"This argument is moot," Kane interjected, his tone brooking no refusal. "We've set our course here, Leo. We're not willing to change it, and this argument grows weary."
Leo didn't so much as look in the other man's direction, his gaze staying on Callan, his expression demanding.
Callan shook his head. "Kane's right; our future is here."
"Your people are dying daily," Leo argued. "Three Breeds were beaten to a bloody pulp in California last week. You want to pretend you're safe here, and you're not."
"We prefer not to bury our heads in the sand and pretend that hiding is the same thing as freedom," Jonas spoke up then. "We've given the Breeds here the option of joining you in Africa, or staying. They choose to stay."
"They follow Callan," Leo snapped back at him. "They'll go where he says to go--we all know that."
"Leo, let it rest." Elizabeth laid her delicate hand on his knee as she looked up at him, her expression disapproving.
"Each visit is filled with this argument and I grow weary of it. We hid because we had no choice, and we've built a society we're very happy with, and a life that holds a measure of safety. Callan has simply chosen the path you would have chosen then if you had had that option."
He grunted at the statement before his eyes turned to Rachel. She watched his nostrils flare, the narrowing of his eyes. He'd done that often throughout the evening, just as the others had in a less direct way.
"Ms. Broen, what's your opinion of safety for your daughter? If she were a Breed child, would you prefer life here, or one where she would be allowed to blend into society and to live without the threat of capture and torture?"
Which would she choose?
"I have to agree with Callan," she stated sadly. "Better that they know the price of freedom and what they're fighting for than to learn to hide and to lie. The battle isn't one that will be accomplished overnight. Just as it isn't a choice one man or Breed can make for many."
"But you agree that this life," he waved his hand to include the room as though it were the entire Breed society, "is one far less safe for your child than the one I propose."
Rachel frowned. "I agree with nothing of the sort. I simply believe it's a choice as individual as the man or the Breed making it."
He stared at her as though she should be squashed beneath the heel of his very expensive boots. No doubt, that was exactly what he felt as well.
"I've had enough of this conversation." Jonas rose to his feet, the tension that had burned inside him most of the day shimmering around him now. "Are you ready?"
It was asked politely enough, but Rachel saw his face. Being ready wasn't an option; it was time for Jonas to leave.
"You're not one to heed anyone's opinion but your own, are you, Jonas?" Leo rose to his feet as well, his gaze going between Jonas and Rachel, that quizzical look in his eyes making Rachel intensely nervous.
"Leo, I'm not in the mood for your demands tonight, or your views on how your way is the best way and the only way to proceed. In my opinion, we were far better off when your wife was sneaking and helping Ely rather than having your arrogance infect Sanctuary on a regular basis." The statement was made calmly, even politely. The tension filling the room was anything but polite or calm.
"Leo, take your seat," Elizabeth ordered softly. "Now isn't the time for this."
He glared back at his wife. "The whelp has ignored every suggestion I've made for months, gone out of his way to ignore and avoid each of us, and tries to pretend he has no responsibility to the future of the Breeds in any way."
"If I felt such a way, then I wouldn't be busting my ass to keep our Breeds out of your path and off your radar when they try to make a life for themselves here," Jonas snapped back, his tone icy now. "You can't force them to duck and hide in a jungle while you play the innocent benefactor and pretend to age at a normal rate." Jonas sneered in contempt, his gaze encompassing the temporary wrinkles around the Leo's eyes, the artificially gray streaks in his hair. "You're not human, Leo, and all the wishing in the world isn't going to make it happen."
Lion's eyes narrowed as Elizabeth stared at Jonas in shock and surprise.
"Jonas, enough." Callan finally felt the need to intercede, far too late by Rachel's estimation.
"Suits me." Jonas shrugged as he laid his hand at Rachel's back and began directing her from the group once again. "I can always find something better to do than to argue with a man whose superiority far exceeds his logic."
Leo growled. A low, commanding snarl, a sound that demanded instant respect.
Jonas chuckled mockingly. "I can do that too, Leo. Mine sounds better though."
"Leo, no!" Elizabeth's cry was the only warning they had. A second later, Rachel found herself pushed back from Jonas as he flew across the room, landing on his back with a thud while Leo began to slowly advance.
Jonas rose slowly. "Callan, please excuse our father's manners," he requested snidely as Callan and Elizabeth both moved in front of the Leo. "I'm certain he must have forgotten to pack his manners when he made his hasty exit from Africa."
"A hasty exit to ensure you didn't f**k up any worse than you already had," Leo snarled as Callan grimaced. "Just as you're f**king up now, you manipulating little . . ."