Smoke and Fire

by Donna Grant

  He wanted it so badly he could taste it.

  His eyes closed, promptly shutting out dismal thoughts of Kinsey refusing him. Instead, he returned to thinking about the second time she nearly allowed their kiss.

  The way her fingers had pressed into his chest and how she’d leaned against him were all signs she wanted their kiss. Ryder slowed the recollection, committing every second to memory from the way her lips parted and her chest heaved to her eyes dilating.

  There was a sigh before Kinsey turned over in her sleep toward him. Ryder moved his head to look at her. Her face was mere inches from him.

  He carefully lifted his arm up to drape over his pillow. There was a desperate need to touch her, hold her. But somehow Ryder kept his hands to himself. He didn’t want her waking.

  If all he could have was lying beside her as she slept, then that’s what he’d take.

  Ryder didn’t know how long he lay there listening to her breathe while wondering what she dreamed of. To his surprise, Kinsey scooted closer to him.

  He moved his arm to lightly rest around her. A smile formed when she shifted once more until her head was on his chest. Only then was Ryder able to close his eyes.

  Kinsey was where she was always meant to be—in his arms.

  * * *

  Kinsey snapped open her eyes. She’d had the weirdest dream that Ryder had been in bed with her. She sat up and looked at the pillow, but once more there was no evidence of anyone having laid their head there.

  She rose and showered, thinking about the dream the entire time. Even while she dried her hair, she recalled how vivid her dream had been. It was so clear she would’ve bet money Ryder was in bed with her.

  Did she want it so badly that even her subconscious mind was turning against her?

  After she dressed, Kinsey made her way to the kitchen. This morning there was no sign of Lexi, Thorn, or anyone else. There was a plate of bacon next to a toaster and a loaf of bread.

  Kinsey poured some coffee while the bread was in the toaster. When it was done, she lightly buttered it and stood by the counter eating toast while looking out the window.

  The snow still fell heavily, thickly covering the ground. It was going to make things difficult for the MI5 agents, which worked in Dreagan’s favor.

  That made her smile. Then she stilled. Was she on Dreagan’s side? After the talk Con, Henry, and Ryder had had with Esther, it was all Kinsey had been able to think about.

  The dragons still frightened her, but not as much as the day before or the day before that. The longer she was around Ryder and the others, the more comfortable she became with the idea of who they were.

  That wasn’t something she’d seen coming. But it made sense. Just as it was easy for her to acknowledge that she was on Dreagan’s side. If she could be neutral, she would, but someone at Kyvor had made sure to put her smack in the middle.

  So Kinsey chose a side. Dreagan’s.

  After what she saw the night before with Ryder weakening Esther with his power, she wondered if there was someone at the estate who could control the weather.

  She finished eating before she made her way up to the computer room. Ryder was there finishing off a jelly donut, a deep frown on his face as he looked at something on one of the screens.

  “Good morning,” Kinsey said.

  He gave her a nod without looking in her direction. “Morning.”

  “Did you stay here all night?”

  “No.”

  That’s all she was going to get. Kinsey shrugged and took her seat. She pulled her chair forward and rested her hands on the virtual keyboard that immediately lit up. She could really get used to this kind of technology at her fingertips all the time.

  No sooner had she touched a key than one of the screens flashed red before listing pages of information.

  “How long has this been ready?” she asked.

  There was a pause from Ryder as he glanced at her screen. “A few hours.”

  “Why didn’t you look?”

  “Other business,” he said before turning back to his monitor.

  Whatever Ryder was looking at must be important. Kinsey scrolled through the pages of documents listing Esther’s assignments and the reports filed by her and her handler.

  After reading a dozen reports that were putting her to sleep, Kinsey switched to another monitor and checked more Kyvor e-mails. She opened each and every one, scanning the words.

  This is the part of her job she hated. Ryder could probably write some software to do this for her, but Kinsey wanted to be the one to find the needle in the haystack.

