Page 100 of Oblivion

I wasfuriouswith Dante by the time I finally reneged and got in the car, barely biting back angry tears. He was adamant he was driving, and I flat-out refused to give in.

In the end, he slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine, then threatened to leave without me. Ironic, really, since he was in charge of my personal security.

The drive back to his loft was tense. The impending argument gathered strength with every mile we drove. Up until now, it had been relatively smooth sailing, but the gathering pressure was close to combusting. Set and ready to light.

“Care to tell me why you’re in a mood?” I muttered, watching the buildings, cars and pedestrians pass by.

He scoffed. “You’re the one in the mood.”

“I’m not!”

Dante could have glared daggers for all I knew; I refused to glance his way, utterly unable to stand the sight of him.

After minutes of palpable tension, I twisted in my seat to confront him head on.

“I just don’t get why you won’t tell me what the video was all about. It’s obviously not a secret.”

“You know the rules about Vegas. What happens there is meant tostaythere.” He cast me a wry look, complete with pursed lips.

“Nice.Realprofessional.”

His jaw ticked as he drove. I could see the irritation rising, and he did a damn good job at keeping his mouth shut.

“I’m not some precious butterfly that’s gonna get a ripped wing, nor am I a child!”

“Why won’t you just let this drop?” Dante exclaimed.

“Because I want answers. Real ones.”

We stayed silent while the gates to his off-street parking slowly opened, and the pressure compounded when we entered the building. Hostility crackled and popped within the elevator, holding us captive and pushing my anxiety skyward.

“Well?” I snapped.

“Penny, I’ve got a fuckload on my mind. I just need you to back off,” he spat as the elevator finally deposited us on his landing. “I need to get to the bottom of who leaked the video. Then, I need to—”

“You, you, you. It’s all aboutyou!”I yelled, kicking my shoes off and leaving them in the middle of the entryway… exactly where I knew they would piss him off. Yes, it was petty, but I didn’t give a shit.

Dante whirled with anger flashing in his amber eyes. Wolfish and threatening.

“All aboutme?”he boomed, tone incredulous and harsh. A deranged laugh followed. “When has thiseverbeen about me until right now? Huh? You’re literally the one that thisentiresituation revolves around.”

The ice and fury in his voice took me aback. “It’s not as if I chose to be abducted!”

Dante stepped closer. “No, you didn’t, but you’re a spoiled little brat who’s used to getting her own way. Newsflash, princess. It’s time to open your fucking eyes to the real world and cut the goddamn cord already.”

“Cut what cord?”

His mouth twisted into a leer. “The one tied to daddy’s money.”

Hurt sliced through me and morphed into outrage. “You think you’re so much better than everyone else. You’re nothing but a glory hog who wants to be worshiped. Just because you’ve been in the Army and gone to war, doesn’t mean you have the right to stand there and disrespect me when you don’t even fuckingknow me!”

A violent shade of red crept up his neck where the veins bulged. I swear tears formed in his eyes, and I felt every ounce of his anger as he yelled at the top of his lungs.

“Glory hog? You really fucking think I went to war for theglory?I’ll tell you something. While you were sitting up there in your safe little ivory tower with a silver spoon in your mouth, I was fighting for the freedom of our country.Yourcountry. Glory isn’t seeing villages of innocent people blown up or gunned down by the people we’re trying to stop. Glory isn’t fighting to save a brother’s life despite knowing he ain’t gonna make it. Glory isn’t torturing assholes for information before putting a bullet in their head, and glory sure as fuck isn’tthis.”

He held up his arm and pointed at the gnarled skin on the underside of his forearm, then turned that savage point on me.

“Sodon’tfucking tell me I did it just to play God. I’d rather die before getting tarnished by that brush. Now, get the fuck out of my face, get the fuck off my back, and get the fuck out of my fucking head!”

---