Read Online Smoke and Fire: Part 4 by Donna Grant - Free Book Online Page A

talk or died while we interrogated them.”
    “Died?” Roman asked.
    Esther’s gaze moved to him. “Not because of anything we did to them. Before we tied them to chairs, a few managed to kill themselves. Others just … died. Right before our eyes.”
    Henry didn’t need to look at the others to know that everyone in the room except for Esther knew magic was involved. Ulrik had sunk to a new level, but then again, Henry said that every time they learned something new the banished King had done.
    “You’re different than earlier,” Henry pointed out as he observed his sister. She appeared more relaxed, despite the situation.
    Her brows rose. “Earlier? Henry, I’ve not spoken to you in months. The last time we saw each other was a year ago.”
    “We had a conversation only a few hours earlier.”
    She was shaking her head before he finished. “That’s not possible.”
    “Then how did you end up here?” Con asked.
    Esther threw up her hands. “I don’t even know where here is.”
    “Dreagan,” Con supplied.
    That stopped her cold. Henry watched as she withdrew into herself and her memories. “What are you remembering?” he pressed.
    “Oh dear Lord,” Esther whispered.
    A bottle was quickly shoved into her hand by Roman. Henry tried to warn her that it was whisky since she hated the taste, but he didn’t have time. Without even looking to see what it was, Esther lifted it to her lips and drank.
    She lowered the bottle, coughing as the whisky made its way down her throat. Her eyes became red the more she glanced at the bottle, and she rolled her eyes when she read the Dreagan label.
    “What did you expect?” Roman asked with a smirk.
    Esther took another drink, this one no more than a sip. She put the back of her hand to her mouth as she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. Then she looked at each of them, landing on Henry last.
    “Tell me,” he urged.
    “We didn’t know where to start looking. No one would tell us any names,” Esther said. “We were losing patience. Then Stuart had the idea for me to begin posting something on forums about how MI5 was ruined and I was looking for payback.”
    Henry nodded, understanding now. “That’s why you were decommissioned.”
    “Yes. It took just over a month before I was contacted by a man named Sam MacDonald.”
    “Did you see him?” Thorn asked.
    Esther nodded. “I spoke to him several times.”
    It was Dmitri who held up his mobile phone with a picture of Ulrik on it. “Is that him?”
    “It does look like him,” Esther said hesitantly. “But a little different. His hair doesn’t have the gray in it at the temples. And his eyes are different.”
    Con dropped his arms and moved a step closer. “Different colors?”
    “No. This man has colder eyes.”
    “But he looks like the man Sam you spoke with?” Henry asked.
    Esther said, “Yes. Besides those differences.”
    “We’ve finally connected him,” Dmitri said with a smile. “I can no’ wait to tell Ryder.”
    Con held up a hand, stopping Dmitri. “No’ yet. Please finish, Esther.”
    “Sam recruited me,” Esther continued. “I was brought into a company called Kyvor. I’m not sure what all they did, but the top executives seemed more interested in Dreagan than their business.”
    Roman snorted. “Surprise, surprise.”
    “I went there every day for three months answering their questions and helping them track some of you. There was a woman they were interested in. I never knew her name, just her initials. KB.”
    Henry looked to Con. “Kinsey.”
    “Aye,” Con said, his lips thinning slightly.
    Esther let out a deep breath. “I remember going to the building. They said they had one more test for me before they let me out into the field. I walked into a large room. It was empty except for two chairs.” She paused and touched her forehead before dropping her arm. “A woman sat in one chair. She had me take the other. And I remember nothing after that until I woke up and