Page 84 of Firedrake Betrayal
I’d initially tried to get him to talk about the guard he killed. He’d smiled faintly and changed the subject. I hadn’t pushed him again.
“I think whatever he told us, he told us for his own benefit.”
“People were in those cells.” We passed so many cells on our way to rescue Dominik. I’d planned on opening them all up on our way out. Then we stepped into Atticus’s trap. “Maybe some died when Brennan blasted this place, but not all would have.”
Do we take Jade—and her dad—back to Chicago, hoping Brennan survives the long drive? Or do we venture into those mountains where Atticus is likely re-building another compound and take him out once and for all?
“She would be safer with me in New York.” Dominik steps outside, letting the door swing shut behind him. “You know it, and so do I.”
Isaiah looks at Dominik and, shaking his head, mutters a French curse and walks toward the door. “I’m going inside. I have no patience for this argument.”
I wait until Isaiah is inside before I look at Dominik. This isn’t an argument I want to keep re-hashing either, but Dominik isn’t getting it. “Because you want to keep her safe, or because you want her to yourself?”
“Those two things are not mutually exclusive.”
“And what about Jade? How about what she wants? Have you asked her? Do you even care?”
“She wants to be safe, and she wants to be happy, like all women.”
“And you think you can give her those things?”
“I do.”
“How?”
“I can protect her. Get her anything she needs.”
I nod. “And make her happy? How do you intend to do that?”
Dominik’s eyes narrow. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”
“You misunderstand me. I’m not asking you to explain yourself tome. I’m asking you to think about how you would explain those things toJade. If all women want the things you’reoffering, Jade would be on her way to New York right this second, wouldn’t she?”
He stares at me. “She isn’t yours.”
“You keep saying that like Jade is a cushion.” I told myself I wouldn’t, but his refusal to use his eyes, ears, and his common sense sparks my anger.
“That isn’t what I said.”
“Then maybe it’s the way you say it.”
Isaiah was right to go inside. It’s been a long night on edge with not nearly enough sleep to want to argue with a bull-headed firedrake. I move to go inside before my wolf swipes him.
“So, you share her?” Dominik asks as I’m reaching for the door.
I peer over my shoulder. “Do we share her?” I echo.
Dominik meets my gaze. “You share Jade. How does that work?”
His expression is blank and his tone flat, making it impossible to gauge what he thinks about it.
“Exactly how it sounds. We all care about her, want to be with her, and she wants to be with us.”
“So, you have a schedule?”
“No.”
“And if one of you wants her but the other?—”
