by Vella Day
“I see.”
Even she had to admit that Kyle appeared to be keeping an open-mind. As much as she should dislike him, she was finding it more and more difficult. It wasn’t helping that when he drew in his bottom lip, she found it so freaking sexy.
What was wrong with her? This was more than being in lust. It was downright messing with her mind and her body.
“How long had you planned to stay down there to check things out?” Kyle asked.
Nessa looked over at the large hole that had once been the shaft. “Two hours max.”
“Hmm. Then how would this person know when to set the charge? The window of opportunity was small.”
She shook her head. “He wouldn’t. I only decided at the last minute to go down that afternoon.”
“Someone must have followed you.”
No one followed her. Kyle must think she was totally incompetent to ask that. “I would have noticed.” His brows rose. “Oh, shit.”
“What is it?” He leaned forward.
“A dragon shifter could have cloaked himself and hovered above the mine. Normally, I can sense his presence, but I was so focused on exploring that I wasn’t really paying attention to what was above me.”
He scribbled something on his tablet. “That helps. I think. On a different note, could you tell from the sound or the strength of the blast what type of detonation was used?”
As much as she didn’t want to tell him, he’d know if she lied. Everyone in her family knew the moment she made something up. “It’s probably what we use here. The XY21 brand we use is strong yet accurate. Because it’s so expensive, we and the Sinclairs are the only two mines in this province that use it.”
“You’re that sure it was the same brand?” he asked.
“Fairly certain. As a dragon shifter, I can tell the difference between sounds quite well.”
“Even though you were taken off guard?”
Nessa lifted her chin. “Yes. I’m particularly sensitive to vibrations too.”
“Got it.” He made another note. “Could this person have raided your storage locker then? Or would he have been able to buy this brand someplace else?”
“He could buy it elsewhere, but it makes the most sense that he’d take the sticks from here. He wouldn’t know when to detonate them unless, as I said, he was watching me from above.”
“Who has access to this storage unit?”
The sun bounced off his eyes, distracting her once more. He inhaled and straightened his shoulders. Okay, he was trying to distract her. “Uh, only three people. Other than me, only my dad and Acton Draco, my new second-in-command knew the combination to get into the shed. I know for a fact Acton was in another province at the time of the detonation. He was purchasing more explosives.”
“Then it had to be someone else.”
Kyle was actually listening to her! Her inner dragon cheered. “Yes.”
“I know demolition experts, like yourself, have a signature, if you will,” he said. “If you could find the location of the detonation and see how it was rigged, would that narrow down the suspect pool?”
“I can’t be sure. The only thing I’m certain about is that this person isn’t human.”
His eyes softened, and she swore he licked his lips to entice her. “How do you know that?”
“The electricity to the elevator wasn’t turned on until the morning of my descent. To set the charge meant someone would have needed to fly down the shaft, implant the charges, and return the same way. Only a dragon shifter could have done that.”
“Why have an elevator in the first place then?” he asked.
“Because humans and other shifters needed access to the mine once production began.”
“I see. It makes sense then that a dragon shifter is most likely responsible.”
From the way his lips firmed, he wasn’t fond of them. Great.
“Yes, but even if we find where the charges were set, considering the level of destruction, I doubt I can identify the person who did this,” she said.
“Don’t be so sure. If we can find the box that held the charges, there might be fingerprints on it. Maybe we can trace it back that way.”
Nessa’s partially shifted her hands, and Kyle jumped back. His eyes widened and changed to a richer change of blue. “Holy shit. How did you do that?”
Damn. She shouldn’t have demonstrated without explaining first. He already disliked her kind. Now he’d think she was trying to antagonize him or something. Her lack of judgment had to be a result of being too close to Kyle. Her hormones were interfering with everything. Nessa quickly returned her hands to their human form.
When he shoved his fingers through his dark brown silky hair—hair that she wanted to touch—her nails sharpened. Jeez.
“I didn’t mean to scare you. I only wanted to show you that we can open boxes without leaving fingerprints.”
“You didn’t scare me. I was a bit startled, that’s all. So basically, any dragon shifter could have set the charges?”
His defeatist attitude didn’t help. “Yes. We have cameras pointing at the building where we keep the explosives, so that might help.” His eyes brightened, and she’d never seen anything more beautiful or alluring.
“Can I check that out?”
The normally skeptic Nessa would have said no, but it was as if her dragon had put some kind of spell on her. “Sure. I’d love to catch the bastard in the act.”
“Fantastic.” Then he had to go and smile and light up every one of her cells—including her purple dragon scales under her skin. Damn him.
“We’ll need to go back to the office.”
He glanced around. “Great. Can I give you a lift?”
Maybe he hadn’t seen her fly in. She could say yes, but being in a confined space with him might cause more issues. “I’ll just fly back, thanks.” She smiled to show him she wasn’t a horrible person. “I can give you a ride if you’d like though. We can pick up your car later.”
No, no, no! She didn’t just offer that! Her mind must have been seriously affected by the blast.
