Page 14

Chapter Fourteen

B y the time they reached Inverness, Antony had mostly gotten his anger under control.

Of all the bloody people who could’ve betrayed him, Jude would’ve been the last person on his list. He’d been so certain the man was trustworthy, and even with his souring mood after being moved to a desk job, Antony never would’ve suspected he would turn traitor.

And yet, by all accounts, he had.

The man was gone, had vanished without a trace, and techs at the Inverness DDA office were still assessing how much Jude had downloaded from the restricted servers.

Things were bad, really bad. And after all the praise and recommendations to promote Jude, Antony felt partially responsible, and knew he had to find the man as soon as possible.

As he and Iris walked into the nondescript house his team used occasionally in the city, he put up a hand, signaling Iris to wait, and went inside to do a check. After ensuring no one had entered since his last visit and that the place was free of any bugs or tampered equipment, he motioned for Iris to enter. Only once she locked the door did he say, “We need to change, quickly, or we’ll be late for our meeting.”

She raised a dark eyebrow. “Can you finally tell me who it’s with?”

“An informant. One embedded deep inside the dragon hunters in Scotland. However, because he’s so involved, he rarely meets with anyone from my team. But after finding so many dead dragon-shifters, it’s worth the risk to see him.”

“Are you sure it’s wise to have me tag along? If he’s seen with a dragon-shifter, they’ll probably question, or even torture and kill, him.”

“You won’t be anywhere near me, so it should be fine. And I need you in my ear, in case there’s a question I haven’t thought of. I know a lot about dragon affairs in the UK, but not as much as you.” He nodded toward the bag on the sofa. “Those should make you look like any other human in town. Inside are the special earpiece, as well as the microphone to place on the top of your back tooth. Now, hurry. We only have about ten minutes before we have to leave.”

Iris rolled her eyes. “I’m not the type to take two hours to get ready.”

She grabbed the bag, and Antony headed into the bedroom.

Iris had been brilliant and indispensable on the drive up to Inverness. She didn’t interject during a call unless it was necessary, and always had a good point to bring up. He wished she could teach that skill to a few other people he knew.

And when the calls had ended and Antony had needed some silence to ponder and gather his thoughts, it hadn’t felt strange or awkward. No, it’d been…nice. Comfortable. Almost as if they’d known each other forever.

The more time he spent with Iris, the more he wanted to finish this blasted mission to know her better. Woo her, kiss her, and show her other ways they fit together outside of work.

Push it aside for now and use it as a type of motivation.

Once he finished dressing and attaching his undetectable gadgets—including the soccer scarf to pretend he was supporting a team playing tonight—he walked into the living room and did a double-take.

When he’d asked one of his staff to get Iris some clothes for a regular Saturday night out, he’d expected jeans and a sweater.

However, Iris wore a dark blue dress that hugged across her breasts, to her trim waist, and down her long legs. The deep color made her skin glow. And since her hair was in a messy bun atop her head, he wanted nothing more than to nuzzle her neck and see if she smelled as good as she looked.

Iris crossed her arms over her chest. “Whoever picked this outfit must never work in the field. It’s so impractical.”

He smiled. “Yes, I agree. But there’s nothing else here. Besides, think of it this way—it’s a better form of camouflage. Anyone who knows you would never look twice at a beautiful woman in a dress, right?”

“You don’t have to lay it on thick. But I’m warning you—if I need to pursue someone, I won’t hesitate to rip the skirt off, aye?”

He walked over, took her hand, and kissed the back of it. Only once she met his gaze did he murmur, “You are beautiful, Iris. In a dress, in tactical gear, or naked, I would guess, too. Don’t dismiss your charms.”

For a few beats, she searched his gaze. The uncertainty made him want to find the bastard who’d dented her confidence.

Oh, Iris could charge into any mission or assignment without hesitation. However, there was more to a person than just their job, and Antony silently vowed to tell her how gorgeous she was until she truly believed it.

Reluctantly, he released her hand. As much as he wanted to devote the night to that goal, he couldn’t miss this meeting. He said, “I will come back to this, I promise. For now, let’s go. We have to get to the pub and make sure everything is ready for the meeting.”

And as she walked ahead of him out the door, he swore she swished her skirt and exaggerated the sway of her hips on purpose. Thankfully, once he waited for her to go onto the street, she resumed her normal walk. Good. He didn’t want any competition later.

