Even if I was making progress through the heavy facade he wore over his emotions.
I sighed. “If I keep helping him, you know what will happen. Mordecai isn’t above murdering innocents.”
“He’s not exactly innocent, Reagan,” Nevaeh protested. “He painted the target on himself in that interview. But you’ve saved his life twice. Can you really walk away and let him go into those mines suspecting that this job isn’t what’s advertised?”
She was right, of course. Tarik’s troubles were only beginning. But he couldn’t rely on me—that was dangerous too, would take him off his guard. He needed to be alert. I didn’t trust Mordecai, but I couldn’t watch him all the time. And after his slip-up, the Great Dragon was more of a threat than usual. Especially if he had both eyes pinned on Tarik.
My head was going to split in two.
“I don’t know, Nevaeh. Maybe I can help from a distance. A great distance.”
She shrugged, unconvinced, but I stood to retrieve a soda. The moment I did, a great thud shook the penthouse. I groaned.
“Hey, Reagan.”
“Alec, I am not in the mood.”
“Unsurprising. I saw your boyfriend today.” Ah, so he wasn’t in the mood either. Fine. He continued, “Taught him a little lesson: How to stay away from things that don’t belong to him 101.”
“I don’t belong to you, either,” I snapped. Anger bubbled in my chest. “Stay out of this, Alec, I’m warning you. What happened in that interview is between our father and me. You have a job too. Do you want me to tell him you disobeyed and attacked one of his new employees?”
Alec leaned against the couch. His gaze flicked to Nevaeh before he crossed his arms over his chest and spoke again. “You honestly think that you don’t belong to anyone? Has Father taught you nothing about loyalty?”
“Loyalty is given. Ownership is taken.”
“And in regards to our father, he holds the strings to both. You have a job to do, and I don’t recall father’s motto being ‘join the Fae in baking cookies and singing kumbaya.’”
“Alec, get out,” Nevaeh said, sitting up a bit straighter.
He disregarded her, instead moving closer to me. Nevaeh jumped to her feet as his chest inflated, but I waved her off. He was in my face when he said, “You’d rather have some random Fae scum than the son of the Great Dragon?”
“Is that what this is about? You puffed-up egomaniac, I’d rather be left alone by all of you. Now get out of my apartment.”
He grabbed my arm. His mistake. I balled my fist and decked him square in the nose. Cartilage crunched under my knuckles and he released my arm to clutch his face, anger sparking in his eyes as he took a step back. I pointed at the balcony. This time, he listened, loosing a low snarl before striding to the door.
Nevaeh watched him retreat before she settled back onto the couch. Her eyes locked onto my trembling arms as she said, “Go shower. You’ll feel better.”
I nodded my gratitude. By the time the water ran cold, she was gone, a text blinking at me from my phone. She understood that I needed time alone. Maybe tonight’s patrol would help. The wind under my wings, the stars glittering quietly above me. Peace—or the closest thing to peace I could find.
But first . . . the inevitable. I needed to see Tarik. To apologize and explain. I didn’t want him to think he was a lost cause, but I couldn’t be his hero.
I knew talking to him was potentially suicide. Mordecai would probably be watching him a bit more carefully and, if not him, Alec. But the sun was already falling from the sky and I started my patrol early all the time. Doing so now wouldn’t necessarily look suspicious. I shifted, jumping off the balcony and letting the wind catch my feathers. The gentle, familiar tug calmed my racing mind and rapid heartbeat.
Tarik wasn’t along the borderline on the first flyover but, as I swooped back around closer to the manor, I saw the Fae employees leaving the mansion. No good. My patrol gave me an easy excuse to keep an eye on them, but Tarik would have to break off for me to stand a chance of getting a word in. I needed less eyes, especially at the moment.
The universe had a sense of humor. Or maybe I had won a small favor. Instinct wanted to call the odds a sign, but in the pit of my stomach I knew better. Anything that worked in my favor would come back to bite me. Fate or no, most of the Fae split from Tarik before they came too close to The Pit. By the time he was parallel to the building, he was alone.
I dropped out of the sky, rapid-shifting, worried my lion form would unnerve him. The blacktop bit into the bottoms of my feet and palms as I landed. For a long moment, we stood in silence. I scanned his face—the tired lines around his eyes, the way hair clung to his forehead. My gaze lingered on the purple bruise along his jaw. Inwardly, I flinched. Guilt poured over me in a wave, though I knew I wasn’t technically responsible for the mark. Still. If I hadn’t forced my way into his life, he wouldn’t have an arrogant, possessive dragon shifter tailing him.
I took a step forward. And another. Then I asked quietly, “You’re okay?”
He stared, wide-eyed and unblinking for what felt like an hour. I couldn’t stand the silence. When I was almost certain he wasn’t going to reply, I prepared to walk away. But then his mouth twisted into a sardonic grin.
“Oh, this?” He gestured at his bruised jaw. “I’m used to this. But . .