  Clarice Steinhold had been used as a patsy, and so had Kinsey. But people made mistakes. It was just a matter of Kinsey looking in every nook and cranny, every e-mail and memo that went out. There was something, somewhere.

  Ryder believed she was innocent, and right now that sufficed for everyone. How much longer would Con and the others leave her be before they questioned her as they were most likely doing with Esther?

  Kinsey didn’t want to think about Henry’s sister right now. Her attention needed to be directed at the information before her. It was bad enough that the words began to blur. She was so tired of reading stupid e-mails talking about meetings and how some person or other wasn’t doing their job that she could puke.

  She stopped and rubbed her eyes. A glance at the time showed she’d been at it for hours. Kinsey then rose and stretched to give her poor muscles something to do. When she looked over at Ryder, he was still intent on whatever he was working on.

  With a yawn, she sat back down and spotted the note Ryder left her. It was a code to another piece of software he’d designed that would look for encoded e-mails.

  Kinsey didn’t waste another moment opening the software and putting it into action. While it worked, she decided to read more of the reports from Esther when an e-mail to Harriet Smythe caught her eye. It was from someone named Brewster.

  She opened it, her stomach dropping to her feet as she read.

  It’s all set. If KB has knowledge of the truth, it’s hidden well. A search of the house and computer came up empty. We’ll try for the mobile phone within the next day or so.

  Kinsey could barely pull in a breath. KB. That was her. It had to be her.

  She scrolled down to read the previous message from Harriet.

  Is everything ready? We’ve put a lot into this plan. Nothing can go wrong. I need to know everything she knows.

  Kinsey’s hand was shaking as she moved the cursor with the trackpad to the attachments sent in a previous e-mail. As soon as they loaded and she saw pictures of her and Ryder, Kinsey leapt from her chair.

  “Kins?” Ryder asked in concern as he turned to her.

  She could only point to the monitor and their pictures. Ryder rolled his chair over. He was silent as he scanned all ten pictures of them strolling through the streets of Glasgow during the day, eating dinner, exiting a movie theater, and lounging on her sofa. He said nothing as he read through the e-mails.

  It wasn’t until he sat back and she saw his troubled expression that she asked, “Does this clear me?”

  “I never believed you were guilty to begin with, you know that. However, this is definitely on the way to absolving you.”

  What? Surely she didn’t hear him right. “What do you mean ‘on the way’? This proves I wasn’t involved.”

  Ryder turned his chair to face her. “Look at this from Con’s point of view. What this proves is that you found an e-mail where someone is talking about KB.”

  “KB is me,” she insisted.

  “How many other employees at Kyvor have those initials?”

  She raised a brow. “Need I remind you about the pictures?”

  “It’s better to gather all the information. It’ll be relevant at some point.”

  Kinsey was usually much better at collecting material, but she’d never had her name slung through the mud before. This was her life, and it hit her harder than she’d imagined.


  “I want to find out who is responsible.”

  Ryder gave a nod. “We know who’s responsible. Ulrik. We need to ascertain the ones doing his dirty work in order to prove you’ve been used by him.”

  “Con still thinks I’m part of it, doesn’t he?”

  Ryder rocked back in his chair and closed the lid to the box of donuts. “Con wants definitive evidence before he’ll clear you.”

  “All right. Then I’ll find it. I know I’m not a part of this.”

  “I do, too.”

  She met his gaze, losing herself in his eyes. They were more green than blue at the moment, but the gold bled everywhere. Such gorgeous eyes. They made her think of forever. “Why do you believe me?”

  “Because I know you.”

  “That was three years ago.”

  He lifted one shoulder. “I still know you.”

  Was he trying to tell her that she should know him as well? How could she when he hadn’t shared his secrets? Despite that, she knew he was the one person who would stand with her. That kind of assurance went a long way in giving her the courage to dig ever deeper into his world.

  “What are the odds that we’ll find what we need?” she asked.

