Smoke and Fire

by Donna Grant

  For the second time in minutes, Ulrik gave her a rare—and brief—smile. “That’s what I wanted to know.”

  “What?”

  “I wanted to see if you’ve let him go. You have.”

  Rhi pushed away from her car and hooked her thumb in the front pocket of her jeans. “Why do you care?”

  “Oh, you know exactly why.”

  She swallowed hard. “Keep your revenge to the one who deserves it.”

  “Con will get his. Of that you doona need to fear.”

  Fear? No, that’s not what she felt at all. She wasn’t sure she could name the emotion within her. “I still have friends there, Ulrik.”

  “Meaning you’ll come to their defense if they ask.”

  “They won’t have to ask. I’ll be there for them. Always.”

  He nodded and dropped his arms before he stood straight. “I hear Henry is looking for you.”

  “How do you know all of this? Henry wouldn’t talk to you, nor would any of the Kings.”

  “True. Verra, verra true,” he replied with a wink.

  Rhi was fast losing patience. “You’re not going to tell me?”

  “What would be the fun in that? So you could run back to Dreagan and tell them?”

  “Of course not.” Not unless he endangered the others, which was a very real possibility. “You already attacked Con.”

  Ulrik laughed, but it was hollow and fake. “My dear, Rhi, that wasna a battle. You’ll know when I challenge Con.”

  “Is it going to be soon?”

  Ulrik shrugged and walked to the passenger side of the Lamborghini. He stopped and leaned his arms on the roof, his hands clasped together. “Stay safe.”

  Then he was gone. Rhi turned in a circle looking for him, but the King of the Silvers had apparently teleported away.

  “Since when do the Dragon Kings have that ability?” she asked herself.

  Ulrik’s power was to bring people back from the dead. Teleportation was something only the Fae and Fallon, one of the Warriors, was able to do.

  If Ulrik had the ability to go anywhere he wanted at any time, then that was a distinct advantage over Con. She started to go to Dreagan and tell Con, but she hesitated. If the positions were reversed, she knew for a fact Con wouldn’t tell her.

  It wasn’t as if she would never tell one of the Kings what she’d learned, but she wasn’t in a hurry to do it.

  “Later,” she said and looked to her watcher. She hit the button that would close the storage unit and lock it. “Time to leave.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Kinsey shifted uncomfortably from both the cold and the situation as she stood behind a row of thick hedges that separated the manor from the distillery.

  Beside her was Henry, who looked as if he were about to be sick. Con was on her other side, his gaze focused through the hedges. Ryder was strolling the grounds, whistling, as if he were on his way to one of the other buildings.

  “I don’t want to believe this about Esther,” Henry said.

  Kinsey glanced at the Brit, hurting for him. But there was nothing to say to make it any better. The facts were all laid out, and though Henry didn’t want to accept it, he already had.

  She turned back to peering through the leaves of the evergreen to watch Ryder as he approached Henry’s sister.

  Esther glanced up when she heard Ryder and tried to duck out of the way, but there was nowhere for her to go. That’s when Ryder pretended to just see her.

  “Hello,” he said with a smile. “Can I help you with something?”

  Esther shook her head of dark hair. “I’m fine, thanks,” she responded in a perfect Welsh accent.

  “It’s freezing,” Ryder said and glanced at the sky. “We’re supposed to have a nasty snowstorm later. Come inside for some tea with the other agents.”

  “Thank you, but I’m fine.”

  Ryder walked closer to her and lowered his voice as he glanced around. “You’re trying to prove you can do as much as the men. I get it. But you can no’ do that if you’re frozen solid. Your lips are turning blue, lass.”

  She hesitated, absently rubbing her gloved hands together. As if on cue, the flurries turned into flakes that began to fall harder. Kinsey wondered if it was something one of the Dragons Kings had done since it was timed so perfectly. Now that she knew what Ryder’s secrets were, she looked at everything—and everyone—at Dreagan as magical.

