Smoke and Fire: Part 4

by Donna Grant

  She landed on something hard and looked around. There were memories playing all around—her memories. Some so old she’d forgotten them.

  Some more recent.

  She got to her feet and walked to the one where Ryder was kissing her. Kinsey watched it replay over and over, her fingers against her lips as she recalled the feel of his mouth on hers.

  Then she recalled how she’d gotten there. She looked over her shoulder, but only saw more memories that stretched on forever. No more white room.

  “Ryder!” she bellowed and started running again—to her future.

  Chapter Forty-three

  Ryder held Kinsey’s hand. He’d been there several hours waiting for her to wake. But he wasn’t the only one. Henry was also waiting on Esther.

  Neither woman had so much as stirred since Tristan spoke to them in their minds and the trackers had been extracted. But that was little consolation to Ryder or Henry.

  While he waited, Ryder was going over everything in his mind about Kyvor. He began to methodically put it in order of when he and Kinsey unearthed the information and how it fit into the timeline of occurrences.

  Of all the things they found, it had all been about them following Kinsey. It was the encrypted e-mails sent by someone Ryder had yet to look into that mentioned Kinsey. And cryptically at that.

  Since the e-mails said very little, Ryder gathered there had to have been face-to-face meetings. In order to learn who these people where, it was going to require turning the tables on them.

  If they could watch the Kings, then the Kings could watch them. And Ryder was very good at watching people.

  Thorn poked his head into the cavern and said in an excited voice, “Esther has woken.”

  Ryder was happy for Henry, but he was still waiting for Kinsey to open her violet eyes.

  Thorn felt bad for Ryder. He quietly slipped back into the chamber with Esther and the others. Con stood off to the side with his arms crossed over his chest. Roman watched the siblings with an almost confused look in his eyes. Dmitri looked as on edge as he usually was. Only Henry was smiling.

  “Henry?” Esther asked, a frown upon her brow. She glanced around the room and at the men. “Where am I?”

  At this, Henry’s MI5 training kicked in. His smile dropped. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

  Esther’s gaze dropped from Henry’s as she searched her mind. Then she sat straight up, alarm and a touch of fear clouding her face. “What did they do to me?” Esther asked more to herself than Henry.

  “Who?” Henry urged.

  Esther gave a quick shake of her head as she rubbed her temple. “I need to get back to London.”

  “You’re no’ going anywhere,” Con stated in his cool tone that brooked no argument.

  Esther jerked her head to him. “You’re Constantine.”

  Con’s black gaze slid to Henry who shrugged in response. Thorn exchanged a look with Dmitri. At this rate, they were ready for anything.

  “I know you worked for MI5,” Henry told his sister.

  Esther gaped at him. “What are you talking about?”

  “Stop the lies. I saw your file.”

  “That’s not possible. Stuart promised to keep it from you.”

  Henry’s hazel eyes blazed with anger. “He wouldn’t dare.”

  “It was the only way I’d take the assignment.”

  Dmitri said into the silence of the cavern, “I think it’d be better, lass, if you came clean with the entire story.”

  Esther pressed her lips together, then she nodded. “If you read my file, you know I was recruited by MI5. I wanted to tell you, but they forbid it. Then the debacle within MI5 happened. Stuart found me cornered by some of the rogue agents attempting to kill me. He and I killed them before helping others within the agency.”

  She paused and swung her legs over the side of the granite slab. “As I watched so many people who I thought were on my side turn against me, I knew the only way we’d ever learn how deep this went was to get to the core of things. I went to Stuart with a plan to infiltrate the group focusing on Dreagan.”

  “And what did Stuart tell you?” Henry asked.

  “That he was going to call you and get you to do it, but I stopped him. I can be very convincing when I want to be.”

  “Don’t I know it,” Henry mumbled. Then he said, “Where did you know to begin?”

  Esther shrugged. “I didn’t. Everyone we questioned either refused to talk or died while we interrogated them.”

  “Died?” Roman asked.

