Page 34 of Consumed By Fire
“He wouldn’t have. I am greatly skilled in combat,” he says.
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. You males and your egos. He wasn’t alone. Three against one, the odds were against you.”
“You might have been surprised.”
“Why didn’t you fight them, then? Why did we run?” I ask.
“I couldn’t risk you, little Red. They might have used you to get to me. They might have hurt you when you tried to intervene and save me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” I scoff. “Besides, why would they hurt me? They’re my kind. They’re on my side.”
“Yet, you were afraid of them. Why?” he growls.
I shake my head.
“Tell me. Give me that one small answer. Why were you afraid of them?” he asks deliberately, never breaking eye contact.
“I shouldn’t be here. I’m going to get into huge shit for coming to Draig. I followed those males who went after Kim. I wanted answers.”
“You got more than you bargained for.” His jaw tightens.
“I was stupid and reckless. I never for a second thought I would end up here, but I guess I should have known.”
“By here, you mean Draig.” He scrutinizes me for a few seconds. “How are they doing it? How did you do it?”
I shake my head. “I’ve told you enough. I’ve never liked Titan much. I will get into trouble for coming here…that’s all.”
“It isn’t all. We haven’t even scratched the surface yet. Igor… Who is he?” Octane looks angry.
I look away, keeping my mouth firmly shut.
“It sounds to me like he’s your mate…like he was your mate. He’s dead, isn’t he?”
“Igor was never my mate, and yes, he is the father of this child, and, yes, he is dead,” I say through gritted teeth. “There! Now you know. We can move on. You can either let me go or take me back to your camp. I refuse to say anything more.”
“Answer me one thing: why did you lie to me about being mated? Unless, of course, you are mated to another male. Do you have more than one? Is that it?” Again, he sounds angry. His golden eyes are blazing.
I level him with a stare. “I told you that having more than one male isn’t for me, and I meant it.”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore. You’ve been lying to me, Trinity.”
“You said so yourself; you’re the enemy. Why wouldn’t I lie? Why wouldn’t I bend the truth if I thought it would help keep me safe?”
“How did he die?” Octane growls.
“I don’t know. All I know is that he died on this island,” I say, injecting venom into my voice. “At the hands of your kind. It happened a couple of weeks ago.”
“Trespassing, then. Did you love him?” he rasps, his eyes narrowing in on me.
I shake my head. “No.”
“Is that another lie, Red?”
“No! What is it to you? You shouldn’t care either way.” My voice is filled with frustration. “Why do you care so much?”
He stands and stalks over to me, making the space feel even smaller. Even more oppressive. “I do care. I care very fucking much. Were you sad when he died?”
Why is he asking me all these questions about Igor? You would think he would want to know more about Titan. More about how I got onto the island. Not this. This seems personal.