Page 25 of Firedrake Betrayal
“I don’t see how clothes are important now.”
“This isn’t an argument you will win. We go shopping now, or we don’t leave this apartment at all.” I harden my voice.
The clothes aren’t as important to me as I want Jade to think.
That isn’t the point of this shopping trip. I want those men she thinks she needs in her life to take one look at her and know she is mine. To know that I can provide far better for her than they ever can.
She gives me a searching look, then sighs. “Okay. Fine. It’s nighttime. Nowhere is even going to be open.”
I lift my phone to my ear. “They will open for me.”
7
JADE
Dominik has a car waiting for us outside his apartment.
Why he’s decided to make this the mountain he wants to die on, I have no clue. But if a few minutes of shopping will get me back to Oklahoma, so be it.
We’re both still dressed for dinner, Dominik in smart black pants, leather shoes, and a white shirt. I’m in my black Vera Wang silk gown and heels. We look like we’re on our way to a restaurant or a night out, not to go shopping.
It’s gotten a lot cooler since we were last out. I hide my shiver as Dominik leads the way out of the lobby and across the busy streets to the parked car.
I try not to show my wariness at being back on the street where anyone could be a threat.
Dad’s words are so ingrained in me, I don’t know when—or even if—I’ll ever truly be comfortable in crowds.
Dominik’s hand hovers at the base of my spine, the way it has since we stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby. Every time I move away, his hand follows.
The driver, a man in all black, holds open the door of a sedan with tinted windows. He doesn’t say a word, merely nods andsteps aside as Dominik waits for me to climb into the back seat. Dominik soon follows, sitting far too close.
The driver slams the door shut and seconds later, we take off.
“Is this shopping trip really necessary?” I turn to ask Dominik, using it as an excuse to scoot away from him and open up a bit more space between us.
I’d thought he would be on his phone or peering out of his window. He isn’t. He’s reclining in his seat and all his focus is squarely on me.
I want to move away from the hungry look in his eyes. Or maybe it’s the way my body is responding to that hungry stare.
“You need clothes. I need clothes…” He lifts one shoulder in a negligent shrug.
“But you have clothes.”
“For New York, yes,” he says. “Not for Oklahoma.”
His lip curls as he says Oklahoma. He was literally pretending to be feral a couple of days ago. Now he’s a snob.
I look away as I process this new change in him. He was a different person then. One I made a mistake in trusting. Now I know better.
“Clothes are clothes no matter where you are.” The masses of people packed on the streets are so overwhelming I have to turn away. “I don’t really care what I’m wearing. Shep let me borrow one of his T-shirts before, and I’m sure he would again.”
His lips tighten. “Shep?”
I ignore the hard note in his voice. “Yes. Shep, one of the men who risked their lives trying to save you. What I wear isn’t important. I just want to know my dad is okay. Did you see him at all?”
“No.”
One word delivered so blankly, and I’m angry all over again.