It didn’t matter. He’d never agree. Her cousin Kaleena had told her about her mate’s first ride with her dad. Her mate, Finn, had screamed. And that man was a shifter—albeit a wolf shifter.
“For real?”
Oh, shit. He sounded interested. “Yes, but I fly rather high.”
She had to admit that when they weren’t talking about the mine, Kyle Harper was fun to be with.
He waved a hand. “Um, I think it’s better if I take my car. I’d just have to come back and pick it up.”
Aha. She figured he’d chicken out. That was okay. Holding him in her talons would have tested her resolve to the max. “See you back at the office then.”
When Nessa shifted into her dragon form, Kyle couldn’t help but stare at her grace and beauty. Then an image of his sister’s burnt back came into his mind’s eye, and he quickly sobered. Dragon shifters might seem normal on the outside, but they were not to be trusted.
Or could they be? Nessa Caspian had been open and honest with him. She’d told him things that implied she’d been careless in not installing cameras or making sure the storage locker was better secured. So maybe, she was one of the good ones. Nessa sure as hell was the prettiest dragon he’d ever seen. He bet those khaki pants and that baggy shirt hid a killer body too.
His cock hardened at that thought. Shit.
As for going for a ride with her, he had been tempted, but if he liked it, he’d be one step closer to earning his way into hell. Kyle Harper with a dragon shifter? No way. If he weakened and fell for Nessa, his sister would never forgive him. While it was his life to live, he didn’t like heaping more pain on Lily.
As he turned to go back to his car, the sight of the collapsed mine caught his attention once more, and his admiration for Nessa grew. When she had told him how she’d managed to claw her way toward the surface with injured legs and a damaged wing, he had to admit the gi
rl had guts. Most humans would have given up.
The more he was around Nessa, the more he was changing his mind about dragons in general. Some were bad, like the one Lily had dated, but he wasn’t so blind that he couldn’t see that some humans were just as evil—like serial killers. Just as there were other humans who gave their lives to help others, there might be good dragon shifters who did the same.
Or was he now rationalizing because Nessa was hot? Fuck, he was so confused.
Not wanting to keep her waiting, he jogged to his car then headed to the office. He didn’t need to piss her off, especially since she was giving him the chance to find whoever might be responsible for these incidents.
Once he arrived at the main office, he spotted the mounted camera above the door. Good. Having surveillance would hopefully solve this case sooner rather than later. But why hadn’t Dennis been given access when he’d investigated the first incident? Maybe he had, but he hadn’t found anything. Kyle would have to ask him.
He knocked on the office door, and Nessa opened it up right away. For a split second, he allowed himself the luxury of drinking her in. She was tall for a woman—about three inches shorter than his six foot two height—but then again, most dragons came large. And strong. But what he hadn’t heard was how beautiful they could be. Her long black hair was windblown and contrasted nicely with her warm, tanned skin. Her most striking characteristic by far was the color of her devastatingly beautiful green eyes that he’d seen morph into purple. Even her full lips and straight nose were just about perfect.
His cock pressed hard against his zipper once more. He worked to halt the testosterone coursing through his system, but he failed miserably. Damn, working side by side with Nessa was going to be rough.
“Come on in. The camera monitoring room is in the basement.”
She sounded professional. Good. He could deal with that. Kyle followed her down several wide corridors, trying not to watch how her black hair swayed and caressed her body.
From the outside, the building didn’t appear large, but looks were clearly deceiving. They came to an elevator about one hundred feet from the entrance.
“It’s down a few floors,” she said.
“How big is this complex?” Talking about facts would help keep his mind focused where it belonged.
“Big.” She laughed and something inside him heated. Damn it.
Cute. Once they entered the small elevator, her scent permeated his senses. Nessa didn’t seem the type to wear perfume, but she smelled like a gardenia—fragrant yet delicate.
She smoothed her hair. “Ah, you’re staring,” she said. “Is something wrong?”
Damn. “No. I’m just thinking about something. Sorry.” That was lame, but thankfully she didn’t question him further.
Several seconds later, they arrived deep underground. “It’s to the right,” she said, moving her gaze away, almost as if she were uncomfortable being here with him.
Even though there were no windows, the space was so well-lit that it didn’t seem depressing or confining. Halfway down the hallway, Nessa knocked and then pushed open a door. She led him inside a small room that contained a bank of monitors. Seated in front of one screen was a man who looked to be about twenty-five.
He turned around. “Hey, Nessa, how are you doing? I haven’t seen you since…well, you know.”
“I’m fine. Thanks for asking. Vic, this is Kyle Harper, the head of the Mining Consortium.”
Vic shoved back his chair, stood, and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’ve worked with Dennis Taylor.”
“Great.”
“I want to check out the tapes of the storage room holding the explosives,” Nessa said. “Can you pull them up for us?”
“How far back should I go?”
Nessa turned to Kyle. “What do you think?”
He loved that she was willing to have his input. It was almost as if they weren’t on opposite sides anymore. “Two months maybe?”
She twisted her lips into a sexy pose. “Why that far back?” she asked.
