Page 12
Chapter Twelve
T he next morning, Iris eyed the car and sighed. “I hate these things.”
Antony raised an eyebrow. “Unfortunately, it’s illegal for me to hitch a basket to you and fly through the air. If you’d even allow it. So this is all we have.”
She slid into the car, and once he did too, she replied, “I wouldn’t mind carrying you, and I even know how to keep you from falling out since we train with rock-filled baskets. Because in emergencies, aye, we’re allowed to carry humans in the air.”
“I highly doubt your dislike of cars would count as an emergency. Plus, we couldn’t remain inconspicuous, given where we’re going, and we need to be.”
He turned on the engine and backed up as she said, “It’s going to take forever to reach Inverness with a car, though.”
Antony had barely told her the basics of their assignment today—they needed to investigate a lead in Inverness, Scotland—before herding them out the door and to the car.
Her dragon spoke up. At least he is sharing information, aye?
I know, I know. Now, hush.
Once Antony drove out of the facility and back to the single-track road, she asked, “If it was so important to drive here in the dark, why are we now driving in the daylight?”
Antony pressed a button on the dashboard before replying, “There. My latest gadget should keep prying ears from hearing anything said in here. To answer your question, I’m more careful about leaving the research facility in London than leaving this place in the Peak District. It’s fairly common knowledge, if you know where to look, that Wicked Security is set up here. As such, we’re prepared for any and all attacks. However, the research facility in London is harder to protect, since it’s not as isolated. The less back-and-forth traffic we show, the better.”
She suspected there was more he wasn’t telling her. However, Iris knew her special clearance hadn’t come through yet, so she didn’t push and focused on what she could ask. “Aye, well, then back to Inverness. You promised that once we were on the road, you’d tell me more about what we need to do there.”
He nodded. “We’re going to visit my former protégé, Jude Nickerson. At one point, I’d picked him to replace me when I retired. However, after he had a run-in with a fringe group of former Dragon Knights and broke his back, he couldn’t move like he used to, not even after he was fully recovered from surgery. In fact, he had to be retired from the field altogether.”
“Which also means he isn’t your replacement any longer, aye?”
“No, unfortunately not. Whoever has this position needs to work long hours, move around a lot, and be able to dash away, when the need arises. Even if Jude is bloody brilliant at intelligence gathering and strategy, my superior made the call about stationing him in Inverness, to watch the skies instead.”
Iris tried to imagine being queued up to head an entire secret spy agency and then having it ripped away. It would be devastating. “Surely he knows it wasn’t your decision, right?”
“Yes, but he’s still resentful and thinks I didn’t fight hard enough for him. Part of me thinks he wants to be put back out to die in action. The other part of me thinks he’s still struggling to accept the drastic changes to his life. Either way, I received some intelligence two days ago, which makes me think he’s the leak and that he’s changed sides to help the dragon hunters.”
Antony explained how one of his team discovered Jude’s online username for a secret forum, one most people could never find, and had learned of his vitriol about the British government, and especially the Department of Dragon Affairs. He believed they ruined his life on purpose by not taking care of the Dragon Knights sooner.
Further digging had revealed Jude offering information to the right buyer. While Antony’s team was still trying to confirm if Jude had sold anything, it was definitely worth a look.
When Antony finished, Iris studied his profile. “It must feel as if he’s betrayed you, aye? Even if he doesn’t end up being the leak.”
Antony’s lips firmed a few beats before he said, “I’m more disappointed. Most of us suffer tragedy and set back at one time or another, especially in this line of work. And whilst I understand the frustration of not being able to walk very long and often relying on a cane considering he could run marathons before the incident, betraying us, me, and the country is extreme. I keep thinking I missed something when I first recruited him.”
Iris laid a hand on Antony’s shoulder and squeezed. “As much as you don’t want to admit it, you’re not perfect, Antony Holbrook. No one is. And sometimes, you’ll be wrong, aye?”
He sighed dramatically. “I suppose.”
She poked his side, and he chuckled as she said, “Be serious and don’t deflect. Do you really blame yourself for Jude’s actions?”
“Sometimes. And yes, I know that’s irrational. It’s not as if I put a mind-control chip in his brain and can control him like in a video game.”
“Wait, do you have mind-control chips?”
His lips twitched. “That’s classified.”
“Ugh, you’re awful, aye? Teasing me like that.”
He winked. “Once your clearance comes through, ask me again. I’ll just have to find something else to tease you about.”
“As long as you don’t start practicing any stand-up routines, that’s fine.”
“Well, you are trapped in this car with me for hours. Maybe I should try a few. I’m a bit rusty, but I bet I can make you laugh.”
“Whilst I’m tempted to see you try, I’d rather you tell me more about the operations in Inverness, Jude, and anything else that could help us once we get there.”
“You’re overly focused, but I like it. Makes me wonder what you’ll be like, with such focus, when naked.”
Her dragon tried to flash images of Antony’s cock in their mouth, but she pushed it aside. Stop it, or I’ll put you in a mental maze.
You’re no fun.
Save your fantasies for later. Maybe you can try some of them, aye?
You’d better keep your word.
I didn’t give my word.
I’m going to pretend you did.
She growled out loud, and Antony said, “Now I want to know what your dragon said to you.”
“It’s rude to ask a dragon-shifter that, aye?”
“Perhaps. But I’d like to think we’re past the facade of formality, given how I promised to eventually make you scream with my mouth.”
Her dragon laughed. Between him and me, you don’t stand a chance.
Ignoring her beast, she replied to Antony. “If I told you what she said, you’d probably crash the car.”
