Dragon's Pride (Dragon Blaze Ops Book 3) Read online

  Here, Stephen made an angry noise in his throat. He stepped forward, but Liam caught him by the shoulder and hauled him back.

  “Let’s go over the attempted murder of Utopia Tennet again, shall we?” Patrick moved a little closer, still staring intently at her.

  Clementine sighed. “Okay.”

  It had been before Utopia had officially started working with the Academy. At the time, her son Aiden had been held prisoner by the Pack, forcing her to work with them. While she was helping Clementine and Erica go through notes on the research she had been forced to do, she had attempted escape. Seeing as she was considered a dangerous war criminal at the time, Cooper had gone after her, nearly killing her.

  Now, it was assumed that Clementine had left it open for Utopia to escape. That she had used Cooper’s clear hatred of Utopia’s research to turn him into her murder weapon.

  “You were the one who left the door open, knowing Cooper was going to be there.”

  “I didn’t think that someone was going to try to use a locked window across the hallway on the second story to try to escape.” Irritation leaked into her voice. They’d been over this before! “And yes, I thought Cooper might be around. It was close to lunch, and he usually comes around at that time. But I didn’t know he was there.”

  Patrick rumbled. “And you’re sure you didn’t invite him?”

  “No.”

  “And yet he had a text from your phone, asking him to join you.”

  “I didn’t send it. And if I had been planning on doing something like that, I wouldn’t have invited him up, anyway. He never misses a chance to take Erica to lunch,” she added. “He has her schedule memorized. If it was me, I’d have used his normal time to show up, not wave a big red flag over my head.”

  “But why would Cooper have been there anyway?” Evan asked, his expression usually hard. “It’s not like he had any reason—”

  “He’s in love with Erica.”

  Evan scowled.

  “Since when?” Stephen asked, surprise temporarily blocking out the distrust on his face.

  “For quite a while. Erica doesn’t want to make a big stink out of it,” Clementine explained. “But you can ask them if you want. Not that it matters. Not that any of this matters.” She looked back to Patrick, frustration and anger welling in her. It really didn’t matter. He’d already gotten his evidence, there was nothing she could say to convince him it wasn’t right. “You have to take me back anyway. It’s the rules.”

  Patrick hesitated a moment before he nodded. “Yes, that is true. We are taking you back to the Academy.”

  “And you’ll do your further investigations there. So there really isn’t any point in going over things I’ve already told you, is there? But please, please don’t hand me over to anybody else. The Pack already tried to kill me once, they’ll try again. And I’m guessing that Eugene is going to face some stiff consequences and won’t be there to save me a second time.”

  Patrick sighed. “We will try to keep you in our custody until a second investigation can be made. But I’m not in charge of that. While I’m certain I can get Maura on our side, she’s going to have to field a lot of demands from the higher-ups as well.”

  Stephen opened his mouth, but it was Adam who spoke next. “If you would just turn on the Pack and tell us what we need to know to take them down, we’d be in a much better position to protect you.”

  “Sergeant,” Patrick growled warningly, but Adam plunged right on ahead.

  “Maybe even be able to put you into witness protection with Eugene—then the two of you can be—”

  “Sergeant!” Patrick whirled on him. “That is enough.”

  Adam stepped back, scowling even as his head dropped. Clementine glared at him. It would be a tempting offer—if she had anything to actually give them. Ever since it was decided that she was a traitor, she’d been offered bribes, threatened, cajoled. She hadn’t even had her trial yet, but everyone had decided she was guilty.

  “I don’t have anything to turn against,” she insisted. “Because I do not, nor have I ever, worked for the Pack.”

  Patrick considered her for a moment before nodding. What he was nodding about she didn’t know. But he turned around and gestured for them all to leave. Clementine’s brow furrowed as she watched them walk back up the stairs. That was it? What did it mean? She wanted to call them back and ask but had a feeling that she wouldn’t get any answers if she did.

