Page 90 of Firedrake Betrayal
His face is calm, seemingly amused. But his gaze is sharp. Almost as sharp as the fangs peeking between his lips.
Dominik leans close and says into my ear, “You can trust me.”
“No.” I pull my arm free. “I can’t.”
Isaiah steps aside as I walk inside, heading straight for the stairs.
Shep is on the staircase, hair wet as he glares over my shoulder. Patten is behind him, fully dressed, his eyes spitting with fury.
I should remind them not to kill Dominik.
But as I mutter something about needing the bathroom, my eyes continue to burn, and I can’t find it in me to care what they do to him.
I just want to be somewhere no one will see me cry.
25
PATTEN
Iwait until a door snicks shut on the floor above, and then I barge past Shep so I can punch Dominik in the face.
“Don’t do it,” Shep grips my arm and hauls me back.
“What part of try to apologize to Jade did you miss on your way to making her look like she wanted to cry?” Shep growls as he prowls toward Dominik.
If Shep wants to do the punching, I’ll leave him to it. “I’ll check on Jade.”
Shep stalks toward Dominik. “Give her a minute to work herself out, Patten.” He keeps going until he’s nose to nose with Dominik. “You keep hurting her and it is getting increasingly difficult not to kill you.”
Isaiah closes the back door and looks from Shep to me. He tips his head as if to ask, ‘should we be worried?’
Maybe we should.
Shep is steady. The calm one. The mediator.
He isn’t calm now.
So yes. We should be worried.
Gold fur sweeps over his arms and the backs of his hands. I’m not sure he’s even aware of the fact he’s making growling rumbling sounds.
“I wasn’t trying to make her cry,” Dominik snaps.
“Then what the fuck were you trying to do?” Shep snarls.
If he wants to kill Dominik, that’s fine with me. But Dominik doesn’t strike me as someone who will go down without a fight. I move closer to watch Shep’s back.
“I don’t know,” Dominik snarls back. “I don’t know how to talk to her.”
Shep doesn’t say a word. Isaiah’s eyes are bouncing between Shep and Dominik. Mine are doing the same.
“It wasn’t malicious.” Shep sounds considerably calmer than before.
Dominik shakes his head, frustrated. “I say the wrong thing. Every time I open my mouth, I say the wrong damn thing.”
If I didn’t hate the guy, I would probably feel sorry for him.
But I don’t.
