Smoke and Fire: Part 1 (8 page)

Chapter Nine

Con held the Montblanc pen by the fingers of both hands as he stared at the report on his desk. He didn’t like what had been found, and it was number one thousand and seventy-six on the list of things to do that day.

As troubling as the report was in regards to the distilling of the whisky, it paled in comparison to the new visitor at the manor.

Kinsey Burns.

Tristan and Dmitri had told him everything, from her arrival to the interaction with Ryder. Con had also watched the tapes of her arrival at Dreagan and meeting Tristan to get visuals of her face.

What he wished he’d been able to see was when she came face-to-face with Ryder.

Con had become an expert when it came to discovering which of his Kings was in danger of finding a mate. What vexed him was that Ryder had hidden his feelings so well that Con never knew until the arrival of Kinsey.

Oh, Con understood that there had been someone in Glasgow, but at the time, Con still thought the spell was in place. If he had known it wasn’t, he might have questioned Ryder more.

After Cassie and Hal fell in love and mated, Con had taken a close look at all the Kings who spent time out in the world away from Dreagan.

He had even paid special attention to Ryder. But not once had Ryder asked to return to Glasgow, nor shown any interest in the city or its occupants. Though with his access to the computers, Con realized that Ryder could have been keeping an eye on Kinsey all these years.

Ryder couldn’t deny anything now. Con had only to look to see Ryder was completely in love with Kinsey. Kinsey, for her part, was harder to decipher. Which surprised Con. Mortals rarely did that to him.

Kinsey wasn’t thrilled at being held at Dreagan, nor did she appreciate being used by someone at Kyvor to get her there. Yet she was more than willing to help them learn who was behind it.

She reminded him of Elena and Denae. Both situations had turned out to the benefit of Dreagan and the Kings, but Con had a bad feeling about this time. There were too many variables that were unknown, and there were also too many players now.

The most troubling bit was that he and the other Kings couldn’t defend Dreagan as they normally would with MI5 patrolling twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Con’s thoughts went back to Kinsey. Ryder had notified him through their mental link that none of Kinsey’s tech had been corrupted in any way.

Everything was clean from her purse, the bag with all her tech, and even her car. The only thing Con hadn’t checked out was Kinsey herself.

Ryder assured him that she wasn’t an actress, but humans could pick up all kinds of skills quickly when it suited them. Who was to say that Kinsey wasn’t using Ryder?

Con set down his favorite pen before he broke it. The Kings had been fortunate so far in that all of their mates accepted who they were and what it meant to be a Dragon King’s woman.

Had their luck finally run out? Had Kinsey been sent there to betray Ryder much like what had almost happened to Ulrik?

The thought froze Con’s heart. His Dragon Kings had all experienced war in its many aspects. They had all suffered loss—though some more than others. And they had all been devastated when their dragons were sent away.

Not to mention having to keep hidden from the world when they should be flying wherever they wished.

The Kings had been through too much already. There couldn’t be another betrayal.

Con checked his watch and adjusted his cuff links, fingering the dragon-head design. Any moment now, he expected a visit from Ryder. Not because Con sent for him, but because Ryder would’ve already figured out what Con would want to do.

With Ryder’s visit would come an argument in favor of Kinsey.

Con didn’t intentionally set out to piss off his Kings, but they were each so caught up in what they were feeling at the moment that they didn’t think ahead.

That’s what he was for, and his decisions were rarely accepted eagerly. In most cases, there was a debate. It was imperative that the Kings stay banded together. They had been split once before, and it nearly destroyed them.

On that day, long ago, Con had put his pride away and thought of their race. It won him back all the Kings but one—Ulrik. The weight of the entire dragon world rested on Con’s shoulders.

There were times he strained under the burden. No one would ever know of those times. It would be used against him. It wasn’t because he was afraid to show weakness. That he had revealed plenty of times.

No, this was about his strength to rule the Kings and keep everyone together. Every time a mortal joined the ranks, Con’s job grew more difficult. At the rate the Kings were finding mates, they were going to have to take turns eating supper because not everyone would fit at the table.

A knock on his door broke into his thoughts. Con closed the file on his desk and set the bone-handled magnifying glass atop it. “Enter,” he bade.