  Alone once more, Clementine glanced around the basement. It was, perhaps, even more dreadful in the light than it was in the dark. Mysterious stains splotched the hardwood floor and the shriveled husk of a tiny dead animal made her shudder. At least the cot was only covered in dust.

  It wasn’t long before the door opened again. Clementine jumped to her feet, expecting that they were going to leave now but instead, Adam came down holding a bowl. A delicious aroma wafted off of it.

  Clementine’s stomach growled but she held herself back, waiting for Adam to approach her and offer her the bowl. The soup was lukewarm, but she was so hungry, she didn’t care.

  Adam stood there watching her. At first, she thought it was because he was waiting to take the bowl back. Then he spoke, his voice lashing out in a harsh whisper. “Why the hell did you have to go and sleep with Eugene?”

  She looked up, her mouth full of the soup. What did he want her to say? That she had slept with Eugene to try to seduce him into believing her? Adam certainly showed no signs of wanting to believe her when she said she wasn’t a traitor. Or did he want the truth? That it had been a moment of desperation, a moment she knew she’d never have another opportunity for?

  “Everybody knows that he’s in love with you,” Adam continued. “And he’s been in love with you for years. So why did you have to hurt him like this?”

  “I wasn’t trying to hurt him.”

  Adam snorted. “Bullshit. You’re trying to tear holes in the Blaze Ops. You figured if you could get Eugene on your side, you’d be able to get enough of us trying to back him up that you’d manage to break free. If the Pack was really trying to kill you when they attacked, you’d be dead. I don’t know what you’re playing at. Maybe your new job is to get Eugene caught, so the Pack has another dragon to experiment on.”

  The accusations made her clench her hand around the spoon. The metal cut into her palm as a spike of red crossed her vision. The anger reached a boiling point too quickly for her to stop it. “I slept with him because I love him, too.”

  Adam rolled his eyes.

  “I don’t care if you believe me! It’s the truth. I’ve known Eugene was my mate since I was fourteen years old. And if I didn’t sleep with my mate now, when would I ever have a chance to again? I wanted to feel the way I used to.”

  He folded his arms, that stubborn glare still there.

  “It used to be that it felt like Eugene could fix all of my problems. That he could keep me safe and protect me from anything that came our way. I just wanted that back, even if I knew it wasn’t real, even if I knew it couldn’t last. I just wanted to be with him and pretend like none of this was happening.”

  Adam snatched the bowl and spoon from her, even though she was only half done. “If you’re that desperate, then maybe you should have thought about that before you started working for the Pack.”

  He stormed away, leaving Clementine gaping after him. The door slammed with an alarming amount of finality. Clementine sank back onto the bed. The little food she had eaten was certainly not enough to satisfy her, but she didn’t want to ask for more right now. Not when she’d been slapped in the face like that.

  Adam doesn’t matter, she told herself even as tears welled in her eyes. Only Eugene does.

  Chapter Eight

  The flight back to the Academy felt like it took longer than it ought to have. The truth was they made good time, but the anxiety of what was going to come once they arrived made every beat of Eugene’s wings feel like it took ages.

  When they
landed, Patrick sent the others to escort Clementine to the holding cells and sent Eugene to his office. That wait took forever before Patrick and Fiona entered the room. Eugene stood, looking between them, trying to gauge their moods. Patrick was tense and Fiona had a disapproving gleam to her eye, but they weren’t giving much away.

  “Is this something we’re going to have to do with all our boys?” Fiona asked, taking a seat to one side of the desk while Patrick sat behind it.

  Eugene sank into his chair again and stared down at his hands. He wasn’t going to apologize for taking the one opportunity he was going to get to sleep with his mate.

  “Eugene,” Fiona continued, her voice soft, “please look at us.”

  He took a breath to steel himself and rose his head. The disappointment in Patrick and Fiona’s eyes hit harder than any screaming or punishment could. There was a reason why the Blaze Ops jokingly referred to these two as Mom and Dad. Eugene looked away again, unable to take it.

