Page 32 of Born in Fire

I hang back, watching the exchange. The fear in her eyes is genuine. She’s terrified for her friend. Meanwhile, Caleb’s calling for Malakai, which confirms every bad feeling burrowing under my skin.

When Caleb starts questioning Mara about Elena’s “unusual abilities,” I perk up. What the hell did this woman do to access our vault?

“What do you mean?” says Mara.

“Things she could do that others couldn’t,” he says. “Access things she shouldn’t be able to.”

The woman pauses. “Sometimes she just… knows stuff,” she says, too cagey for my liking. “But that’s not important right now. What happened to her?”

Sloane appears with the news that Malakai is conveniently unavailable.

Of course he is.

The old fucker is as slippery as a greased-up eel.

As Caleb heads for the elevator again, Mara follows, anger and fear radiating off her in waves. “Hey! Where are we going?”

“Youare going back to where you came from,” Caleb tells her. “I’ll deal with this.”

She starts to protest, and I step in. Time to deploy the one skill I excel at—making people do what we need them to do.

I turn to face her, deliberately softening my expression. “We’re going to take care of this,” I tell her, injecting warmth andconfidence into my voice. “Go back to her place and make absolutely sure she didn’t go there. There’s a chance she’ll head home, and that’s the best place for you to be.”

I set my hand on her shoulder, giving her my most reassuring smile. It’s manipulative as hell, but necessary. We can’t have her following us, can’t risk exposing more of our world than she’s already glimpsed.

“Fine,” she says slowly, the fight draining from her. “But don’t fuck me around, okay? If I don’t hear from you within two hours, I’m going to the cops.”

“That won’t be necessary. I promise.” I smile wider, maintaining eye contact until I feel her resistance crumble.

As Caleb heads back to the elevator, I linger just long enough to make sure Mara stays put. Once I’m certain she’s with Sloane, I join my brother.

“You think Malakai took her?” I ask as soon as the doors close.

Caleb’s jaw works silently for a moment. “I know he did.”

“Why? What would he want with a human PI?”

“She’s not just a PI.” Caleb’s eyes meet mine. “She got into the vault, Dorian. Past every security measure we have.”

“That’s impossible.”

“And yet,” his expression darkens, “she was there. And now Malakai has her.”

The elevator descends, and I find myself torn between two crises. The woman in my brother’s orbit who’s somehow vanished with our oldest clan member. And the woman from last night who’s somehow gotten under my skin in less than a week.

“If he’s gone rogue…” I let the implication hang.

“Then we’re all in danger,” Caleb finishes. “The Heartstone. The clan. Everything.”

As I stand there looking at him, I make a decision. Juno will have to wait. She’s safe. Elena—wherever she is—might not be.

“Well,” I say, rolling up my sleeves, “let’s go dragon hunting.” I make it sound more fun than it would be. The days of white knights on horses are long gone. Not to mention that we’re dragons, too.

“Where would he take her?” His voice is steel, all business.

“Let me think…” I run through mental files of properties, shell companies, and hidden assets. This is my domain—the web of our clan’s holdings that most members don’t even know exists. “He’s got four properties registered under his name, but he wouldn’t be stupid enough to use those.”

“What about the unregistered ones?”

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