Passion Ignites

 

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To Elizabeth Berry –

Brilliant woman and precious friend.

You're beautiful inside and out.

I'm blessed to have you in my life.

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Words can never express how much I love working with my beautiful, gifted editor, Monique Patterson, enough. Our partnership is amazing!

To Alex, Erin, Amy, the truly amazing art department, marketing, and everyone at SMP who was involved in getting this book ready. Y'all rock!

To my agent, Natanya Wheeler, thanks for loving my dragons!

A special thanks to my family and friends for the endless support.

 

CHAPTER

ONE

Edinburgh

October 24

I'm going to find him.

It was an invocation Lexi repeated several times a day. It was the first thing she said upon waking, and the last thing she said before she fell asleep.

She looked at herself in the mirror and shoved her light brown hair out of her face. “I'm getting closer,” she told herself. “I'm finding more information every day I search. I will find him, Christina.”

Lexi spun away from the mirror and walked out of the bathroom. Her other two friends were sitting at the breakfast table talking in low tones.

What began as a memory-making trip with friends had ended in disaster a week ago when Christina, the fourth member of their group, had been brutally murdered.

Lexi had been the one with Christina that night. She had also been the one who found her. The image of Christina's body laying naked in the alley would forever be stamped in her mind.

“I'm going out again,” Lexi told them as she took a quick drink of coffee. “I don't know how long I'll be gone today.”

They both kept their heads down for a moment. Then Jessica lifted her blue eyes to Lexi. She then quickly looked away. Crystal didn't even bother to do that much. Neither of them had gone looking for Christina's killer with her, but then again, they hadn't seen her in the alley.

Lexi shook her head and turned away—only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw the luggage by the door. Her stomach fell to her feet like lead.

She stared at the luggage and felt the last threads of her life unraveling at an insane rate. Lexi slowly turned back to the table. “You're leaving.”

“Yes,” Crystal answered. She stood and tucked her dark hair behind her ear. “Christina's body was shipped home yesterday. We want to be there for the funeral.”

“So you're giving up here.” Lexi didn't understand why neither of them were as worried about finding Christina's killer.

Jessica stood up so fast the chair flew backward. “You're not the only one hurting!” she yelled. “Stop making us feel like we don't care just because we aren't walking the streets following people like you are!”

Lexi was taken aback by Jessica's outburst. The four had been friends since high school and then college roommates. For over five years, they had been as close as sisters. Yet, Lexi couldn't help but feel like she didn't know Jessica or Crystal anymore.

“Come back to Charleston with us,” Crystal pleaded. “Christina's parents will be devastated if you aren't at the funeral.”

Lexi shook her head. They didn't understand, and she couldn't explain what drove her to follow those with red eyes, looking for the one responsible. “I have to find her killer. If I don't, he'll kill again.”

“You gave all the information you had to the police. Let them do their jobs.”

“But they aren't doing their jobs.” Lexi blinked to chase away the tears. “I was with Christina. I saw the guy she left the bar with. I'm the only one who knows what he looks like.”

Jessica walked to her and put her arms around her in a tight hug. “You don't have to do it all, Lex.”

For just a moment, Lexi let the grief envelop her. It was so great at times that she couldn't breathe. If she let it take her, she would never be able to recover from it. So, Lexi kept it at bay with thick walls that would never be penetrated. It was the only way she could get through each day until Christina's killer was caught.

“I do,” she whispered. Lexi sniffed and stepped out of Jessica's hold. “Please tell Christina's family that I won't rest until the killer is found. He'll pay for what he did to her.”

Crystal's forehead furrowed in a deep frown. All her anger was gone, given way to worry. “If you stay, I have a feeling we'll never see you again. You keep tracking this murderer, he's liable to learn about it and go after you.”

Lexi knew how he killed. She wasn't going to fall into the same trap as Christina. How could she return to South Carolina knowing she let a predator walk free?

“I'm going to be fine. I check in with Detective Inspector MacDonald often.” Lexi forced her lips to turn up at the corners a little.

A horn honked from outside, startling them.

Jessica gave her another hug before she hurried to put on her coat.

Crystal walked to Lexi and took her hands, looking deep into her eyes. “The flat is paid for another week. Jess and I both knew you would stay. We wanted to make sure you had somewhere safe to sleep.”

