“Right,” Seb eventually mumbles. “Congratulations.”
Remus nods in my direction.
“Yes, congratulations,” Ellison adds, brushing invisible lint from his sleeve. “As happy as I am for you, I presume this mating has caused some complications?”
Connor recaps what’s happened and the message exchange on my laptop.
Ellison speaks first. “Let me get this straight. He’s contacted her and told her to be ready. Nothing more? No instructions or time frame?”
“Exactly,” Connor says.
“That doesn’t give us much to go on,” Ellison says. “My advice is to move her. Hide her somewhere else. Take her off-world if you have to.”
Seb smooths his jacket. “He can’t take her off-world, not without the Oracle’s permission. And he can’t get that permission while she’s in seclusion.”
“Roman has eyes everywhere. If he’s traced the connection and knows she’s here, he’s probably watching the place. It’s not safe to move her,” Connor says.
“Sorry, Connor, but it’s not just about keeping Fiona safe,” Seb interjects, leaning forward in his chair with a gleam in his eye. “This is our opportunity to lure Roman or one of his cronies onto dragon property. If we do that, we can capture and question him. We want information. He has it. Fiona is the perfect worm to catch that fish. When will we have another chance like this?”
Connor tenses. He does not like them referring to me as bait, but he holds his tongue, although I sense the strain it takes to do so. Part of him must know that it’s a good strategy, although every instinct in his body hates the idea.
Remus clears his throat, and they all turn to look at him. His hands are in the pockets of his dark jeans, his white T-shirt glowing in the firelight. “It’s the best thing we’ve got. Stefan hasn’t responded to our ultimatums, Donovan is MIA. If Roman tells her to be ready, then he’s coming or sending someone for her soon. No one has died since Lucy, but everyone’s on high alert. I’m hearing stories from dragons in my shop about humans gettingreal personal all of a sudden. There’s something brewing, something we’re not seeing.”
“Real personal, like they’re trying to determine if they’re dragons?” I ask softly. Connor nods.
Ellison crosses his legs at the ankle. “The problem we’re facing is that vague feelings of being targeted are not a violation of the peace accord. And we still have no proof that Lucy was killed by the Order. What wedoknow, what the Order has evidence of...” He points at Connor. “...is that you stole the man’s fiancée. Legally, we broke the accord. Luring him here and capturing him isn’t going to go over well.”
Ellison’s tone isn’t unkind but it is terse. I get the sense that he’s simply interpreting the letter of the law as it pertains to the accord, but everyone, especially Connor, bristles.
Connor waves a hand through the air dismissively. “You know damn well that if they didn’t kill Lucy, we would have been given an explanation by now. They’ve gone dark because they’re guilty.”
Seb raises both hands. “All of this is moot. It is what it is. We’re here, and as Remus suggests, we’ve no better option. Now that Connor has mated her, we need to protect her, and if Roman is dumb enough to step foot on dragon property, it would be stupid for us not to seize the opportunity, accord or no accord.”
“This would be a great time for the Oracle to come out of seclusion,” Remus mumbles.
Ellison groans. “So, what are we looking at logistically? Should we take shifts? A few days each? I’ll need towork around my cases.” Ellison pulls his phone from his pocket and starts thumbing through his calendar.
“You’ll stay as long as it takes!” Connor barks. “I don’t give a fuck about your law firm. You’re a warrior first. This is her life we’re talking about.”
“And the peace accord between humans and dragons,” Ellison retorts like he believes everyone in the room is losing sight of that fact. “We’re going to protect her, Connor, but unlike your restaurant, I don’t have a staff that can take over all my cases in my absence. There are practicalities?—”
I push off the wall and take a step toward them, spreading my hands. “Why don’t I just respond to his message and find out when he’s coming?” I offer, because I sure as hell can’t stand by while the tension continues to grow between these two. Connor’s in charge, and if it was up to him these three would be guarding me twenty-four seven. But I’m not their only priority. Each of them has a life outside the brotherhood as well as an entire species to protect.
Connor growls, the bond between us going taut with his annoyance.
When all four dragons are looking at me, I say, “I can ask Roman for more details. Tell him to hurry. I mean, if you want to use me as bait, it won’t hurt to chum the water.”
“You’ll have to be careful how you word it. He’ll be suspicious,” Remus says.
I shrug. “Let’s just do it now.” I turn to go get my laptop and Connor is behind me, following me into the hall and all the way down to my room where we left it.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
“Going to get my laptop.”
“You know damn well that’s not what I mean.”
I grab the laptop off my desk. “Then what do you mean?”
