Hot Blooded (17 page)

 

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

Lily.

Rhys remained as still as he could as the agony pulsed through him in immeasurable waves, threatening to swallow him whole. He searched his mind for anything that he could focus on. First it was a memory of flying with a group of Yellows, but that didn't help for long. The second was fighting against the Dark, which didn't help at all.

An image of Lily popped into his mind that he quickly moved past, and then instantly went back to her. She was smiling, her eyes so dark they were almost black.

Rhys focused on Lily, on her jet black hair that fell like a curtain down her back. She was shy and wary, but had more courage and spirit than he could remember seeing in a mortal.

Anytime he was with her, the world slowed and he remembered the Dragon King he had wanted to be. He loved listening to her voice and how when she got excited her words came faster and her eyes twinkled with merriment.

Women looked at him with eagerness—for his money or his body—but never for anything else. Part of it was his fault because of the women he hung around. He would admit it only to himself, but he went to the gift shop as often as he did simply to get a glimpse of Lily. She was a good soul who could change his day with her smile. Her quiet nature was what first drew his attention to the remarkable beauty that she was.

Even with the oversized, ugly clothes she wore, there was no missing the gorgeousness. She was the antithesis of the women he flocked to, and yet he desired her more than he had any other.

It was too bad he would never do anything about it.

Rhys sighed. Lily was untarnished, a boon in an otherwise gray world. He wouldn't sully her by dragging her into their fucked-up world. He cared too deeply to have her mixed up with evil. As it was, she was already in danger by being affiliated with Dreagan.

He should have Con fire her.

Then who would be there to calm the raging inside you?

That was true. Rhys couldn't let her go. Not yet at least. The power of Lily Ross was evident as he belatedly realized the pain had ceased. Rhys cringed as he was bombarded with yelling from his brethren's voices in his head. He opened his eyes to see Con standing next to him in dragon form with a scowl.

“
About time,
” Con stated coolly.

But Rhys wasn't fooled. The King of Kings had been worried if the frown dimpling his gold scales said anything. Rhys got to his feet and felt better than he had in weeks. “
I'm all right now.
”

Laith gave a loud snort as he circled above them as he blended in with the night sky. “
That's why you bellowed? Why you fainted?
”

“
I didna faint,
” Rhys said, affronted. He glanced around at all the other Kings either flying overhead or surrounding him. “
I was merely concentrating.
”

Con open his gold wings halfway, then snapped them shut. “
Everyone get back to your posts. I'd like a word with Rhys. Alone.
”

So not what Rhys wanted. He closed his mind to all but Con so no one else could hear their conversation. “
I'm really all right. I'm no' lying this time. I feel … great.
”

“
Like Laith, I heard you all the way in…”

He trailed off, but Rhys wasn't going to let him off that easy. “
Where, Con? Where did you disappear to this time?
”

“
It's no' relevant. The fact is, you're no' well.
”

“
I was no', you're right, but I am now. I was in severe pain when I shifted. That's what you heard, but it passed. All of the pain—and I mean all of it—is gone.
”

Con's frown didn't disappear. “
That doesna ease my worry, Rhys. Something is off.
”

“
Something was, but it's all corrected itself now. Go worry about something else like Iona learning her father was murdered.
”

The only indication that his words irritated Con was the flick of Con's long gold tail before he leapt into the sky and flew to the manor that was partially built into the mountain.

Rhys followed Con into the air and twirled around, feeling his old self once more. It was a relief, because Rhys had begun to think the dragon magic used on him had damaged him somehow. Now he knew he worried for naught.

Everything was right as rain.

*   *   *

Iona checked her mobile for the time, and flinched when the phone lit up the area around her. She hastily turned it off and stifled a yawn. For four hours she had been looking at the sky hoping to see something.

It began on the porch at the back of the cottage, but the trees prevented her from seeing much of the sky. Iona then trekked two miles to a clearing, but still that didn't help. Then she went to the waterfall where she spread a blanket and lay back to stare at the stars winking down at her.

Her eyes were growing heavy, and all she managed to see was a shooting star. She decided to call it a night since she had to be at the bank first thing in the morning to sign the papers.

Iona climbed to her feet and folded the blanket. She let her hand skim over the Taser in her pocket, hidden by her jacket. Having a weapon helped to ease her somewhat, but since someone had gone to extreme measures to kill her father, she knew they could do the same to her.

She shut off the flashlight before she reached the cottage and stopped to look around and see if anything was amiss. When she didn't notice anything, she slowly walked toward the house.

All the lights were out, and she wished she had left some on. Her thought was to let anyone watching her believe she was asleep, but she hated to walk into a dark house. More so now than ever.

As soon as Iona was inside, she flicked on the lights in the kitchen. She then pulled the Taser out and had it at the ready as she walked from room to room checking the windows and locks.

With a sigh, she undressed and pulled on her nightshirt before climbing into bed. The sun would be up in less than two hours, but she still left every light in the house on.

When the alarm went off a few hours later, Iona reached blindly over, attempting to hit snooze, and only managed to knock it off the table. She blew out her cheeks in frustration and flung off the covers to get out of bed and shut off the annoying alarm.

“Well, I'm up now,” she grumbled to herself.

Iona shuffled into the kitchen bleary-eyed and was grateful the coffee was already ready and waiting. She poured a cup and turned to the counter where her purse sat with a corner of the envelope sticking out.

Her heart missed a beat, because she knew the letter had been fully inside her purse. Several seconds went by as she tried to calm herself. It took a while, but finally she was able to breathe calmly. With as many times as she read the letter the day before, taking it in and out of the envelope, she could have moved it and simply forgotten.