Once enough time had passed, Antony headed out and toward the old pub, doing his best to clear his head along the way. The informant was risking everything to meet him, and he couldn’t fuck it up.

Iris fucking hated dresses. She usually only wore them for special occasions, when traditional dragon-shifter clothes were required.

However, when Antony had come out of the bedroom and looked at her as if he wanted to eat up every inch, she’d started to wonder if she’d underestimated the power of dresses. Because if it could make Antony Holbrook, who she thought might be one of the most powerful men in the country—albeit behind closed doors—speechless and his jaw drop, she imagined it could work well in enemy situations, too.

Although she doubted she’d shiver at a stranger’s gaze. No, she’d probably want to knee them in the bollocks.

And yet, when Antony had given her a slow once-over, her skin had heated, and she’d barely restrained herself from teasing him by lifting her skirt a few inches. Would his incredible control have snapped? Would he have calmly wooed her into more?

Not for the first time, she admitted she wanted to know Antony better. Much better.

However, as she stood behind Antony’s nameless technician in a little flat across the street from an old pub, she willed herself to focus. Antony was counting on her to be ready, if he needed her knowledge or help.

Her dragon snorted. If you had jumped him yesterday, then you wouldn’t be so randy now.

With everything going on, you’re still focused on sex?

Aye. It’s been a while.

Iris ignored her beast to focus on the screen. Antony wore a hidden camera in the button of his shirt, and he’d entered the pub. He moved through a crowd of people toward the bar. After ordering a pint, he sat in a corner booth and chatted with some passing people.

Well, two females, to be exact.

A shot of jealousy roared through her, and her dragon spoke up. Yes, he’s ours. Just admit it.

Not now, dragon. I need to help him.

Her beast harrumphed. Fine. But later, don’t run away from him if he flirts. Embrace it.

She ignored her beast since the latest female had left and a male wearing builder’s clothes—the sweatshirt had the company name, and his trousers and boots were well worn—motioned toward the empty space across from Antony. “Any fan of the Spurs here is a friend of mine. We should stick together.”

Ah, so that’s why Antony had worn a Tottenham Spurs scarf in Inverness, whose team was the Caledonian Thistle F.C.

They chatted about football for a bit before the match started and the attention in the pub shifted to the TVs. It was then that Antony and the other male started talking in quiet tones.

But his microphone was excellent, so Iris heard everything.

Antony asked, “Any luck landing that job you wanted?”

During the drive to Inverness, Antony had explained some of their code. He was asking if the male had discovered any of the dragon hunter prisons or research facilities. While Clan Stonefire’s head Protector, Kai, had found a few, they’d been smaller. Antony suspected there were larger ones, maybe inside abandoned properties or mines.

The male replied, “I think so. But Birkwood Castle is a bit far from Inverness, so I’ll have to check with my girlfriend to see if I can take it or not.”

Iris racked her brain for the place. She’d heard the name somewhere…then remembered about the abandoned manor house that had been bought to turn into a hotel, given up, bought again, and currently sat empty. And was supposedly haunted.

But maybe it was a ruse—being supposedly haunted could be a brilliant tactic to keep others away.

Iris wanted to race out of the room to head south—Birkwood Castle was in Scotland, but south of Glasgow—and check it out. But Antony’s next words kept her in place. “What renovations do they want to do? If it pays well, it might be worth it.”

“Aye, well, they want to turn it into a fancy retreat facility, last I heard. Quite the change going from a mental hospital for decades to a fancy retreat.”

“Retreat for what?”

“Pregnant mothers.”

The human sipped his pint, and Iris wondered if it was really that simple. Maybe the female dragons were there, already being used for breeding, and anger rushed through her. While she couldn’t understand anyone hating humans enough to abandon their clans, she’d seen reports about what Stonefire and even Snowridge had discovered in some of the previous research facilities. About how the Dragon Knights had forced pregnancies on the female dragon-shifters.

No one deserved that, but especially not Zoe. Not her clan member.

Antony and the human male cheered at something in the game and then went on to talk about players and World Cups and other things two blokes in a pub would discuss.

Even though she kept an ear out in case Antony might need her help, they never talked about anything but sports after that.

She shouldn’t feel useless, and yet she did. Not wanting to waste time, she asked the tech to bring up everything he could about Birkwood Castle. Because as soon as Antony left the pub, they were going to return to the house to discuss strategy and leave as soon as possible to investigate their new lead.

