Finn ascended the stairs and prevented Evie from replying by saying, “Tell me what’s going on, Bram.”
Staring at the Scot, Bram knew this was one of those moments which could change the future of his clan forever. If he trusted Finn with the details of the attack, the dragon leader could either use it help him or use it to exploit a weakness.
His dragon chimed in. Tell him. He is good with Arabella. He will help us.
Bram didn’t like his dragon picking up on Finn’s actions toward Ara, but he’d deal with that later. For now, he’d trust his dragon’s intuition, especially given his beast’s reluctance earlier. “The short version is someone attacked and kidnapped one of our young. Once I make sure Evie is taken care of, you can come with me. I’ll discuss the details on the way.”
Finn growled, “Why would someone steal one of your young?”
He nearly blinked at the sudden change of attitude. He was starting to see more and more why Finn was the leader of Clan Lochguard. Still, Bram was in charge. “I’ll fill you in later.”
He turned toward Evie but saw Liam, Samira, Melanie, and Arabella making their way up the stairs. Once they were close enough he could whisper, he said, “Liam, I want you to take the females to Tristan’s house. The two of you are to guard them with your life, especially Evie. Someone kidnapped Murray, and Evie could be next.”
Liam nodded. Melanie took a step forward and asked, “Do you know who it was?”
“Evie can fill you in and I’ll give the rest of the details when I return to collect Evie.” He looked at each one of his clan members standing in front of him until his gaze rested on Evie. “And you be careful, lass. I know sitting around and doing nothing isn’t your way, but I don’t want to have to worry about you.”
His female moved in front of him and placed a hand on his chest. “As long as you promise to be careful, too.”
He nodded, gave Evie a much too brief kiss, and motioned for them to leave. As he watched his female leave, Finn said, “She’ll be safe. She’s a clever lass. Not to mention she was a natural with her behavior earlier, when she politely told us to sit the fuck down. She’ll be an asset to the clan and make a fine mate.” Bram glanced to Finn and the Scot continued, “Now, let’s start walking so you can tell me the details. The sooner I know the facts, the sooner I can help your arse out.”
With a nod, they walked toward the hall exit.
Chapter Five
The entire walk to Melanie and Tristan’s cottage, Evie tried to recall anything she might know to help Bram. She knew a lot about the dragon hunters. There had to be a pebble of knowledge inside her head that could help her dragonman.
So far, her only real lead was the possible use of a mandrake and periwinkle concoction. Most of the dragon hunter gangs were little more than bullies looking for ways to fund their drug and sex addictions. None of them would have bothered to keep a dragon-shifter alive if given the chance; they’d just drain him or her of blood, sell it on the black market, and spend the profits. Most of the hunter gangs were lucky if they caught one dragon a year.
However, because of strong leadership, certain gangs planned for the long-term and had a far bigger reach than their immediate territories. Those dragon hunter gangs usually took down dragons in other countries with laxer laws and then shipped the blood to developed countries to earn the most profit.
The small group of resourceful, and therefore powerful, hunters possessed the patience to crack the exact amount of each ingredient needed to knock out a dragon-shifter without killing them. Bram had mentioned the Carlisle hunters earlier, and they were one of the more powerful and successful gangs.
Not much was known about Carlisle’s leader, Simon Bourne, apart from his ability to rein in and control the Carlisle hunter gang to follow his orders. In the five years he’d been in charge, the Carlisle branch’s reported violence had decreased while their profits increased. Rumor said they hunted dragons in the Russian wilderness to fund their operations. The DDA had been trying to obtain proof, but relations between the UK and Russia were less than friendly.
With all of Bourne’s success, Evie had no idea why he’d want to kidnap a five-month-old half-dragon-shifter baby. Dragon blood couldn’t heal any diseases until a dragon-shifter reached adulthood.
Then it hit her: Bourne had the patience required to develop his own blood farm system. True, dragon-shifter blood was worthless for curing diseases before maturity, yet if the Carlisle gang kept children locked away from infants until adulthood, they could make complacent blood slaves. They’d no longer need to risk their lives illegally hunting dragons.
Since the DDA was currently investigating a corruption scandal amongst the Cumbria Constabulary, who oversaw both Stonefire’s lands as well as the city of Carlisle, it was more than possible Simon had bribed the police to look the other way and avoid raiding his properties. A monumental task considering the destruction a rogue, unsocialized dragon could wreak on the public if they ever broke free.
Without thinking, she muttered, “So much for protecting the public.”
Liam, being a dragon-shifter, had exceptional hearing. He turned toward her and said, “What do you mean ‘so much for protecting the public’? Bram is doing everything he can.”
Evie blinked. “I wasn’t talking about Bram. I know he would cut off his right arm if it meant protecting the clan.”
Mel piped in. “Then tell us what you were thinking, Evie. Sometimes voicing your thoughts helps to connect the dots. It also gives us the chance to help you, if you need it, since you’re new to Stonefire.”
She glanced around at the quickly darkening sky. “I’d rather not do it outside.”
Mel threaded her arms through Evie’s and increased her pace. “Then let’s hurry up. We’re nearly there.”
Five minutes later, Mel shooed her mate away from the door and guided them inside. Before Tristan could do more than frown, Melanie said, “All right, now talk. I’m dying to know what you’re thinking.”
Bram’s earlier statements about the extent of what Melanie would do to find out what she wanted was proving true. Not even Mel’s frowning mate could sway her from her current task.
Evie looked at every person in the room before she said, “I may have an idea of why someone would want to take Murray. There’s always the possibility his father wanted him, but given that Neil hasn’t tried to take the boy in five months, my gut says it’s something else.”