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“That’s always your answer?” Janessa complained.
“Works for me.”
The other men echoed the same.
Kelly took up the conversation again. “If one of us is caught without bringing out our scales, then we can be killed just as anyone else, especially in an explosion. Word went around that Declan was killed. I was injured in the explosion, and the enemy was coming at us from every side. Because he cared so deeply for me, Gerard decided he had no choice but to fly us out of there.”
Jealousy almost deafened Lachelle. She fought to pay attention, but it wasn’t easy. For the first time, she noticed that while Kelly’s hair had been pinned up on her head at the police station, at some point she let it down. The long silky strands flowed in perfect sheets halfway down her back.
Tears filled the silver eyes and hung on heavily mascara-covered lashes. She ducked her head so that her hair covered half her face. Lachelle considered giving the woman an Oscar. There didn’t seem to be a man in the warehouse who wasn’t drawn in, including Declan and Gerard.
“With a small group of others, we made our escape. The first few nights alone and away from our home and safety were so hard. Gerard suggested we should go ahead with our bonding ceremony if only to feel normal.”
Declan gaped. “You performed the ceremony?”
“Yes.”
Gerard’s brother looked at him for confirmation. “Is this true?”
“I…don’t remember.”
“What do you mean you don’t remember?” Declan demanded. “The bonding ceremony is the most memorable experience for a dragon shifter. It’s what brings us to completion, when we bond with our mate.”
Gerard shoved back from the table and stood. He paced and drove a hand through his hair. With his back to Lachelle, she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. “Nothing is clear. I don’t like to remember.”
Declan slammed a fist on the table and stood. “Gerard. Your heart should tell you, the bond you share should vibrate in your blood.”
Gerard didn’t respond.
“For that matter, you shouldn’t be able to have another mate when you are already bonded. We’re just not built that way.”
Still nothing. All of Lachelle’s senses strained toward Gerard, willing him to provide some sort of explanation, anything to clear the confusion. He kept his back to the group and didn’t speak.
She thought of when she met Gerard. He was so wounded in his heart and mind. That much she knew. He hated being around anyone for long. He lived in almost complete poverty. Maybe it was a way of punishing himself for the past. She didn’t know and didn’t ask.
When Janessa suggested he see his brother and try to forgive himself his own mistakes and just let it all go, Gerard refused. Lachelle figured eventually he would come around or just heal with their love for each other. He had come a long way, but maybe not far enough.
“I can tell you why he won’t say anything.”
Kelly’s performance wasn’t over. She raised her chin and flipped her hair back over her shoulder. It was a classic, ‘I will survive’ moment if ever Lachelle saw one. She dreaded what the woman would say next.
“A mate is everything to a dragon shifter,” Kelly explained. “One can’t live without one’s mate. It’s just not possible. And to be separated, well, it means death. No one would choose that fate.”
If I hear the word mate one more time…
“After we bonded, one of the others turned traitor and attacked me,” Kelly said. “I had been injured, was on the mend, and then was attacked again. But that wasn’t the worst of it.”
“Oh God.” Lachelle pushed her plate away. She really was going to be sick because she knew what was coming.
“When I was at my weakest, scared, alone, and unsure of who to trust, Gerard left me. He left me to die.”
Chapter 3
“You liar!” Lachelle screamed. She jumped to her feet. “Gerard would never do something like that!”
At the same time, Gerard rounded on Kelly. “I didn’t. You were dead. I saw you die.”
No one could miss the misery in his eyes—or the uncertainty.