  Esther’s gaze moved to him. “Not because of anything we did to them. Before we tied them to chairs, a few managed to kill themselves. Others just … died. Right before our eyes.”

  Henry didn’t need to look at the others to know that everyone in the room except for Esther knew magic was involved. Ulrik had sunk to a new level, but then again, Henry said that every time they learned something new the banished King had done.

  “You’re different than earlier,” Henry pointed out as he observed his sister. She appeared more relaxed, despite the situation.

  Her brows rose. “Earlier? Henry, I’ve not spoken to you in months. The last time we saw each other was a year ago.”

  “We had a conversation only a few hours earlier.”

  She was shaking her head before he finished. “That’s not possible.”

  “Then how did you end up here?” Con asked.

  Esther threw up her hands. “I don’t even know where here is.”

  “Dreagan,” Con supplied.

  That stopped her cold. Henry watched as she withdrew into herself and her memories. “What are you remembering?” he pressed.

  “Oh dear Lord,” Esther whispered.

  A bottle was quickly shoved into her hand by Roman. Henry tried to warn her that it was whisky since she hated the taste, but he didn’t have time. Without even looking to see what it was, Esther lifted it to her lips and drank.

  She lowered the bottle, coughing as the whisky made its way down her throat. Her eyes became red the more she glanced at the bottle, and she rolled her eyes when she read the Dreagan label.

  “What did you expect?” Roman asked with a smirk.

  Esther took another drink, this one no more than a sip. She put the back of her hand to her mouth as she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. Then she looked at each of them, landing on Henry last.

  “Tell me,” he urged.

  “We didn’t know where to start looking. No one would tell us any names,” Esther said. “We were losing patience. Then Stuart had the idea for me to begin posting something on forums about how MI5 was ruined and I was looking for payback.”

  Henry nodded, understanding now. “That’s why you were decommissioned.”

  “Yes. It took just over a month before I was contacted by a man named Sam MacDonald.”

  “Did you see him?” Thorn asked.

  Esther nodded. “I spoke to him several times.”

  It was Dmitri who held up his mobile phone with a picture of Ulrik on it. “Is that him?”

  “It does look like him,” Esther said hesitantly. “But a little different. His hair doesn’t have the gray in it at the temples. And his eyes are different.”

  Con dropped his arms and moved a step closer. “Different colors?”

  “No. This man has colder eyes.”

  “But he looks like the man Sam you spoke with?” Henry asked.

  Esther said, “Yes. Besides those differences.”

  “We’ve finally connected him,” Dmitri said with a smile. “I can no’ wait to tell Ryder.”

  Con held up a hand, stopping Dmitri. “No’ yet. Please finish, Esther.”

  “Sam recruited me,” Esther continued. “I was brought into a company called Kyvor. I’m not sure what all they did, but the top executives seemed more interested in Dreagan than their business.”

  Roman snorted. “Surprise, surprise.”

  “I went there every day for three months a
nswering their questions and helping them track some of you. There was a woman they were interested in. I never knew her name, just her initials. KB.”

  Henry looked to Con. “Kinsey.”

  “Aye,” Con said, his lips thinning slightly.

  Esther let out a deep breath. “I remember going to the building. They said they had one more test for me before they let me out into the field. I walked into a large room. It was empty except for two chairs.” She paused and touched her forehead before dropping her arm. “A woman sat in one chair. She had me take the other. And I remember nothing after that until I woke up and saw you.”

  “Do you recall what you were supposed to do?” Roman pressed.

  Esther gave a shake of her head. “I don’t.”

  “Do you recollect anything about the woman?” Con asked.

  “She was stunningly beautiful with shoulder-length blond hair and green eyes. She also liked expensive things. She had a Chanel purse and Christian Louboutin shoes,” Esther added.

  Thorn got Esther’s attention. “What did she say to you?”

  “She said hello and called me by my name. I asked for hers, but she didn’t tell me. She said a word I didn’t understand.”

  Con’s lips twisted. “Gaelic, I’m sure.”