  At this Ryder dropped his gaze. “I doona know. In the past, Ulrik has covered his tracks so well that I’ve no’ been able to find the links connecting everything.”

  That wasn’t good news at all. If even Ryder was stumped then Ulrik had to be really, really good. Or lucky.

  Or …

  “What is it?” Ryder asked.

  Kinsey lowered herself back into her chair. “In all my years doing this, I’ve never seen anyone with half as much skill as you have. Not even the expert hackers who were convicted and then got hired by corporations to ensure they didn’t get hacked.”

  “Your point?” Ryder asked, a slight smile on his lips.

  “If you can’t find what’s missing to connect everything to Ulrik that means that he’s really good or lucky.”

  Ryder blinked, a look of alarm covering his face. “Or he’s no’ working alone.”

  Kinsey nodded. “Have you not thought of that before?”

  “Briefly. But Ulrik wouldn’t share his revenge with anyone, so that couldna be what’s happening.”

  “Is he that good with computers?”

  Ryder’s lips twisted. “I doona think so.”

  “Is he that lucky?”

  “He’s been damned lucky lately. Too lucky.”

  They shared a smile, because no one was that lucky.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Ryder was at once both happy at what Kinsey had found and anxious at her musings.

  “Are you going to tell Con?” Kinsey asked.

  Ryder gazed into her violet eyes. From the moment he spotted her four years ago on the streets of Glasgow, he’d had the compelling urge to protect her.

  Well, that wasn’t his first thought. His first thought had been that he wanted her. On the heels of their gazes clashing, Ryder knew he’d have her. That’s when the need to protect her began.

  From then on, that emotion only intensified and expanded until it occupied his thoughts constantly. After he left her, Ryder made sure he kept watch over her since he knew better than most just what monsters were out in the world.

  Now that Kinsey was once more by his side, he hadn’t been able to cap the need to safeguard her. The longer she was on Dreagan and the more information they uncovered, the more he knew she was in serious danger.

  “Ryder?” she asked with a furrow of her brow.

  He swallowed and began to reach for a donut. Just before his fingers grabbed a pastry, he hesitated. It wasn’t the donut he wanted.

  It was Kinsey.

  He’d been hard since the first night he slept beside her. Leaving her that morning had been nearly impossible.

  “Aye,” he finally answered. “I’ll tell Con.”

  “We’ll tell him,” she corrected.

  There was movement at the doorway and then a blond head emerged. “Tell me what?”

  Before Ryder could speak, Kinsey was talking.

  “I found an e-mail with pictures of me and Ryder.”

  Con briefly looked at Ryder. “What else?”

  Ryder knew how important it was to Kinsey that Con believe she was innocent, so he sat back and allowed her to answer all the questions.

  Kinsey’s wide violet eyes were trained on Con as she pointed to the monitor. “The e-mail was exchanged between Harriet and another individual.”

  “Harriet is the person above your boss, correct?”

  Kinsey gave a firm nod, a slight lift to her lips. “Correct. The individual mentions KB.”

  To help, Ryder swiped the thread of e-mails from Kinsey’s computer to the wall behind Con. Constantine turned to read them.

  Kinsey’s quick smile she shot toward Ryder made his gut clench. She thought it was enough to absolve her in Con’s eyes, but he knew Con would think differently.

  The information was certainly going to help, but it wasn’t going to clear her altogether.

  “Interesting,” Con said as he turned back to face Kinsey. “The pictures confirm it’s you they speak of. Otherwise, KB could be anyone.”

  Kinsey’s lips flattened for a heartbeat. “I know. Ryder and I already spoke about that. The fact is, that e-mail is about me.”

  “They got into your flat and computer.”

  Ryder leaned back in his chair, his hands laced behind his head. “I already thoroughly checked and cleaned her computer and mobile when she arrived. There was nothing on it.”

  “That you found,” Con said.

