They wouldn't. She prevented herself from calling the man on his shit and put out her hand. "Hand it over." Once the leader placed it in her palm, she curled her fingers around the vial. "Right, then just tell me this: are you with the Carlisle hunter gang?"

The leader growled. "We're not a gang, love." He took out a gun, unlocked the safety, and aimed it at Nikki's head. "Now drink the bloody vial."

Evie uncorked the vial. While the man's words hadn't been a full confession, they sounded like an admission to her. She only hoped the information reached Bram before it was too late. If she used the 'correct dosage' remark to make a guess, she decided Charlie and Nikki had probably been dosed with the periwinkle and mandrake root, which meant they couldn't shift for a few days. They would be kept alive until they could be drained of blood, but who knew what the hunters would do to Nikki and Charlie in the interim.

There was only one option to take. Evie put the vial to her lips and drank the bitter liquid. She only hoped she could find a way to save her friends. Or, if nothing else, a few days was enough for Bram and the others to find her. Evie refused to think of the alternative.

Her vision swam before the world went black.

Chapter Five.

Bram sat down across from Olivia, whose hands and feet were chained to the metal desk in front of her. Her restraints were made of hardened steel. If she were to shift, the steel would break her human wrists before eventually snapping. Despite her daft move of working with Neil Westhaven, the lass was clever enough to stay in her human form. With the entire Protector team on the watch, she would never escape with broken arms and legs.

He studied her a second. Her heartbeat was only slightly faster than normal and she wasn't fidgeting. Given the female had been quite temperamental as a young adult, he had no doubt the change was because of Neil.

Bram reached out to his dragon. Help me question her. I need our dominance combined to make both halves submissive.

It will be difficult. Olivia's dragon is strong for a female. I will try.

You're supposed to be oh-so-strong, cocky one. Just help me.

His dragon rumbled a not-quite-happy yes. Bram fixed his stare on Olivia and said, "Tell me about Neil."

Olivia merely replied, "No."

Bram channeled his inner dragon and forced every bit of dominance into his voice he could muster. "I'll ask one more time, lass, before I alert the clan about your activities. Your parents wouldn't take kindly to everyone knowing their daughter is a traitor." Olivia's posture gave way a bit. At least, she still cared for her parents. He continued, "You were found near Carlisle when you were supposed to be in Wales. Tell me why."

"I want guaranteed protection first."

The idea of protecting a traitor didn't sit well with him, but Bram forced aside his disgust in order to do his job. "I need something to go on first, Olivia. And I won't ask again."

As they stared at one another, Bram allowed his dragon to come and go into his mind. His eyes flashed between slits and round pupils. Olivia's bravado faded as her shoulders slumped further. She was about to give in.

He raised an eyebrow and the female said, "I was supposed to meet Neil, but the Protectors found me before he arrived."

"Why were you meeting him?"

Olivia shook her head. "I gave you something. I want guaranteed protection. The dragon hunters will hunt me down once they hear I was alone with you."

"You'll just turn your back on Neil, without so much as a backwards glance?"

"Neil was offering me power I could never obtain here, and that's no longer an option since I'm sitting alone with you. Simon Bourne will see it as a betrayal and a threat to be eliminated. My life is more important than protecting Neil's."

Olivia's words pretty much confirmed the suspicion about a traitor in the clan. Bram didn't like Bourne taking such an interest in Stonefire.

Eying the dragonwoman across from him, he needed to proceed carefully. He wasn't about to pamper a traitor, yet he wasn't about to lie to her, either. He said, "Even if I grant protection, you'll still be kept under house arrest."

"Again, I will be alive."

And she'll bloody try to find a way to escape. Still, every minute he spent garnering meaningless reassurances from Olivia was another minute the dragon hunters could be harming wee Murray.

Bram folded his arms over his chest. "Fine, you will be guarded but just know if you shift and try to escape, you'll be taken down and handed over to the DDA. Come to think of it, step a fraction out of line and I'll hand you over to the DDA. I don't give second chances to traitors."

Olivia nodded. He had a feeling she'd break that promise before long, but he merely said, "Then tell me about Neil's connection with Simon Bourne."

She hesitated a second before she answered quietly, "Neil has formed a tentative alliance with Simon Bourne and the Carlisle hunters. He feeds them information in exchange for money and protection from the local human authorities. It's how he's remained off the radar since you banished him last year."

He nodded. A dragon-shifter without a clan was usually taken into custody by the DDA until a clan would accept him or her into their fold. "What was your role in all of this?"

"In exchange for information about what was happening here, I received payments. My goal was to relocate to Romania, where dragon clans have more power over the local authorities."

His dragon piped in. She wishes for the old days, but the old days were filled with death. Controlling humans only makes them want to kill us more. Working together is better.

Bram agreed, but didn't have time to argue dragon-shifter history with his inner beast.