  “Gaelic?” Esther repeated and looked to Henry. “I think it’s time you filled me in on things.”

  Henry looked at Con who gave him a nod. It was apparent with the tracker and the magic that Esther hadn’t been there of her own accord, which Henry was grateful for.

  Now came the tricky part.

  “What do you know of Dreagan?” he asked.

  Esther shrugged and crossed her arms over her stomach. “It’s a large company that’s been around for generations that supplies the world’s finest Scotch. I know that Constantine doesn’t like to show his face. That applies to anyone at Dreagan, for that matter.”

  “But you knew me,” Con said.

  Esther smiled, but it froze before it fell away. “I don’t know how. I’ve never seen you before. Your name, yes, from the records at MI5.”

  Henry rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. “Esther, you can’t remember anything because magic was used by the woman you spoke with.”

  His sister blinked at him.

  Henry then pointed to the tracker Con held up. “That was pulled out of your wrist. We believe these people took over your mind and sent you here to infiltrate Dreagan and discover their secrets.”

  “Secrets on whisky?” she asked.

  Henry released a deep breath. “No. Secrets on the people here. Things that could cause trouble.”

  Again Esther just looked at him.

  This was harder than Henry had expected. He didn’t just want to come out and say who the Kings were, but it was coming to that. He’d thought Esther might ask more questions about the magic, and when she hadn’t, it threw him.

  “Show her the video,” Roman said as he handed Henry his mobile phone.

  Henry gratefully took the phone and put it into Esther’s hands. Then he pushed play.

  The room grew quiet as Esther watched the video of the Dragon Kings shifting and battling the Dark Fae while everyone observed her reactions.

  When it finished, she handed the mobile back to Roman and lifted her gaze to Henry. Her eyes were a bit dazed, her face pale. “Are you telling me that’s real?”

  “I’m telling you those dragons you saw on the video are the ones here at Dreagan. The men standing in this room.”

  Esther’s lips parted as she released a breath. “Dragons. That’s … unexpected.”

  “I had much the same reaction,” Henry said, trying not to smile.

  “And the others in the video?”

  “Dark Fae,” Con said. “Our enemies.”

  Esther suddenly frowned. “There was a woman with a sword in that video. I think I know her, or I’ve seen her someplace.”

  “She interrogated you earlier,” Henry explained. “Her name is Rhi, and she got you to give up a name—Sam MacDonald. She’s a Light Fae.”

  “Light and Dark Fae, magic, and dragons,” Esther said. “Is this why Kyvor is so obsessed with Dreagan?”

  Con nodded. “And why they used you.”

  “I don’t like being used.” Esther swallowed and lifted her chin. “My goal was to take these people down. Let me finish what I started.”

  Henry knew his sister was capable, but it wasn’t up to him. He looked to Con to find the King of Kings with a question in his black eyes. Henry gave a small nod.

  “Well, Esther,” Con said. “It looks like you’ve just joined your brother as our ally.”

  Chapter Forty-four

  The longer Ryder waited for Kinsey to wake, the more impatient he grew. What was taking her so long? Did she not want to return to her life? Had she gotten lost within her mind?

  That was out of Tristan’s control, but Ryder wasn’t above calling in a favor from the Druids at MacLeod Castle. Not when it came to Kinsey.

  And to think he’d been ready to kill her.

  His stomach twisted at the thought that he’d nearly lost her for good. The evidence against her was condemning, and he’d reacted instantaneously.

  Now that he’d had time to calm down and think things through, there wasn’t anything specifically from Kinsey. No texts, e-mails, pictures, or documents showing she was part of Kyvor’s game.

  There had been a knee-jerk reaction because of what had happened with Ulrik and his woman. Was it happenstance? Or was there much more to everything?

  Ryder was leaning toward it meaning more. There were too many coincidences for him to overlook. The correlations between Kinsey and Ulrik’s woman—damn, why couldn’t he remember her name?—was so obvious now that he was looking at it in another way.