  Whereas just a few moments before Esther had looked hale and hearty, she appeared to weaken right before their eyes. Kinsey frowned. Was it more magic she was witnessing?

  “He’s got her,” Con whispered when Esther followed Ryder into one of the buildings.

  Kinsey didn’t know one red-roofed building from the other, but wherever Ryder was taking Henry’s sister, it was someplace that was secluded.

  She, Con, and Henry walked in through a second door, pausing when they heard Ryder’s voice over the huge copper stills.

  A moment later they walked through another glass door. It wasn’t until Kinsey neared it that she realized it was a small room next to an office. Inside the room was an old iron fireplace that Ryder was feeding wood.

  Esther sat on a chair huddled in front of the growing fire as if she were frozen from the inside out. She was so intent on the fire that she never heard the door open or the three of them walk inside.

  Con pulled Kinsey with him as they moved behind Esther. Henry remained by the door. Then he slammed it shut. Esther’s head jerked up, her gaze meeting her brother’s.

  “Hello, Esther,” Henry said. “Fancy seeing you here, sis.”

  Kinsey had to give Esther credit, she remained in character while putting her hands near the fire. “I don’t know an Esther.”

  “Give it up,” Henry said, his voice dripping with anger and agitation. “I know it’s you. You’re good. I’ll give you that, but you forgot to make sure to cover the small scar near your temple. The one I gave you years ago when we played cricket.”

  There was a drawn-out pause before Esther sighed and gave a shake of her head. “What the bloody hell are you doing here, Henry?” she asked in the same refined British accent as her brother.

  “I asked first. When were you going to tell me you joined MI5?”

  She lifted her chin. “Eventually. How did you find out?”

  “Me,” Ryder said. “I check everyone who walks onto Dreagan.”

  Esther shrugged, as if she didn’t care that her cover was blown. “I like MI5. It suits me as it always suited you.”

  “Do our parents know?”

  She looked at him as if he’d just asked her to strip naked. “Of course not. What kind of daughter do you think I am?”

  “I’m wondering what kind of sister you are,” Henry said as he clasped his hands behind his back. “You lied to me. Repeatedly.”

  “And how many times have you lied to me and our parents?” she retorted. “Too many to count, that’s for sure.”

  Henry scrubbed a hand down his face. “So MI5 is working out great for you, aye?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is that why they decommissioned you?”

  She got to her feet and glared. “How do you know that?”

  “That doesn’t concern you.”

  “It does if you’re looking into me,” she said and moved a step closer to him.

  Henry looked down his nose at her. “Which side are you on, Esther? Are you on the side of MI5 that I’ve been working to eliminate? The ones who focus on people like those here at Dreagan, concocting all kinds of lies to keep them under surveillance?”

  “No. Never,” she said, appalled.

  Henry gazed at her a long time before he said, “Prove it.”

  “Stuart, your boss and friend, took a liking to me. He didn’t approve of the group training me and took me under his wing. He said if I was going to be an agent, he was going to make sure I was trained right. That’s how I learned what the two of you were doing. I offered to help out.”


  “And?” Henry urged when she stopped.

  She threw up her hands in aggravation. “What do you think? I was relieved of duty.”

  Kinsey saw the subtle way Henry shifted his feet. Ryder also positioned himself closer to the door. Whatever answers Esther was giving, they weren’t the ones they were looking for.

  Henry bowed his head. He stood with his hands on his hips as the silence of the room was broken only by the pop of the fire.

  “It’s time to stop with the lies,” Henry said without lifting his head. “It’s easy to become so engrossed in them that even when we need to tell the truth, we can’t. I’ve been there many times. You have to force yourself to let go of the shroud of lies.”

  “I’m not lying.”

  At this, Henry’s head lifted. His eyes were now as hard as iron. His entire demeanor changed. Gone was the concerned brother. In his place was a man intent on getting answers—no matter who stood across from him.

  “Stuart never mentioned you. He would’ve, Esther. He, more than most, knows how important family is since his brother was an MI5 agent killed in the line of duty. He would’ve alerted me the moment he discovered you.”

