The Dragon’s Chance by Jessie Donovan

Chapter Fourteen

Iris Mahajan had barely managed to tug on the loose dress she'd carried with her in her dragon form before dashing toward the cottage at the edge of the village where one of her contacts lived.

It'd been a slow day, visiting those she paid to keep her informed of any dragon sightings. Usually she used the humans to keep tabs on the rogue dragon-shifters who moved around parts of Scotland at times, but the network had proved useful for tracking down Arlo as well.

Especially since she hadn't been able to find Arlo on her own—he'd be long gone by the time she'd launched herself into the air back on Lochguard—it had been her last resort to try and find him the hard way. It'd taken five visits before she'd had her first reported sighting. But now she was growing nearer the northeastern part of Sutherland, which worried her. Because if Arlo went to any of the isles further north, she'd lose track of him.

Which would mean failure.

Her dragon spoke up. Even if we lose his trail now, narrowing it down to the isles will help the others in planning their search.

Aye, I know. I still don't like it, though. Arlo should be easier to find than this since he's never served with the military or had any sort of specialized training.

People become unpredictable when they're frantic to escape.

She mentally sighed. I just wish I'd noticed something was off about him earlier.

Just because you couldn't predict Arlo's behavior doesn't mean we failed.

Iris wished she could agree. But she prided herself on being able to read people well, to the point she had been in charge of watching for any more troublemakers or traitors since Finn banished the disloyal clan members years ago.

Thankfully she reached the cottage of Katrina Lau, a young human widow who was one of her more recently recruited informants, and Iris easily pushed everything else aside to focus on her task.

Ensuring no one else was around, she knocked on the front door in a particular rhythm and then darted back to the hedges. She heard the click of the back door being unlocked, and Iris rushed toward it, turned the doorknob, and entered.

She hated being so dramatic, but not everyone liked dragon-shifters in this wee village. And she preferred being careful to risking their ire or causing an unnecessary scene.

She headed to the living room where the curtains were drawn, as usual for their meetings, but instead of Katrina, there was a tall, pale man dressed in an unremarkable suit. His light brown hair was graying at the temples, and his brown eyes seemed somewhat familiar despite the fact she'd never seen this male before in her life. With a hand behind her back, she extended a talon as a precaution and demanded, "Who the bloody hell are you?"

His accent said he was from somewhere near London. "You may call me Antony. And there's no need to stab me, dragonwoman. Retract your talon."

Iris knew how to keep her face impassive, but she had to admit she was a wee bit impressed he'd guessed what she was hiding behind her back.

Still, she kept her talon at the ready. "Tell me, where's the woman who owns this cottage?"

He shrugged and picked some imaginary lint off his sleeve, as if to prove he wasn't afraid of her. Or, maybe even she bored him with her threats.

However, Iris had long ago learned that males underestimated her. It almost always worked to her advantage.

She was tempted to show him the error of his ways, but she wanted information more than a fight. "Well? Where is she?"

His gaze met hers, and he merely raised an eyebrow. "Your talon is still out. I'll wait until you put it away."

She barely resisted clenching her jaw at his words, as if she'd merely follow his order because he wanted it.

However, her dragon snorted and spoke up. I'm not sure why, but I sort of like him.

He could've kidnapped Trina, for all we know. So behave.

Her beast sniffed. Of course I will. It doesn't mean I can't look.

Iris ignored his tall, lean body and focused solely on his eyes. "First, take off your jacket and show me you aren't carrying any weapons."

He shrugged it off and murmured, "I don't need to carry anything to still have a weapon."

With most males, she'd dismiss it as bragging. But something about the way he flexed his fingers and pierced her with his intense gaze told her he was speaking the truth.

Still, he was human, that much she could tell by his scent. It would take a lot for him to best her in a fight, even if she were a female dragon-shifter.

Once he finished turning around to show no weapons, she sheathed her talon and showed both her hands. "Aye, well, we're both harmless now. So answer my question."

"You're far from harmless, my dear."

She usually hated when males used fake endearments with her, as if trying to say she was somehow lesser because of her gender. And yet, the way this human said it held a combination of power and praise that made her wonder who the hell he truly was.

Not that she would waste time thinking about it right now.

So Iris merely raised her brows and waited to see if he'd answer her question. With a snort, Antony finally replied, "Trina is alive and well, I promise you that. Although she's no widow, and she works for me. For months, we've been trying to pin down the Scottish dragon-shifter selling dragon's blood on the black market. We recently determined it was Arlo MacAllister, and thanks to Trina, we have proof."

Despite her best efforts to remain unaffected, she did blink at that information. "What?"

His eyes turned smug. "Don't look so surprised. I've heard you're good, but we're better. Don't fret about us deceiving you."

For a beat, every hard-earned achievement she'd made in both the British Army and with the Protectors faded away. This human and the female one had discovered Arlo's crimes—if they were true—without her even catching on to it.

Maybe Iris wasn't as good as she thought she was.

Her dragon growled. We are. Think of all the missing persons we've tracked down, the warnings we gave Finn because of information we unearthed. We're bloody good. This human male is a puzzle, but don't let him get to you.

Her beast was right, of course. Iris did a bloody good job helping her clan. And only a fool would think they could be invincible and never make a mistake.

She'd just have to be more careful in the future and learn from this one.

Iris took a step toward him, not allowing his greater height to intimidate her one bit. "If you're as good as you say you are, then you know why I'm here, and it has nothing to do with dragon's blood or the black market. Where's Arlo MacAllister?"

