Dragon Soul Read online

  Dragon Soul

  Cobalt Dragons Book 3

  By Amelia Jade

  Dragon Soul

  Copyright © 2018 by Amelia Jade

  First Electronic Publication: August 2018

  Amelia Jade

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission.

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.

  All sexual activities depicted occur between consenting characters 18 years or older who are not blood related.

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  Contents

  Author’s Note

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Want More of These Characters?

  The Outsiders

  Cadia

  Genesis Valley

  About the Author

  Author’s Note

  Hold on!

  You should know that while this series can be read independently, it is part of a large world that was started with the Crimson Dragons series. You can continue through, as each book contains a full story arc with happy endings for the characters, but to get the full experience of the Outsiders Universe, you should really start at the beginning with Dragon Temptation (Crimson Dragons #1) available below.

  I hope you enjoy!

  - Amelia

  Crimson Dragons

  Crimson Dragons: The Box Set (Link)

  Dragon Temptation

  Dragon Seduction

  Dragon Devotion

  Onyx Dragons

  Dragon Fixation

  Dragon Obsession

  Dragon Addiction

  Ice Dragons

  Dragon Eruption

  Dragon Redemption

  Dragon Rebellion

  Emerald Dragons

  Dragon Passion

  Dragon Desire

  Dragon Craving

  Cobalt Dragons

  Dragon Blood

  Dragon Heart

  Dragon Soul

  Quicksilver Dragons

  Dragon Marked

  Dragon Bound

  Dragon Betrothed

  Dragon Soul

  Chapter One

  Kim

  “Flight LX1048 is now boarding at Gate 32. Flight LX1048, now boarding at Gate 32.”

  She didn’t bother to look up from what she was doing. The calls were nothing but background noise to her now. After three hours rifling through luggage in a screened-off section of Terminal 2 she was more than capable of filtering out things like the soft-voiced boarding agent at the gate.

  “Agent Phrasier.”

  The two words, combined with the proximity of the voice, meant that the call slid through her audio filters and registered with her brain. Standing up with a carefully contained groan as her back protested after being hunched over for so long, she addressed the source of the interruption.

  “Yes, Jimmer?”

  Jimmer Frenette, one of the better members of her team, handed her a slip. “I think we have something.”

  She glanced at the item. It was a luggage tag she realized. The name on it was Ron Sweedle. “Where did you find this?”

  Jimmer pointed to where Agent Leaside was currently standing thirty or so feet down the pile, tapping a bag on the counter in front of her. She looked bored, like this was just the norm for her. Kim closed her eyes in a silent prayer that Leaside was wrong, though she didn’t mean it. She just didn’t feel like dealing with the cocky youngster.

  Youngster. Jeez. Just because you’ve crossed the bridge at thirty-five doesn’t make you old.

  She eyed Leaside’s young figure. Slender, though still fit. Long blonde hair tied back in a perfunctory ponytail, much like her own mane of thick brown locks. It was the eyes that gave her away. Leaside’s bright cornflower blue eyes radiated life, while Kim knew hers were losing the brightness of her youth. Even the large golden flecks were unable to keep a sense of “dullness” away from them.

  Oh shut up. You’re still hot. The trio of guys who hit on you last Friday should tell you that.

  Buoyed by the ego boost, she approached. “What is it, Spot? Did you smell the bad guy?”

  Leaside grinned, shrugging off the comparison to a bloodhound with ease. After all, she didn’t mind that the others thought she had a nose for danger. To her that was an adrenaline boost.

  Yet something else I’m losing. I no longer live for the thrill of the chase.

  She allowed that getting put into a coma for six years on her last case as a civilian investigator might have something to do with that. Still, even her new job with the Military Intelligence division of her homelands National Guard had failed to bring back that sense of exhilaration she used to get when they found a clue to the bad guys’ whereabouts. Nothing brought that anymore. Nothing except…

  “Well, open it,” she indicated, shoving that aside. It wasn’t worth it. He was gone. She hadn’t seen him in ten years.

  All her agents had been under strict orders not to open any suitcases without her express permission. None of them enjoyed rifling through other people’s belongings anyway, so they were perfectly fine with that. Now though, Leaside leapt into action. A pair of small bolt cutters snipped the lock off and she opened the zippers with practiced precision.

  Inside they saw nothing but clothing. They pawed through it, but nothing came up. Nothing until… “Jimmer, check the depth of it,” she growled in frustration.

  Her associate measured, but there was nothing abnormal about it. “Sorry, ma’am.”

  She hissed in frustration. “How did he manage to get it by us?”

