Darkest Flame (8 page)

“I got the feeling Matt was expecting something to come out.” She closed her eyes and thought back to the cave. Denae had been intent on staying alive, but her training and her photographic memory let her catch every detail. “The way he said I was bait. It’s almost as if…”

Her eyes flew open as a thread of disquiet wound through her.

“As if what?” Kellan pushed.

“As if Matt was expecting an animal. He wanted me bloodied, hurt so that I couldn’t escape or move. The only reason for that would be if there was some kind of being and he wanted to get its attention.”

Kellan looked away, a muscle in his jaw jumping as he clenched his teeth. “What was Matt’s plan when this ‘thing’ he was trying to see arrived?”

“I don’t know.”

“Guess,” he said tightly.

Kellan might be so damned gorgeous that she couldn’t think straight, but he was infuriating as well. She allowed herself to glare at him a second before she considered the cave and what Matt might have been waiting for, plus their gear and weapons. “I would have returned to the water. The air tanks had more than enough oxygen to make several trips back and forth.”

“Does MI5 no’ need more than just one agent’s eyewitness account?”

Denae nodded slowly and leaned against the wooden footboard of the bed. “They would’ve wanted definitive proof. Matt must have had some sort of device on him to take a picture or recording.”

“And you expect me to believe you had no idea what you came to Dreagan for?”

“I’m cooperating, but no, I don’t have any proof that would tell you I was the one who was betrayed. They wanted me dead. I was expendable, dispensable. The UK might not be my country, but I took an oath to protect it.”

“MI5, however, didna take an oath to protect you, did they?”

How she hated that he was right. “No. I could say the same of any intelligence agency in any country. I knew if I was ever caught during a mission that I was on my own. This was different. I was set up, my own people turning on me.”

“It’s no’ a good feeling, is it?”

The way he said it, the fury-laced words and bone-deep resentment told her that something similar had been done to him. “The feeling is enough to change someone forever,” she said and watched him closely.

“More than you know,” he murmured before he took a deep breath. “What else can you tell me about what MI5 knew concerning Dreagan?”

At that moment, Rhys returned, smiling. “I got you some clothes. Cassie pointed out that you might not want anything too constricting near your injury, so she gave me some of these.”

Denae watched as Rhys held up a pair of black yoga pants. “Those will do nicely. Thank you, Rhys.”

“My pleasure.” He handed her the clothes with a wink.

She laughed at his flirting, because she knew it was harmless. Rhys was one of those guys who would flirt with any woman up to the time he found one who captured his heart—if he ever allowed that to happen.

At Kellan’s odd look, Denae slowly made her way into the bathroom to change. She was elated to find a cami that had a built-in bra. Denae stripped out of her bottoms first.

Whoever had undressed her had removed her wetsuit and bathing suit she’d worn beneath, and then put her in a pair of bright pink cotton panties.

Denae turned on the sink faucets and grabbed a washcloth. She might not be able to get her stitches wet in the shower, but she was going to bathe.

“Need some help?” Rhys asked her through the door.

“Bugger off,” Kellan said. “We were talking.”

Their words became muted, and even when she turned off the water she still couldn’t hear them. A moment later she heard Rhys leave the room.

Denae found the soap and began to bathe as best she could. “This place holds many secrets,” she said, raising her voice so Kellan could hear her.

“Every place holds secrets.”

She thought of the beach house her family owned, of that terrible day years ago, and knew he was right. “Will Con really let me go? Or will he turn me over to MI5?”

“MI5 came after us,” Kellan said, his voice hard and unforgiving. “As long as you hold up your end of the bargain, we’ll keep ours.”

“There’s a catch,” she said as she dried off and began to dress. When she was finished, she opened the bathroom door to find Kellan sitting in his usual chair. “There’s always a catch.”

“And what do you think the catch is this time?”

“I don’t know yet. There is something about Dreagan I can’t put my finger on. It’s a beautiful place with secrets, although, as you pointed out, there are many of those. There is still something different about this place. And you.”