The door opened and Ryder with his blond hair and hazel eyes stepped into the office. He gave a nod to Con and closed the door behind him. “I’d like a word.”

“I’ve been expecting you.”

Ryder gave him a sly look. “So you think you know what I’ll say?”

“I doona profess to know what you’re thinking. Why no’ just tell me. But first, who is with Kinsey?”

“Dmitri,” Ryder answered.

Con laced his fingers over his stomach and jutted his chin to one of the leather chairs before his desk. “Sit down. Then tell me what it is you came to say.”

“You’re no’ happy that she’s here.”

Con shrugged in response. “Of course no’. Someone sent her because of your involvement with her. And no’ just because the two of you were lovers three years ago. This is because you shifted in Glasgow and she saw you.”

“I know. I’m no’ exactly thrilled with that,” Ryder stated crossly.

“Someone was watching her, because they had a suspicion you would return. That means whoever saw the two of you together before you left knew it was something deep between both of you.”

Ryder held his gaze. “You want to know if I’m in love with her?”

“I know you are.” Con inhaled deeply. “You didna volunteer to go to Glasgow. I sent you there. Had I sent someone else, would you’ve asked to go instead?”

There was a long pause before Ryder said, “No.”

“Why? You love her.”

“I feared that I would see her. Then I feared that I might no’. I was terrified I’d find her dead body with Dark all around her.”

Con studied Ryder as he spoke. He should’ve realized Ryder’s affections were given to someone. Ryder was one of the few Kings who didn’t actively go looking for a woman to warm their beds.

Ryder talked a big game, but he never carried through with any of the women.

“But you went, and you saved her,” Con said. “Tell me why you left her.”

Ryder’s hazel eyes went hard. “No’ for the reasons you think.”

“You doona know what I’m thinking. I’d rather you just tell me.”

“I left because I’d fallen in love, but as far as I knew, the spell you cast was still in place. I worried what you might do to her.”

Con was appalled. Did his men think so little of him? “Because you fell in love? I vowed to protect the humans, Ryder. I sent our dragons away for them. Did you really think I’d harm her?”

“I wasna exactly thinking clearly.”

So he came home. Con inwardly groaned, because that was around the time Cassie arrived, and Con had worked hard to put the spell back in place so Hal wouldn’t love her. No wonder Ryder never said anything.

“Kinsey is here now. For good or bad, she’s at Dreagan learning everything MI5 is searching for,” Con said.

Ryder leaned forward in his chair and clasped his hands together as he rested his forearms on his knees. “I know her, Con.”

“You knew her. Three years is a long time in a human’s life. Anything could’ve happened.”

“I watched her.”

Just as Con suspected. “Every moment of every day?”

“No.”

“Did you see who she spent time with?”

Ryder swallowed. “Sometimes.”

“What about the men she dates? She’s a beautiful woman who is smart and gifted in her field. Women like her doona stay single long.”

Ryder grew very still, his anger obvious. “You know I saw the men she dated.”

“I’d wager no’ all of them. Did you see what she did on the dates?”

“No,” Ryder stated in a hard voice.

“Which means you can no’ attest to her character now. You knew her better than anyone at one time, but that doesna translate to the here and now.”

Ryder blew out a breath and leaned back in the chair. “I could use her help searching for Ulrik and anyone else involved.”

“She’s that good?”

“Aye,” Ryder affirmed.

Con had been considering this since he’d learned of her arrival. If he separated Ryder and Kinsey, Ryder would get little work done because he’d be checking on Kinsey.

At least with them together, Ryder would watch over her. Hopefully his emotions wouldn’t get in the way if he discovered her doing something she shouldn’t.

“Nothing she brought in has been tampered with,” Ryder said. “It’s all clean.”

“I find it interesting you didna say she was clean.”

Ryder’s face fell. “I can no’ be sure that she’s no’. She’s no’ even sure if she is. I willna know until I spend more time with her.”

Con could see this taking a very bad turn. He leaned forward to rest his arms on his desk. “Do you know what you’re agreeing to?”

“I do. I’ll be the one held solely responsible if Kinsey does anything while under my watch.”

