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“Do you really think you’ve got any power here? The only way to save war between our families is to give me back.” She started to cry. “I don’t want to go back. I’d rather die than go back.”
“I’ll talk to him. You won’t go back.”
She sniffled. “You know, you were willing to risk everything for your sister and I thought we were friends.” She shook her head. “Get out. I had your back and you betrayed me.”
“I did what I thought was right.”
“Well, you thought wrong. There’s nothing right about this. Nothing at all. We had an agreement. I kept my end of the bargain, and you didn’t. You haven’t even come close.” She sighed. “Get out.”
“Jade?”
“Get out.” She yelled this last part.
“Do I have to kick your ass out?” Gabriel asked.
He had a tray in his hands, waiting.
“No, I was just leaving.” He didn’t look back at Jade. It was too painful. She was right. He’d betrayed her trust because he didn’t think he had what it took to protect her, and now he’d fucked up big time.
After heading back to the kitchen, he saw the room was now empty. He quickly poured two cups of coffee, took some cereal and milk, and went toward the bedroom.
When he entered, he saw the bed was already made but no sign of Tulip. He was about to scream the house down for someone to find her when she came out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel.
“Hey,” she said. “You got breakfast?”
“It’s not much. I can’t exactly ask Jade to cook. She’d probably poison our food. There’s something I’ve got to tell you.”
“Oh, no, am I going to like this?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Jade is pissed and I can’t say I blame her.” He blew out a breath. “Okay, here it goes. I led my family back to us.”
“What?”
“You heard me. They didn’t just randomly find us. I made sure they knew where we were so they could capture us.”
Her brows drew together in a frown. “Why would you do that? You’re supposed to be protecting her. Why would you risk her going back to her family?”
“For you.”
“Me? What do I have to do with any of this?”
“Those bounty hunters, they’re going to keep on coming and I don’t know how many times I can fight them off.”
“So, wait, you betrayed your friend?”
“I did what I had to do.”
“No, that’s not … it’s not … no.” She stood up. “You need to talk to your uncle or someone. Jade cannot go back to her family. She told me what it was like and you’ve got to protect her.”
“Don’t be angry with me.”
“I’m not angry with you, I’m just … I’m not used to this and she’s your friend. I’m no one.”
“You’re my woman, Tulip.”
“Landon, from what you’ve told me, she was there with you with each bounty hunter who came chasing you. I watched you fight side by side. She’s a damn good shot and she stopped you from getting killed. What you’ve done isn’t fair and you need to fix it. You have to come to some agreement with your uncle. I don’t know what. But you can’t let them trade her for peace or whatever it is you’re risking by not giving her up.” She stepped away from him.
He didn’t like that she wouldn’t let him touch her. Taking a deep breath, he realized he had to fix this. “I’ll be back. I got you breakfast. It’s not much but I’ll go and talk to my uncle. I’ll make this right, I promise.”