  “Clementine is my mate. I told you that.”

  “That’s not exactly what you told me,” Patrick rumbled. “You said it would be too easy to fall back in love with her, not that she is your mate.”

  “Well, I was lying to myself, then.”

  “Clearly.”

  Fiona put a hand on Patrick’s arm. “The situation is complicated for certain. We are going to have to remove you from active duty.”

  Eugene nodded. “I expected as much.”

  “You expected to be caught?” Patrick challenged.

  Heat rose up in Eugene’s cheeks as he shook his head. “No. It happened very suddenly. I wasn’t thinking about the other guys arriving. I just wanted to hold her. But even if we hadn’t been caught the way we were, I would still report myself.”

  Patrick leaned back and let out a sad chuckle. “You would, too. That’s the kind of kid you are, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t think she’s the traitor. It doesn’t add up. If I could just talk to her—”

  “No,” Fiona said firmly.

  “You aren’t going anywhere near her,” Patrick added. “Even if we wanted to let you, Maura would never allow it. She’s furious with you. Fiona and I had to fight to keep her from dismissing you immediately.”

  Eugene blinked in shock. Maura Rizzoli was perhaps the most even-tempered woman he knew. There was a reason she was the leader of the Magnus Academy. She never lost her temper. “She wasn’t that mad when Liam and Utopia got together.”

  “Liam and Utopia were a completely different circumstance.”

  Fiona nodded her agreement. “In this case, you have put yourself under suspicion of working with the Pack as well, or at the very least allowing Clementine to manipulate you to get more information to the Pack.”

  Eugene shook his head. “She isn’t the traitor.”

  “And if she is—”

  “She’s not!”

  Fiona lifted her hand, silencing him. “And if she is, then you’ve given her a huge weapon to be used against us.”

  Eugene stared at her, not comprehending what she was getting at. What weapon? If Clementine had been using him, then surely she would have waited until he let down his guard and then taken off into the forest. Escaped him. Brought back the rest of the information she could have to the Pack. But that didn’t make any sense either—they had been going to kill her. Why did Fiona and Patrick think that attack happened if Clementine was the traitor? It made no sense for the Pack to try to kill her if she was working with them.

  “You don’t get it, do you?” Patrick sighed.

  “No, I don’t. And I don’t appreciate you talking over me as though I’m some dumb kid.”

  Patrick rubbed his eyes while Fiona shook her head. “Eugene, she could very easily say that it wasn’t consensual. That you threatened or blackmailed or bribed her. Or that you used outright physical force and that when she was brought back, we refused to let her seek medical attention or that we falsified reports. Don’t you see it? That sort of accusation would cause a lot of trouble.”

  “But… she wouldn’t do that.”

  “And you know that only because you believe she isn’t the traitor.”

  Eugene clenched his hands. “She isn’t the traitor. She’s not going to do that. And don’t you dare start trying to turn the most beautiful experience I’ve ever had into something dirty or shameful!”

  Patrick let out another sigh. “I know you want to believe her, Eugene. I know you love her. And that’s the problem. You are far too close to the matter, and we can’t trust your judgment.”

  “So you’re just going to ignore everything I have to say because I’m close to the matter?”

  “Not everything. But we can’t go running around like chickens with our heads cut off just because you want to believe.” Patrick transformed into Colonel Sheen with a single look. “We have discussed the matter with Maura, and she has agreed to keep Clementine here long enough to go over her statements again, but this is out of her hands.”

  A cold chill stole down Eugene’s spine even as his fires burned hotter. He couldn’t mean what Eugene thought he meant. Long enough? “You’re going to hand her off again? Despite what happened last time?”