  Neither Leaside nor Frenette had any ideas. Ron Sweedle, more commonly known as Rian Slovan, was one of the biggest importers of illegal arms and drugs into their small mountain country. Word had come down from one of their undercover operatives that he was going to be traveling and would have a manifest of items with him. Currently he was sitting in a holding cell nearby while they searched his luggage, having already searched his person.

  “Toss it through the x-ray machine,” she snapped, though she doubted they were going to find anything. Like always, he seemed to be perfectly innocent of any wrongdoing.<
br />
  While waiting for the results to come back she wandered out into the main part of the terminal, nodding at the special forces troopers posted at various points just in case something went wrong. Agent Phrasier believed in being prepared.

  “This is the final call for flight LX1048. Final call for any passengers for flight LX1048, now boarding at Gate 32.”

  This time the PA system filtered through her head. Lazily she glanced over at Gate 32 as someone approached it, a sole passenger nearly too late for their flight. Idiot…

  She scanned the passenger, noting the beige overcoat draped over one arm, the small, compact carry-on, collared shirt, and black dress shoes. A businessman, then. A silver watch on his right wrist caught her eye. A successful businessman, she corrected, noting his recently cut hair and straight-legged, probably custom-tailored pants.

  Everything about the man screamed wealth. So why was he boarding the plane so late? Delayed by a meeting, perhaps? He handed his pass to the mildly irritated agent, who nodded and proceeded to wave him forward. The man took his pass back and gave the airport one last look around before boarding. His head turned left, then back to the right until he was looking off to her left.

  Kim hissed. “It can’t be…”

  But there was no doubt in her mind. She’d recognize that big, handsome face with the wide jaw, thick lips, and faded scar on his right cheek anywhere.

  Morgan Flinn. Bank robber extraordinaire, and national fugitive. He was also the man who’d sideswiped the car she was driving, nearly killing her and putting her into a coma that took her six years to awaken from, and another eighteen months of intense rehab to recover from.

  He disappeared down the jet bridge as she approached.

  “Can I see your boarding pass, ma’am?” the agent asked politely.

  Kim flipped open her identification. “Where is this plane going?” she asked a little more sharply than intended, her attention locked down the bridge.

  Why was he back? How had he gotten into the country without anyone knowing? And more importantly, where was he going?

  “Oh.” The agent sounded flustered. “What can I do for you, ma’am? Am I in trouble?”

  “No.” She thought swiftly. If Morgan was back, then he was up to no good. It was her job to stop him. First though, she needed to know what his plan was, so she could derail that. Kim needed more information. “But I need a seat on the plane.”

  She made the decision in a hurry, a snap one that was very unlike her.

  The agent raised her eyebrows but bent over to her computer without another word. A professional, very good.

  “Jimmer,” she said into her shoulder mic. “I’m following up a new lead. I can’t say anything. I need you to cover for me with Fielding.”

  “Anything, boss. How long are you going to be gone?”

  “Three days. Maybe a week. Do your best, but don’t get in any shit for me.”

  “A week?!” came the hissed reply. “What the hell are you doing, ma’am? I can’t cover for you that long.”

  “Try your best, Jimmer,” she said, cutting the transmission off as the agent looked up.

  “I’m sorry, but all we have are first-class tickets.”

  She swore. Dammit. He was going to get away! “Just charge it,” she said, pulling out a credit card. “Don’t tell me how much, just put it on that.”

  The card changed hands, and Kim tried very hard not to stare at the symbol of the National Guard imprinted upon it. The card wasn’t hers. She was going to be in a lot of trouble if this didn’t work out. A lot. So she’d better not fuck it up.

  The agent quickly printed her a boarding pass. Her identification also served as a passport, so she didn’t have to worry about that. Kim sprinted down the jet bridge as the agent radioed ahead to inform the crew. A steward greeted her at the door and showed her to her seat.

  “Oh dear,” she whispered, slipping into the extravagant clamshell seating, ignoring the looks from her fellow passengers.

  It was only then that the attendant’s words clued in. She’d said first class. Not business. There were only a few certain flights that had true first class these days, and a short hop to somewhere else in Europe most certainly was not one of them.

  What have I gotten myself into, she moaned to herself, slowly flicking open the hastily folded boarding pass. Her eyes at first refused to read the destination.

  The United States?! Oh fuck, I am so screwed.

  There was another question on her brain though, one that was already pushing its way to the forefront as her mind ignored things she couldn’t change and started dealing with facts.

