Julia hugged her coat closer to her as she thought about where she should go to give Iszak the privacy he needed to speak with his brother. Something was going on between them, and she wondered if it had something to do with her. She’d seen shock in Andor’s eyes for a brief second when she’d introduced herself, but as far as she knew, they didn’t know each other.

And maybe she was imagining things. Not everything revolved around her, and she was all too familiar with family drama. There might be something going on between Iszak and his brother that had festered for years. Her own relationship with Kevin proved that just because you were siblings with someone, it didn’t mean that you had to like or respect them.

She walked down the street, and saw a coffee shop in the middle of the block. She’d go there, have a hot drink, which would give Iszak time to speak privately with his brother. It would also give her time to sort out what she thought had happened to Kevin.

It was warm inside the cafe and there were only a few people inside. She ordered an overpriced cup of coffee, and sat at one of the tables in the corner, facing the door and undid her coat. Knowing what she did about Kevin and his lack of personal responsibility, in all likelihood he’d left town and skipped bail. It wouldn’t matter to him that his father would lose the money he’d posted, and whatever else he’d put up as collateral for Kevin’s guaranteed court appearance. Kevin was selfish, had always been so and it was as much their father’s fault as it was his.

Kevin could do no wrong in their father’s eyes, and it would never occur to Gerard that his precious son would screw him over for the bail money he’d posted. No, Gerard would believe that something more sinister was going on, that Kevin had gotten tangled up with dragons and they were responsible for his disappearance. It had to have occurred to her father that her brother wasn’t missing at all, that he’d deliberately left town without letting anyone know. It was why Gerard hadn’t told her that Kevin was out on bail in the first place, because she would have refused to come her looking for him if she’d known.

Julia took a sip of her coffee, watching the door out of habit. A large man with a mean face and a shaved head walked in, and he looked out of place in this upscale coffee shop. He looked at her, and quickly looked away as he stepped up to the counter. With a shake of her head, she turned her attention back to her coffee and her own business. Some random dude who looked more at home in a biker bar was not her problem right now.

Her problem was the situation with her search for her brother Kevin and if she should take it any further. She had a feeling that she hadn’t learned everything that Lyssa had to say about her brother, but if she was in her shoes she would be reluctant to talk to a family member of a man who’d stalked and terrorized her. Julia was well aware how violent and obsessive her brother was, and she wouldn’t wish him on even her worst enemy. But calling Gerard right now and telling him that she thought Kevin had skipped bail without making it look like she’d tried her best to find out wouldn’t be acceptable to him.

Her ultimate goal was to wash her hands of her father and his obsessions. Meeting Iszak had shown her just how stuck she was in her current life, and she needed to cut ties if she was going to get to a place where she could be happy. But she had to do this one last thing for her father before she felt she could tell him that enough was enough.

Her coffee was half finished and she still didn’t have the answers she was looking for. Her gut told her that Lyssa was lying about something, but her head told her that Kevin had run true to form and skipped town. She wasn’t sure what she should believe.

After another sip of her coffee, she reached up to rub her hand over the back of her neck. She could feel eyes on her, and she looked up to see the bald man was staring at her. When he noticed her looking back at him, his eyes quickly darted away and he looked like he was concentrating on his coffee. Men had stared at her before, and she’d never been entirely comfortable with it. And this guy was definitely not her type. Even if he was, she wasn’t in the market because she believed that she’d found the man she’d been looking for.

It had only been a short time since they’d met, but Julia could feel herself growing closer to Iszak. Part of her reluctance to tell her father that she was done looking for Kevin was because it would mean that she had no reason to stay here. At least not one that she could tell Gerard. She knew her father well enough to know that he would try to interfere in her relationship with Iszak, as if she was still a teenager and not an adult woman capable of making her own decisions. She wanted a little more time with Iszak, to explore how she felt without the added pressure of the trouble that Gerard could cause.

There was only dregs left in the coffee cup and she looked at her watch. She’d been away from the apartment for about thirty minutes. Was that enough time for Iszak and his brother to deal with their issue, or should she have another cup of coffee?

She could feel eyes on her again, and that guy was staring at her. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and decided against staying any longer. The guy might work up the nerve to approach her and she didn’t want to encourage that. She just wanted to be left alone with her thoughts.

She stood, put her coat back on and slung her purse over her shoulder. Hopefully Iszak was finished with his brother and it was okay for her to go back to the apartment. The time she had with him was finite and she didn’t want to waste it being stared at by a stranger.

The wind was still bitter when she walked out of the cafe, and she bent her head as she made her way back to the apartment. The snow crunched under her feet, and she was lost in her own thoughts when she felt a hand on her arm. A startled gasp escaped her as she turned to see who had put his hands on her. It was the bald guy from the cafe, and her heart pounded hard as she yanked her arm from his grasp. This guy had a lot of nerve, just grabbing her in public like that.

