Page 86 of Charming the Dragon
Not that she minded much. Trina tried to take on any mission or project related to Clan Stonefire. One day, she hoped to finally be able to visit them.
Maybe then she could finally meet her sister.
Well, half-sister.
Margot scurried into view, garnering her attention. As she rushed up the stairs, Trina frowned. Hayley hadn’t returned from following the young woman down the hall.
While she wanted to rush and check on Hayley, Trina’s instructions had been clear—Margot was the priority. Entering the DDA’s offices upstairs was out of the question, since her department within MI5 wasn’t supposed to interfere in DDA business.
But if after ten minutes Margot didn’t return, then Trina would go check on Hayley. For all Trina knew, the other woman was merely using the toilet and would show up soon.
A few minutes later, Margot returned wearing a coat and went out the front entrance. Trina debated leaving her spot. Hayley Beckett hadn’t emerged yet. However, this was the first time she’d seen Margot exit alone and in a hurry, which might make her easier to follow.
Trina sent a quick text to Rafe Hartley—the man who’d asked her boss for help—and exited the building.
There was a giant open space in front of Manchester Town Hall. She surveyed the area and spotted Margot. As quickly as she dared, Trina crossed Albert Square and maintained a certain distance behind the woman. She turned down Princess Street, and then eventually Faulkner Street, right into Manchester’s Chinatown.
Bloody hell.If there was one place in Manchester where she might be recognized, it was here. Her mother’s family had a restaurant in Chinatown, one Trina had visited often, at least until her mother had died.
She took more care to blend into the shadows and not let anyone see her face full-on. However, since she had to be extra cautious, she soon lost track of Margot’s blonde hair.
Since asking around for information would most definitely get her recognized, Trina headed back toward the town hall as fast as possible. She might have to beg Rafe Hartley for a favor later, to ask around Chinatown for information on Simon Bourne’s sister for her. And if she were there to help if Hayley was in trouble, he’d be more likely to grant her request.
Plus, she still needed to vet her brother-in-law in person. One she’d only learned about in the last year.
So she picked up her pace and checked her phone.
Sure enough, texts from Rafe both cursed her out and asked for her help.
Nathan paced Kai’s office,wondering why the hell he’d been told to report here. Normally, he would look forward to some new project or mission. However, not only was Hayley in Manchester where he couldn’t protect her, he was getting mated tomorrow.
Which meant if Kai messaged him to be here, it wouldn’t be for good news.
His dragon spoke up.I don’t like it either. I still don’t understand why we couldn’t go with Hayley today. As long as we covered up our tattoo and wore sunglasses, no one would’ve guessed that we were a dragon-shifter.
Humans, maybe. But there are some dragon-shifters who visit town. If one reported us, we’d be no good to our female inside prison.
His beast sniffed.I hate all of the bloody human rules. Why can’t Bram and the others work faster, so we can come and go as we please?
One day, dragon. I hope one day that’s true.
Before his beast could reply, Kai walked in, followed by Nikki. Nathan blurted, “What the fuck is going on?”
Kai merely raised his eyebrows, but Nikki rushed to answer, “It’s Hayley.”
His stomach dropped. “What about her?”
Kai jumped in. “She’s missing.”
“What? Wasn’t Rafe watching over her?”
Nikki grimaced. “Someone hit him with a tranquilizer dart from somewhere inside Albert Square. To have made that shot undetected, despite being in the middle of the day, means we’re dealing with professionals.”
“I don’t bloody care if Special Forces carried it out. What’s been done? What do you know?”
Kai replied, “Hayley was seen being flagged down by a young receptionist and taken to sign more papers. Nothing since then. But the woman in question is suspected of being Margot Green, Simon Bourne’s sister.”
Simon Bourne was the leader of the dragon hunters. He’d been their main foe for a while before they’d quietly retreated and let the Dragon Knights take the spotlight. But now that the Knights were gone, Bourne had resurfaced. Stonefire had learned that firsthand recently, when his clan rescued some dragon-shifters from an illegal research facility.