By the time Antony could leave the pub without attracting notice—the end of the bloody match—he was itching to dash back to his secure flat. The informant hadn’t said much after mentioning Birkwood Castle, but there had been little drips here and there, if one knew the code.

He suspected some of the missing female dragons might be at the old manor house. However, they wouldn’t be in the building itself, which was derelict, but rather underneath it.

And since the dragon hunters had once inhabited an extensive network of tunnels, back before the Dragon Knights had started taking the spotlight off the hunters, it was entirely plausible they were using them again. Or maybe had never fully abandoned them.

So many flies to swat down, and Antony never seemed to have enough resources.

By the time he reached the safe house, he noticed the lights were on. But as agreed, one side of the curtains was open on the first floor and the curtains in the window below were open on the other side. The signal that Iris was there.

Regardless, Antony was still careful about approaching the back door and entering. Once he’d locked the door, he silently crept up the stairs and into the flat until he could see Iris staring down at a map. He knocked against the door trim, and she glanced over. Her hair was still up, but she’d changed to jeans and a T-shirt. Ones that hugged her arse and hips in a lovely way.

But even though he wanted to smile, charm, and kiss her, he forced himself to stride over and ask, “What more did you find out?”

For a second, relief flashed in her eyes. As if she’d been unsure of how he’d act now.

Resisting the urge to curse anyone who’d made her feel lesser, he focused on her reply as she tapped the map. “The small town of Lesmahagow is near Birkwood Castle, but not too close. The town to the northeast and the golf course to the south of the castle are our two biggest obstacles. I would’ve researched more about security and any videos online about the place, but there’s no internet in here.”

“No, it’s a security precaution. Whilst my team relies a lot on technology, there are a lot of pitfalls. Regardless, my tech guy has already contacted a trusted few under me, and we should know more by tomorrow morning.”

Iris stood. “We should leave now and find somewhere to stay closer to Birkwood. That way, we can act quicker once we have enough information.”

“Ah, I think not, my dear. It’s better to remain here, investigating what else we can find out about Jude and even Zoe’s disappearance, before rushing into things. Kai and Trina have already been reassigned to scout the area, and since Kai has some experience with finding dragon hunter tunnels, I thought it best to send him out ahead.”

“And us? Why do we need to stay here? Surely you have some staff who could investigate Jude.”

He risked tracing her cheek, oh-so-slowly. Her breath hitched as her pupils flashed to slits and back, and he smiled. “We both need some rest. Besides, staying in one place for a day or two has its benefits.”

Antony continued caressing her cheek, wanting more, much more, but not wanting to push Iris too far.

Eventually she replied, “Just rest, aye?”

“If that’s all you want.”

She bit her bottom lip, and his gaze shot to her mouth. Damn, he wanted to take that bottom lip between his teeth and tug.

Iris stepped back, turned around, and braced her hands on the table. For a beat, then another, she said nothing. But Antony was patient, so he stayed in place.

Her voice was lower when she said, “I can’t risk it.”

“Risk what?”

“Losing focus. Or my spot for this assignment.”

“Your spot is ensured, even if you need to work with one of my colleagues instead of me. I can even call my brother to work with you instead, since investigating old ruins is sort of his specialty anyway.”

She shook her head, but didn’t turn around. “No, it’s not that. As you mentioned, I’m good at my job and you wouldn’t want to kick me off of this.” She glanced at him. “And that is why I can’t risk anything with you. I can’t have any distractions.”

He dared a step and sighed inwardly with relief when Iris didn’t bolt. “I think it’s more than that.”

Her eyebrows drew together. “What are you blathering about now?”

“It’s not blather, my dear. And I understand—you’re afraid. But so am I. The last time I let anyone close, it ended in disaster. And yet, you’re brilliant and beautiful and you understand what I’ve done the past twenty years, of what I’ve had to sacrifice, more than most.” He took another step closer. “It’s because of how wonderful you are that I’m willing to take a chance, Iris.” He leaned his face a few inches closer, inhaling her sweet scent of jasmine and pure woman. “Are you willing to do the same?”

And so he waited to see how Iris responded. Even if she ran, he wasn’t going to give up that easily. For the first time in a long time, there was a future he wanted. And as long as he thought Iris wanted it too, he would go after it.