Page 35 of Seducing the Dragon (Stonefire British Dragons #2)
Further down, she found the coordinates of the two tunnel exit points.
Evie scanned the rest of her files for anything else on the Carlisle tunnels, but didn’t find another reference.
It was almost as if the DDA had abandoned any further research, which was odd.
The DDA hated the dragon hunters nearly as much as misbehaving dragon-shifters, except the DDA’s reasons had more to do with inconvenience than a sense of moral duty.
Then she remembered the promotion of Jonathan Christie to Assistant Director of the DDA.
His promotion had been right after the second report on the tunnels had been filed.
New leadership always brought change, but her intuition sense it was something more than a mere administrative oversight.
There was a slim possibility Christie had ordered them to stop looking, although she had no reason why.
Unless Christie had some kind of deal with the dragon hunters. The thought that the DDA knew about Bourne’s plans to kidnap dragon-shifter children made her sick to her stomach. It was definitely something she needed to check out once she had the chance.
She clenched one of her fists. Despite the lack of enthusiasm concerning dragon-shifters for most of the higher-ups in the department, she refused to believe they would allow innocent children to be kidnapped and imprisoned.
Focus on the present and what you can do now. Right. Pushing aside her disappointment at the DDA, she focused on the positive. Finally, she had something Bram might be able to use.
She swung around in her chair. Charlie and Nikki were lounging on the couch, finishing up their own meals. They noticed her movement, however, and stopped eating. Nikki asked, “What? Did you find something?”
Standing up, Evie tried to keep her voice calm. “I might know the location of two secret entrances for the Carlisle hunters’ den. I need to contact Bram or Kai before they fly off to rescue Murray. Otherwise, they could end up finding an empty set of rooms and not know why.”
Charlie gently laid her plate on a free spot on the couch. “How reliable is your information?”
Evie straightened her shoulders. “Using a collection of reports taken from the locals, the DDA confirmed the locations with radar, so I’d say fairly reliable. The only concern is the information is a year old.”
Charlie raised an eyebrow. “How do we know the hunters are unaware of the DDA’s discovery and switched escape methods? A year is a long time. Any number of changes could’ve been made.”
While not being questioned would make things easier, Evie respected Charlie’s drive for certainty.
“Well, to be honest, we don’t know if they’ve changed escape plans.
But even if the hunters know about the DDA’s discovery of those two exit points, there are bound to be other tunnels.
If they are still using them, having a dragon or two circling in the sky to look out for other exit points would be a good idea. I need to tell Bram.”
Charlie gave her a once-over. “You’ll do well at Stonefire.” Before Evie could do more than blink, Charlie said to Nikki, “Patch her through to the secure number.”
Nikki moved to the landline phone near the kitchen. Returning to her laptop, Evie scrolled to the coordinates and walked over to Nikki. Just as the dragonwoman held out the phone for her to take it, a boom reverberated through the air.
Nikki tossed aside the phone and pushed her behind the kitchen island counter. The dragonwoman whispered, “Stay here,” and moved out of Evie’s line of sight.
A loud crash sounded inside the cave dwelling. As dust swirled in the air above her, she decided the intruders must’ve blown in the door.
As the sounds of shuffled feet and flesh pounding flesh filled the air, Evie tried to think of what she could do to help.
She’d spent the last seven years with the DDA, but the role never required training beyond basic self-defense.
Even then, most of it was aimed toward dragon-shifters.
She had no idea if the people inside the dwelling were human or not.
She had no training, no weapon, and was trapped inside a cave. Things weren’t looking good.
Then she heard a female grunt of pain and Evie decided hiding wasn’t going to help anyone. It was time to see if they were here for her.
Stashing the laptop inside the cabinet of the island counter, Evie took a deep breath and peeked over the counter top.
Charlie was taking on two people dressed in black with bandannas over the lower half of their faces in some kind of hand-to-hand combat she couldn’t identify.
Glancing over at Nikki, the other dragonwoman was struggling to defend the blows from another person dressed in the same attire because of her injured arm and shoulder.
The clothing and height of the three invaders told her they weren’t dragon-shifters. If she were to place a bet, they were dragon hunters.
Which meant they were probably here for her. Nikki and Charlie would just be a bonus.
