Darkest Flame

Banan drove up in his BMW 640i just as Henry North descended the train with dozens of other people. Banan stopped the car and put it in park while Henry nonchalantly made his way to him.

 

It wasn’t until Henry was inside the car and the train departing that Banan looked at him.

 

“What do you know?”

 

Henry’s hazel eyes met his. “You still don’t trust me.”

 

“At this point we can no’ afford to trust anyone.”

 

“I understand.” Henry sighed and looked out the windshield. “Coming here will most likely cost me my job.”

 

“Then you shouldna have come.”

 

Henry cut him a look, and proceeded as if he hadn’t heard. “It took some digging, but I learned that Matt Dorsey and Denae Lacroix were sent on a highly secret mission to Dreagan put together by their boss, Frank. I gather it’s Denae you have?”

 

Banan lowered his head once in a nod.

 

“Good. No one cared for Matt, so his passing won’t be missed. Denae, however, was rumored to be on her way up. She’s very well liked, despite her being American and working for MI5. I’m not sure why she was sent on this mission.”

 

“Were both Matt and Denae told what they were sent to Dreagan for?”

 

Henry ran a hand through his short, nondescript, brown hair. “It took me calling in all the favors I’ve accumulated over my fifteen-year career, but I can tell you that Denae was meant to be killed during the mission. Matt would report her death as an attack by men at Dreagan, and then MI5 would swarm in. That’s when they expected everyone at Dreagan to attack them, though Frank was unclear in his reports how you would go about the assault.”

 

Banan started the car and gripped the steering wheel tightly. He mulled over what Henry had told him as he started driving.

 

“I’ll do whatever it takes for you to trust me,” Henry said into the silence.

 

“Why does it matter?”

 

“Because no one at Dreagan has ever let me down. I can’t say the same of anyone else. In my business, you learn quickly who you can trust and who you need to watch. You men from Dreagan have never told me something you didn’t follow through on. Your word is your bond.”

 

Banan felt like an arse for questioning Henry’s allegiance. “Someone is after us, Henry. Or rather, they want to expose a secret we have.”

 

“We all have secrets.”

 

“Perhaps. Matt told Denae she was meant to be bait. The wound he gave her was meant to draw out a predator, not to kill.”

 

Henry scrubbed a hand down his face. “Someone did mention the word bait, but I was told she was meant to be killed when all was said and done. They think both are dead. You say a predator?”

 

“Aye.”

 

“None of this is making sense.”

 

But it did to Banan. Denae was meant to be bloodied to draw out Kellan in dragon form, and then MI5 was hoping to witness a dragon killing Denae so they would have the excuse to come onto their land.

 

“MI5 is coming to Dreagan,” Banan stated.

 

Henry’s face was set in hard lines as he looked at Banan. “Yes, my friend, they are. They expect to find two dead agents. Whoever sent Denae won’t be happy she’s alive and Matt is dead.”

 

“Denae willna be there.”

 

Henry’s lips twisted. “There is nowhere she can go that they won’t find her. She’ll be better off turning herself in. I can try to protect her, get her to the higher-ups who want to see her career move forward.”

 

Banan glanced at him as he turned onto another road and sped up. “Do you believe your superiors can keep her alive?”

 

“No.”

 

That one word sealed Denae’s fate. Banan pressed the accelerator and sped down the narrow road. “When will MI5 come?”

 

“They’ll be on their way now. They’ve never stopped watching Dreagan.”

 

“They’ll know you’re helping us.”

 

Henry smiled. “Yes, they will.”

 

For the first time in days, Banan grinned. “I’m glad I helped you out in that bar fight years ago.”

 

“Me too,” Henry said. “I’d be dead now if you hadn’t stopped that fifth guy I never saw from using that knife.”

 

“I knew someone worthy of friendship when I saw it.”

 

“I’ll not let you down now,” Henry vowed.

 

Banan knew he wouldn’t. He just hoped he hadn’t set Henry on a course that would take his life.

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER ELEVEN

 

 

Rhi knew the shit was about to hit the fan. It had been eons since a Fae—any Fae—dared to step onto Dreagan. There was no need for the Kings to use magic to ban the Fae. The treaty signed by the Light and Dark Fae promised they’d never venture onto Dreagan unless they wanted the Fae Wars to start again and the Kings to kill them all. It was enough to keep the Fae out.

 

Or it usually was. When it came to annoying Con, Rhi never backed down. Besides, what she had to tell him was enough for him to hold off declaring war against the Light.