  With all the times Ulrik went after the Kings’ mates and failed, Ulrik changed tactics. He wanted a King to kill his own mate.

  No. Ulrik wanted Con to execute a mate.

  No amount of time could make any of the Dragon Kings forget that fateful day they’d killed Ulrik’s woman and the repercussions that event caused.

  Now, with all that was going on and the enemies closing in on them, as well as Con fighting every King who found his mate, it would destroy Dreagan from the inside out if Con slaughtered a mate only to learn she was innocent.

  “What is it?” Con asked as he walked into the cavern.

  Ryder blinked, focusing his gaze on Con. “If you’d been here when I discovered the evidence against Kinsey, would you’ve killed her?”

  There was a slight pause before Con slid his hands into his pockets. “I doona make hasty decisions with a life—any life. No, Ryder, I wouldna have killed her without talking with her and learning what I could.”

  “Say you did. Say you talked to Kinsey and couldna find anything that showed she wasna guilty.”

  Con’s black gaze narrowed slightly. “Why the questions?”

  “Please. Humor me.”

  “All right. I’d need damning evidence. I’d need to see or hear her talking about betraying you before I took such drastic action.”

  Ryder let out a long sigh. That’s what he’d wanted and needed to hear. It’s the Constantine he’d known for so long. Yet Con had recently made some decisions that Ryder worried about. Not to mention the lover Con had taken. A Fae.

  There could only be trouble there.

  “I think it’s time you indulge me and tell me what that was all about,” Con said.

  Ryder knew Con deserved no less. He spent the next twenty minutes going through his thoughts and conclusions with Con about Ulrik, Kyvor, and Kinsey’s connection.

  When he finished, Con was silent. Finally Con took a deep breath and said, “That’s a lot you’ve sorted out. Did you think I’d kill Kinsey so easily?”

  “I know the safeguarding of Dreagan and our secret is the main objective.”

  “So is protecting mortals.”

  “Who are no’ out to expose us.”


  Con bowed his head in acknowledgment. “Point taken. I’ve known for a while that Ulrik is attempting to fracture us from the inside out. Every attack on us has been to that point.”

  “He nearly succeeded this time.”

  “I know. What was your plan had Kinsey no’ attacked Esther?”

  Ryder shrugged and looked at Kinsey. “I was going to talk to her, but I realize now I wouldna have believed anything she said. I was too upset.”

  “Then things worked in our favor.”

  Ryder wasn’t so sure of that. Not yet, at least. He turned his head to Con. “They wanted Kinsey and Esther to kill each other.”

  “I think they wanted Kinsey to kill Esther. This Druid, whoever she is, is a problem. If Kinsey didna alert anyone to Esther giving us a name, is there a chance someone hacked our computers?”

  Ryder gave him a hard look. “You’re seriously asking me that?”

  “I had to ask. Then that leaves one option. The Druid is powerful enough to be linked so deep inside Kinsey’s and Esther’s minds that she knew what was going on.”

  “As soon as Esther gave up the name and Kinsey saw me doing the search, the Druid knew. Then she triggered Kinsey.”

  Con lifted one shoulder. “Then how did Esther get triggered?”

  “Maybe all her training somehow kicked in? We may never know.”

  “No, I doubt we ever will.”

  * * *

  Kinsey was so tired of running. It didn’t matter how far she went, she wasn’t getting anywhere. Memories rushed by her in a blur, but there was no way out.

  She was going to be trapped in her mind. After all her fighting the unknown force, after finding Ryder again, she was going to lose it all.

  “No!” she yelled.

  She’d come too far to have it slip from her hands so easily. Kinsey wasn’t going to give up. She’d run as far and as fast as needed until she reached wherever she was going.

  Out of nowhere two doors appeared before her. She skidded to a halt to stop from running into them. One door was white, the other black.

  “Not another representation of good and bad,” she said with a twist of her lips.

  If there were two doors, that meant only one would take her back to Ryder. The other … it didn’t matter what the other did because she wouldn’t be with Ryder.