The doors were locked when she returned last night, as were all the windows. No one had been in the house. Of that she was sure. She was just overly jumpy.

Iona took her coffee into the bathroom as she turned on the shower to heat the water. She had a long day ahead of her, and she planned to stop by the pub in the hopes of seeing Laith. She took one last sip of coffee and took off her nightshirt before stepping into the shower.

*   *   *

He tossed the blonde her clothes and pointed to the door as the phone rang a second time. Ignoring her pout and stomping as she left the room, he walked to the table where his mobile phones were lined up and grabbed the one lighting up.

“Tell me you have good news,” he stated.

“Aye, sir,” the mercenary stated in his Australian accent. “I followed her last night, and then broke into her house early this morning.”

“And?” he urged impatiently.

“She stared at the sky most of the night,” came the reply.

Now wasn't that interesting? “Did she see anything?”

“There was nothing to see.”

If only the stupid mortals knew what dangers lurked so close to them, they wouldn't be so confident of their abilities. “So you think she was just stargazing?”

“It appears as if she were looking for something.”

“Did you find the letter?”

“I did. I took a photo of it. You should already have it in your e-mail.”

“And everything went back just the way it was so she didn't have any idea you were in the house?”

“Of course. I'm very good at what I do,” the mercenary declared.

“With as much as I'm paying you, you better be. As I told you, the other team is already dead after having been discovered by Dreagan. You're on your own. Doona…” He paused and cleared his throat. “Don't screw this up.”

“You have my word.”

“I want you to check in every six hours from now on. Follow Iona Campbell everywhere.”

The mercenary was silent for a moment. “She's getting ready to head into town.”

“Follow her
everywhere
. The toilets, to eat, shopping, or whatever else she does. I want to know who she speaks with and what the conversations are. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal,” came the clipped reply.

He ended the call and set the mobile back in place. If there was one thing he could count on with the ex-military types it was that they followed orders perfectly. The type of men he hired didn't ask questions or blink at what he told them to do. It helped that he paid them very well.

Anxious to see the letter, he pulled on his silver silk robe and walked around the desk. With one click his e-mail pulled up. He scrolled through the many messages and found the one he was looking for. He opened the message and quickly read the letter.

“Bloody hell,” he bellowed and threw an empty glass that was nearby across the room.

The letter told him nothing that could be used as proof against the Dragon Kings. And it was irrefutable proof he needed. So far his attempts to get pictures had failed by using his mercenaries, but that's what Iona was for.

He had expected John to tell Iona what it was she protected, but he should've known John wouldn't reveal such a secret in a letter that anyone could steal. With Iona's lack of knowledge, she wouldn't be watching her land as she should, thereby giving him ample opportunity to get more men on her land.

It wouldn't be long before Laith told her what it was she guarded. She would then want to see it, and that's when he would learn the exact location of the doorway. Then he could get a crew across and onto Dreagan without being detected.

It was a flawless plan.

He rose and walked into the bathroom to stare at his reflection in the mirror. For countless millennia he had watched the world change around him, unable to be who he was meant to be.

Soon the scales would tip in his direction. He smiled, his gold eyes shining with the excitement of what was about to come.

The biggest change was about to hit the Dragon Kings like a nuclear bomb. Right now they thought everything was well in their ranks, but they would learn very soon just how wrong they were.

 

CHAPTER
TWENTY

Iona signed the last of the papers and pushed them across the desk to the bank manager. The woman smiled courteously and then rose from her chair to take the documents to someone else.

The manager's sharp black pantsuit was another reminder to Iona of how lacking her own clothes were. They were perfect when she was traveling on assignment, but it made her realize how deficient her wardrobe was.

She sat back in her chair and bit her lower lip with her teeth. If she was going to keep the cottage, there was no reason she couldn't use it as her home instead of the flat in London. Which meant she could buy some clothes and keep them at the cottage.

That also meant she would need to go shopping—something that couldn't be done in the small village. It wasn't that Iona didn't like to shop, she just didn't know fashion anymore. Luckily for her she had met someone who did.

Iona pulled out her mobile and scrolled through her contacts until she came to Sammi's name. She hadn't wanted to exchange numbers, but now she was glad she had.

A quick text to Sammi asking if she was free to shop soon was sent before the manager returned. Iona forgot about the text as each account of her father's—now hers—was explained.

It was an hour later before she finished. She had her phone in hand as she exited the bank, so she didn't see the person she ran into.

“Umph,” she grunted as she staggered backward.

“I've got you.”

She looked up into Thomas MacBane's face and forced herself to smile. “I'm sorry. I didn't see you.”

He shrugged, and then looked down at his hands that held her. Thomas laughed and released her, but he didn't step back. “I was hoping I'd catch you here.”

“Were you?” Iona knew she was going to have to come up with another excuse to refuse him, because to accept his offer of lunch would only give him hope there could be more—when that wouldn't happen.

Iona knew men like Thomas. He wouldn't stop until she told him in no uncertain terms that she wasn't interested. The problem was, she didn't want to be mean. Thomas had been kind to her and helped after her father's death. But she didn't want to have to avoid him when she came into town, or continue to lie to him.

His smile grew. “Aye. I looked for you yesterday and assumed when you didna come that you would reschedule.”

“Yes, that's right. I had to reschedule.” She took a step back to put some distance between them.

“How about some lunch? My treat?”

Iona saw the hope flare in his eyes. She would have to stop this now, for the both of them. “Thomas, you've been very kind. I appreciate all of your assistance during this difficult time.”