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Ignoring his beast, Grant shouted, “Come in.”
The door opened to reveal the blond-haired, brown-eyed form of Lochguard’s clan leader, Finlay Stewart.
Grant raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t expecting you, Finn. Is something wrong?”
“Not wrong, exactly. But I have a proposition for you.”
He hoped Faye hadn’t gone to her cousin and asked for a favor. “What can I do for you?”
The corner of Finn’s mouth ticked up. “If you’re being nice to me for Faye’s sake, you can stop.”
“So she told you, then.”
“Not everything, but enough.” Finn sat down in the chair across from Grant’s desk. “She mentioned not having a permanent place and made a suggestion.”
“If she’s wanting to go back to the front lines, I won’t clear it, Finn. Not even for you.”
“To be honest, I wouldn’t, either. At least not yet. She still needs to fully rebuild her confidence. However, Faye has recovered enough to resume some duties. She wants to accompany Cat MacAllister on her exhibition around Scotland.”
His beast huffed. She either wants to run away from us, search for the traitors herself, or both.
That gives me an idea.
Grant replied, “I was thinking of accompanying Cat as well.” Finn raised his brows in question, and Grant continued, “I need to scout locations without the DDA getting in the way. It’ll be easier to slip away for a few hours undetected if the DDA already knows I’m off our lands.”
“Are you sure it’s not for another reason?”
He knows, his dragon stated.
He ignored his beast. “No. Faye can handle the actual security detail, and I can be the back-up who ensures the surrounding areas are free of threats.”
“The real question is whether the pair of you can work as a team or not.” Finn leaned forward. “For the next minute, you are not my head Protector and I’m not your clan leader. You are the male who angered my kin and I’m her oldest living male relative who needs to look out for her.”
Since Grant had worked with Finn for years, the sudden change didn’t intimidate him. “Say what you need to say, as long as I get my defense.”
Finn’s pupils flashed. “You hurt her once before. If you do it again, I will challenge you. Understood?”
“And what would Faye say if she knew you were here speaking without her knowledge?”
“She would eventually come around.”
Not likely, his dragon muttered.
Grant agreed with his beast, but from experience, he knew that arguing the point further with Finn would go nowhere when it came to his family. So, Grant merely answered, “I will treat her as I would any of my staff. If she disobeys, I won’t be lenient, not even if it means pissing you off, Finn.”
After one long second, Finn nodded in approval. “I respect that.” He stood up. “I’ll let you deliver the good news. Unless there’s anything else for you to report, I need to check on Arabella. She’s getting close to her due date, and I don’t want anything to go wrong.”
Arabella MacLeod was Finn’s mate, originally from the English dragon-shifter clan called Stonefire in Northern England. She was also pregnant with triplets. “No, there’s nothing really new to report about the traitors or any other threat beyond the usual caution. I hope my trip with Cat and Faye will eliminate at least part of the danger to our clan.”
“Aye, I hope so, too. The rebuilding has gone well, but it’d be nice to have something to celebrate. Keep me updated whilst you’re gone. I’ll also try not to scare Cooper too much in your absence.”
Cooper Maxwell was Grant’s second-in-command. “You can try, but Iris sees him as a younger brother and is a wee bit protective. I wouldn’t want to cross her.”
Finn grinned. “I’ll make sure to tell Cooper you only trust him to watch the clan with Iris here.”
“Finn….”
Lochguard’s leader waved goodbye and exited the room without another word.
