Mikhail: A Royal Dragon Romance (Brothers of Ash and Fire Book 2) by Lauren Smith

Author:Lauren Smith [Smith, Lauren]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Publisher: Lauren Smith
Published: 2018-01-09T18:30:00+00:00

11

People who deny the existence of dragons are often eaten by dragons from within.

—Ursula K. Le Guin

“What do you mean the jewels are gone?”

Conrad Sinclair stared at Barty Winston from across the expansive mahogany desk in his office. The wood had been so finely polished that he could see his own ghostly reflection if he leaned close enough to the surface.

“There was a burglary.” Barty shifted uncomfortably in the chair opposite Conrad’s desk. “Someone came in through the kitchen door that connects to the museum from the mews.”

Conrad frowned, his temper roiling like magma beneath his skin.

“But the auction house has security cameras and alarm systems. The jewels were in a safe.” He’d been working with Barty to acquire the information needed to make his own heist possible, but it seemed someone had beaten him to it.

“It was an inside job. The security cameras were put on a loop. The kitchen alarm was disabled with the correct code. Oddly enough, they left a small amount of the gems behind. But…” Barty nudged his thick glasses up his nose with his index finger. “There was, however, one camera that they missed. I believe the thieves forgot about it.”

“Thieves? More than one?” Conrad didn’t like the idea of chasing down two people. The odds they would separate and break up the hoard of jewels were high. That made his job of recovering them much harder.

“Yes.” Barty scowled. “Piper Linwood, the gemologist you wished to acquire, seems to be involved. The lone camera that wasn’t hacked shows her and a man carrying the jewels out to a vehicle parked in the mews and driving away. Her role in the burglary seemed to be voluntary.”

Barty dug through his pockets and his coat until he found what he was looking for, a small thumb drive. He held it out to Conrad over the desk.

Conrad made no move to take it. “What is that?”

“The recording of the security video. I have a friend at Scotland Yard who owed me a favor. I thought you might want to see it.”

Only then did Conrad accept the drive. He inserted it into his computer and pulled up the video file.

It was dark by the mews, but he could see Piper clearly as she exited the kitchen door carrying a box of jewels. A man followed her, his arms also laden with boxes. The man was dark-haired and tall, and he moved with a grace that was unnatural for humans. The man moved like a dragon. Conrad paused the video and zoomed in on the man’s face.

“You have no idea who this man is?” he asked Barty.

“No. Scotland Yard is currently running him through facial recognition, but they won’t have any results for another couple of days.”

Conrad studied the blurry face of the mystery man, and then it hit him—a flash of memory, centuries old. A man he had seen only once, as they’d passed by each other in a darkened cell. The memory was brief, faded around the edges, but Conrad was sure it was the same man.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.