Page 79 of An Unending Claim
“Do you really think she’s going to tell you if she hasn’t already?”
“Do you really think I’m going to let you out of the fucking house when you are the target of not one, but two psychopaths?” His tone was frustratingly even, although I could swear I heard a tightening, as if he were clamping his jaw.
“If you want to catch those psychos with as few casualties as possible, you’ll let me come to KBO and talk to her. Honestly, Nathan, I’m probably safer there than I am at your cabin.”
“Ourcabin, Peyton,” he snapped.
“Sure. Look, Nathan, you can either accept this and have me escorted to KBO, or you can take a chance on a bigger fight than would be necessary otherwise.”
“What makes you think she’ll talk to you?”
“I need you to trust me on this one, Nate.”
He was quiet for so long that if not for the murmur of voices in the background, I’d have suspected he hung up on me.
“She can handle it, Nathan,” I heard Tanner murmur, his voice growing louder as he walked closer to the phone, though it was still slightly muffled. “How did it go when you treated her like glass in the past?”
Thank you, Tanner!
“What was it Dimitri said? ‘The queen is key. She’s a killer, not a weakling that needs protecting.’ Peyton is your queen, so start treating her like a partner because she is a fucking warrior, just like you.”
I decided not to chime in because Tanner was doing a damn fine job of making my case.
“Fine. I’m sending everyone but Ephraim and Lincoln. And Peyton, if you even think about slipping your guard…”
I snarled, insulted that he would even suggest that. “Nathan, may I suggest you shut the hell up? You are already on thin ice with me. Don’t push it.”
He grunted, but didn’t say anything about it again. “They’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Great. See you soon.”
The posse arrived right on time and I waited dutifully for Asher and Tanner to come up to the door and literally walk me to the car. I refrained from insulting their manhood only because of the sheepish expressions on their faces.
When we arrived at KBO, Nathan was waiting, but he only nodded in greeting, then turned around and began to walk, clearly expecting me to follow.
I decided to have our conversation by myself. “‘Hello to you, too, mate.’ ‘Nice to see you, Peyton. You look lovely.’‘Why, thank you.’ ‘I’m so impressed you found information about Lisa.’ ‘It’s what I do.’ ‘Thank you for coming to interrogate her.’ ‘Anytime. I—’”
“Mature,” Nathan finally commented.
“Says the two-thousand-year-old man giving his mate the silent treatment while he sulks over the fact he didn’t get his way.”
There were a few snickers behind us, but when Nathan paused and turned his gaze to the group taking up the rear, it went utterly silent. Then footsteps scattered and Nathan resumed his trek, taking us to the elevator.
“This isn’t like any other situation you’ve been in, Peyton,” he finally responded. “I don’t like you being out of the house where you were completely protected, especially pregnant. I don’t want you in a room with a ruthless criminal. And I’m trying to deal with the people who are intent on murdering you. So, yeah, I have a lot on my mind. If you want to call it the silent treatment and sulking, fine.”
“Okay, that might have been an overstatement,” I admitted as we stepped onto the lift. “Still, you don’t have to treat me likeI’mthe criminal.”
Nathan pressed the button for five before swiping his head in my direction and frowning deeply. “Explain.”
“Never mind, Nate. I’m overly emotional with everything happening and the pregnancy hormones. Just forget I said anything.”
He looked like he wanted to argue but the car stopped and the doors whooshed open. We walked down to the room where I’d watched them take Lisa earlier and he punched a code into a keypad before an eye scan and print reader. Then he put his hand on the knob, but stopped before turning it. His silver eyes had the same coldness and hard glint as earlier, but he ran a hand through his unbound hair, a sign that he was frustrated. The silver swirled for a moment and I realized I’d read him wrong. He was scared.
“I didn’t want you to see this part of me, the darkness that lives inside. But it’s a part of me, a necessary one at times.”
We stared at each other for a few minutes, and I opened my mind, even though he was still closed off to me. “I know who you are, Nate. And I”—I cleared my throat, stopping myself just before confessing my love. Even if I hadn’t been terrified to do it, now was definitely not the time—“I accept every part of you. Although I’m not happy with the emotionless robot you are emulating at the moment.” I could have sworn I saw the tiniest bit of a smile, but maybe it was just my hope that I had the ability to draw him out of the darkness. “Let’s do this.”
He nodded and opened the door. When he went to follow me in, I turned and put a hand on his chest. His eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth, but I cut him off. “She’s more likely to talk to me alone.”