The Dragon Warrior (Lochguard Highland Dragons 4)

Max didn’t stop his actions. “I’m checking to see if there are any recording devices, but I don’t see any.” He faced Grant. “You should think about adding them. Imagine the wealth of knowledge you could keep for posterity. While I’ve never asked if dragon clans have official records, there should be some. And given the myriad of ways we can keep them these days, you should embrace as many forms as possible.”

Grant debated how to answer the human when Iris simply ordered, “Sit down.”

“But—”

“Now,” Iris said.

With a sigh, Max slid into one of the empty chairs on the other side of the table. He wondered if the pair had some kind of deal. If Iris had dangled something such as a flight or a visit to a remote location, it could explain Max’s behavior.

His dragon spoke up. That’s not important. The sooner we question him, the sooner he can get off our land.

You’re quite hostile today.

He always causes trouble. I don’t want any delays or we’ll never have Faye as our own.

Regardless, he has information we need.

Faye’s voice prevented his beast from replying. “I think it’s best we start with Max telling us how he found the bomb in Glasgow.”

Max rubbed his hands together. Grant only hoped it wasn’t for a long, drawn-out version. “Well, I like to explore my surroundings. Archaeology isn’t limited to items from thousands of years ago. Buildings from even a hundred years ago can have interesting finds on or around them. Even the smallest thing can tell us a lot about what happened there.” When he paused, Faye waved for Max to continue. “There were some buildings a few streets away, near the river. Did you know that

Glasgow was once an important port? I wanted to see what remnants of that time still existed, or to at least try to imagine what it looked like during its heyday. So many former ports have undergone revitalization and it makes it harder to find anything that will help picture times past, especially since it’s hard to dig at the fancy new sites.”

Grant grunted. “Get to the point.”

Max carried on as if Grant hadn’t said a word. “Poking around wasn’t easy since people were around at that time of day. However, I finally squeezed into an abandoned building that hadn’t been used in quite some time. Just as I was starting to find interesting bits laying around, I noticed the rolled-up sack toward the back, where the building faced the water. It looked new and more than a bit suspicious. From experience, I’ve learned to take dangerous looking things quite seriously, so I rang Lachlan and Iris and that’s it. They found it, carted it away, and later told me it was a bomb of some sort.”

Grant leaned forward. “My question is why were you wandering around by yourself in the first place?”

Max shrugged. “I’m good at sneaking in and out of places undetected. I like to think I was keeping Iris on her toes.”

Iris shook her head. “I was in the loo for a few minutes. Next time, I should just blindfold him and bring him with me.”

Faye jumped in again. “Cat, is there anything else you can tell us? Did you notice anyone suspicious at any of the shows or near your accommodations?”

“Not that I can remember, although I’m not the most observant of people unless I’m painting,” Cat answered. “Besides, all of the people who’d come to the exhibition previously had been nice enough. The dragon haters had been kept from entering. Security did a good job in my opinion.”

Grant looked at Iris. “Did any of the other Protectors find or notice anything?”

Iris answered, “Everyone seemed surprised at the suspicious package. My guess is that it was placed in the building before any of us arrived. The DDA security team had made it quite clear that we couldn’t enter any of the nearby buildings to ensure they weren’t threats, not even if we were given permission by the owners or residents. We did the best we could from land and air.”

Something niggled at Grant’s mind about her comment. “Did anyone in particular give that order?”

“Arjun, the head of their security team, never mentioned it. But one of his colleagues did. George Smith.”

Faye and Grant exchanged a glance before Grant said, “We need to look into him and also ask Arjun about the order. Iris, can I trust you to question Arjun whilst we look into George Smith?”

Iris nodded. “Of course. I did think it a bit odd, but sometimes the DDA staff don’t know what the others are doing. I assumed it was business as usual.”

“Aye, and it could be. But I want to be cautious,” Grant replied.

Faye spoke up. “The report never mentioned the fact the bomb was at the end of the building facing the water. Between that and the one in the loch, I think the mystery element inside the bomb might have something to do with water.”

Iris raised her brows. “Are you sure? None of us would ever set foot in the river in Glasgow. We’re all spoiled with clean, untouched lochs or rivers near our respective clans.”

Faye tilted her head. “Aye, but the Dragon Knights aren’t going to think of such a possibility. To them, we’re untrustworthy monsters, and monsters clearly don’t care about clean water.” She looked to Grant. “We should make sure that Dr. Lewis and Dr. Davies know about the water connection. It might help them narrow down the mystery ingredient.”

“Aye, as soon as we’re finished here,” he answered.