The Dragon Warrior (Lochguard Highland Dragons 4)

Oh, just shut it. Your fake nonchalance is exhausting.

Before her beast could protest, Faye constructed a complex mental maze and tossed her dragon inside.

Without her dragon nattering on about how much she didn’t care if they slept with Grant or not—which was complete bollocks—she was calm enough to stop tapping.

Grant noticed the cessation and whispered into her ear, “Thinking of me again, are you, lass?”

Finn’s commanding tone prevented Faye’s reply. “Can you two focus for a bit, aye? I don’t need Bram teasing me about my randy Protectors for the next ten years.”

Bram’s voice filled the room. “Now, that sounds like a good idea.”

Finn rarely displayed how tired he wa

s, but the circles under his eyes told Faye his nights were anything but peaceful with three newborns. Faye spoke up. “If you annoy Finn right now, that will also annoy Ara. She already has her hands full keeping three children fed and changed. You don’t want to make it worse, aye?”

Bram’s playful tone was replaced with a worried one. “Is she all right? Tristan and Melanie should be there in the next few days, once all this planning is finished and the area is deemed safe again by the DDA. And even so, shouldn’t Finn’s family be helping?”

“They are bloody helping,” Finn growled. “How about we focus on the reason for this meeting so I can get back to my mate and bairns?”

Faye had observed many video conferences between Finn and Bram. The Stonefire leader rarely gave up so easily, but understanding flashed in his eyes. After all, Bram had a daughter less than a year old. The Stonefire leader’s voice filled the room again. “Snowridge is still debating whether they’ll help or not. As for Glenlough in Ireland, they have agreed to participate provided we help them in return.”

“We as in both of us or we as in Stonefire?”

“Stonefire. I’m going to send Aaron Caruso there in a month or two, while Kai keeps an eye over things here and tries to convince Snowridge to help.” Kai was Stonefire’s head Protector, and Aaron was his second. “Have you any luck with Northcastle in Northern Ireland?”

Finn sighed. “Not much. They’ve received word we’re inviting Glenlough, too, and that cooled relations right quick.”

Faye spoke up. “However, I sensed that Adrian, their second-in-command, might send someone of his own undercover to gather more information. If we can somehow heal the rift between the clans on the isle of Ireland, then we can increase our list of allies.”

Bram replied, “Aye, it’s on the list of things to do. But it won’t help in this instance.”

“Let us know what we can do to assist,” Finn said. “Since the traitors are originally from here, they won’t take any new Lochguard members. It’ll also draw suspicion. As much as it pains me to say it, we’re counting on Stonefire.”

“I like that you’ll be owing me a favor, Finn.”

“Aye, aye, I know. You can rub it in later. When will you start?” Finn asked.

“In the coming weeks. Aaron has an American cousin who is going to make the crossing and attempt it first. However, I have my best surveillance keeping tabs on the traitors we’ve found so far. You’ll hear the instant any of them move in your direction.” Finn nodded and Bram continued, “What about the Dragon Knights? I can’t have bombs going off and hurting Ara. She’ll always be part of Stonefire, regardless of who her mate is.”

Finn didn’t rise to the barb. “I’m still waiting for your doctors to identify the mysterious ingredients. Otherwise, the DDA is keeping as close of a watch on the surroundings as we are. There are a few new techno gadgets around the forest and the clan to alert us to possible dangers.”

Faye jumped in. “We’re also looking into the incident in Glasgow. It could be that the Knights have cooled off for a bit up here and are focusing on other parts of Scotland, which aren’t being as closely watched as Lochguard.”

“Still no word on why they placed the bomb in the lake?” Bram asked.

Faye answered, “No. If the DDA hadn’t taken away our prisoners, we might’ve found out more. But they refused to allow them to remain here any longer and it makes me wonder if they know something we don’t. Can your mate see if she can find out anything?”

Bram’s mate, Evie, was a former DDA inspector. “Ever since the new DDA director has taken office, a few of Evie’s old colleagues have returned to their former posts. I’ll see what she can find out, although I can’t guarantee anything.”

“Aye,” Finn said. “But it’s better than nothing. If things ever bloody calm down, we should request a proper meeting with the DDA director. Maybe then we can sort out a few things.”

“Agreed. If there’s nothing else, I’ll let you get back to Ara,” Bram replied.

“You’ll hear from me soon enough,” Finn said. “And Ara threatened to cut off my balls if I didn’t invite you to the dedication and tattoo presentation ceremony in a few weeks.”

“I want to be there. We’ll see if I can manage it. Say hi to Ara for me.”

Once Finn nodded, the screen went blank. Faye’s cousin moved his gaze to Faye and Grant. “If you can sort out the questioning of Cat and Iris, I’d greatly appreciate it.”