The kindness of her friends made Lexi realize just how fortunate she was to have such people in her life. “Thank you.”

Crystal hugged her before she spun around, but not before Lexi saw the tears. She watched her friends gather their luggage and walk out. With a last wave, the door banged loudly behind them, giving the scene a finality that left Lexi feeling hollow.

She looked out the window and watched Crystal and Jessica get into the cab and then drive away. It wasn't the first time Lexi had been alone, and she doubted it would be the last. It was as if it were her destiny to spend her life by herself.

Lexi turned and put on her jacket. Then she walked out the door. She had hunting to do. Her first stop was with D.I. MacDonald.

That conversation went just like it had the day Lexi said she was going to help them. After Lexi filled him in on where she had been the previous day and what she had seen, MacDonald ordered her to return home and let him do his job.

Lexi stopped herself from rolling her eyes. If he were doing his job, he would know he wasn't looking for just any murderer. Then again, if he was doing his job, he would've believed everything she had to say instead of dismissing half of her statement, citing that she was inebriated.

In all her college years, Lexi had been drunk a total of one time. It sucked. The headache, the awful taste in her mouth, and the fact she had been bent over a toilet for hours. There was no need for her to have a repeat of that. Or to become her mother. Her drink limit was two.

“I can help you,” Lexi told MacDonald.

He lifted his tired hazel eyes to her. Then he sat back in his chair and ran a hand through his dark hair liberally laced with gray at the temples. “I like you, lass. It's because I like you that I've no' had you arrested. Your friends are on their way back to America. You should be with them.”

“Thank you for your time,” Lexi said and rose from the chair. There was no use remaining any longer. “Call me if you find anything.”

She walked toward the entrance knowing she would never hear from D.I. MacDonald, because he was looking at the wrong sort.

Just before she exited the homicide division she saw a pretty woman with turquoise eyes and blond hair in a pixie cut staring at her. The woman hastily looked away after a brief smile.

Lexi walked out of the station without a backward glance. She then ambled along the streets, zigzagging her way through the city until she came to the section where she saw the red-eyed men daily.

No matter how long it took, no matter what she had to do, she was going to find the son of a bitch who killed Christina.

*   *   *

For two weeks, Thorn had been in Edinburgh with Darius hunting the Dark Fae. He wasn't exactly thrilled that the Dragon Kings were spread so thin throughout Scotland to kill the bastards.

Then again, he was killing Dark Fae, which made him extremely happy.

He liked Darius, even if he had his own demons to battle. Darius wasn't the issue. It was Con.

Thorn halted his thoughts as he jumped from the roof he had been on and landed silently behind two Dark. He came up to them and smashed their heads together. Then, with his knife, he slashed their throats.

Both Fae fell without a sound. Damn, did he ever like his job. Thorn threw both Dark Fae over his shoulder and hurried to the warehouse where he and Darius were stashing the bodies.

He did most of his killing at night when the Dark came out to prey on the mortals, but Thorn never passed up an opportunity to kill the buggers.

There were half a dozen Dark lying dead in the warehouse. With merely a thought, he shifted, letting his body return to its rightful form—a dragon.

His long talons clicked on the concrete floor as he looked down at the Dark. Thorn inhaled deeply, fire rumbling in his throat. Then he released it, aiming at the bodies.

Dragon fire was the hottest thing on the realm. It disintegrated the Dark Fae bodies instantly. When there was nothing left but ash, Thorn shifted back into his human form.

He clothed himself and returned to the streets that were overrun with Dark. The humans had no idea who they were walking beside or having drinks with. Many mortals he and Darius had saved from being killed by the Dark, but there were so many more that they couldn't reach in time.

With just two Dragon Kings in the city against hundreds of Dark Fae, the odds were stacked against the humans.

Thorn didn't understand why the mortals couldn't sense how dangerous the Dark were. Or perhaps that's exactly what drew them to the Dark—that and their sexual vibes the humans couldn't ignore.

The Dark weren't as confident as they were a few weeks ago. Their ranks were dwindling, and though they suspected Dragon Kings were involved, they had yet to find him or Darius.

If two Dragon Kings could do so much damage, imagine what twelve could do? That brought a smile to Thorn's face. The Dark thought they were being smart, but they had begun the war a second time. And Thorn knew it would be impossible for the humans not to learn just what inhabited their realm with them.