“Listen, I’m not interested in talking. My boyfriend is expecting me back and is probably on his way here to come and collect me.” She didn’t know what this guy had in mind, but it was better if she let him think that there was someone watching out for her in case he got any ideas.

“I won’t keep you for long. I just want to know one thing. Are you Kevin Robillard’s sister?”

Julia paused in the middle of turning away, and looked up at him. This guy knew Kevin? What were the odds that he would happen to show up at the same coffee shop as her, and just happen to know her brother.

“Yes. How did you know?” She wasn’t ready to trust this guy just because he knew her brother. In fact, knowing the kind of person Kevin was and the kind of people he associated with, the last thing she should do was trust him.

“I recognized your picture from the one that Kevin has in his place. I live across the hall from him and I think I know what happened to him.”

“I think I know what happened to him too. He skipped bail. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some place to be.” Julia turned away, and he grabbed her by the arm again. “Listen, I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but keep your hands to yourself.”

He lifted his hands away and held them out to his side. “I know you have no reason to trust me or believe a word I say, but give me five minutes of your time. We’ll go back to the coffee shop and I’ll tell you what I know about what happened to your brother. If after we’ve talked you don’t believe me, that’s your business. Please, just give me five minutes.”

Julia sighed. So far other than taking her by the arm, twice, this guy hadn’t done anything threatening. If he did know more about what had happened to Kevin, she owed it to her father to listen to him. She’d hear what he had to say and use her own judgment about whether or not it jived with what she knew her brother was like. Perhaps this guy was like her father, and couldn’t believe that Kevin was enough of an irresponsible jerk to skip bail.

“Five minutes and that’s all. And you’re buying the coffee.” He nodded and turned back to walk down the street. She followed behind him hoping that this wasn’t going to turn out to be a waste of her time. At least she was going to get a free cup of coffee out of the deal.

* * *

"I know what I'm doing." And he was certain that he did. Andor might not think so, but Julia was more than just her family name. The more time Iszak spent with her, the more he thought she was the woman fate intended for him to be with. He would have been certain of it if not for her family background, but the fact that she wanted to move away from her father and his lifestyle was an encouraging sign.

"Why is she here?" There was no understanding in his brother's face, nothing to indicate that Andor was able to see past Julia's last name. But then why would he? All Andor would see was the threat she represented. Iszak needed to find a way to convince his brother that he had the situation under control, otherwise Andor might take matters into his own hands.

"You know why. She's Kevin's sister and she's here to look into why he disappeared." Iszak wasn't sure if his brother had known Kevin's last name. He did now, and the news that Julia was here looking into what happened to Lyssa's ex boyfriend was like a bomb going off in the middle of the room.

"She's the reason for your phone call to me earlier? She wants to find Kevin, Lyssa's ex boyfriend, the man I killed? Have you gone mad? She's a dragon hunter, from a long line of dragon hunters, here looking for one of her own and you've brought her into our lives? Are you trying to get us killed?" The volume of Andor's voice got louder with every word that spewed out of his mouth. It was a good thing that Julia had left, otherwise she would have been left in no doubt of Andor's true nature as his eyes burned with a wreath of fire. "How could you knowingly put my mate in danger?"

He'd been prepared to listen to what his brother had to say, but how could he think that he would be so careless that he would deliberately put Lyssa in danger? Iszak stepped up to his brother with a growl and soon they were nose to nose.

"I'm doing this to protect her. Only the three of us and Rickman know what really happened to Kevin. There is no way she is going to find out anything as long as we keep our mouths shut and are careful around her. She's here to look for her brother and short of killing her, there isn’t much we can do about that. What I can do is keep track of what she learns and who she shares that knowledge with. Lyssa has her halfway convinced that Kevin left town after he got bail."

Why couldn’t his brother trust that he wouldn’t let anyone or anything bring harm to Lyssa or him? Andor should know that family meant more to him than anything else.

“And what happens if she gets too close to the truth? What if she talks to someone that we don’t know about?”

Iszak shook his head. “That’s not going to happen. You have to trust me, Andor. I would never knowingly bring danger to you or Lyssa. I have this under control.”

Well, at least he hoped he did. When he’d started this whole scheme to seduce her and keep tabs on her, he hadn’t considered that he might be the one seduced. How could he have known the pleasures that he would find in her body, and the feelings that such closeness with her would awaken?

“You think you do, but I saw the way you looked at her. She’s getting under your skin.”

“You’re wrong.” Even as he said it, Iszak knew that was a lie. Already thoughts were going through his head that she might be the one. In his head he knew that a dragon and a dragon hunter did not mix, but his heart was another matter. His heart didn’t want her out of his sight, wanted to be close to her and was counting the minutes until his brother left so that he could be alone with her when she returned to the apartment.

“How did you get so unlucky to meet a dragon hunter in the first place?” Andor’s voice was low, as if he was deliberately trying to keep himself calm. At least his eyes had returned to normal, which was a good sign. Perhaps his brother was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“She got stranded in the snow storm near Rickman’s cabin. I offered her a place to stay before I knew who she was, and even after I heard her last name, I couldn’t very well chuck her out in a snow bank to freeze to death.”

