But where?
And would it even matter?
Her throat closed up, and she struggled to breathe. What was she going to do?
Cam watchedDr. Davies as they explained about the bounty and noticed when she started panicking. While dragon-shifters had to constantly worry about the hunters, it was rare for a human to be a target, especially when they weren’t even mated to a dragon.
And it wasn’t as if she were a trained soldier or law enforcement officer, or anything similar. No, she was a researcher who probably got lost in her work and didn’t pay much attention to the outside world unless she had to.
Then Dr. Davies curled into herself, as if about to break, and he couldn’t stand by and watch. He walked over, crouched down, and waited for her to meet his eyes.
His dragon growled.I don’t like that she’s afraid.
Neither do I.
She met his gaze, and he said, “I won’t allow them to hurt you, Emily. I vow it.”
Biting her bottom lip, she glanced away and started to breathe heavily. Not wanting her to get stuck in her head, hestated, “Emily, look at me.” She met his gaze again. “I mean it. I will protect you.”
“But how can you say that? Unless I’m going to be restricted to staying indoors and only allowed out when I have an escort, that’s impossible to guarantee.”
As he debated if now was the time to reveal their plan, Antony spoke up. “We have a solution for that, Dr. Davies—you’ll be staying with Cam.”
He narrowed his eyes at the human male as Dr. Davies gasped. Her eyes shot to Cam’s and blurted, “I can’t do that. You don’t like me.”
His inner dragon growled, but Cam replied before his beast could say anything. “That’s not true.”
“But it is. You’ve been practically glaring at me since I entered this room, even though I was trying to be friendly this morning.”
He resisted a sigh. It wasn’t as if he could tell her he hated how he didn’t have enough Protectors to truly look out for her. Or that he wished Seahaven wasn’t the most vulnerable dragon clan in the UK.
Because it wasn’t her, per se, that made him angry. It was the bloody dragon hunters and the unfounded hatred those humans had for his kind.
His dragon spoke up.At least give her part of the truth, aye? Otherwise, she won’t believe anything you say going forward.
His beast was right, so Cam said, “It’s not you, personally, I promise. The situation is more complicated, and Antony will gladly explain it.”
The human quirked an eyebrow, clearly not liking how Cam had put the explanation back to him, but he didn’t bloody care. Dr. Davies deserved to hear all the facts, and Holbrook knew them best.
She glanced at Antony and then at Iris. “What is he talking about? How can it be even more complicated than the hunters wanting me? Is it dead or alive? So they do want to murder me, then.”
Antony shook his head. “No, they want you alive. But Cam’s right, you should know more.”
As he explained the bounty, the reasons for wanting her, and how his operatives were living nearby to help watch her, the tension didn’t leave her body. If anything, she hugged herself tighter, and her jaw clenched.
And even though her presence made his job more difficult, he didn’t like her upset. He could only imagine the threats she’d received over the course of her career, simply because she wanted to study and help dragon-shifters.
Once Antony finished laying out the details, he added, “So to make sure you can complete your research here, you’ll be staying with Cam. But not as a mere guest.” Leave it to the bastard to stop there and merely motion at Cam before adding, “He can tell you the rest since it involves you both.”
He glared at Antony a second before looking at Emily again. She was pale, and he saw the worry in her eyes. Resisting the urge to stroke her cheek and tell her she was in his care now, he said, “To make the situation more believable, our cover story will be that the DDA is thinking of revoking your special status that allows you to live with a dragon clan. And so you’re staying with me to see if we suit since you have to mate a dragon-shifter or go back to living with humans.”
Her jaw dropped before saying, “You can’t be serious.”
“Aye, I am.”
Antony jumped in again. “Which means the two of you must play the part. No more Dr. Davies nonsense from you, Cam. And you must appear to at least like each other in public. The question is, can you do it, Emily?”
She glanced at everyone in the room. Since Cam had only met her the day before, he waited to see what Emily would say.
