Page 39 of Seducing the Dragon (Stonefire British Dragons #2)

Neil growled. “I’m the one who will ask the questions from here on out. Bram will trust you. That’s enough. So if you want the other captured dragon to live, you’ll cooperate. Understand?”

Evie didn’t want to make a blanket promise, but she was running out of ways to stall.

The dragonman’s eyes had flashed to slits a few times.

If she wasn’t careful, she would provoke the inner beast. Unlike Bram, she didn’t think Neil would restrain himself.

There was a lot he could do without killing her.

She was about to wing it when a light started flashing in the corner, near the ceiling.

Neil stood. “Fuck, there’s been a breach.” He looked at Evie. “No doubt, it’s your dragonman. Stand up. You’re coming with me.”

While waiting earlier, Evie had inspected the boarded-up windows, hoping to find an escape route.

While they were sealed up tight, maybe, just maybe, if there were dragons flying around outside they could scent Neil.

They would be looking for any dragon-shifter inside the building.

If she could make some noise to signal her location, it might speed along her and Neil’s discovery.

It wasn’t like she had the strength of a dragon-shifter to punch out the wood covering the windows.

The chairs, however, were old and of the four-legged metal variety rather than the newer roller chairs every office in Britain sported these days.

She could lift one and make as much noise as possible.

Decision made, Evie stood. As Neil reached for her, she dashed to the end of the conference table, picked up the plastic back of the chair, and hurled it at the nearest window with every iota of strength she possessed.

The board held, but a large smack reverberated through the air.

Please, oh, please, let that attract their attention.

In the next instant, Neil had her arms behind her back. He tugged and she drew in a breath at the pain radiating from her wrists and shoulders. Neil said, “You’re trapped, human. Pull a stunt like that again, and I’ll knock you unconscious.”

Her heart thundered in her chest. Not because of the fear of the dragonman behind her, but rather she waited to see if her last ditch effort would save her.

Yet as Neil maneuvered her out the door of the conference room, her hope faded. Damn it. She’d failed. The remaining Protector was most certainly going to die because of her actions. Not to mention Murray’s future would be as a prisoner in a cell.

Bram, where are you? Just because Evie was used to taking care of herself didn’t mean she didn’t need help. She was definitely in over her head. The instant she gave up her faith in Bram, it would be game over.

Neil dragged her to the end of the hallway when a loud crash sounded behind them. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw a large, gold dragon staring straight at them. The conference room behind him was gone. The dragon was holding on to the edge of the remaining floor with his talons.

Neil pushed her forward, forcing her head to turn back around. Then she heard the faint crackling sound she’d heard before, when Bram had shifted. A male voice shouted, “Running won’t help you now, laddie.”

It was Finlay Stewart.

He whistled and another dragon crashed in front of them. If many more dragons made the same entrance, the building would collapse.

The red dragon snarled and Evie hoped it was intended for Neil and not her.

Neil extended and pressed a half-talon against her throat and said, “Fly away, mates, or I kill the human.”

Before the red dragon in front of them could do anything, Evie heard a thud, and Neil dropped to the ground.

She blinked, turned, and saw a piece of twisted metal poking out of Neil’s back.

Looking up, a very naked Finlay Stewart strode toward her.

He said, “Not the smartest bloke in the world, giving me his back.” He put out a hand.

“Come, lass. I’m going to shift back and take you out of here. ”

Evie’s momentary shock concerning the dead dragon-shifter at her feet wore off. “What about Murray and the others?”

Finn took her hand and pulled her toward the gaping hole in the side of the building.

When she dug in her heels, he stopped and turned toward her.

His eyes flashed to dragon slits and back as he said, “I don’t have time for your stubbornness right now.

Just know that Bram is providing a distraction to give the rest of us time to find you and the others.

I don’t have telepathic abilities, so I don’t know if the others were rescued or not.

But I do know the longer we dawdle, the greater the chance your male will be hurt. ”

Bram was in the same building as her. The thought warmed Evie’s heart.

Looking at the Scottish leader, she wondered about trusting him. But if Arabella, who had been through hell and back, didn’t mind his company, Evie would go with her gut feeling that Finn was only trying to help her.

Besides, once they were free and clear of the dragon hunters’ den, Evie had inside information that might help Stonefire’s rescue efforts.

Decision made, she put one foot in front of the other until she tugged Finn’s arm and he matched her pace.

Reaching the edge of the gaping hole, he released her hand and rolled his shoulders before giving her a piercing stare. “You try to run away while I’m shifting, and I won’t be so gentle next time. Understand?”

His tone was full of dominance and brooked no argument. She was starting to see why Finn was a clan leader.

Evie nodded and watched as Finn ran and jumped into the hole. Before she could even reach the edge of what was left of the floor, a gold dragon’s talon swooped inside and wrapped gently around her. Finn beat his wings and took them into the sky.

It took her a second to catch her breath as the city of Carlisle and then the English countryside sped beneath her. She might not be afraid of heights, but Finlay Stewart was going to receive an earful once they landed and she ensured everyone was safe.

She was also going to ask him how he shifted mid-air. In all her years working with dragons, she had never heard of anyone being able to do that.

As each mile passed below them, Evie hoped she had made the right decision to go with Finn.

She had always been a reasonable person and made the most rational choices.

In this instant, however, she was doubting herself.

Would the other dragons find Murray and the remaining Protector?

Would Bram make it out alive? Judging from her experiences with his inner dragon, he probably wasn’t helping matters.

If the inner beast was too distracting, Bram could die.

And if anyone else died because of her, she wasn’t sure how she could face the clan again.