Page 126 of Iris
CHAPTER
THIRTY-SEVEN
Xavier
In my head I can fucking hear Killian. I don’t even need to have individual words because his meaning couldn’t be clearer.
He wants to know why I didn’t have the door locked.
I did. I unlocked it at the sight of a sleek, expensive car and the three figures step out.
But what I don’t bother telling Killian is what he already knows. Trouble’s something I can spot, just like him.
Unlike him, I don’t conflate anger and prejudice with my perception of trouble.
I swallow. Trouble comes in all shapes, from all walks of life. This isn’t it.
At least, it’s not trouble out for us or Iris.
As the woman enters, cane in hand, she narrows eyes on Iris as Emmie drops a crayon. The smack of it hitting the ground is the only sound as my kid stares up at the regal woman in awe.
Iris knows the woman. And she’s wild-eyed like she’s been caught, elbow-deep in the cookie jar.
No, the only time the woman would do something that might hurt us is if we’d hurt Iris, though I don’t pick up any family resemblance or even super closeness.
“Is you a queen?” Emmie breathes.
“You must be Emmie,” the woman says kindly.
“Icy, she knows me. AmIa queen?”
I hide my smile at her leap over the title princess. That’s Emmie. And that’s what we’re fighting for. Equality beyond allowing movement between classes and birthrights. But letting Omegas be more than mothers.
“If we had a queen in this part of the world, you’d be it,” the woman says, eyes now on Iris. “Are you okay?”
Iris nods and the woman sighs, a little of the regal puff leaving her.
And now I recognize her.
But Killian either doesn’t or doesn’t care, but he makes a very low sound which galvanizes me into action. I move in front of Killian to stop him doing something stupid.
No, not doing. Saying. He’d only ever hurt someone in front of Emmie if they threatened her.
And Iris…
He might pretend to Iris the connection’s biological, sexual, but that’s not true. She wouldn’t be here if that were true. And she wouldn’t be anywhere near Emmie, either.
But Killian’s got a lot of baggage he holds tight, and his anger’s more poisonous than mine.
Once it was. But he took care of that, took on the burden of crimes done to me, made me a better man.
So I’ll return the favor and stop him ending up in prison.
In this world if it came down to me or him, he’d be Emmie’s best bet. He’d be able to disappear where it would be almost impossible for me.
“Move,” he growls.
