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Nikki chimed in. “Not even Melanie? If there was anyone who could think of ideas to help, it would be her.”
Bram shook his head. “Not yet. The last thing I need is for her children to be targeted because she’s helping us.”
“But you and Evie are helping, and you have two children,” Nikki pointed out.
Bram stared straight at Nikki. “Melanie will be informed later if I think she can help. For now, this is in our hands.”
Even Rafe understood the dominance in Bram’s voice and wasn’t surprised when Nikki nodded.
“So the fate of all dragon-shifters in the UK rests on our ability to show the DDA Director is a bastard?” Aaron asked. “Right, then. We should have this done within the week.”
Rafe sighed. Working with Aaron was going to be the ultimate test of his patience.
But meeting Nikki’s gaze, he knew he would do much worse than working with an annoying dragonman to stay with her. Even a month ago, he never would’ve imagined Stonefire would feel like home. But between his feelings for Nikki, Bram, and Kai trusting him to help with the future of the clan, and him even begrudgingly starting to like his sister’s mate, Rafe was home. Now all he had to do was protect it with his life.
Chapter Twenty
Aaron sprawled out on Nikki and Rafe’s couch. From the frown on the human male’s face, Aaron was succeeding in irritating him.
His dragon huffed. We’re supposed to work with him. The sooner we do, the sooner we can try to set up a meeting with Teagan.
Not this again.
We only saw her right before we left. She’s intriguing. I want to know more.
Our duty is here. Forget the bloody female.
You try too hard to forget her.
No, I don’t.
His beast harrumphed and fell silent. Aaron rarely tried lying to his dragon, but the Irish leader was a problem he definitely didn’t need. The politics between clans was tenuous at best.
So, to forget the tall female with raven black hair and moss green eyes, he worked harder at irritating Hartley by lying down on the couch, dirty shoes and all.
Rafe finally spoke up. “Get your bloody boots off my furniture.”
Aaron wiggled in place. “But it’s so comfortable. I’m tempted to take a nap. I haven’t slept in over a day, you know.”
“That isn’t my fucking problem. You’re here to help us pour through Zain’s information. Unless you can learn through osmosis, get your arse up and help.”
He half-expected Nikki to tell Rafe to go easy on him, but Nikki said, “You may not have to listen to Rafe, but I’m in charge for this particular mission. Either get up or get out, Aaron. Irritating Rafe isn’t part of your job description.”
With a sigh, he sat up. “Are you sure? You two are so lovey dovey these days that I felt someone needs to irritate him. Otherwise, he might start getting ideas about being stronger than a dragon-shifter.”
Rafe growled, but Nikki put a hand on his shoulder. “You might not have much riding on this mission, but I do. So, either help or leave, Aaron, because your behavior is taking time away from securing my future.”
Aaron studied Nikki a second before standing and answering, “You sound more like Kai than the Nikki Gray I know.”
Nikki raised her chin. “A lot has changed. So, what’s it to be?”
With a sigh, Aaron sat down at the kitchen table. “What do I need to do?”
Nikki picked up a file and held it out. Before he could snatch it, she pulled back.
“Are you going to take this seriously?” He nodded, and she handed over the information. “We have the composite sketch of the escaped hunter and know he has a Yorkshire accent. However, we need to narrow our search parameters. Zain collected details on a number of hideouts, meeting places, and even addresses of some of the Leeds hunters. No doubt, some have scattered by now. But we need to narrow the list down to a more manageable number.” She waved toward the file. “So highlight what you think might be the best places for the escaped hunter known as Toby to lay low.”
Aaron thumbed through the stack of papers. “What happens if I find the information first?”