Kellan ran a hand through his long hair and shrugged. “We make whisky and raise sheep and cattle. No’ anything to worry MI5 about.”

“You were in the cave.” The realization hit her out of the blue. How could she have forgotten that he’d said she was in his cave?

One caramel eyebrow lifted. “I’ve said it was my cave.”

“But you were in it. How else would you know I was there?”

“It was luck that had me walking those caves and finding you. That is all.”

Denae sank onto the chair near the bed and pulled her hair over one shoulder to braid it. She had thought another piece of the puzzle had been found, but Kellan had a believable answer to every question or statement she had.

“What would happen if both you and Matt had died and I hadna found you?”

“I suppose MI5 would have sent another team in, but more likely several teams. They would’ve guessed that whatever we’d been sent here to find had killed us.”

“So you admit to being sent to find something?” he pressed.

Denae rolled her eyes as she finished her braid and tied it off. “For the third time, yes. I don’t know what it was however.”

“Did you no’ have communication with MI5?”

“No. We were going in blind. MI5 didn’t want anything traced back to them.”

Kellan gave her a sardonic look. “And two agents wouldna lead us back to them?”

“We had nothing on us to suggest we worked for MI5. We could have been anyone. The only reason you know who we worked for is because I told you. MI5 has spies everywhere. You might think you’re keeping me hidden, but I can guarantee they know I’m alive.”

He sat forward, his gaze fixed, direct. “And we’ve guaranteed your safety as long as you cooperate.”

“Which is what I’m doing,” she said, exasperated. It was hard to stay irked when Denae didn’t know if Kellan’s anger was directed at her or something else.

He made sure to keep his distance from her. If she got too close, he would move away. It was subtle, but obvious.

“You said MI5 had a file on Dreagan,” Kellan said, putting the conversation back on track. “What was in it?”

“Next to nothing. There were maybe twenty pages, tops.”

“Anyone’s picture? Any names?”

“Con’s. His name, but not a picture. There was a picture of a woman with blond hair and green eyes. It said she worked for PureGems both in the US and UK.”

Kellan’s chin dropped to his chest. “That would be Elena. She’s now married to Guy and living here. What else did they say about her?”

“They had a question mark by her name.”

His head lifted, and the grim set of his features said that her words weren’t what he wanted to hear. “A question mark? Why?”

“It could mean anything. For instance, it could be that they don’t know if she’s alive or dead, or if she’s still in the country or not.”

“Or if she’s a part of whatever is going on at Dreagan, aye?”

Denae clasped her hands in front of her. “That is another possibility.”

“Any other names or pictures in the file?”

“No, which is what really struck me as odd and very unlike MI5. When I questioned it, I was quickly put in my place and told my job was to complete the mission I was given.”

Kellan rose to face the window, putting his back to her. The tan pullover he wore was just as fitted as the shirt from the previous day, and just as before, he looked uncomfortable in it. Though he didn’t shift his shoulders as much.

Denae scooted back in the chair. “I wasn’t given long to look at the file, but from what I could see, it was mostly pictures of Dreagan taken from a satellite.”

“What did the pictures show?” he asked as he turned his head in profile to her.

“All of Dreagan. In every season. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to me, but I did notice some of the mountains were marked as well as certain spots. Your cave was one of those.”

When he didn’t reply, she pushed her braid from her shoulder. Kellan stood as still as a statue. He was troubled by what she had divulged, the emotion evident in his gaze and rugged features.

“I can tell you some ways they’ll come at y’all,” she said. “Come at you,” she corrected. “But I need something in return.”

“You’re alive,” he bit out, turning his head slightly to the side. “We’re keeping you alive. That should be enough.”

It was more than anyone else would give her, but it still wasn’t enough. “Will you give me proof that I’ll leave here alive and with a new identity?”

“I could, but it might be a lie.”

“I know.”

He slowly turned to face her, his brow furrowed in a frown. “You would trust me?”

“As much as anyone in my position can. I don’t fully trust you, just as you don’t really trust me. You hold my life in your hands. I’m at your mercy.”

“Con has given his word. That is all the proof you need.”