Con shook his head. “I’d no’ have that on your shoulders. What if there is magic used, and the only way to stop her is death?”

“Then I’ll do it.”

Con wasn’t so sure Ryder could. However, he knew Ryder would do everything in his control to stop Kinsey. That alone was enough for him.

“Then I’ll leave her in your care,” Con relented.

Ryder’s faced eased into relief. “You willna regret it.”

Con prayed he didn’t. It was bad enough that Kinsey had run from Ryder after seeing him shift. Ryder was a tough individual—all the Kings were. But they had their breaking points as well.

“Do you think you can earn her trust again?” Con asked.

Ryder gave a brief nod. “I believe so.”

“Does she still care for you?”

“That I can no’ say.”

“Find out,” Con ordered. “If she’s afraid of you—us—then she may be using you to get close and attempt something.”

Ryder lifted his chin. “No’ Kinsey.”

“Give me proof. I want to accept your word for it, Ryder, but with MI5 here, and Ulrik out doing God-knows-what, I have to be sure.”

“Then you’ll have your proof.”

As Ryder walked out, Con prayed he didn’t have to kill another mortal. The first one nearly did him in and lost him a best friend.

This one would lose him everything.

Chapter Ten

It usually took a lot for Kinsey to get as frustrated as she was at the moment. It had nothing to do with the equipment—because it was state of the art and gorgeous—and everything to do with not being about to find jack squat on Ulrik or his people.

“Ryder warned you.”

“I beg your pardon?” Dmitri asked.

Kinsey threw him a quick smile. “Sorry. I tend to talk to myself sometimes.”

“You’re looking up Ulrik. Ryder does that daily and rarely finds anything.”

Daily? Holy shit. And here Kinsey thought she had some new moves that would show her more and impress Ryder. She was out of luck this time. “Oh.”

“Doona be alarmed, lass. We’ve been doing this sort of thing for years. At least now we doona have to physically watch him. I like the cameras for that reason alone.”

Kinsey stretched her arms over her head and rotated her neck from side to side. She had been sitting for so long that she needed to move around and get the blood flowing.

She stood and walked to the window. The snow was falling heavily now, covering the slopes of the mountains in white. It looked magical, as if she were in a different world. And in some aspects, she was.

After a few more stretches, Kinsey remained at the window simply taking in the majestic, wild beauty that was Dreagan. If she peered far to the left she could see the pasture where the cattle were. There were sheep seemingly everywhere.

No one would ever know this splendor was behind all the buildings housing the distillery. Even the manor was hidden, keeping another wall up between the Dragon Kings and the humans.

“What do you see?” Ryder asked as he walked up next to her.

She smiled as she folded her arms over her chest. “I see land that’s been sustained and preserved as beautifully as it must have been thousands of years ago.”

“And?” he pushed.

He’d always been able to tell when there was more she wanted to say. Kinsey looked at the mountains all around them. “I see a land that shouldn’t be sullied by humans. I see a home.”

“It is a home,” Ryder said. “It’s our home. It’s the only place left on this realm that we claim as ours.”

Her people had taken the rest. Kinsey couldn’t imagine how that felt, and she didn’t pretend to. “You have every right to protect it.” She faced him then, realizing that Dmitri had exited the room without a word. “Even if it’s from me.”

His dark blond brows rose high in his forehead. “What does that mean?”

“You know exactly what it means. Ryder, if somehow your enemies are using me, then I want to know in what capacity, and I want it stopped. If we can’t stop it, then you must.”

He held her gaze for long moments. “It willna come to that.”

She really hoped it didn’t. “What did Con have to say?”

“Did Dmitri tell you where I was?” he asked with a sigh.

“I figured it out.”

Ryder clasped his hands behind his back. “Con is thinking of all of us Dragon Kings and the mates and Dreagan when he makes a decision. That doesna always mean the decisions are good.”

“Meaning?”

“I knew he’d want to isolate you in case Ulrik has somehow manipulated you to help him. I convinced Con to allow you to remain with me.”

“Is that wise?” she asked. “I mean, if Ulrik or his people somehow did get to me. Wouldn’t that put you in a difficult position?”