Page 30 of The Dragon Recruit
While deep down he wished to have a child someday, now was not the time. Not to mention he didn’t even know what Iris wanted for her future.
Besides, even if she wanted him, Antony had a lot of enemies. Ones that maybe didn’t know his identity yet but might one day. And then they’d go after anyone he cared about.
And he refused to risk another woman getting killed because of him.
As he tried to think of a way to brush off the comment, Iris asked, “What happened?”
He glanced at her, and at the curiosity in her eyes, he didn’t think he could deny her. “It’s not a pretty tale, my dear. Do you really want to hear it? Because at the end you might despise me and then I’ll have to send you home. I can’t work with someone who won’t have my back.”
“I’d rather know than not. That way, I can be better prepared for what might happen, aye?”
As he turned off the single-track road onto a regular one, he contemplated how much he should tell her.
However, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that if he didn’t tell her everything, Iris would know and then never trust him.
Better to get it out and see if she wants to run or not, right, old chap?
“Right, well, I need to back up a little bit, to before the mission started. Much like you, I served time with the British Army. Nearly eight years, in fact, before they recruited me for the department I’m in now. However, I was still young then, just twenty-four, and rather full of myself for being recruited at all. Most of the time, I hid it well, and I was known to be jovial and yet a closed book at the same time.”
“Much like now, then.”
“Yes. As much as I’ve tried, my sense of humor is around for good. But back to when I entered the Wicked Security team—the full title is Human-Dragon Wicked Security Department—and my first real mission. The training lasted months, and over twenty years ago, it was very much men trying to be macho and outdo each other. I’ve tried to change some of that over the years—machismo gets people killed—but I wasn’t yet enlightened.
“The training wasn’t a huge deal, but the others saw me as somewhat ‘burdened’ because I was one of the few with a fiancée. Normally, Wicked Security team members are single and unattached. However, my ability to strategize and memorize large amounts of information quickly was too valuable to pass up. And when approached, I said I would only join if I could stay with Lisa. She would think I worked a regular desk job with the government, but I wouldn’t have to give her up. Not perfect, but I loved her and couldn’t imagine life without her.”
In retrospect, he’d been selfish, trying to have his cake and eat it too. There was a reason most members of Wicked Security didn’t have partners—because they were weaknesses who could be targeted. The few who did have families either retired to desk work and analysis, or married other team members who could protect themselves.
Not for the first time, Antony wished he’d chosen Lisa over the job. Even if they’d eventually broken up, she wouldn’t have died because of his choices. Ones made without her knowing just how risky his life would become.
Iris’s voice brought him back to the present. “What happened, Antony? Because if guilt still flashes across your face, it makes me wonder how badly you fucked up, aye?”
The corner of his mouth kicked up. “Succinctly put, my dear. I fucked up. Massively.”
“And if you think I’m going to let you stop there, you’re mad.”
He glanced at her. “Demanding, aren’t you?”
She raised an eyebrow. “You have no idea.”
He laughed, despite everything. “Well, then let me continue, lest I stir up your temper.” She opened her mouth to protest, but Antony knew he needed to get this all out as quickly as possible. So he spoke before her. “After taking the job and finishing my training, things went well for a while. With my better salary, Lisa and I had started to make plans. And once they transferred meto Greater Manchester from London, we even started looking at homes. We’d barely moved into our new place before everything went horribly wrong.”
Even now, he remembered Lisa scouring the charity shops to decorate their small two-bedroom attached row house. Her biggest prize had been an old pitcher she’d turned into a vase.
One that had ended up smashed on the floor.
Mentally shaking himself, Antony focused on the road and, keeping his voice steady as he said, “My first assignment involved the early version of today’s dragon hunters. They were a bit less organized back then, and they worked more like gangs with specific territory than the organized entity they are now. I would use my mimicry skill to pretend I was Mancunian born and raised, watch them from the shadows, and eventually try to get recruited.”
Iris asked, “So you worked undercover with the dragon hunters?”
“Barely. You’re getting ahead of me, my dear. Patience.” The dragonwoman rolled her eyes, and he smiled. “Back to my story, unless you’re bored?”
“No. No way. Continue.”
“Right, well, I eventually ended up passing the dragon hunter recruitment test given to me. And before you ask, I had to do something I’m not proud of—beat up a dragonman until he was unconscious and draw a vial of blood. With new technology, they were trying to see if they could use dragon’s blood if the shifter was in their human form. While the answer was no, it was the only way to get them to trust me.” He glanced at Iris. “Later, I ensured that dragonman got whatever favors he needed, without ever knowing it was me. You might know him—Bronx Wells.”
She nodded. “Aye, I’ve met him. His brother, Hudson, mated Lachlan MacKintosh’s sister, Sarah. But Bronx still doesn’t know it was you that beat him up?”
He shook his head. “No. And it’s best he never does. Even though I haven’t apologized to him, I’ve made it up to him several times over, even if he doesn’t know it. I still watch over him and Percy, just in case they need my help again.”