As Nikki stumbled from a blow to her injured shoulder, Evie made a decision and stood up. Clapping her hands together, she yelled, “Hey, hunters, looking for me?”
Her heart thundered in her chest as all eyes locked on to her face. Not wasting a moment, she continued, “My name is Evie Marshall. If you’re here for me, leave the two women alone and I’ll cooperate.”
Nikki said, “No, Evie, don’t do it.”
The person in black opposite Evie punched Nikki’s injured shoulder. Hard. The dragonwoman huddled over and moaned with pain.
Evie clenched her fingers to prevent herself from rushing to Nikki’s side. Instead, Evie raised her eyebrow. “Well? Are you here for me? Otherwise, I have a secret weapon back here and I’m not afraid to use it.”
The person in front of Nikki walked around the hunched over dragonwoman and faced her. “Love, I’d bet a million pounds you don’t have a weapon back there. You’re bluffing.”
Her heart thumped harder, but Evie had years of practice concealing her emotions. She kept her face nonchalant, just barely. “You can either test me or answer my question. I would think if you’re here for me and I offer to go with you without a struggle, it would save you some time.”
One of the two people still keeping an eye on Charlie said, “She’s right. Who knows when the dragonman will be back.”
She detected a hint of worry in the person’s voice. They must be afraid of Bram. She could use that to her advantage.
The person closest to her, whom she designated as “the leader”, replied, “Protocol Y.”
In the blink of an eye, both the leader and the two people near Charlie pulled a tag on their black vests and tossed small, smoking metal objects at both Nikki and Charlie. As soon as the light purple smoke reached the faces of the two dragonwomen, they collapsed and didn’t move.
Evie caught herself before she cried out. Showing attachment to the pair might do them more harm than good. She would treat them as nothing more than bodyguards.
The leader looked her in the eyes. “Now that your dragon friends are out of the way, let’s talk.”
Remember, Evie, don’t look to Nikki or Charlie, or you might breakdown. After a deep inhalation, she said, “As long as you didn’t kill the two guards, my offer to cooperate still stands.”
The leader kicked Nikki in the side and Evie steeled herself not to react. The leader said, “As long as our scientists didn’t make a mistake with the dosage, they’ll live.”
Evie guessed he was telling the truth. After all, Nikki and Charlie’s blood was too profitable to waste on killing them, which meant no matter what Evie did or said, they would take her friends alive.
Since her capture was all but inevitable unless Bram suddenly showed up, her priority was to leave a clue for Stonefire to use when they searched the cave dwelling later. But what could she do?
Then she remembered the phone. From the corner of her eye, she saw the landline receiver laying on the desk. If she were lucky, someone was still listening in. She could communicate that way.
She focused on the leader and said, “Right, then tell me what I need to do to keep the two guards alive.”
The leader motioned with his fingers and his two team members flanked him on either side. He put out a hand and the person on his left placed a small vial into his palm. The leader held up the vial. “Drink this and we won’t shoot your friends.”
Evie raised an eyebrow. “You want me to drink a strange, blue liquid, no questions asked? How do I know you’re telling the truth and will keep your promise?”
The leader held out the vial. “You don’t, but this is the only time I’m offering it. Next, we’ll take you by force and kill them.”
They wouldn’t. She prevented herself from calling the man on his shit and put out her hand. “Hand it over.” Once the leader placed it in her palm, she curled her fingers around the vial. “Right, then just tell me this: are you with the Carlisle hunter gang?”
The leader growled. “We’re not a gang, love.” He took out a gun, unlocked the safety, and aimed it at Nikki’s head. “Now drink the bloody vial.”
Evie uncorked the vial. While the man’s words hadn’t been a full confession, they sounded like an admission to her.
She only hoped the information reached Bram before it was too late.
If she used the ‘correct dosage’ remark to make a guess, she decided Charlie and Nikki had probably been dosed with the periwinkle and mandrake root, which meant they couldn’t shift for a few days.
They would be kept alive until they could be drained of blood, but who knew what the hunters would do to Nikki and Charlie in the interim.
There was only one option to take. Evie put the vial to her lips and drank the bitter liquid. She only hoped she could find a way to save her friends. Or, if nothing else, a few days was enough for Bram and the others to find her. Evie refused to think of the alternative.
Her vision swam before the world went black.