That explained how she came to be in his life, but it didn’t explain what was going on inside him. He would keep that to himself, it was none of his brother’s business what Julia made him feel. He wasn’t sure what it was, all he knew was that he wasn’t ready to let her go from his life.

“Why is she really here? The truth this time?” Andor crossed his arms over his chest, and Iszak gave an aggravated growl. How many times did his brother need to hear why she was here before he believed it?

“I told you, I’m keeping tabs on her.” That refrain was getting old, and Iszak knew that there was more to it than that. He’d hoped his brother wouldn’t realize it, but by the way he rolled his eyes it was apparent Andor knew there was something he wasn’t telling him. He wasn’t ready to talk about what was happening between him and Julia. It was private, something between him and her.

“And you need to fuck her to keep tabs on her?”

As soon as the words were out of his brother’s mouth, Iszak leapt at him and grabbed him by the front of his shirt.

“Don’t talk about her that way. It’s not like that.” Heat crawled all over his body, and his brother’s response was instantaneous. A deep growl rumbled in his chest and flames sprang up in his eyes. Iszak was certain that his were the same. He knew it was only words, that it wasn’t worth pummeling his brother into the ground over. But something about the lack of respect in his brother's choice of words aroused the fires of his anger. What Julia made him feel was more complicated than simple fucking and his brother needed to realize that.

“Then how is it? Do you have feelings for her? Is there some twisted part of your brain that thinks she would be a suitable mate for you? Because if there is more to it than releasing your physical urges with her, you are leading yourself down a road that will only end in your destruction. I’m not about to let that happen.” Andor broke the hold that Iszak had over him, and took a step back.

Iszak took several deep breaths, and the red edging his vision slowly ebbed away. Underneath all the bluster and fire of his brother’s anger, he could see the concern that was there. If the situation was reversed, he was certain that he would question Andor’s sanity if he was entangled with a woman like Julia. How could he explain to his brother what Julia made him feel when he didn’t understand it himself? That her hunt for Kevin and the family she came from were starting to not matter to him. That he could no longer look into the future and not see her there.

“I won’t let it go that far. I won’t let this situation ruin any of us.” All he needed was for his brother to trust him, just a little. He had things with Julia under control.

“You are letting your attraction to her blind you. How do you know that she’s not playing you? She’s a Robillard, for God’s sake.”

“She’s not playing me. How could she be? She’d have to know what I am, and if she was the cold, hearted mercenary you seem to think she is, I’d be dead now. She has no idea that I’m a dragon, that you are a dragon or that we have any connection to Kevin. If you want to keep it that way I suggest you stop coming here and breathing fire about my bringing danger to your mate.”

Andor’s mouth tightened, and he gave his head a small shake. “This is a bad idea. What happens when you get in too deep with her and can’t extricate yourself? Have you thought about that? And what about your curse? While you are here playing with her, time is marching on for you. The more time you spend with her, the less time you have to find the woman you are fated to be with.”

Iszak turned away. He didn’t want to tell his brother that he was starting to think that he’d already found her. Something about Julia called to him deep in his soul, and he didn’t think it was just his physical desire for her that did that. If that was all it was between them, surely making love with her would have quelled the hunger he had for her. There was more to it than that. He wanted to be with her, wanted to listen to her talk about what she dreamed about for her life and he wanted to help her make those dreams a reality. He wasn’t sure yet where this was headed, but he couldn’t say goodbye to her, no matter how much his brother wanted him to.

Andor’s hand clamped around his arm and he yanked him around to face him. His brother’s face was pale, and his eyes narrowed.

“You think she’s the one, don’t you?”

“No.” Even to his own ears, Iszak could hear his lack of conviction. He certainly wasn’t fooling his brother with a statement like that. “I don’t know. Maybe she is. I won’t know it unless I spend more time with her.”

“And if you do fall in love with her? How do you plan to break the news to her that you’re a dragon? Have you considered that she might not take it very well considering that her family hunts dragons? You might as well drive a dragon forged blade through your heart and be done with it.”

The muscle tightened in Iszak’s jaw, and he pulled his arm from his brother’s grip. He didn’t want to fight with Andor, and he didn’t want to talk about this anymore. He’d deal with telling Julia the truth about himself if and when the need arose. This was all speculation at this point, because while he wanted her, and needed her, he wasn’t even sure that it was love.

“You’ll have to trust me. I know what I’m doing. You should go, since your mate is alone and apparently there is a dragon hunter in town.”

“This isn’t a good idea, Iszak.” Fortunately that was all his brother had to say. He turned away and Iszak breathed a sigh of relief as his brother left the apartment. He knew that he hadn’t convinced Andor that this situation was not going to end in a disaster, hell he wasn’t even convinced of it himself. All he knew was that he wanted Julia with an intensity that bordered on obsession and that he wasn't ready to walk away from her yet.