He raised an eyebrow. "What sort of information did Neil, and by extension, Bourne, ask for?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "What you'd expect-weaknesses on our borders and patrol; notification of clan gatherings; any sort of discord that could be used to weaken the clan's unity."

"Stonefire has the strongest bond amongst all British dragon-shifter clans."

"That was before the human DDA inspector showed up. On the drive back here from Carlisle, one of the Protectors mentioned you claiming the human as your mate. If Neil or the Carlisle hunters find out about that piece of information, it can be used against you. Not everyone in the clan will approve their leader passing up the dragon-shifter females for a human."

The bloody young Protectors and their mouths. He would mention the slip-up with Kai. After a chat with him, they'd think twice about gossiping in the future.

Bram moved his hand to the table and tapped his fingers. "Here's what else you're going to do in exchange for protection." Olivia made a sound of protest, but he ignored it and continued, "I never said I wouldn't ask for more demands. You're going to dictate everything you know about Neil and Bourne, as well as what knowledge you've passed on. One of the Protectors will stay until you're finished, with another in the room ready to call the DDA if you refuse to help. If Kai and I are satisfied with the results, I'll extend protection. If not, then I will hand you over to the DDA. I suggest you cooperate."

Before Olivia could make any sort of reply, Kai burst into the room. The worry on his head Protector's face stopped any reprimands. Instead, Bram stood up and asked, "What happened?"

Kai motioned with his head toward the door. "Not in here."

A sinking feeling gathered in his stomach. Kai was usually calm and collected under pressure. The worry on his clan member's face meant something awful had happened.

The instant Bram shut the door behind him, Kai said, "Evie and the others have been taken."

Bram's dragon pushed to the forefront of his mind. I told you we should have protected her. We must find her.

I need information first. After shoving his beast aside, Bram said, "Tell me what happened, and quickly. My dragon is not happy at the moment."

"Well, Nikki reached out via the secure line, supposedly because Evie had found something in the data. But before the human could come on the line, there was a mini-explosion, some fighting, and talking. Since the phone line was still connected, one of my Protectors was able to decipher the faint conversation."

Bram put more pressure against his dragon's invisible prison to keep him restrained and bit out, "And?"

"Evie was a clever human, and she tricked the attackers into admitting they were Carlisle hunters."

His clever lass. "Olivia didn't give me anything about the location of Bourne's headquarters, and I doubt she'll be able to. Has Zain found out anything new from the dragon hunter we captured?"

Kai nodded. "Yes, he managed to extract some locations in exchange for protection for the hunter. Everything is already in motion. Since Evie is your mate, I need to know if you want to come with us when we leave."

Bram's dragon roared. Of course we will go. I will channel my anger to rescue her. The hunters won't stand a chance.

Unless they bring out the laser guns.

I will be careful.

Bram focused back on Kai. "Let me call Tristan and a few others first so the clan isn't leaderless when we finally leave. I'll meet you in my office in twenty minutes to hash out the details. Also, find someone you trust to take Olivia's statements. If she refuses to cooperate, lock her away and call the DDA once all this mess is sorted."

Kai nodded and left Bram alone in the hallway. As much as he wanted to roar along with his inner beast, he forced himself to remain calm. Anger would hurt Evie. He needed his brain to save her.

Even if he died trying, he would save his mate. Simon Bourne and his dragon hunters were going down.

Evie looked around her windowless room for the millionth time and let out a sigh. The room, quite simply, was a prison cell with just a bed, sink, and toilet. Oh, and a faulty, occasionally flickering fluorescent light overhead, which made her think of bad horror movies. Hopefully, she'd avoid a similar fate to the victims in those movies.

No one had taken her in or out of the tiny room since she'd regained consciousness. Despite watching the guards and their movements whenever they brought meals, she had yet to find a way to take down the armed guards, let alone devise a plan of escape.

She also had no idea of what had happened to Nikki and Charlie. While Evie didn't know how long she'd been unconscious after drinking the bitter liquid from the vial back at Bram's hideout, it wouldn't be much longer before the effects of the mandrake root and periwinkle wore off the two Protectors. Once Nikki and Charlie could shift, the hunters would drain them dry. If Bram or his Protectors didn't find them in time, the two dragon-shifters would die.

No. Evie wasn't about to let the dragon hunter bastards win. At some point, they would question her. When that time came, she would try to find a way out of her prison. It was highly unlikely she could free the two dragonwomen alone, but if she could escape, she could bring help.

The dim fluorescent light overhead flickered right before someone unlocked the outside bolt of her door. Wherever they were keeping her contained, it's wasn't a new or very solid building. That would be a major oversight if Bram found her before she managed to escape.

The door opened and she blinked against the bright light in the hall. She could just make out a silhouette of a man. He said, "Stand up. We're moving you."

His strong West Country accent marked him as distinct from the other guards who had brought her food. Simon Bourne must be recruiting nationwide.

