Fuck.He’d seen. He knew. If I walked away, and he told the owner of the bag…
I placed my sandwich safely and far too late on my plate. Cringing, I studied the nearby dragons, trying to work out whichof them might possibly own that handbag. None of them looked as if they’d be happyto find they had tuna decorating their belongings.
Taking a deep breath, knowing it might be my last, I shuffled up to the woman closest to me and began to make subtle enquiries.
Chapter Five
ARCHER
“Was he bothering you?” My dragon was restless and bled through my voice. I wasn’t used to seeing Mia with dragons who weren’t family.
“On the contrary, Ollie saved me from one of Aunt June’s family,” she said.
“So long as he wasn’t cracking on to you.” They’d been standing close together, and he was too good-looking to be trustworthy. Small for a dragon yet striking, with curly blond hair framing a delicately featured face that would have looked cherubic if not for his eyes. They were bright blue, wide and sparkling, and not in the least innocent. He’d been looking at me as if I were the only person in the world who mattered, and if he’d been turning that sort of attention on Mia… I shouldn’t have brought her. She was young, inexperienced, and all too ready to fall for someone who made her feel that way. God knew, for an instant,I’dfelt a tug of attraction towards him.
“I think you’d better stay in your room when the next session is on.”
“Archer.”She stopped dead, forcing me to a halt. “I’m here to represent the family while you’re off talking head of family business. Locking me away like Rapunzel isn’t going to work. Let me do what I’m here to do.”
She was right, but when I’d asked her to come, I hadn’t expected any of the attendees to be so young or attractive. If Ollie Shaw set out to charm Mia, I couldn’t see any way she’d be able to resist.
“Besides, Ollie doesn’t swing my way. At least, if he does, he’s not interested in me. He was talking about Nate Mortimer’sarse before you arrived. Now, can we find somewhere quiet so you can tell me what you’ve learned so far?”
I suspected she was wrong about Shaw’s intentions. My dragon had definitely picked up onsomethingbetween them, because I hadn’t liked seeing him with her.
We filled plates from the buffet table, and I glanced around, looking for a private corner. My gaze found Ollie Shaw, and I studied him for a moment. He was too attractive for his own good or for my peace of mind. I didn’t know anything about the Shaws, which was hopefully a good sign—they weren’t one of the troublemaking families.
I revised that impression as I saw him drop half his lunch into what looked suspiciously like Margaret Teague’s handbag. She’d been perfectly pleasant to me, but I doubted she’d take that well. Our eyes met, his filled with horrified mortification, before I turned to follow Mia out of the hall, leaving Shaw to his fate.
We found a quiet spot in the bar, with a table for our glasses and two leather armchairs. There were plenty of dragons already here, and the amount of scotch being drunk meant the afternoon session might get rowdy.
“What do you know about Pete Smythe?” she asked me. “He started talking to me earlier, but there was something about him…” She glanced around to check no one could overhear. “I didn’t like him.”
“Always trust your instincts,” I told her. “That goes double if it could be a matter of safety. It’s worth considering if someone’s simply different from what you’re used to, but if something doesn’t feel right, listen to that feeling over being polite.”
I hated this. I wasn’t cut out to be a surrogate parent. But I did the best job I could, even though I’d messed up badly withTim. He’d been such a sweet kid, and I still couldn’t work out what I’d done to make him hate me.
“How about I bump into Smythe later and see what I make of him,” I suggested.
“Thanks,” she said, with a quick smile before turning her attention to the sandwiches on her plate. I felt a stirring of sympathy for Ollie Shaw because these sandwiches were ridiculously overfilled.
As we ate, I told Mia about the Berstows’ existence and Margaret’s idea. There was little time to discuss either as two o’clock neared, and I was due back in the meeting room.
“You’ll be okay?” I asked her. “Text me if you’re worried about anything.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’ll try not to. Maybe I’ll find Ollie again.”
If there was anything left of him after Margaret had finished with him.
“Be careful, and remember everyone here has an agenda, including Ollie,” I reminded her before I left, and tried to ignore the way she rolled her eyes. Mia wasn’t Tim. She wouldn’t cut me out the way he had, even though I annoyed her at times. She called me over-protective, but I was simply keeping my family safe.
OLLIE
Margaret Teague had been unexpectedly forgiving. My knees had trembled when I’d had to confess to the head of a dragon family what I’d done, but after she fixed me with anextremelyhard glare, she thanked me for telling her.
“Perhaps, Ollie Shaw, you might consider eating at a table in future,” she said as she turned away, the desecrated bag safely over her arm. “I suggest, too, that you find yourself elsewherebefore any other delegates claim their belongings. I assume that glass of orange juice isyours?”
My glass was somehow lying on its side, its contents having soaked into the carpet and possibly one or two briefcases. Fuckinghell,could this day get any worse?
