It’s not unlike the way he looked at me yesterday before…
There’s something else in his gaze right now. I can’t place it. I’m not sure I want to place it.
“Diana…” he says on a groan.
I swallow. “Yes?”
“I got another one of those phone calls.”
Not what I was expecting him to say.
“Oh?”
He nods. “Whoever it was says I need to call off your private investigator.”
I drop my jaw. “How does he even know we hired her?”
Dragon shrugs. “Got me. Of course I tried calling the number again—it was a different number from the first one—and no one answered. It just rang and rang.”
“Did you call Alayna?”
“No.” He frowns. “I felt like it might be too late.”
“I think we need to call her right now.” I grab my phone from the kitchen counter.
But Dragon comes toward me, puts his hand over mine.
Tingles I’m not expecting shoot through me.
“Don’t, please.”
“Dragon, we have to let Alayna know. This is a new number she can look into.”
“If there’s any chance that…” He shakes his head vigorously. “I can’t take any chances with this.”
I look into his eyes. “Dragon, what is it that you’re not telling me?”
He turns his back to me then, releasing my hand. His shoulders quiver a bit.
I reach toward him tentatively, place my hand on his upper arm and turn him around.
His eyes are glazed over. There are no tears, but something’s going on.
“Dragon…”
“No one knows everything,” he says. “Not even my therapist. Not even Jesse.”
“I’m not asking you to spill some kind of secret you’re not ready to talk about. But if you want Alayna’s help, you need to at least level with her.”
“I have…” He rubs his forehead. “As much as I can, at least.”
He looks so sad, so resigned. “Dragon… Where were you tonight?”
He swallows. “I went home.”
I raise an eyebrow. “What do you mean? You obviously didn’t go back to the western slope.”
“My childhood home, Diana. I haven’t been there since I was nine years old.”