“No. I suppose not, but still. That’s just too much to take in, in such a short amount of time. What were you thinking?” Jace asked.
“I’m not sure what I was thinking. At all. I’ve just been reacting to everything. Finding my mate, someone sabotaging my plane.”
“Wait … you don’t think this was an accident? Someone did this on purpose?”
“Yeah. Henry just completed all the maintenance …” Kingston paused to think for a moment. “Three days ago? Four maybe? You know, and I know that he is the best. Something like this just doesn’t happen when he’s your mechanic.”
“No. Nothing slips by him. Ever. Who do you think it was?” Jace asked.
“I don’t know. It could be anyone. I need to see if anyone left a scent or anything in the hangar. The plane is in thousands of pieces at the bottom of a gorge, so I don’t think we’ll get anything off of that,” Kingston responded.
“Yeah, that and the fire would have consumed whatever evidence had been left on the plane.” Jace ran his fingers through his long hair. “I’ll search the hangar if you stay here with our mates.”
“Take Ryder with you. And whatever you do, don’t let Stryker or Archer find out what you’re up to,” Kingston ordered.
“Brother! You don’t think they would stoop to this level, do you?”
Kingston knew the implications of his words. To make such accusations against family could mean risking a war.
“Damn it! I don’t know, Jace. I wish like hell I didn’t have this gut feeling telling me to be wary around both of them. Maybe it was their reaction to my summons. I don’t know, but I don’t trust them. Not yet. Whoever is doing this clearly doesn’t want me to claim my mate.”
“I trust you, brother. I’ll keep what we are looking for between us. Ryder has always had your back as well.”
“Thank you. Let me know what you find.”
“I will. I just hope you’re wrong.”
Kingston really didn’t want to be right. He would rather go up against anyone other than his family. Family was blood. Family was supposed to have your back. Not stab it.
If Kingston had learned anything from his father, it was that sometimes family was the first to betray you. He just hoped this wasn’t one of those times.
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
“Hey, are you okay?” Malia asked as she stepped into the bedroom.
Emmy sat up to face her new friend. Before she could utter a single word, a stream of tears streaked down her face.
“Oh, honey. It’s okay. You’re okay.” Malia sat beside her and pulled her into a gentle hug.
Neither woman said a single word. They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Emmy was trying like hell to get her emotions under some form of control before she tried to speak.
“How did you get here?” she finally asked when the tears stopped.
“Jace brought me. It’s the first time I’ve ever been here. Kingston texted Jace and told him what had happened. We came as soon as we heard.”
“Really? You’ve never been here?” Emmy asked, finding it hard to believe that this was Malia’s first visit to her soon-to-be brother-in-law’s home. “Isn’t this Kingston’s home? Or lair? Or whatever?”
“No. He has an actual house in town. From what I understand and what Jace has told me, this is the seat of power for the Pacific Dragos. Their father, who was the king at the time, used to live here full time. But since their father's death, no one has been here,” Malia explained.
“Are you … like them? I mean, a dragon?” Emmy asked.
“Oh! No, I'm not. I'm just a human who fell in love with the boy who turned out to be a dragon.” Malia laughed.
“Does it ever scare you? That your fiancé turns into a dragon?” And that was one of the main questions Emmy had. How did Malia know that she could trust Jace? Was she ever worried how about becoming dragon kibble?
“No. I've never been afraid of the dragons or Jace, for that matter. Maybe it's different for me because I grew up here. I grew up hearing the legends of the prideful dragons whose sole purpose was to protect humanity. Honestly, I always thought the stories and legends were nothing more than fairy tales. I didn't find out until I was an adult that it was all true. By then, I was head over heels in love, and it didn't really matter to me that Jace sprouted scales and wings or that he breathed fire. He was just Jace. The man I fell in love with. Are you afraid of Kingston?”
“Not really, no. I don't fear him.”