As she smiled widely, a mobile phone rang. Bram sighed. “That would be Melanie. We can talk later, lass. Once I find out information from Kai, I’ll let you know if you’re in any danger. That’ll have to be at the dinner in the great hall, provided we can find a secure place to talk.”
He moved away and pulled out from her. She turned around and he cupped her face with his warm hands. “I can’t wait to see you kitted out in dragon-shifter attire, Evie. It might just drive my dragon crazy again.”
She smiled as he placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Then he pulled away and reached for his jeans. “Hurry, lass. Once Melanie has a task, she’s determined to see it through. She’ll drag you half-naked through the community if that’s what it takes.”
Standing on the floor, she looked at Bram’s light blue eyes. “Just one question: is being your mate-to-be a secret?”
“Melanie and Samira are fine, but don’t go spreading it around yet. If there’s a traitor in the clan, I don’t want them to hurt you to get at me.”
After nodding, Evie took one last look at her future mate and headed for the bathroom, unsure of what the next few hours would bring.
*~*~*~*
End Part Two
*~*~*~*
PART THREE
Chapter One
Bram Moore-Llewellyn sat at his desk. For the last half hour, he’d discussed with Kai, his head Protector, about Evie’s theory concerning Neil Westhaven slowly killing Caitriona Belmont with dragon-shifter hormones. With the facts laid out and them both in agreement, he asked, “A theory is great, but we need proof. Has anyone formerly related to Neil done anything out of the ordinary?”
Kai tapped the fingers of his right hand against his leg for a few seconds and stopped. “Yes. I hadn’t thought anything of it at the time, but it could be relevant now. Olivia Harris left early this morning, carrying a large suitcase to the landing and take-off area before shifting and gripping the item in her talons. She had a pass to visit the clan in Wales, so the Protector on duty thought nothing of it. In retrospect, she’s visited the Welsh clan a few times over the last few months. She might be meeting with Neil.”
Olivia had once upon a time been Neil Westhaven’s female, but they separated six months before Bram had chosen a male for their next human sacrifice. He had thought assigning Neil to Caitriona would be a good way for his clan member to purge Olivia out of his system. “Find out where she went. It should be easy enough to determine if she went south to Wales or elsewhere, especially since red dragons are the rarest kind. Reach out to our contacts within the human communities to help discover her flight path.”
“Nikki has been in charge of reaching out to our human contacts. I’ll ask her to do it as soon as we’re done here.”
Bram nodded. “Good. However, I hope she’s done by this evening for the special dinner. I need someone to watch Evie if I’m called away.”
“I’ll watch the human if that happens. As much as I don’t want to go to the dinner and want to focus solely on rooting out more information, Finlay Stewart might take offense at the absence of Stonefire’s head Protector.”
At the mention of Finn’s name, his dragon growled inside his head. When will he be gone? He prevents too many things from happening. First, declaring our mate to the clan. Second, finding the threats to our future mate.
We need his alliance. He will leave tomorrow. Be patient. Will you allow Kai to watch Evie?
Yes. He knows the identity of his mate. Why he ignores her, I don’t understand.
Leave it be. It’s his choice.
With a grunt, his dragon faded to the back of his mind, allowing Bram to focus on Kai. “Thanks for offering. You’re one of the few males both me and my dragon will allow near Evie.” Kai nodded. With Evie’s safety taken care of, he moved to the next item on his list. “Right then, before I dismiss you to do your magic, there’s one more thing I want to put into motion.”
“What?”
“I want someone focused on questioning the dragon hunter we have in custody. If Olivia and Neil are leaking information, and who the hell knows what else, he may be able to confirm it. You and I have a lot on our plates already. Is there anyone amongst the Protectors you trust to handle the prisoner?”
“Zain would be a good fit. He’s a newer Protector, but his performance is nearly as good as mine.”
The corner of Bram’s lips ticked up. “I didn’t think anyone could be as good as you, not even me.”
Despite his attempt to lighten the mood, Kai’s face remained serious. “If you didn’t have all of your clan leader duties, I’m sure you’d have enough time to train and surpass me. Frankly, the amount of paperwork involved with your job makes me break out in a sweat.”
Bram full-on smiled. “It’s not so bad.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Now, tell me why you’d pick Zain, and convince me to trust him.”
“He’s dedicated, carries out even the most menial tasks I’ve assigned him without complaint, and not even my most thorough background check could find anything suspicious. Add that to his experience of working with the human intelligence collection assets division of the armed forces a few years ago, and he’s our best chance at not only finding out about the attacks, but why the dragon hunter let slip he knew Evie Marshall.”
Yes, find out why. We must protect our female. Bram sent thoughts of silence before he replied, “The dragon hunter mentioning Evie by name worried me before, but knowing Neil may be involved, worries me further. Still, as much as I want to know the connection, why should we trust Zain?”