  Esther shrugged, as if she didn’t care that he’d caught that lie.

  “As for the rest, I was there when most of the bad seeds were terminated. You weren’t one of them. You have one more chance to tell me the truth.”

  She resumed her seat and looked back into the flames of the fire. “Not going to happen.”

  Kinsey didn’t so much as move a muscle. She couldn’t believe a brother and sister who seemed as close as Henry and Esther could grow apart so drastically. The idea that it could happen to her and her sister made Kinsey’s stomach roll with dread.

  Kinsey spotted Henry give a nod to Ryder. The next moment, Esther bent over at the waist. She struggled to breathe while doing her best to remain seated.

  “What … are you … doing?” Esther asked in a voice that was more whimper than shout.

  “Getting answers,” Henry stated.

  Kinsey couldn’t actually see Ryder doing anything to Esther, but it was obvious that he was.

  “He’s no’ hurting her,” Con said in a low voice.

  Kinsey glanced at him. “It sure looks like it.”

  “Every King has their own special power. I can heal anything. Ryder’s is weakness. Esther isna feeling any pain. She is experiencing fragility.”

  Kinsey felt a little better knowing that, but that didn’t make it any easier to watch. She’d learned about Ryder and the other Dragon Kings in stages and was barely holding it all together. Without a doubt, she knew she’d be at a complete loss if she found out all at once.

  Now that Kinsey realized what Ryder was doing, she could see the feebleness of Esther’s movements. It was like all the energy had departed her body, leaving Esther as weak as a newborn.

  “I’ll not tell you anything,” Esther rasped.

  Henry crossed his arms over his chest. “Yes, you will.”

  Con stepped around Kinsey and walked to stand beside Henry. “Perhaps she’d prefer to speak to me.”

  As soon as Con appeared, Esther’s gaze widened, a gleam of surprise and glee filling them. Kinsey knew firsthand how laid back Con appeared—when he was anything but. And right now, even Kinsey could tell that Con was angry.

  But more than anything, the recognition in Esther’s eyes gave her away.

  “Constantine,” Esther said.

  Henry pivoted to stand between his sister and Con. He faced the King of Kings. “No. This is what she wants.”

  “Then let’s give her what she wants,” Con said with a shrug.

  Kinsey slid her gaze to Ryder to find him watching her. She wished she knew what he was thinking, and she still wasn’t entirely happy with the fact that she was in the room. If nothing else, she was getting a taste of what the Dragon Kings were capable of.

  And it made her wonder why any human would dare intervene in their war.

  It wasn’t as if humans were any different when they interrogated others. In fact, there was usually pain involved. Esther wasn’t feeling any of that. Kinsey wondered if the spy had any idea how lucky she was to be getting off so easy.

  Ryder’s hazel eyes held her, refusing to allow Kinsey to look away. Not that she wanted to. How she wished she didn’t continue to gravitate toward him when she became uncomfortable or fearful, and yet that’s exactly what happened.

  Twice now she’d nearly kissed him. There was no way she could withstand much more of his seduction. And Ryder wasn’t even trying to seduce her.

  Yet.

  Kinsey knew how sexy and charming Ryder was when he wanted. He’d not turned that on her, but if the look he was giving her now was any indication, it was coming. Soon.

  Why the hell did that give her a jolt of exhilaration?

  She took a step toward him before she even realized it. Kinsey drew up short instantly. This same irresistible attraction she felt was how she and Ryder first came together across a crowded street.

  A hundred years from now she would still recall that moment of looking up from the streets of Glasgow and finding Ryder standing still in the middle of people moving all around him. His gaze had been locked on her, much as it was at that moment.

  Kinsey had attempted to turn away then, but she didn’t bother this time. He’d walked across the busy intersection without ever looking away from her, not stopping until he stood before her.

  His smile had been amazing, his face swoon-worthy.

  At that precise moment, Kinsey had become Ryder’s. Now, four years later, much to her horror, she realized she was still his.