“Tsk, tsk, I can concentrate through almost anything, my dear. Now I have to know.”
She muttered, “I don’t know who’s worse—you or her.”
“Hmm, why do you say that?”
Looking at him, she frowned. “You’re human. You shouldn’t have heard that.”
“I may be older than you, but I’m not deaf.”
She eyed his ears. “You have special hearing devices for when you work with dragon-shifters, don’t you? Ones that won’t short out.”
“It’s something we’re working on. But no, I just have keen hearing. So keep that in mind for future mutterings. Aye?”
“Are you mocking me?”
He laughed. “No. But it’s getting easier and easier to figure out how to rile you up, my dear. It’s fun.”
Her inner beast spoke up. Tell him things I say and flash into your mind, and that might rile him.
As her dragon continued showing some of her sex fantasies, Iris smiled and said, “I could unsettle you.”
“Can you, now? I’m intrigued.”
She leaned over and whispered, “My dragon has some rather interesting fantasies, aye?”
“Let’s see if you can shock me or not, then.”
Her dragon laughed. This is going to be fun.
For once, I agree with you.
Then stop stalling.
“Well, let’s start with one of the tamer ones, aye? With me in control, she wants to blindfold you, tease you with a feather and my tongue before taking your cock into my mouth. Then I’d tease you, oh-so-slowly, with licks and light nibbles, until you get close. But then I’d back away and tease another part of you until you beg. Then I’d suck your dick again, pull away, and repeat until you’re sweating and all but begging.”
His voice was a little husky as he said, “I don’t beg in the bedroom, Iris.”
“That sounds like a challenge, aye?”
“One I’m going to meet, tit-for-tat, so keep that in mind, my dear.”
“You say that as if it’s a bad thing.”
He groaned, and Iris grinned. Her dragon said, I told you, he’s easy to discombobulate with the right approach.
Well, he is male, after all.
Antony said, “Iris—” but then the mobile phone Antony had given her—a secure one her clan could contact her with—vibrated.
Mentally cursing the interruption, she hit Answer, and Finn Stewart’s voice came over the line. “Iris, Zoe is missing.”
Her stomach dropped. “What?”
“She went to meet with the DDA liaison in Inverness yesterday evening but didn’t return. Cooper thought she might’ve stayed the night somewhere since it’s a long drive. However, no one has seen or heard from her since her check-in right before her meeting.”
And since Zoe checked in with her brother every day when away from the clan, to placate his worries, the silence was unusual. Alarm bells rang inside her head. “Tell me everything you know.”
“You’re with Antony Holbrook, aye? Put me on speakerphone.” She did as asked and Finn continued, “One of our Protectors, Zoe Watson, went to meet with the DDA liaison in Inverness yesterday and hasn’t been heard from since. Worse than that, no one can locate the liaison himself.”
Antony stated, “And the liaison was Jude Nickerson.”
Finn said, “Aye, and judging by the tone of your voice, there’s something you’re not telling me.”
Iris shared a glance with Antony and raised her eyebrows. How much could they share?
Antony took the lead. “Let’s just say we were on our way to meet him. We’ll be in Inverness later today and will investigate Zoe’s disappearance. For now, just tell us everything you know about your Protector’s last whereabouts and any other pertinent information.”
Once Finn had rattled off the details and said goodbye, Iris asked, “If Jude kidnapped Zoe, then why? They could’ve taken any of the rogue dragon-shifters they murdered instead, for whatever reason.”
“One thing I didn’t share about the mass dragon grave is that it only contained males and females past childbearing age.”
For a second, she tried to think of why that would be, beyond female dragons only being slightly weaker and smaller than their male counterparts. It couldn’t be for breeding reasons since the gene to shift into a dragon was dominant and always passed to the offspring, no matter which parent gave it to them.
And then she remembered something about Dr. Sid’s research. “Female dragon-shifters paired with human males tend to have more female offspring. And Dr. Sid Jackson on Stonefire recently discovered that female dragon’s blood is slightly more potent than a male’s.”
Antony nodded. “Yes, I saw the reports. Both have healing properties but female dragon’s blood makes a human heal faster. Some even think it might make the original human stronger going forward, with minute genetic shifts.”
“But wouldn’t that have been something the DDA or even the clans would’ve figured out sooner?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe, maybe not. Because of how strict the laws were until recently, mainly forbidding female dragons from mating human males, the dragon-shifter population skewed heavily male. As such, the blood given in exchange for a sacrifice has primarily been from males.”
She rubbed her forehead. “I never thought being a Protector meant having to think about biology and genetics.”
“I wish I could say everything just comes to me, but alas, no. Dr. Turner gives me bi-weekly briefings on the latest dragon-shifter research. It’s not exactly a hobby of mine, but rather something I have to know, given how much the dragon hunters are interested in dragon’s blood.” He tapped his phone’s screen and brought up a list of coded contacts. “I need to make some calls. So, sadly, my comedy routines will have to wait.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’d rather hear your jokes any day than have one of my coworkers in danger.”
“I know. And I’m going to do all that I can to find and save her, I promise.”
She glanced over at him. “Aye, I know.”
He gently patted her leg. “Now, let’s see what I can find out. I’ll have all the calls on speaker, and if you have a question, go ahead and ask it.”
“But I don’t have my special clearance yet.”
“Temporarily, for this issue, you have it. My boss can take it up with me later.”
Before she could thank Antony, he started calling people. And Iris settled down, eager to find out what she could about Zoe, Jude, and if her disappearance was connected to the murdered rogue dragons or the dragon hunters.