Read Smoke and Fire: Part 1 for Free Online Page B

especially. The wanted us to think Kinsey wrote the work order, but they also had to know her skills—and yours, for that matter. It’s why they hid themselves at Clarice’s computer.”
    “Then knew we’d clear Kinsey,” Dmitri said, his gaze riveted on her.
    Ryder frowned. He didn’t like the direction the conversation was turning. “Nay,” he stated.
    “That would be a hell no from me,” Kinsey said. “I didn’t willingly come here. Had I known this was where Ryder was, I’d have gone the opposite direction.”
    Ryder grimaced. It was the wrong thing to say to Con. And Con’s icy demeanor confirmed Ryder’s suspicions.
    “Is that right?” Con asked in a smooth, even tone.
    Kinsey gave a firm nod. “Yes.”
    “Because you saw him in his true form.”
    It wasn’t a question. Ryder closed his eyes, seeing the train wreck that was about to happen.
    There was a beat of silence before Kinsey’s said, “Yes. And before you ask, of course I was scared. I’d never seen a dragon before. How else was I supposed to react upon witnessing something that large flying through the sky breathing fire?”
    Ryder opened his eyes, hiding his smile. He had to give it to Kinsey for turning the question back on Con. She had a point.
    “Did the dragon come after you?” Con asked.
    Ryder watched Kinsey. He knew the answer, but he wasn’t sure if Kinsey thought he had gone after her.
    She briefly met his gaze before she swung her eyes to Con. “The city was burning. People were screaming and running for their lives. There were red-eyed men and women everywhere with droves of people around them. Then there was something in the sky. I didn’t stop to ask the dragon if it was going to kill me. I simply ran. As any sane person would do.”
    Ryder smiled, because she had a very good point. She hadn’t known it was him. Not at first. Now, once she had … well, that was an entirely different matter.
    “That’s a good explanation,” Con said. “How did you discover it was Ryder?”
    Kinsey swallowed and said, “I was being chased by one of those men with red eyes, the Dark. I just wanted to get away. The next thing I knew, there was a dragon flying right toward me. Then it was gone, and Ryder stood there. He killed the Dark Fae.”
    “And you ran away,” Con concluded.
    Kinsey’s gaze skated to Ryder for a heartbeat. “Yes. I ran.”

Chapter Six
    Kinsey held Con’s gaze. There was no way he was going to make her feel bad for doing what 99 percent of humans would’ve done in her shoes.
    However, she knew that had hurt Ryder. The look on his face that night, and even now while he watched her with hope, told her she had wounded him severely.
    “Con,” Ryder said, his voice holding a warning.
    Kinsey wondered what it was Ryder didn’t want Con to say to her. There was no emotion on Con’s face. Even his black eyes seemed to see right through her.
    It was contradictory to the golden waves of his hair that gave the impression of a relaxed and cheerful man, which was also in direct contrast to the sharp black suit he wore that looked as if it cost more than her entire wardrobe.
    “Let him say whatever he needs to,” Kinsey told Ryder. “He is King of Kings, after all.”
    Con’s eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second, but it was enough that Kinsey saw it. She felt she’d gained a small victory over him. She should’ve known that no one got anything on Con for long.
    “You shared Ryder’s bed, knew him intimately, and yet when he saves you from the Dark, you run away. And you doona believe you have anything to be contrite for?”
    “I was scared.”
    One side of Con’s lips lifted in a smile. “You. It’s always about you, is it no’? What about Ryder?”
    “Enough, dammit,” Ryder said as he got to his feet. “I can handle this.”
    But Con’s words filtered into her brain regardless of the fact that Ryder tried to stop it. Was Con right? Was she making it all about her?
    Con slowly turned his head