Page 28 of The Dragon's Warlock

“Yes, everything is on the plane.”

Over the years, Diem had seen a lot of planes but never any private jets. She only flew commercial, even though the pilots in the private industry made more money. It was the total opposite type of career from flying commercial. Those pilots were more like personal assistants and would need to cater to every need of the customer.

Inside, the plane was breathtaking, and Diem wondered why she’d never tried to get into private jetting. Commercial pilots were disgusting. Pieces of sandwich meat and crumbs were always on the floor. She would spend ten minutes cleaning her station, or her fingers would stick to half the things in the cockpit.

She bet the cockpit on this plane was clean. The flight attendant handed them each a glass of bubbly. Needing something to take the edge off, she downed hers in one gulp.

Gideon leaned over and whispered, “You know you can’t get drunk, right?”

That was another thing that sucked about being a shifter. The first night she was free, she’d bought a bottle of vodka, and when she drank the last sip, she felt nothing. Now she could only drown herself in ice cream, and even that never helped much. It just left her hungry for more and never gave her the comfortable full feeling she used to get.

He led her to the couch and pulled her down next to him. Gideon reached across her lap and buckled her belt. His forearm brushed against her nipples, causing them to go hard immediately. He grunted. When she looked into his green eyes, they were lowered to her chest. Her cheeks heated up. If she didn’t think of something other than how he made her body hot, she would jump the poor man.

“You know we’re in the plane now,” she reminded him. He’d said he would tell her the story on the plane.

“The door isn’t even shut. Are you sure you want to hear it? You won’t look at me the same.”

“My dragon isn’t pressing at my skin yet. I need a distraction.”

He let out a sigh and rested his head back against the plane wall. “Did you ever meet Arrow? He was in the jail cell next to Nyx.”

She’d met him. That was another thing she’d done against her will. The collar around her neck hadn’t given her a choice. “I’m the one who helped take him and his brothers down.”

Gideon gave an understanding nod. “I’ve known Arrow for years, along with his mate. Her name was Alexis, and she had two sisters. One you met today, and the other is her twin.”

She reached over and grabbed Gideon’s hand.

“Emma’s sister, Jasmin, is kind of on the crazy side. But back then, I liked crazy.” Gideon paused, and Diem’s body tensed. “Near the end, I was only staying around because Arrow's mate was having complications. We haven’t talked about my healing, but I have the power to heal.”

“Did something happen to her?” Diem asked.

Gideon’s eyes were trained on the window across from them. They were heading into the sky, and it didn’t even faze her dragon. She wanted to comfort Gideon.

“Yes.” He sighed. “She wasn’t due for another week. I just needed to get away from Jasmin for a few days. Arrow knew his sister-in-law was crazy. That morning, Arrow and I talked, and he told me to go but to stay close enough to drive back.” Gideon looked from the window back to Diem. “If I’d known what would happen that night, I would never have left.”

She knew he wasn’t looking for her to say something, so she squeezed his hand, waiting for him to finish the story.

“I didn’t go very far. But when Alexis wouldn’t tell Jasmin where I was, they got into a big fight.”

“Where was Arrow?” Diem asked.

“Jasmin made up a story about how someone attacked her. She wanted my attention. So the pack went looking for this guy. Jasmin went to her sister, wondering where I was. When Alexis wouldn’t tell her, she hit her.”

Even if Kayda had been the reason Diem was turned into a dragon, she would have forgiven her. There was no way she would ever harm her own sister. Family stuck together through the hard times and the bad. Jasmin sounded pure evil, and Diem wished the woman was in shifter jail.

“Did something happen to the baby?” Diem asked.

Gideon raked his hand down his face. “Yes. When Jasmin hit Alexis, she fell backward and landed on the table. Jasmin didn’t wait to see if her sister was okay. She left her there alone. When Arrow arrived, Alexis was in labor by herself. He called me, but I was too far.”

“Did she…?” Diem could barely form the words. Tears formed in her eyes, for the baby, for Arrow, and for the guilt Gideon was carrying.

“Mom and baby didn’t make it.”

What she didn’t understand was why Arrow worked for Gideon. She thought they’d been close until the end, when Arrow had gone against Gideon.

“I thought you were friends,” Diem said.

“Arrow needed an escape. He came with me. I know he doesn’t blame me, but having him by me was a reminder of what I did. I’m glad that when I acted out of character, he went and did what he thought was right.”

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