Smoke and Fire (19 page)

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.

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.

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.