“If what you claim is true, it’s possible whoever was responsible for the first explosion came into the storage room, tampered with the explosives, and then stole extra ones.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
He appreciated that she would admit that. “Do you keep records of how much is removed on a daily basis?”
Nessa glanced to the side. “Yes and no. I mean, we’re supposed to document everything, and I’m usually the one to take them—or Wendan was. But after his death, I kind of lost control of things for a while.” She sucked in a big breath through gritted teeth. “Shit. I’m sorry.”
Poor Nessa. The man’s death had shaken her. “Let’s take a look at the tapes and see what comes up.”
“Do you want me to stay?” Vic asked.
“Go ahead and take a break. I imagine we’ll be here for a few hours. I’ll keep my eye on the rest of the stations.”
He smiled. “Thanks.”
Be with Nessa for a few hours? Kyle wasn’t sure he could keep from daydreaming about her. As much as he wanted to think of her as the enemy, by not hiding anything, she was making it damned hard for him. To make matters worse, her delicious scent and sensuous movements made him want to know what was underneath that boring beige uniform of hers.
Nessa looked over at him. “This will be tedious. If you want, I can look through them first.”
He smiled. “Nice try, but I want to see what you do.”
As if she’d hope he’d say that, she returned his smile, and his damn cock turned stiff again. He shifted in his seat. “Let’s do it.”
Chapter Five
Why, oh, why had Nessa suggested she and Kyle watch hours of boring tapes together? It was hard enough to talk to him, let alone sit next to him, especially when her dragon was panting and clawing at her insides to put the moves on him. Those inappropriate comments about what they should do with Kyle once Nessa stripped him naked wasn’t helping with her concentration.
She sighed. “This is pointless. No one other than me or my foreman ever entered this room.”
Kyle placed a hand on her arm, almost as if he’d just thought of something, and the touch caused her inner scales to glow. Thank goodness for her long sleeve shirt. Since Kyle had freaked when her hands had turned dragon, he’d totally run if she started to glow. She sensed he wasn’t used to being around her kind.
“Could your foreman have removed the explosives and given them to someone?” He almost sounded excited to find someone to blame.
“No way. He never would have done that. As for Acton, who replaced Wendan, he doesn’t have a bone of deceit in his body.” Even after Kyle removed his hand, the heat remained. “Yet the perpetrator had to have gotten them from somewhere.”
“You mentioned that, but even if we could get the company to divulge their customer list, there would be no way of knowing who used the explosives at your mine.”
She blew out a breath. “I think our only hope is to remain more vigilant and hope we catch him the next time he tries something.”
He glanced over at her. “The mine won’t reopen until this is solved, you know.”
She tried to convince herself that Kyle was just doing his job and not being spiteful or following orders from the Royals.
“What if you never figure this out?” she asked, trying not to let her frustration show. “If the mine remains closed, the perpetrator will have won. We’ll never catch him.”
“There is that risk. My men have spoken to most of the workers here, but they claim to know nothing.”
“I’ll talk to them,” Nessa said. “With a little encouragement, they’ll be open with me. I’ll ask them to think outside the box.”
Kyle shook his head. “It’s too dangerous. If they think we are getting close, that person might harm you again. I won’t let that happen.”
His words stunned her. Before she could respond, Birk charged into the room, the lines ar
ound his eyes deeper than usual, and Nessa’s heart shot to her throat. She shoved back her chair and jumped up. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“A dam burst over in Grindale Province close to where Gregor Kearn lives. People are losing their homes from all the mudslides, and our men want to help.” He turned to Kyle. “I see no reason not to let them go, unless you’ve figured out who is responsible and plan to let us reopen our mine.”
Didn’t she wish?
“I’m afraid not,” Kyle said. “We don’t have many leads. Yet. How did a dam burst?”
Had it been sabotage? Or was she so focused on evil that she couldn’t think of anything else?
Birk shrugged. “Right now, it doesn’t matter what caused it. We’ll figure it out eventually. These people need our help. I’ll let our dragons know they can fly over there to help with the rescue.”
She pushed back her chair. “I’ll come with you.”
Birk held up a palm. “Nessa, someone needs to stay here. I don’t like the mine being exposed.”
He had a point, though she suspected that wasn’t the whole truth. “How many men are going?”
“Almost all of them. With the mine shut down, they are eager to be useful. Even the humans want to help.”
She glanced over at Kyle. “Do you think it’s some kind of ploy to draw our people there so that the mine will be vulnerable?”
“Possibly.”
She turned back to her brother. “Is anyone speculating if the dam breach was due to sabotage? If I recall, it’s not very old.”
“I don’t know.”
She tapped a finger on her lips. “If our men all go, it would give the person the chance to swoop in and do more damage.”
Birk blew out a breath. “When did you become so distrustful?”
When I was trapped in a mine. “My job is to make sure this place is safe.”
He dragged a hand down his jaw. “Tell you what. I’ll make sure enough men remain here. They’ll stay on high alert until the rest of us return.”
Nessa had the best brother and the best workers. She hugged Birk. “Thank you and stay safe.”