  Ryder held his gaze for a long stretch of silence. Ulrik had gotten something past Ryder once. That wasn’t going to happen again. “There was nothing.”

  “I’m happy to hear it.” Con then shifted his attention to Kinsey. “This is certainly important. It proves they were watching you for some time. It also shows that these people knew our true natures, and they fully expected you did as well.”

  Ryder closed his eyes in frustration. He then sat up, his gaze snapping open. “In all of this, we’ve assumed that Kinsey was working with those at Kyvor.”

  “I’m not,” she stated.

  He ignored her and continued. “What if they were hoping she did know something to force her to talk about it?”

  “When they learned she knew nothing, then they changed tactics,” Con said with a nod.

  Kinsey sat back down and rested an elbow on the table. “To do what?”

  “If you didna have information to share, then they were going to put you in the nest with us,” Ryder told her.

  Her lips parted as the truth hit her. “So that I would turn to them scared out of my mind and give them what they want. That’s why Cecil was so adamant that I remain this morning.”

  Con pointed to the e-mails behind him on the wall. “There is more. This isna the first e-mail.”

  “Or the last,” Ryder added.

  Kinsey puffed out her cheeks before she blew out a breath. She turned her chair to face the table and began typing. “All right, you little buggers,” she said to the screen of e-mails. “Just try and hide from me.”

  Ryder rose and followed Con from the room. Con waited in the corridor. “She’s innocent.”

  “So both of you keep saying.”

  “You just saw proof.”

  Con merely looked at him. “Did we? How long have you been looking through those e-mails?”

  “I’ve been focused on other things. Kinsey has been sorting through them for the better part of yesterday and today.”

  “In all those e-mails, she manages to find one that would clear her? You doona think that’s odd?”

  “I think she’s good at what she does. I think she’s been looking through every e-mail. She didna stumble upon this one.”

  Con twisted his lips. “Fair enough. So she found the e-mail. With her initials and pictures of the two of you?”


  “We’ll find the data needed to clear her name for good.”

  “And if you doona? Have you thought about that, Ryder?”

  It’d crossed his mind a time or two. “I doona need to.”

  “Perhaps you should.”

  Ryder looked to the doorway. The rows of monitors hid Kinsey from view, but he could hear her talking to herself. “She’s no’ a part of this.”

  “I hope you’re right. If you’re wrong, then you’ve given Ulrik everything he needs to tear us apart.”

  Ryder watched Con walk away. He was sure of Kinsey.

  And yet, he couldn’t help but worry. The implications Con mentioned were staggering. Ryder wasn’t just putting his own honor on the line. He was putting the entire way of life for everyone at Dreagan in jeopardy.

  He strode back into the computer room, walked around the monitors, and grabbed Kinsey’s chair. He jerked it back, turning it so she faced him. Then he put his hands on either side of her face and gazed into her violet eyes.

  “Ry—” she began.

  He kissed her, claiming her lips in a kiss that he’d been dying to give. Her mouth softened beneath his, parting so their tongues met, dancing against each other.

  It was heaven. Pure, utter bliss.

  Ryder knew he stepped over the boundaries Kinsey had set upon her arrival, but in all honesty, he didn’t care. Not at that moment.

  Now he needed to feel her, taste her. To remember what it was to have her as his. To know the curve of her cheek, the touch of her hand, the smell of her skin.

  He ended the kiss the moment he sensed she was about to pull back. But he didn’t release her. Instead, he continued to hold her head between his hands.

  “I know you may hate me, and you’ve every right. But look around, Kins. This is home to us. Dragons and their mates. If you want to hurt me, then hurt me. Doona take the others down as well.”

  Her hands came up and grasped his wrists. Then she tugged his hands away firmly and forcibly. “I thought you believed me.”

  “I do.” Ryder straightened, his gut twisting with all the doubt and worry. “I staked my word on it just now.”

  “Not from what you just said.”

  “We’ve been betrayed before. If you’ve come to get your revenge, all I ask is that you leave the others out.”