  “There will be further precautions taken,” Fiona said. “But it’s not just about the Academy, Eugene. They want to make an example of her and—”

  “But officially, the Magnus Academy is only a military school! Officially, the Pack doesn’t even exist!” Eugene leapt to his feet, smoke curling from his nostrils. “So how are they going to make an example out of her? Maybe the Pack has people on the inside over there, too. Maybe they’re insisting on the transfer so that they can kill her and—”

  “Stop.” Colonel Sheen got to his feet and glared at him. “Major, I understand that you have your concerns and fears about the situation. But you are too close to do any good. You are relieved of active duty. Go take a vacation. Find something else to occupy your time and get some distance from what is happening here. Got it?”

  Eugene opened his mouth to protest, but another glare silenced him. He stood there, trembling with anger while his fires burned hotter and hotter. Did they really expect him to just sit by and do nothing while his mate was shipped off to her death? He growled low in his throat. No! He didn’t care what they did to him, he wasn’t going to just—

  “Major,” Fiona cut through his thoughts. “We will let you know when and where she is being moved. I will hand-select the team to move her myself. We will take every precaution to ensure that what happened before doesn’t happen again. Understood?”

  “Every precaution isn’t good enough. And what if when she gets to D.C., they kill her there? Huh? The only precautions that can guarantee her safety is to keep her here until we can prove her innocence and—”

  “Major!” Colonel sheen glowered at him. “I am not going to run around in circles on this. You are dismissed.”

  Eugene wanted to shout back at him. Wanted to release his flames, maybe even attack his superior officer. But he knew that wouldn’t help him, and it certainly wouldn’t help Clementine. So he turned away, not bothering to salute or acknowledge his dismissal and stormed from the office.

  So what was he supposed to do now? Clearly, they wanted him to leave. Wanted him to go somewhere else and just sit around waiting like a good little boy for this to all ‘blow over’. But that wasn’t going to happen. He couldn’t let it happen. There was too much at stake here. Clementine’s life.

  But what was he supposed to do? The only thing he could think of was to just get Clementine and fight their way out. Fly away to Alaska or Greenland and live in the icy cold, where no dragon in their right mind would want to go and set up their own life there. Away from the Blaze Ops. Away from the Pack.

  Our parents would miss us, he thought mournfully, but not as much as if Clementine is killed.

  He turned on his heel, abruptly decided—and ran straight into Adam. Eugene huffed in surprise as the two of them bounced back, each s
taggering to regain their steps.

  Adam frowned at him. “I’ve been calling your name. Do you have beans in your ears?”

  “Sorry. Just distracted.”

  Adam frowned at him. “I understand why. And that’s why I want to talk to you. I don’t want you running off and doing something stupid like Liam did when Utopia’s life was in danger. So I came up with a plan, to know if Clementine is the traitor for real or not.”

  Eugene’s heart leapt. He eagerly nodded for Adam to continue.

  “It’s a risky one,” Adam continued, “but if it means saving Clementine’s life—”

  “Just tell me what it is already.”

  Adam hesitated a moment, then stepped closer. “I can arrange for you to help her escape. And then, under the pretense of wanting to protect her, you go to the Pack—"

  “What?” Eugene snarled. “Are you insane?”

  “Let me finish. You go to the Pack. And from there, you’ll be able to watch. See how she interacts with them and how they interact with her. We know that the Pack has been splicing genes and giving people the abilities from different types of shifters. You could find out more about that—”

  Eugene turned on his heel.

  “Where are you going?”

  He didn’t bother to reply as he marched back into the building and straight to Patrick’s office, Adam close on his heels. He couldn’t believe this! That Adam of all people would suggest something like this? His mind swirled with possibilities, but one thing was clear—if Adam was seriously suggesting something like this, it was all too possible that he was the traitor!

  He didn’t care if he didn’t have proof. He didn’t care that the thought of Adam betraying them hurt just as bad as Clementine. Adam was like a brother. The Blaze Ops was family.

  But Eugene had to tell Patrick about this.

  Fiona and Patrick were talking quietly when he entered. His face was set grimly, but before he had a chance to speak, Adam did.

  “Guess we know he’s not going to do anything stupid. I gave him the speech, and he didn’t even think about it.”