Alex crossed her legs, wanting to fill the silence. Her lips twitched with the need to do so. Instead, she bit down on the inside of her cheek to stop herself.

He who speaks first has lost.

Her father continued to stare her down. She felt like a little girl again. Wanting to squirm. Wanting to—

“And?” Angelo Bell folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. “Do you have the location of a lair? Have you captured one?”

Alex shook her head. “Not yet, I’m afraid. But—”

Her father sighed dramatically. “It might be time to bring in someone to help you. Harry Gunter would be the right candidate for the—”

“No!” she spat. Alex would rather die than work with that asshole.

“I know you two have a history but you will need to put your emotions aside. This is business, Alex. It’s been over a year and you have nothing to show for it. You captured one but lost it. You hired thugs to do your bidding. The mission was a total failure.” He touched his fingertips to the open file on his desk. “You are over budget and, if you ask me, in over your pretty, little head.”

She pulled in a breath, trying to calm down. Why did he have to refer to her looks all the time? What she looked like and the fact she didn’t have a penis didn’t make any difference. A fact she needed to prove over and over again, it would seem. It was growing tiresome.

“I will get the job done. I don’t need Harry or anyone else.” She was sure to keep her eyes on his. To keep her voice calm and even.

Do not show weakness.

“I have narrowed down the location of two of the lairs. The grid coordinates are noted in the file. We have spies in various regions in the US, with large rewards for any sightings. They are fully briefed on what to look for. I will follow up on a tip-off as soon we conclude this meeting. A couple meeting the criteria checked into a hotel in…” She hesitated. She didn’t want to divulge any details in case her father sent Harry in behind her back. She wouldn’t put it past him. Angelo Bell was ruthless. “All you need to know at this stage is that I have it fully under control and I will fly out straight after this meeting to follow up. You will be happy to note that it is a couple. The woman appears to be human, she is pregnant.”

Her father’s eye glinted and the one side of his mouth twitched. It wasn’t very often that her father showed any kind of emotion. Within a split second, he was back to being stern and disapproving. “Don’t disappoint me.”

“I won’t!”

“Good.” He closed the file and handed it to her. “This is it, your last chance.”

Her back stiffened as she rose to her feet. Then she nodded once and walked out the door. She immediately dialed the number she had been given. “Are they still there?” she barked into the phone.

“Yes,” the woman replied. “Do I get my reward now?”

“Keep your eyes on them. Don’t lose them. You get the reward when I get there.”

“What if they leave? Or, even worse, check out?” She sounded panicked.

“Then all bets are off. Give me the details,” Alex asked.

“I already—”

“I read the email, but I want to hear it from you,” Alex interrupted, striding down the long hallway.

“They checked in as Meghan and Tide Smith.”

Her heart beat faster. “Yes.” She nodded, pushing the elevator button. A fueled jet was waiting for her at the airport. “And the woman is definitely pregnant?”

“Without a doubt. The guy is huge, bigger than any man I’ve ever seen. He looks like a bodybuilder or something. He has ice-blue eyes…they’re freaky blue.”

Excitement raced through her. The elevator doors opened. “What else?” Alex snapped.

“I saw what looked like a golden tattoo on his chest when he leaned over to pick something up.”

“Don’t lose them,” Alex hissed.

“Okay, I won’t. I need the money,” the woman said.

“Then you know what to do. Not a word of this to anyone else.”

“O-okay.”

Alex ended the call as she got into the back of the waiting Mercedes. “Go!” she instructed her driver. “To the airport, as quick as you can.” Her heart beat faster. If all went well, she would have a male dragon and his whelp for her father within the next twenty-four hours. Nothing was going to stand in her way.

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