Page 13 of The Dragon Recruit
Cooper studied his friend and his flashing dragon eyes. Brodie was usually quiet and reserved. However, Brodie’s fatherhad killed his mother before killing himself, and he took protecting females seriously, more so than anyone else.
His dragon spoke up.Can you blame him? We have a fairly normal family, like most of Lochguard. He is one of the few clan members with a dark past.
Aye, I know. But it also means he might push himself too far, driven by emotion instead of reason. We need to watch him, which means adding something else to my ever-growing list of duties.
You wanted the chance to be in charge of the Protectors. Personally, it’s a lot of stress. I miss flying.
We’ll fly as soon as I can manage it, dragon. I promise.
As his beast settled down inside his mind, Cooper clapped his friend on the shoulder. “What have you found so far, Brodie?”
He pointed to a map of the surrounding area. “She was discovered inside one of the old, abandoned cottages, here. It’s one of the few with higher walls, so no one could see her from the road.”
After the Highland Clearances in the 18thand 19thcenturies, when many of the humans had been kicked off their land by wealthy landowners, the stone cottages had slowly rotted over time. These days, tourists came to look at them as part of a historical drive through the Highlands.
The largest group of stone ruins were just outside the clan’s boundaries, which was close enough to keep most humans from trying to dump a person there.
“And the security cameras? Did they catch anything?” Cooper asked.
Brodie shook his head. “It was dark, with no moon. And since we’re remote and there aren’t any streetlights, nothing shows on the CCTV footage we do have.”
“So someone probably came to scout the area beforehand and timed it to the new moon. Meaning, this was planned.”
“Aye.”
“See if we can reposition the cameras, and ask Emma or Ian MacAllister about equipment or programs that can help improve our surveillance. I don’t know if whoever dumped her will return, but I want to be prepared.”
Brodie glanced at him. “Iris is okay?”
Brodie, Iris, and Cooper had become a close-knit unit years ago, back in their British Army days. “Aye, as well as I can determine. Holbrook is not sharing much, but both the DDA and the Skyhunter clan leaders have confirmed she’s safe. I just wish I could speak with her myself, though.”
“If you need anything, just ask me, aye? Even if you’re my boss now, I’m still and always will be your friend.”
“Thanks, Brodie. For now, just focus on improving surveillance and discovering what happened to the human female. I should be able to handle the rest.”
After Brodie asked his approval for a few more things, Cooper headed back to his office. Sitting at his desk, he eyed the mountain of paperwork needing his attention. Rubbing his face, he sighed and said to his dragon,As much work as it is for us, I’m glad Faye doesn’t have to worry about all of this right now.
Aye, she had a difficult time with her bairns last time, and lost one. We need to look out for her.
Of course. Now, let’s finish the DDA paperwork before our next meeting.
And so Cooper went to work, hoping the next day would be a wee bit easier. But given his luck, thousands of dragon hunters would show up at the clan’s front gates.
His dragon sighed.Stop it. You should worry about the humans who aren’t dragon hunters showing up first.
Thanks. That’s helpful, he drawled to his beast.
Aye, well, I’m just being a realist. Better to be prepared than not.
And with that, his dragon curled up into a ball and fell asleep, leaving Cooper to wonder what else could go wrong and how he was going to tell Faye and Grant about everything without upsetting them.
Chapter Six
Excitement hummed through Dr. Scarlett Turner at the thought of testing her latest prototype, and she itched to run down the corridor. However, the last time she’d done that, someone had scolded her.
Her dragon spoke up.Who cares? They weren’t confined to an underground cell for years like we were.
Scarlett tried not to think about the past and how her former clan leader had locked her up. The loneliness, the pain, the cold. It’d always been so cold.