He took a step closer, and Iris ignored the heat rolling off his body. He may be older than her by more than a decade—probably in his late forties—but it didn't make him any less dangerous.

Or attractive.

No.She wouldn't allow a little attraction to deter her or make her lose focus.

He finally answered, "In order for me to share information about Arlo MacAllister, I need you to vow to help me."

She frowned. "Help you with what?"

Antony took another step closer, but Iris had steeled herself against his heat and scent and didn't react as he said, "Why, with transportation, of course. I need you to fly me to where Arlo, Jake Swift, and Trina are."

The fact he knew about Jake made her more wary than trusting. "I won't leave here without calling my superiors."

"Ah, yes. I forgot about those. I rarely answer to anyone any longer. But the best you can do is send one text message, stating you'll meet them and one of my men along the shores of the Loch of Wester."

She raised her brows. "And you expect me to just jump and do your bidding without question? For all I know, it could be a trap."

Antony merely smiled. "Would it help to know we have a friend in common?"

That was one of the last things she'd expected him to claim. She blurted, "Who the bloody hell would that be? You don't strike me as someone who has time for friends."

He shrugged. "True. But I make time for my brother."

And damn it, she couldn't stop her curiosity from demanding, "And who's your brother?"

"Dr. Maximilian Holbrook."

Max was a somewhat annoying human archaeologist who often came to Lochguard and persuaded Finn to have them escort him to one dig site or another.

As he was talkative, easily distracted, and a wee bit reckless, Max was the complete opposite of the male in front of her. "I don't believe you. I'm sure you did some research and found some name to toss my way, to try and gain my trust."

He shrugged, as if he hadn't expected any other reaction. "Let me call him, shall I?" Before she could say anything else, Antony took out his mobile phone, dialed, and set it to loudspeaker.

A male voice answered. "Hello?"

"Max, are you busy?"

"I'm always busy, Tony. I'm trying to outsmart this new bloody dragon archaeologist. She thinks she can steal my site from me, but I won't let her."

For a second, Iris's heart skipped a beat. No. It couldn't be.

But Antony spoke again before she could say a word. "Shall I come down and sort it out for you? You're my brother, after all."

The male grunted on the other side of the line. "Of course not. I can handle this myself. She's not as clever as she thinks she is. She's playing right into my hands."

As Iris's heart pounded inside her chest, she didn't hear the rest of Max's words.

The male on the other side of the line was undeniably Dr. Maximilian Holbrook. She'd know that voice anywhere. She'd had to babysit him often enough over the years, and one of his habits was to chatter endlessly about his work. She could pick out his voice in her sleep.

And she now knew why the human's eyes looked familiar to her—they were the same shape and shade as Max's. Similar and yet so different at the same time.

Antony grinned at her as he finally said goodbye to his brother and put away his phone. "Max has mentioned you more than once, Iris Mahajan. He seems to like you. It'd hurt him to hurt you, and I wouldn't do that to my baby brother. So put aside your mistrust for a moment, let's bring everyone back, and then you can go back to being as wary of me for as long as you like."

Staring at the human male, Iris wanted to pinch herself to find it was all some sort of weird dream.

But she was fully awake, and it seemed she'd landed in the middle of some sort of spy movie. Because Antony was either that or some sort of secretive mercenary.

Which was why she wasn't going to just instantly trust him because he was Max's brother. Siblings betrayed siblings sometimes, as she'd witnessed firsthand when the disgruntled dragon-shifters had left Lochguard a few years ago. "First, give me one bit of information on good faith. Where's Jake?"

She studied him as he stated, "Somewhere in the Orkney Islands."

He didn't seem to display any signs of deceit—no elevated heart rate, or looking away, or fidgeting. True, he could merely be good at hiding his emotions.

Her dragon spoke up. I don't think he's lying about that either. And dragons are better at noticing it most of the time.

Most, but not always.

Send word back to Grant and then see where he takes us. Despite what he can do on the ground, we'll have the advantage in the air.

Not that she'd drop him, for Max's sake. Even if the human male could be a wee bit irritating, Iris had no desire to hurt Max willingly.

And for all she knew, he was close to his brother.

However, she'd still keep her eye on Antony, of course. But she owed it to Sylvia and her clan to at least follow this lead.

She took out her mobile phone. "Is there anything I can't say in my message?"

"Don't mention my name or my relation to Max. Otherwise, say what you wish."

Iris quickly typed out a message to one of her bosses, Grant, and then put her phone away. She went to the back door, opened it, and strode out. She didn't stop until she was near where she'd landed. "If I so much as see a weapon when we're in the air, I'll drop you without a thought. You're forewarned."

The bastard smirked. "Noted."

"Now, tell me where we're going."

He took out some sort of device and then gave her directions before saying, "I'll direct you in more detail when we're close. I won't wave a weapon, but I'll tap your talon."

"Fine. Now, turn around."

He raised a brow at her tone but ignored it to say, "And one more thing—I won't be going back with you, but you'll need to meet with my man at the lake and tell him my location. Don't follow through with my order, and it won't be pretty, later on, I promise you."

The bastard was a bit dramatic for her liking. She rolled her eyes before barking again, "Aye. Now, turn around."

He finally did as she asked. Iris quickly retrieved her satchel, stuffed her dress into it, and shifted.

Before she knew it, she was in the air with Antony gripped in one of her forelimbs, doing her best not to look down at the male and wish she knew more about him.