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“I’m breaking in.”
The man groaned. “Of course, sir.” He turned to his partners. “Figure out how we can cover this before he leaves.”
Gerard left them to their plans and destroyed every lock he came to. An alarm went off somewhere. He wasn’t sure where the rest of his men were or what they intended to do to make sure the humans didn’t know it was a dragon who entered the prison. All he cared about was seeing Declan.
When he rounded a long corridor inside the building and scented his brother’s cell at the other end, he picked up the pace. All of a sudden, all the cell doors opened. Prisoners poured into the corridor. People shouted and threw trash. Declan moved past all of them.
At the end of the row, he looked into the cell on the left. Declan sat cozily on his bunk, one knee raised as he leaned on it. He smiled at Declan. “Hello, bro.”
“I wanted to see you.”
Declan chuckled. “I wanted to see you too, but we talked on the phone a couple days ago. Visiting hours start tomorrow morning at nine.”
Gerard didn’t know where to begin sharing his thoughts.
Declan rose and place a hand on his shoulder. “You look horrible. I’m going to be honest. You look like you’re dying. That’s impossible, isn’t it? After all, you’re with your mate.”
Gerard bit down on his jaw.
“You haven’t been eating, have you?”
“Uh…” He couldn’t recall the last time or what it tasted like.
“Alright, let’s be straight with one another. We’ll go up to the roof where we can be alone. I’m sure I can count on my—uh, your men—to keep this madness going until we’re good and done.”
Declan led him up to the roof, and they sat down on the edge of the building, legs hanging over the side. Gerard considered that if he fell off, and his wings didn’t open, he might be looking at a broken leg, especially in his weakened state. He didn’t welcome that lev
el of pain.
“If you’re not going to admit something is wrong with your logic, Gerard, I will.”
“I’m here because you needed me.”
“In the position of king, you mean? Yes, that’s true, but next to Janessa and Bannon, you are the most important person to me. I can’t stand seeing you in pain. And you are in pain, brother. It’s tearing you apart to be without—”
“Don’t say it. I cant…”
“Yeah, you can’t. Something not right about that. I’ve got my suspicions, but I wanted to keep them to myself until I got out of here and knew better. I thought you could hang on. It’s starting to look like I might not have that long. I won’t let my brother die as I’ve lost our parents.”
“I made the only decision I could. I abandoned her. I couldn’t do it again. It’s not right. I can’t live without—” He refused to even think her name. “And I can’t live with knowing I let Kelly almost die alone.”
“You’re a good man in an impossible position. But you can’t live at all broken like this.”
Gerard started to speak, but his brother held up a hand to stop him.
“You want me to be the king? Then I’ll pull rank. End it with Kelly. Put the blame on me. She’s alive and well. I’ll always make sure she’s taken care of, fed, safe, housed. But leave her, Gerard. Leave her and go find your true mate—Lachelle.”
Chapter 15
Lachelle shook her head, grinning. “That’s for a girl. I’ve already told you, I’m having a boy, Malcolm.”
He didn’t seem all that ready to relinquish his suggestion. “But it’s cute.”
“For a girl,” she emphasized. “You’re impossible. I drag you along shopping with me for baby clothes, and you’re getting into it more than I am.”
While he checked the cart, sorting through the items they had piled into it, Lachelle noticed the older woman looking at them with an appreciative smile on her face. The woman wandered over and patted Lachelle’s hand. “You’re a pretty young woman, and your husband is handsome. I just know your baby will be adorable. Good luck.”
Lachelle bit her tongue, amused. “Thanks.” She didn’t bother correcting the woman to tell her that Malcolm wasn’t her husband. Nor was he the baby’s daddy. It was no one’s business. Besides, she and Malcolm had started dating a few months ago, before she started showing. Now that her belly had grown bigger and she couldn’t hide it with big clothes, she let him in on her secret. Other people assumed as well, and she let them to keep life simple.
