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Kai stood up. “Not yet, but while most of the clan was at the gathering, some stayed home with the old, the sick, and the young. I’ll have some of my team question them.”
Bram also stood. “No, the Protectors should focus on the perimeter and known weaknesses. I can question the possible witnesses.”
Before Kai could reply, Finn said, “If you’ll let me contact my clan, I can have some of my Protectors fly south to help you out. Too much work will cause stress, which will hurt you in the long run with daft mistakes.”
Bram studied Finn’s face in the near-darkness. He wanted to believe he could trust the Scottish leader, but the alliance was new. However, he did trust his inner dragon, so he spoke to his beast. What do you think? Should we ask for his help?
There was a long pause before his beast replied. Yes. I think he wants the chance to see Arabella again. He will help us and not betray us.
Is there something you’re not telling me? Earlier, you couldn’t stand him.
Circumstances have changed.
His dragon retreated and Bram knew that was all the answer he’d receive for the time being.
He met Finn’s eyes. “I would be honored to accept your offer of help.”
One corner of Finn’s mouth ticked up. “That’s quite formal, Bram, but I’ll take it. Let me call my people and they should arrive within the next hour.”
“Thanks, Finn. Make sure they come in from the west.” Finn nodded, pulled out his mobile phone, and walked away. Bram looked to Kai. “With the extra help, have someone question the witnesses instead of me. Evie might have remembered something we can use, and I’d like to hear her out.” After ensuring Finn was outside of hearing distance, he whispered, “Any news from Zain?”
Kai also kept his voice low. “Yes, but I don’t know the details. He didn’t want to risk telling me over the phone.”
“I’ll stop by and chat with him first. Reach out to me when you’re done.”
With a nod, Bram walked toward where Zain would be interrogating the hunter. He would do his job as he always did, but for the first time in his life, a part of Bram wanted the work to be over so he could make sure his mate-to-be was safe. He’d sent her to Melanie and Tristan’s house, which included two babies. If the intruders were still on his land, they could be targeting other children too.
With a quick text to Kai, he asked for the dragonman to alert all families with small children. Bram wasn’t about to let any other young be stolen. Hopefully, between Zain and Evie, he could figure out what the bloody hell was going on and stop it. The British government wouldn’t help him even if he asked. Stonefire would have to take care of its own.
Chapter Six
Evie had just finished downloading as much information as possible from the DDA database when there was a knock on the door. Since Melanie and Arabella were sitting with babies in their arms, Tristan moved to answer it.
When she heard Bram’s voice, she let out a sigh of relief. Maybe his presence would help with her ever-growing stress levels. Everyone had been asking her questions left, right, and center. Bram would help ease the burden.
She knew it was selfish given Bram walked every moment with the burden of the clan on his shoulders. Even though she was usually good at adapting to new situations, becoming a dragon-shifter’s mate, along with trying to stay alive and find a way to protect an entire clan, was a bit overwhelming. Add that to not enough sleep and worrying about how something could happen to Bram if he went after the dragon hunters himself, and she was close to cracking.
Bram walked into the room and she did a double-take at his grim expression. “What happened now?”
He walked over, took the laptop from her hands to hand over to Liam, and forced her to her feet. Once he had an arm around her waist, he growled and said, “I need to move you somewhere safe. Now.”
Placing a hand on his chest, she said, “Why?”
“The hunters are planning to kidnap you.”
“We already knew that. There must be more.”
Her dragonman looked around the room and then back to her. “The dragon hunter we captured, well, we’ve finally managed to extract some information from him. He confirmed there is a traitor within the clan. After tonight’s dinner, the hunters will know you’re to be my mate.” He squeezed her close against his chest. “They’ll use you against me, lass, in ways I don’t even want to imagine. They may already be hiding on our land, waiting to pounce.”
Melanie’s voice sounded behind Bram. “You can’t exactly lock her in a cellar and throw away the key.”
Bram looked over his shoulder. “You may have learned a lot since arriving here, Melanie Hall-MacLeod, but you don’t know everything. I have somewhere safe to stash Evie. Very few know of the location, and I plan to keep it that way.?
?
Tristan spoke up. “I won’t ask for the location since not knowing will keep my family protected, but who will take her? The clan needs you here. Will you be able to control your inner dragon with another person watching her?”
Evie patted Bram’s chest. “He’s right. As much as I want to keep you close, the clan needs you more.”