Being complacent would hopefully lower everyone's guard, so Evie stood and blinked a few more times until she could make out the large nose, high brow, and balding blond hair of the guard dressed in black. If she managed to escape, she could look through the database of known dragon hunters. Reporting it would probably do bloody nothing, but it was ingrained in her to memorize details.

Once she was close enough, the guard took her arm and led her down a dirty hallway filled with cobwebs and debris. The building hadn't been used commercially for years and was probably condemned.

After going down one dimly lit hallway and then another, the guard halted them in front of a reinforced door. Unlike back in her cell, the door was new and made of some type of metal.

Before she could think too long about what that signified, the guard rapped on the door. It opened and her ears were bombarded by a weak dragon's roar.

Her heart squeezed. Oh no. Please don't let it be Nikki or Charlie.

The guard pulled her into the room and Evie was careful to school her face into a neutral expression. Just in time, too, as they entered a massive cavern of a room. People dressed in either the same all-black outfit as her guard or in white lab coats bustled to and fro. Machines she couldn't identify, medical equipment, and a bevy of weapons were spread across the room or attached to the walls. Then her eyes reached the far corner and she stopped breathing.

An adult green dragon, female if she were to guess by the size, was locked inside a giant prison cage, a muzzle on her snout and with some kind of band trapping her wings. In addition to the shackles on all four limbs and tail, various hose-like tubes were connected to the main arteries in the neck, forelegs and hindquarters. The dragon struggled to roar above a normal talking voice range. Each one was progressively weaker than the previous.

The sight simultaneously made her want to be sick as well as want to punch every person harming the magnificent creature in the face. What kind of person could put a dragon-shifter through such torture, not even drugging the dragon unconscious to spare her the pain of being drained dry?

She clenched her jaw. Dragon hunters, that's who. Nothing she'd read in reports in the past could have prepared her for the sight before her. A quick glance told her the smiling and preening hunters in all-black who were watching the struggling beast were enjoying the sight.

Sick bastards. If something wasn't done soon, the green dragon would die.

Evie tried to recall Nikki's dragon color, but couldn't remember it. She had no idea of Charlie's dragon color, either.

While she wanted to be optimistic, Evie was a realist. Catching a dragon was bloody difficult; the green dragon had to be one of Stonefire's Protectors.

Each second she stood gawking was lost time to find out what she could about her current situation. While she may not be able to save the green dragon in the cage, there was still a chance she could save the other Stonefire Protector as well as baby Murray.

Tugging on her arm to catch her guard's attention, she asked, "Why did you bring me here?"

The guard tightened his grip and she resisted a flinch. "Shut it. You'll find out soon enough."

After the guard gave one last look at the weakening dragon, he pulled Evie to the corner farthest away from the large beast.

The corner was sectioned off with a light blue curtain. The guard pushed aside the curtain to reveal a glass room. Inside was a sleeping baby with dark hair, in a see-through plastic or glass crib.

Her throat closed up. It was little Murray.

Breathe, Evie. You need your brain or you don't stand a chance. With one last exhalation, she focused on the details. The room was currently empty of anyone else but the baby. Much to her relief, Murray wasn't attached to a machine, nor did he have tubes running from his body. She knew his blood was useless at curing illnesses until he reached maturity, yet she had half-expected the hunters to be testing the little one. They still might yet do so, but for now, Murray was alive and even looked peaceful.

As she continued to scan the room for weaknesses, the guard said, "The boss wanted you to see what we do here. The dragon baby is safe for now." The guard squeezed her arm tightly, and Evie looked at his face. He continued, "Next, I'm taking you to an interview. Remember the brat and the dragon in the corner. If you want the baby and the other dragon to live, nod that you'll cooperate now."

She wasn't about to give up and tell the hunters everything they wanted to hear, especially since they'd betray her at the first opportunity. But, for the time being, Evie bobbed her head to buy herself some time.

The guard turned her away from Murray. "Right, then let's go."

As they walked back toward the same door they'd entered, Evie caught a glimpse of the green dragon in the corner. She was barely making any noise at all now, nor was she struggling.

Evie fought back tears. The beautiful dragon, who had most likely been sent to protect her, was dying.

Right then and there, she made a promise to the green dragon. I'll find a way to expose these activities to the world. Your death won't be for nothing.

The dragon caught her eye and she swore it nodded at her, almost as if she could hear Evie's thoughts. However, before she could do anything else, Evie was back in the dark rundown hallway again.

As they walked in the opposite direction to her cell, Evie's heart pounded in her chest. She'd been angry before, but the sight of the green dragon had made her furious. No living thing should be put through such torture. If the DDA didn't know about these activities, she would make sure they did once she was free.

And if her supposition about the DDA assistant director, Jonathan Christie, was correct and he was allowing the dragon hunters to carry on with little to no oversight, then she'd reach out to the media. Something needed to be done.

They stopped in front of an old, slightly rickety door and Evie pushed aside her anger. She needed a cool head for the 'interview'. If she let her temper out, Evie wouldn't be able to help anyone, let alone herself.

Chapter Six.