  Would always be his.

  “I’m sure you have questions,” Con said to Esther, splintering into Kinsey’s thoughts.

  Kinsey silently thanked Con and focused her attention back onto Esther before she gave in to the urge to go to Ryder. But she could still feel Ryder’s gaze, still sense the desire that filled the air.

  “Yes,” Esther said.

  Kinsey’s mind echoed that word as her blood heated, thinking of being held within Ryder’s strong arms.

  Henry returned to his position, his narrowed gaze on his sister who stared at Con as if he’d been delivered to her upon a silver platter.

  “Ask away,” Con urged her.

  Esther’s smile was slow. “Show me who you are.”

  Con’s laugh was loud and hollow. “What you see is what you get. I’m nothing more than a man running a verra large, verra profitable company.”

  “You’re dragons,” Esther said, her hand upon her chest as she drew in a large breath. It was everything she could do to hold her head up.

  Kinsey looked at each man in the room to see their reactions. They all observed Esther intently.

  Henry gave a shake of his head and snorted. “You can’t tell me you really believe that dribble all over the news.”

  “We … have proof,” Esther said breathlessly and added a smile despite her growing weakness.

  Con cocked his head to the side. “What proof?”

  “Eyewitness,” she whispered as if it took her great effort.

  “A bloody lie,” Henry stated.

  Con squatted down so he could look Esther in the eye as she began to lean to the side, her body unable to keep her upright. “Have you wondered where Henry’s been?”

  Esther shook her head, unable to voice any more words she was so weak.

  “Perhaps you should’ve,” Con said. “He’s worked tirelessly to protect innocents all over the world. He’s been a friend to us here on Dreagan. Henry has a knack for judging people, does he no’? Perhaps you should consider that.”

  When Con stood, he shot a look to Ryder.

  Kinsey watched as Esther fell unconscious. Henry was there to catch her in his arms. He stood, holding her carefully despite the anger on his face.

  “We need to discover how much she knows as well as who she’s working with,” Henry said.

&nbs
p; Ryder considered Henry. “She’s your sister. Do you have any idea what you’re wanting us to do?”

  “What needs to be done. This is my home now too. I’ll protect it,” Henry stated. “Besides, I want her to learn the truth of everyone. She’s chosen the wrong side.”

  “And if her mind can no’ be changed?” Con asked.

  Henry turned his face away. “I’ll deal with that if the time comes.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  It was nearly midnight when Ryder quietly walked into his room. The afternoon and evening had been filled with more work at the computer. As difficult as it’d been, he didn’t talk to Kinsey about anything other than work—which had been torture when all he wanted was her in his arms.

  And with them digging into Ulrik, Kyvor, and now Esther, there was a lot to do.

  Dinner was eaten at their desks. At ten, Ryder had called an end to the day for Kinsey. She didn’t argue. She simply rose and walked away, covering a yawn with her hand.

  He’d debated whether to venture into his room again. Ryder had gotten away with sleeping with her the night before, but he was taking a chance two nights in a row.

  But he couldn’t stay away.

  He closed the door softly behind him. Tonight, Kinsey was buried under the covers with her dark hair spread out around her. Ryder walked to the other side of the bed and removed his shoes.

  Just as the night before, he gingerly sat and slowly lay back. His thoughts wandered through the day and all that had happened. Time and again, he returned to the memories of their near kisses.

  She wanted the kiss, wanted him. Of that Ryder was certain. He could see it in her eyes, hear it in the way her breathing changed. Why did she keep pulling away when she wanted it as much as he?

  He knew he’d hurt her, but it wasn’t in a mortal’s nature to keep turning away from something they craved. That’s where he’d underestimated her. It was going to take much more than her desire to make her give in to him.

  For the first time, Ryder began to worry that he might not win Kinsey back. It made it all the harder, because she was at Dreagan. She knew their secrets and was part of their lives. He was getting to see firsthand how it would be if he took her as his mate.