Chapter Eleven

ALEX

Unsure why that merited such a shocked reaction, I made an encouraging sort of noise so that he'd explain.

"Sorry," Nate said after a minute. "It's irrelevant to our investigation, but it's a hell of a surprise." He continued reading through the legal document I'd photographed without having time to study myself. "It's not signed yet," he added. "Do you think Charlie knows?"

I shrugged, but he evidently wasn't waiting for an answer.

"Most of his shares are going to Steven." His brows drew down. "That bastard's behind this somehow. He must have inveigled James into it."

I didn't know, and I didn't care. "What's Charlie to you anyway?" I asked, because there was no mistaking how swiftly he'd taken Charlie's side.

Nate continued staring at the screen for a moment before looking up at me. "My ex," he said. "My very ex."

"Ella seems to think you're getting back together." Why couldn't I stop digging? It was what I always did, picking at whatever would hurt me until it did.

"Charlie had that idea, too. It's not going to happen."

"You sure about that?"

"If I thought it was a possibility, I wouldn't have done what I just did with you. I know it didn't mean anything between us, but I'd never cheat."

That stung. I knew it didn't mean anything, necessarily, yet it had been so good I'd believed it had.

"I don't know how much juice the battery's got left, so you'd better finish with the photos," I told him.

I sat quietly while he flicked through the last of them. He wasn't blowing off this unexpected friendship that was developing between us. He was simply telling me he didn't want a relationship. I should be grateful that he'd been so clear and honest about that. I should be. But I was bitterly disappointed. What made it even worse was my knowledge that I'd sleep with him again in a heartbeat. I was my own worst enemy.

"Shit." He clutched the phone tightly, his knuckles white. "These are Aunt Amanda's accounts. James Fortescue is behind the attacks."

Again, I wasn't sure why that was such a surprise.

Nate returned my phone and rubbed his hands over his face. He looked suddenly weary. "I knew he had to be, but I didn't want to believe it," he confessed. "When Charlie and I were together, I spent as much time here as I did at home. I know the Fortescues are—well, they're somewhat austere, but they made me feel welcome. Unlike my family. Not Uncle Thaddeus, of course, but the rest of them."

I kept quiet, not wanting him to stop speaking, though my dragon was snarling at what that said about Nate's family.

"My parents passed away when I was eight. Mrs Fortescue isn't like my mum was, but she was kind. I think she loves Charlie more than the others, and some of that spilled over onto me." He rubbed his forehead fretfully. "She's changed, too. You wouldn't expect people to change so much in five years, would you?"

Depended on the person, I guessed, and what had happened during those years. He seemed to have stopped talking, and I wanted him to continue. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

A fond smile lit his face. "Rufus. My little brother." He glanced sideways at me before gazing straight ahead into the dark. "He's red."

"Okay," I said slowly, wondering why he sounded defiant. He said nothing and I cast around for something to add. "I guess the name's a bit of a clue."

He looked at me, holding my gaze challengingly. "I mean, when he shifts into a dragon, he's red."

I'd assumed that's what he'd meant, otherwise somewhere out there was a very colourful person. "That's a rare colour. I didn't know they still existed."

"Not just rare," he said bitterly. "Apparently, it means he's weak. Is that what you think?"

His dragon was lurking unmistakably in his eyes, and I had the feeling if I gave the wrong answer, I'd be without a head before I could so much as blink. My dragon's instinctive response got in the way of my thoughts for a moment. As I soothed him, reminded him that we liked Nate, his words registered.

"What the hell?" I stared at him. "Who would come up with something like that?"

For an instant, I could have sworn I saw a sheen in his eyes, and then he placed his head on the steering wheel and wouldn't look at me. "That's the biggest crock of shit I've ever heard," I reinforced. Because the look on his face… It was as if he needed to hear it.

"It is," he said, straightening up again to watch the dark river through the windscreen. "But my family believes it down to the bottom of their cold, hard hearts. They all but threw Rufus out."

With a family like that, how had Nate ended up so normal and likeable? If he thought the Fortescues were welcoming and Anna Fortescue had maternal qualities, I didn't want to meet his true family.

"How about you? Any siblings?" he asked.

"My parents tell me that, after I arrived, they decided they couldn't risk producing another one like me." They'd always been joking, though as I got older, I'd wondered if there wasn't a kernel of truth in it.

Nate had been open with me over something he thought I'd react badly to. I'd pay him the same compliment in return. If he was a bigoted dick, better to know now before I was completely gone for him. "My mum's human."

His brows were practically in his hairline. "Your family allowed that?" He made an impatient sound. "Well, obviously they did, or you wouldn't exist."

He was silent for a moment, and I waited tensely to see what he would say.

"Rufus is involved with a human, and it seems serious. I realise how presumptuous this is, but do you think your parents would be willing to talk to them about how to navigate a human-dragon relationship?"

Giddy with relief at his lack of derision or distaste, I agreed instantly. I knew Mum and Dad would be glad to help. "I'd be happy to talk to any kids they might have in due course."

"I don't think that's going to be a problem—Rufus is gay." He looked at me as if processing what I'd said. "Is it difficult, being their child? I mean, you can shift."

Yeah, it was difficult. I wasn't a full dragon, and some dragons couldn't cope with that. It appeared that Nate wasn't one of them. For once, my instincts about someone I liked had been right.

His phone sounded, jerking us from our intense conversation in the warm stuffiness that had built up inside the car. "Rufus," he said with a small smile at me as he replied. Then, "It's getting late. We'd better get back before they lock up for the night."

"It's like being a teenager again," I complained.

Once we were back on well-lit main roads, Nate spoke again. "James Fortescue sounded me out about taking a job with them. I've been trying to work out why." He paused. "He said he didn't like to see talent going to waste, and I can't work out if he meant the fact that I'm stuck in a dead-end position, probably for the rest of my life, or something more sinister. Perhaps he rates my ability and doesn't want to see me caught up in the destruction if he succeeds in bringing down the Mortimer banking empire." He glanced sideways at me. I'd noticed he did that a lot. As if he didn't expect to gain my full attention. "I know that sounds arrogant, but it's one possibility, and I've been trying to identify them all."

"Would you consider taking a job with them?" I asked. If his loyalties were liable to shift, I needed to know.

A mile passed without him saying a word. "No," he said at last. "Bim sent me here, and taking a job with the Fortescues would be a betrayal of his trust. But going back to London..." His mouth tightened. "It doesn't matter. I can't betray my family."

While he'd been so quiet, I'd been thinking. "There's another reason he might have raised the subject. You said he's suspicious about your presence." He'd be a fool not to be, and I didn't think old man Fortescue was a fool. "So he wants you off-balance. And, unless I miss my mark, that's what he's achieved."

Nate looked at me full-on, just for a moment, and there was realisation in his face. Also, I was sorry to see, resignation. "You're right. That's what he's up to."

I felt as if I'd trampled on his dream of having his abilities recognised.

He didn't speak again for the rest of the journey.