and her hands on her head.

  “Do you believe him?” Ryder asked.

  She cracked open one eye. “It’s very competitive at Kyvor. We get paid a nice salary, but we have goals in place. We meet those goals, we get a nice bonus.”

  “And those goals are up-selling clients on things they might no’ need.”

  Kinsey closed her eyes and shrugged. “It’s the way of businesses. Brian wasn’t close to outselling me last week. He must’ve gotten a huge order recently. Cecil is a bit slimy, but I don’t think he’s part of this plot.”

  “Perhaps no’, but someone could be pulling his strings.”

  At that she dropped her hands and looked at him. “Meaning, they want to make sure I stay at Dreagan.”

  “Has Brian ever beaten you before?”

  “Never.”

  Ryder twisted his lips. “There’s a reason they want you to remain here.”

  “And I don’t like it. It means they want me to do something for them.”

  “Or they’re going to frame you for something.” Either way, Ryder didn’t like it.

  Kinsey turned her chair to face him. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “I’m no’ going to let anything or anyone hurt you. Trust me, Kins, and we’ll get you through this.”

  She stood and walked to the window. “You’re asking a lot of me.”

  “I know.” Ryder quietly rose and walked to stand behind her. “We need to know this enemy. Same as you.”

  “The enemy of my enemy is my friend?” she asked with a wry smile.

  He was so close he could smell the lavender from her shampoo. “Yes.”

  “These people have been watching me. I don’t like that at all. I don’t owe them anything, and to know they put me in this situation willingly infuriates me.” Her voice broke, as the full impact of her situation fell upon her.

  Without thinking, Ryder took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. He wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes with delight when she rested her head on his chest. “We’ve been through rough situations before with the females that are here. We’ll get you through this one as well.”

  “Thank you,” she said with a sniff and lifted her face.

  Ryder gazed into her violet eyes as her dark hair brushed the back of his hand. He’d wanted her in his arms for so long. Now she was there, and he yearned for her kisses.

  His head began to lower. Kinsey pulled out of his arms the same time the door opened and Con and Henry walked in. Ryder had no choice but to release her.

  Her rebuttal stung, but for just a heartbeat, he’d witnessed the hunger in her eyes. She wanted his kiss. That’s all he needed to see.

  “Tell me,” Henry demanded from the other side of the monitors.

  Ryder sat in his chair and cleared the monitors that had Esther’s pictures from Ulrik’s store, MI5, and Dreagan. Then he motioned both him and Con around the monitors. “It’ll be easier to show you.”

  “Don’t hold anything back,” Henry stated.

  Ryder shared a look with Kinsey before he showed the recording of Esther at Ulrik’s. “After finding this, Kinsey got into MI5.”

  “Show me her file.” Henry stood still as a statue, his face set in hard lines.

  Ryder pulled it up on one screen with her picture taken at MI5 on another. “She wasna with MI5 long, apparently.”

  “I was with her that day,” Henry said in a hoarse voice. “I took her to lunch, then dropped her off for an interview. She lied to me.”

  Con put a hand on Henry’s shoulder. “She probably knew you would’ve talked her out of it.”

  “Damned straight I would’ve,” Henry said with a frown. He then checked the date on her file and that on the recording at Ulrik’s. “Why did they relieve her of duty? Just two weeks later she was at Ulrik’s.”

  This was the part Ryder was regretting having to show Henry. “There’s more, unfortunately.”

  “More?” Henry asked with raised brows. “How much bloody more can there be?”

  Ryder pointed to the screen that was collecting the data on MI5 agents on Dreagan. “A
s soon as MI5 arrived, I began gathering every bit of information from the humans possible. It’s recorded and filed away to be sorted out as needed.”

  “Smart,” Henry admitted.

  Con gave a nod. “Always thinking ahead.”

  “My instincts told me I was missing something.” Ryder motioned to Kinsey. “She wanted to see the pictures of all the agents. That’s when we came across a woman with an MI5 ID stating she was Phillipa Carlisle,” he said and put up the picture of Esther.

  For long minutes Henry didn’t say anything as he stared at his sister’s picture. Finally, he said, “I’d recognize her anywhere under any disguise, but this is very good.”

  “I think it’s time we talk to her,” Con said.

  Henry faced Con. “No. It’s time I talk to her.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Kinsey watched Henry’s face become as stoic as she’d seen Con’s. It was eerie how they could appear so indifferent with a flip of a switch.

  Where the hell was her switch? Because she was still heated from Ryder’s touch earlier. Damn her traitorous body.

  “Where is Esther?” Con asked Ryder.

  While Ryder looked over the data that logged in every visitor, Kinsey studied the four monitors that had six camera feeds on each screen.

  Ryder let out a sound as he typed something. “She didna log in under the same name as before, but I picked up her fingerprints.”

  Kinsey was impressed. Fingerprint scan as well? When had Ryder done that? And how?

  Her need to continue to learn and grow her skills made her itch to have him teach her. In their year together, Ryder had taught her so much, which helped to make her one of the best in the business.

  At one time Kinsey actually thought she was catching up with him. She nearly snorted aloud at the thought. Ryder far surpassed everyone. If she were an immortal dragon, then she would probably be just as good.

  Henry said, “Is she alone?”

  It took but a moment for Ryder to answer, “Aye. She’s walking around the store inspecting the outside.”

  “I’ll go to her.”

  Con put out a hand to halt Henry. “She’s your sister, so I agree you should talk to her. However, if you want her brought—quietly—then you better let one of us do it.”