  First, Morgan Flinn was back after ten years of exile, to the best of her knowledge. Not only that, but he was now leaving freely, which meant he had a fake identify that she would need to either shut down or track.

  Second, or maybe third, was the fact that they were now headed to the United States. A land of excess, but an ally. Hopefully she could liaise with some local forces and enlist their help to bring Morgan to justice.

  Fourth, was the fact she was leaving without orders, without permission, and without letting anyone know where she was going. Oh, and she’d spent a boatload of government money on her ticket to boot.

  What I need to do is bring him back in chains. If I can do that, I should get off without any serious trouble. Heck, maybe I’ll even get a promotion out of it.

  Unlikely, but then, that didn’t matter to her. All Agent Kimberly Phrasier wanted to do was catch the bad guy and learn the truth. Plain and simple. That’s how she liked it.

  The plane started to roll backward and she buckled up in preparation for takeoff.

  Things might still end up plain and simple, but one thing was for sure. They weren’t going to be boring!

  She settled in to her luxurious chair and decided to get some rest. It was going to be a long plane ride.

  Chapter Two

  Kim

  Fingers gripped the wheel tight, pulse thundering in her ears.

  This was the most dangerous driving that Kim had ever attempted. It was, in some ways, even more reckless than her attempt to stop Morgan the last time she’d seen him.

  I’ve followed him this far. No way in hell am I going to lose him now.

  She’d painstakingly followed Morgan all the way across the ocean, onto another flight, and then she’d rented a car and followed him out into the country. She couldn’t recall what state they were in, only knowing that the place the final flight had landed in was called Barton City.

  “Shit,” she muttered, swerving back onto the road as her tire started to rumble over gravel.

  The urge to turn on her headlights was almost unbearable, but she kept them off and continued to follow the car far in front of her. Moonlight would have to be her guide. If she turned on anything at all she would instantly become visible this far out into the country. Darkness reigned supreme, and she had a hard time seeing the road in front of her, except when the moon broke through the clouds to give her some semblance of light. Even then it wasn’t much to go on.

  Overhead the only source of light wavered and then was gone behind thick clouds. In the distance a flash of lightning lit the sky. There wasn’t going to be any more moon, she decided.

  Up ahead the car turned. Kim sat up straighter. Could this be it? Was she about to confront him? She’d been forced to leave her gun behind, not having realized she’d had it on her at first. When the stewardess had pulled her chair out into a bed though, something hard had dug into Kim’s side, reminding her of the weapon. After they’d landed she’d carefully explained to the flight attendant what was going on. Thankfully it was headed back home without any incident.

  How was she going to bring him in without a gun though? Shit. She needed to contact the police first. For now she would just have to follow him, find out all she could. What a shitshow of an operation.

  Following him around the turn, which she
actually missed and was forced to reverse back to, Kim nearly missed the fact she was closing on the car. She slowed to a stop, but it still came closer. Oh shit, he had parked! She killed her engine in the middle of the road as fast as she could remember that it was a push-button ignition and not a key turn. It rumbled into silence a moment before his door opened.

  “That was close,” she muttered to herself, breathing heavily from the suspense. In the country late at night like this he would have had no trouble hearing her car engine.

  Kim got out and started to creep closer. At one point she’d followed him into a service station and hastily bought as powerful a flashlight as she could find. It now resided in her hand, ready to use for light, or as a weapon if needed.

  But there was nobody in the car. She looked around. On the same side of the road was a thick stand of trees and undergrowth. It would provide excellent cover, but there was no path through it, and it was overgrown. To her right was a low rise, but she couldn’t make out what was there.

  Going with her gut, as she had this entire crazy pursuit, she hurried across the road and up the rise, moving as quietly as she knew how. At the top her progress was suddenly halted by a wire fence.

  “Oh come on,” she hissed, noting the signs that screamed warnings about private property, that it was a military base, etcetera. How could he have gone in there? Kim scuttled along the fence for a bit. There was nobody in sight. A flash of lightning made her gasp in surprise as thunder boomed out almost instantly. The storm was very close now.

  But it had also illuminated something. Just up ahead, no more than ten feet, a chunk of fence had been lifted from the ground and cut. That had to be it. That had to be where he’d gone inside.

  Whispering a prayer that her rash actions wouldn’t get her killed, Kim followed Morgan into the American military base. Please don’t make this a career-ending move. What are you doing, Morgan? Why are you sneaking onto a foreign military base?

  Nothing made any sense, but if she’d sought the truth before, Kim was now obsessed with it. She had to know what the evil mastermind was up to, and she had to stop it before it was too late. Those two things drove her onward.