Denae knew by the set of Kellan’s jaw that she wouldn’t get any more from him. It was a gamble she was taking in telling them everything she knew. They could easily kill her and dump her body, claiming neither she nor Matt ever made it to the cave.

Or they could get her a new identity and help her get out of the country to live as normal a life as anyone could on the run.

“I shouldn’t tell you,” she said. “I took an oath that I take very seriously.”

Kellan leaned one shoulder against the wall. “They used you.”

“Just as you’re doing.”

“Aye, lass, but we willna be trying to kill you when it’s all finished.”

Denae couldn’t believe how far she had tumbled from her path. “I know I shouldn’t tell you, but for some reason I can’t even begin to explain, I want to.”

And she did. Was it Dreagan? Was it Kellan?

Either way, she wanted to help them because she liked Dreagan, with its beauty and mysterious secrets. And because of Kellan.

Despite trying, she was fascinated by his chilly green gaze, enticed by his wide lips, and lured in by his hard body.

It was a hell of a position to be in, but somehow she knew that it wasn’t just chance that Kellan had found her in his cave or that he was the one questioning her.

Their paths would continue into the future. Denae just didn’t know for how long.

CHAPTER NINE

Kellan was about ready to rip off Denae’s oversized shirt with its wide collar that kept hanging off one shoulder, giving him a tantalizing view of her supple skin.

He remained against the wall while he kept a tight leash on the desire raging out of control, its burn singeing him from the inside out. Damn, but why did Denae have to be so tempting?

“If you would rather I get Con so you can tell him, I will.” Kellan prayed she took him up on his offer so he could have a few minutes alone to get ahold of himself.

Her head cocked to the side, and the long braid fell over her bare shoulder. It was almost too much. Kellan bit back a groan before it passed his lips.

Instead of rebuking him, she set about telling him all the different ways MI5 could be—and would be—watching Dreagan. Once she finished with that, she went on to explain how MI5 could infiltrate Dreagan without any of them knowing it.

By the time she was through, Kellan had even more reasons to hate humans. He pushed away from the wall and opened the door. When he spotted Con standing in the hallway, Kellan knew Constantine had heard everything.

Con gave him a nod before he walked into the room. “It’s time.”

Kellan glanced at Denae before he turned to Con. Alarm sizzled along his skin. He gave a firm shake of his head. “I doona think that’s a good idea.”

“It’s only fair. She has, after all, shared her secret. Even before she’s known ours.”

Kellan wasn’t sure what bothered him the most. That they were going to tell—as well as show—Denae what they were, or that right before they released her, Guy was going to wipe her memories of anything to do with Dreagan.

She would forget him, forget that her eyes would track him around the room and look at him as if he held the answers to everything.

But he would never forget the heat of her gaze or the pure seduction that she exhibited.

“I don’t want to know,” Denae was quick to say.

Kellan looked to the chair where she sat. She was stoic, but he sensed the thread of fear running through her. It was due to her training that she realized what kind of position she was in.

“If you tell me, you’ll kill me,” she told Con. “I don’t want to know. I don’t want to see. I don’t want to hear.”

Con merely smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Come, Miss Lacroix. Do you really believe we’ll harm you?”

“Without a doubt. You’ve gone to a great deal of trouble to keep your identities secret.”

Constantine opened the door all the way. “We willna kill you. There are other methods. I’ve a gift, something that will prove we keep our word.”

Kellan took a step toward Denae, not sure if it was to help her or Con. Con’s curious look stopped him in his tracks. What the hell was wrong with him? Surely he hadn’t been about to step between Con and Denae to protect her? The thought shook him to his core.

He hated humans, even beautiful ones.

Whisky eyes lifted to his, and Kellan gave her a nod of encouragement. It’s all he would give her. He couldn’t chance getting any closer. She had no idea how a boxy shirt that kept one shoulder bared set his blood afire.

“Show me your wound,” Con bade her.

Once more Denae glanced at Kellan before she did as Con asked, lifting the cami and oversized shirts together so the square of gauze could be seen.