Dragon's Second Chance Romance - Riley Storm Page 0,57
kidnapped me. I mean, surely you can stop him from leaving, can’t you? Pete’s out there somewhere too. We catch him, and we have all the evidence.”
“I can definitely do that,” Pietro said, turning slowly to advance on the priest, not bothering to disguise his glee at the prospect. “Definitely not a well thought through plan.”
“Or perhaps a little more well thought through than you expected,” the priest said, lifting a hand.
Pietro hissed as two shadows detached themselves from the corners of the far end of the room, advancing to flank the priest on either side.
“Come, preacher,” one of them said in passable English. “It is time we departed.”
They turned and left the room.
“Why didn’t you fight them?” Claire asked once they were gone.
“One of them would have gotten to you,” he said, staring angrily after them. “Besides, there’s something more going on here. Something we’re missing.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because this wouldn’t stick,” he said. “You won’t be in jail even if I was going to stay around and let them arrest you.”
“Even if…” Claire started to repeat him, then trailed off. “We don’t have to do this, Ro.”
“Yes we do,” he growled. “They can get to you in jail if they choose. I don’t think that’s their plan, but I can’t risk it. We’re going now, before the deputies get here. We’ll sort it out after. Once I know you’re safe. I will not let something like this happen again!”
Claire came to stand at his side, hugging him. He flinched at the sight of rope marks on her wrists. This was his fault. He should have been keeping a closer eye on her.
“It’s okay,” she said quietly, noting his gaze. “You’re here. I’m safe now, thanks to you. You saved me, Pietro.”
“Yeah,” he said, gathering her up and heading for the exit. “But what is it they were truly hoping to achieve with this?”
Somehow, he knew they were going to find out sooner rather than later.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Claire
Pietro was struggling.
Claire chewed on her bottom lip, trying to figure out what to do. How should she approach it? What way would give her the best shot of getting him to be honest and open with her about his mental state?
Dragons, she was learning, were proud creatures. They abhorred admitting to weakness and would only do so under certain circumstances. Yet she could tell that the day was weighing him down. He was beating himself up over his perceived ‘failure’ to protect her.
And she couldn’t keep quiet anymore.
“You can’t follow me everywhere, Ro,” she said gently, sitting up from where she’d been leaning against his side on the couch, the television playing aimlessly in the background. Neither of them had been paying attention to it.
“I can keep you safe.”
“If you try, you’ll smother me,” she said quietly. “I need to have some freedom, Ro. Some. I have to be able to make a choice.”
Pietro’s head came around at that last word, focusing on her with an intensity that almost frightened her.
“What are you really saying?” he asked quietly. “That last line. It’s not about me not protecting you. Is it?”
“No,” she said quietly, realizing what she was really getting at, though it hadn’t been her intent. “But well, Lilly told me a few things, Ro. About you. About dragons.”
“About our mates,” he said quietly. “Yes?”
She nodded.
Pietro sighed. “Well, you two are BFFs. I suppose that should be inevitable. But why is that making you uneasy?”
Claire spread her hands out, giving him a long look. “Mated for life? Destined by fate to only have one? I mean, the concept is wonderful. I love the idea of it. But…I don’t like my choice being taken away from me. What if I decide I don’t want this? What will you do?”
She steeled herself for a possessive answer. One that would reveal the truth of her situation.
“Then you choose someone else,” Pietro said tightly. “I can’t force you to stay any more than I would want to force you to. I think Lilly might have done you a disservice in how she explained it.”
“What do you mean? I think I got the gist of it,” Claire said, frowning. “Dragons only have one mate. I’m yours. What’s to miss?”
“The fact that you aren’t a dragon,” he said with a wry smile.
“I don’t get it,” she said, the frown growing stronger. What was he talking about? Of course she wasn’t a dragon. She hadn’t suddenly started think she was one of them.
“I’m the only one who will find