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ChapterThirty-One
Dominic shifted backinto his human form near dawn. His brother had clothes for him in his backpack. He could have put that bat of his in there, too, but instead carried it over his shoulder all the way to the other side of the small mountain. The building was still burning, but neither of us wanted to sit there and look at it anymore.
We were done.
Dominic had already called for someone to pick us up. He’d given them our coordinates, and we were to wait for them by the half-broken road on the other side of the mountain. That’s where we sat now, waiting for a car or a helicopter or an airplane to come for us. I didn’t really care to ask.
I thought I’d be exhausted by now—we’d walked for over an hour, but instead my body sizzled with energy. I didn’t understand it nor did I understand why my magic felt more alive than ever under my skin. It was probably just the trauma. Nothing that wouldn’t fade by the end of the day.
Derek was restless. He couldn’t sit down for one second, so he kept going from one side of the narrow road to the other, disappearing behind the trees then coming back out again. He was always mumbling under his breath, but I could never make out a single word he said.
“Come here,” Dominic suddenly said. He was sitting a couple feet away from me, his back against a tree trunk, wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a white shirt, no shoes. I turned to see him holding up his arm, and my heart skipped a beat.
“I’m good,” I forced myself to say because, despite everything, I hadn’t forgotten what it had felt like when Sandra woke me up that morning and he was gone.
“Teddy,” he said, and it sounded like a pleading.
That was all it took to change my mind. He said my name, and I forgot all about everything else, just like that. Dangerous, dangerous werewolf.
But he moved before I could. He dragged himself all the way to me, put his arms around me and pulled me on his lap before I even realized what was happening. All I knew was that my cheek was against his chest, and he held me to him tightly, just like he did at the hotel.
Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply. My heart fluttered, and my toes curled all the way. My shoulders relaxed, and I let go completely.
It was really nice here.
“It was Sandra,” I said, half of me hoping he’d tell me I was wrong. Sandra was so sweet, so kind. I just couldn’t imagine her going behind my back like this. Behind all our backs.
“Yeah, we figured,” Dominic said. “When we left, she was supposed to stay with you, along with ten other agents. She left an hour later.”
“The necklace was the real flash drive.” He probably knew this, too, but it was worth a mention.
“Yeah. Apparently, the Chief wasn’t honest with us from the beginning. Noah Bennett wasn’t hiding—he had disappeared after his father’s death, and the ODP had the flash drive. We’re not sure how Sandra got her hands on it, but she swapped it for the dupe that was given to her. She’s been planning this for a while, I think, but we won’t know for sure until we question her.” He sighed, shaking his head. “My best guess is she contacted the high fae and told them who we really were after we went to dinner. The ODP is probably going through her phone records as we speak.”
“Shit, Sandra,” I said, squeezing my eyes shut. I’d so wanted her to be a good guy. “And where were you?”
“They found Noah Bennett’s body, called us in right away,” he said with a grunt. “I’m sorry I left you alone. I thought Derek and those agents would be enough to keep you safe.” His arm around me wrapped even tighter, and his hand cupped my cheek, too. “I’m so sorry, Teddybear.” And he kissed the top of my head.
“Sorry’s not really going to change anything, Dominic,” I said, and my voice shook. I didn’t want to say those things at all. I just wanted to get lost in his arms again, forget about everything and everyone.
But it wasn’t right. In a way, he’d betrayed me. He hurt me a lot more with that than with anything else.
“You promised you wouldn’t cut me out.”
“I knew what this was from beginning. I knew the ODP wouldn’t care what happened to you, and I just couldn’t risk it. I thought we’d get ambushed when we went to the body. I thought for sure they’d be waiting for us there. I had no idea that necklace was the real thing.” And the more he talked, the angrier he sounded and the tighter he held me.
I understood him. I really did.
But that didn’t mean I liked it.
“Is that why you said those things to Chief Randall that day?”
“Yes,” he said. “I didn’t want you to be here because I’ve been on enough of these missions to know how things work. The ODP doesn’t give a rat’s ass about its agents. We’re the only ones truly taking care of ourselves. But they wouldn’t budge. You had to be here.”
I nodded. “And that’s why you broke Mathews’s leg.”
“Yeah. If you were coming here, so was I.”
I closed my eyes again, trying to breathe, let go of the anger, the hurt. “You could have saved us both so much trouble if you’d just treated me like a partner.”
