Surrendering to the Dragon (Stonefire Dragons 5)
Page 41
Nikki’s dragon spoke up. Just tell her he is ours. Life will be simpler.
Whoa, dragon. Slow down. Rafe and I are getting along, but I still barely know him.
Then hurry up and talk to Kai. Going on a mission with Rafe will give us time to get to know him. Then you can bloody agree with me about claiming him as our mate.
At the word “mate” Nikki blinked. If it were up to you, we’d be mated already. But I need time, dragon. You know what happened with our mother. I won’t risk it.
Just don’t take too long or someone else might steal him away.
Before she could think of how to reply to that, Kai’s voice boomed down the hall. “Hurry up. I have plenty to do and can’t wait around all day.”
Grabbing Rafe’s hand, Nikki tugged him down the hallway. Since she’d been to Kai’s home office a million times before, she turned into the correct room. Kai sat at his desk, a computer in front of him. Since he rarely sat down to do anything, Nikki was glad he stood up. The last thing she needed was to be nervous or display any weakness. Kai would never let her leave then.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Kai’s eyes darted to their hands and then back to Nikki’s gaze. “Tell me what’s so important I had to interrupt my day off with my mate.”
Jane walked to Kai’s side and leaned against him. “Don’t be grumpy. She’s carrying your niece or nephew, remember.”
Nikki really wished Sid would’ve told everyone of her original plans. Even if she was currently more open to the idea of keeping her baby than before, every time someone mentioned it, it would be that much harder to tell them she was giving it up.
If we do, her dragon stated. I want to keep her.
Bloody hell, her beast was siding with Rafe now about both keeping the baby and the gender.
Ignoring her dragon, Nikki stood tall as she said to Kai, “Rafe received some important intel.”
She looked to Rafe and he continued, “Simon Bourne is looking to attack and take down Clan Glenlough.”
“The Irish clan?” Kai asked.
Rafe nodded as he retrieved a flash drive from his pocket. “I have a man undercover and through sheer luck, he was able to stash a listening device on one of those invited to the meeting. I have the recording for you here.” He held out the drive and Kai took it. “It seems the alliance between Stonefire and Lochguard has been noticed. Bourne is thinking twice about our clans and switching his focus to ones perceived as easier targets.”
“So,” Nikki jumped in, “he wants to attack Glenlough. As far as we know, they don’t have any alliances with the other two clans in Ireland. That makes them a much easier target.”
Kai looked at Nikki to Rafe and back again. “And? You’re still keeping something from me.”
Rafe answered, “Bram’s brother, Bennett, is currently staying with Glenlough because of his mate’s mother. Through him, we can reach out to Killian. Nikki and I want to be the ones to lead this operation.”
Kai raised his brows. “What about Simon Bourne? That’s the entire reason you’re allowed to stay here, Hartley.”
“Not true,” Rafe answered. “My orders are to make Bourne a priority, but also to help take down the dragon hunters in general. This falls under that purview. It may even persuade the DDA and army to give me more time to capture Bourne.”
Kai’s gaze moved to Nikki. “Are you even fit to do this?”
Squaring her shoulders, Nikki raised her chin. “By the time everything is in place and we leave, both Rafe and I will be rested and ready for duty.”
“You may not feel the same in a few weeks time,” Kai pointed out.
She growled out, “I’ve completed missions with fevers, sprained ankles, and even a broken finger. Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t
mean I’ll break.”
Kai moved to meet Rafe’s eyes. “Do you approve of this?”
Nikki took a step forward, but Rafe squeezed her hand still in his. “Of course. Nikki is one of the best Protectors on Stonefire.”
Her dragon chimed in. See? He keeps his vow. We should keep him.
We’ll see how he does in the field before drawing any concrete conclusions.